Wholesome Wednesdays: Lemon!

The internet is a buzz with Meyer Lemons lately, and for good reason! My tree has been dropping a fruit or two here and there and i've been concocting some tasty recipes with its delightful juice and zest. Lemons can be stored on the tree for quite some time, so don't feel the need to harvest them all right away. I still have a baggy full of frozen juice from last year's harvest, so i've been more liberal in my 'eat it now' recipes instead of putting it all by for the rest of the year. Two nights ago i cooked some tilapia and mushrooms in a lemon/dill sauce. Today i think i'll try my hands at some lemon scones (i've got baking fever, and just baked up 2 PERFECT whole wheat loaves yesterday! I'm so proud of myself!).

Singers will know that a mix of honey and warm lemon juice is great for a sore throat or a soothing tonic before a performance. This website lists some strange uses and benefits of lemons - i'm not too sure i believe all of them, however. This website addresses the Meyer in particular. If you don't already know, the Meyer lemon is a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin orange: resulting in a sweeter lemon that is oh, so delicious.

The main health benefit of the tart yet sugary lemon is its high Vitamin C content, plus a teeny bit of protein. One serving of lemon contains 187% Vitamin C! Vitamin C is so good for you because it is a very water soluble anti-oxident that is very effective in the body to fight illness and infections. Vitamin C also combats free radicals that can cause swelling and pain in the body, so it is recommended for those suffering from arthritis.

Other uses for lemon juice include lightening your hair on a sunny day, clearing up achne outbreaks, and cutting grease. You can juice your lemon to drink straight, mix into your favorite naughty beverages or baked goods. Freezing the juice in ice cube trays is an excellent method of long term storage. Don't throw away those rinds: the zest is a delicious addition to any dish and the whole rinds can be dried, candied, or stuck inside a chicken during roasting. Lemons rock, and they're not just good for lemonade!

It's Bare-Root Time

Note, I'm not actually planting any bare root trees this year, but i COULD be and so could you. Here are some tips i wrote over at Yard Farm Austin (which is a nifty website and niftier business bringing farms to urban yards all over Austin).

My harvest last year - nice yield, but look how much smaller the tree was! They grow fast if given the room.

Poorly lit, badly composed photo of my Meyer currently. I've already harvested 3 lemons, averaging 8 oz..

Looking to add some citrus trees, stone fruits, or nuts to your garden? It's time to plant bare-root trees, an affordable option for starting your orchard. You can order bare root trees from catalogs and on line, and can find them at The Natural Gardener, The Great Outdoors, and many other local nurseries here in town. The Natural Gardener prides themselves in only picking varieties that are well suited to our climate, so you can make a good bet with any stock you purchase there. If buying somewhere else, feel free to ask the sales people plenty of questions and know just how cold (or hot) the variety can take and if it requires protection during the Winter months. When buying from a plant nursery, be sure the bare root has been sitting in a moist area, often wrapped and sometimes setting in a large tub of sand. Be sure and keep your bare root tree moist until the time of planting and if the bare root stock you purchased hasn't already been cut back to a sad looking whip, do it at planting time.

Winter is the best time to plant trees and perennials because they have a chance to establish some roots before the brutality of Summer hits. Bare root are only available in Winter because they are dormant and can withstand being moved about without any soil.  Bare-roots are the least expensive option when choosing a fruit tree and are easy to plant, just keep those roots moist! Planting bare-roots and other trees are all done in the same method:

• Dig a big hole, bigger than needed.
• Mix in some compost and bone meal to the soil removed from the hole and backfill the amended soil into the hole.
• Mound the soil so that the tree will be level in the ground to the pre-existing soil line on its trunk.
• Spread out the roots in the hole over the soil mound and fill with just enough soil to cover the roots.
• Water WELL. Really soak those roots, filling the entire rest of the hole with water. You may include seaweed or a liquid fertilizer to this water.
• Once the water has soaked in, fill the hole with the remaining soil.
• Add a stake for support and leave the soil line of the hole slightly lower than the surrounding ground to encourage water to accumulate around the tree.
• Mulch and water 3 times a week with at least 3 gallons at a time. Water is the number one variable in the success of your tree's life. You can also add organic fertilizer or seaweed, but keep that tree moist and happy for the first year!

It can also be helpful to add a B-1 hormone root stimulator when watering the first 3 or so times in order to get your new tree's roots up and running.And remember, if you want to save money and buy bare-root, you have to do it before the Spring begins the thaw (not that it's actually been cold at all this year, other than today). The stock will begin coming out of dormancy if held bare-root too late, so you have to get 'em while they're cool!

The tree gets no respect

Are you planting any nuts or fruit this year? Will you get yours at a local nursery or order from a catalog?
This post is part of the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop.

Central Texas Veggie Garden Update: November

I almost have harvestable broccoli! Holy cow, how cool is that? I planted my first round of broccoli transplants in early September and they're showing signs of crowns. I fertilized with a nitrogen fertilizer when they were about 9 inches tall, and then the other day with Flower Power to promote the development of their crowns. That's how i do most of my veggies - nitrogen once they've put on some height and need greening power, and Flower Power (high middle number) when showing signs of flowering and setting fruit. For long season plants like tomatoes and cukes i will redo the Flower Power fertilizing every month or so, plus seaweed in their water  or compost side dressing for a little extra vigor at any time i please.

I planted some more transplants and seeds last weekend:

• Radish
• Carrot
• Broccoli Raab
• Chamomile (seeds and transplant)
• Kale (seeds and transplant)
• Broccoli (transplant)
• Chard (transplant)
• Lettuce
• Pansies and Calendula for some edible/medicinal pretty 

Baby radishes peeking out

 I must admit: the past few years i have diligently laid out my gardens on graph paper, taken detailed notes of every seed and transplant planted and when, watering schedules, fertilization, all a gardener's work entails. This season I'm beign more indiscriminate in my record keeping. I try and water germinating beds every morning and the large gardens twice a week. I'm tucking seeds and seedlings into bare patches as they come available. I harvest what's ripe and carefully watch the weather to see if a freeze may be imminent. Peppers and tomatoes are still filling lots of space so i've been cramming my brassicas into tight spots and tucking seeds in the crannies as i see fit. My companion planting methods have gone out the window for hte most part and it's fun to see so much green slammed into so small a space. We'll see if my 'tuck it where there's space' method works out for me... at the very least i'll have plenty of green matter to choose from, whether it does well or not. ha.

When does one harvest kohlrabi? I dunno, this is my first year.

Meyer Lemons starting to turn yellow. It's the time of year to watch for below 40 degree weather. I'll have to figure out some way to get this now massive potted plant into the house for winter.

The cucumbers continue to give me big old fruit, my tomatoes are heavily laden with green globes of optimism that i have to hunt for amongst their bushy limbs, and all my pepper plants are busting at the stem: many batches of hot sauce are being simmered and preparing to age, get strained, bottled and processed. I'm putting peppers into everything right now and will freeze what i don't turn into hot sauce, muffins, or jam. I'm preparing to save the seeds of my favorite tomato plant and will be mulching the garlic areas as soon as i see a few more little garlic sprouts peeking up. They aren't as happy this year as they've been in past years which may be due to my skipping a layer of turkey compost on top of the seeded beds. Live and learn.

Early Wonder beets, desperately needing to be thinned. I'm waiting for the greens to get a little bigger to use in a sautee or pickle crock

Happy cayennes ready to be sauced or dried

Who's that hiding in the grass?

Three lovely Homestead tomatoes!

 This is a fun time of year - harvest of the fall/winter crops is imminent, some summer bounty is holding on til the last second, and the garden is teeming with new and old life in a more controlled manner than the crazy tomato forests of mid summer. Plus it's nice outside! Get out there and enjoy your garden, it doesn't get much better than this in Austin gardening.