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Thursday, February 6, 2014

Citrus season

The grapefruit is ripe and I pick a bag full every week to take to work. Two fruit a day for breakfast from now until April when we will harvest whatever is left and bottle the juice. Citrus is one of the great advantages to Arizona gardening. The trees are evergreen, require very little care, and produce large amounts of fruit. Water deeply and fertilize four times a year and you'll be successful. No pruning required except to keep them from leaning over the fence. Compare fresh citrus juice to the frozen stuff from the store and you might have a hard time enjoying anything but fresh from the garden ever again.

We moved a 10-year old Tangelo tree last year from the side yard to better spot where it gets more sun. This was a feat, taking four people to get it out of the hole and then slide it across the yard and roll into the new hole. We trimmed the top severely so the roots would have less to support and prayed over it, watered it nearly every day all summer, and are so excited that it made it through the first hot summer and even ripened a few fruit that escaped the pruning. We are hoping this year it grows new branches and solidifies it's presence in the yard (my wife's favorite citrus). If you are going to plant a tree, it might as well be something that will produce fruit.

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