One of the things I love the most is being able to eat directly out of my yard. It's not uncommon for me to be outside playing with Maiden and snacking on something fresh picked.
January and February are citrus months all the way. I'm blessed enough to have veteran producing trees in the yard.
Starting from the front of the house:
That is a 15 year old Valencia Orange tree. Affectionately nicknamed "The Guardian," it produces a crop of 200-400 oranges each year.
A close-up of some of this year's crop. Because The Guardian is located in a particularly sunny spot, the oranges are often sunbured by the time harvesting rolls around. That doesn't affect the taste at all; they are always sweet and juicy.
Above is my "unknown" Tangelo tree. I suspect it's an Orlando Tangelo, based on it's tight rind, flat-round shape, and slightly pebbled rind texture.
Like The Guardian, our Tangelo produces crops yearly that are in the hundreds.
A close-up of this year's crop. Note that the fruit on the Tangelo are bright and vibrant with little to no sun damage.
A neighbor of mine has a curiosity growing in her yard. The day I took photos of my trees, the suspense was killing me. I finally snuck over to investigate what exactly it was that she was growing over there.
Doesn't look like much from the road, does it?
Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be something quite special. A Panzarella Cluster Lemon tree! These are extremely hard to get ahold of, as the cultivator lives in Texas and DOES. NOT. SHIP. trees.
I did what every good (okay, maybe more like naughty,) enthusiast would do. I waited impatiently for the neighbor to answer her door. When it became clear she wasn't home, I helped myself to an inconspicuous fruit. Above, you see me with my prize. ;)
As you can see, the Panzarella yields considerably little flesh versus pith. What it does have, though, is very unique in taste. Similar to a meyer lemon, it's slightly more tart and lacks any bitterness. It's also quite juicy.
Left to Right: Panzarella, two Valencias, and an Orlando.
All of my fruit is grown as organically as I can. Because the country sprays malthion for mosquito control during the summer, they are (unfortunately) exposed to that yearly. I, however, do not use any additional pesticides on my trees or gardens.
Stay tuned next week for the planting of our spring vegetable garden!
