I'm in Heaven!

I finally have a sunroom, and my plants are happily overwintering in it.  I have a space heater to keep the temp around 60.  On warm winter days, I might take a few plants outside for a spraying of insecticidal soap for aphids.  While checking on the plants, I noticed this Key lime tree, amazingly full of flower buds!

I can't wait for them to open and fill the air with fragrance!

Happy gardening, outdoors and in!

Typical October Harvest in VA

Oh, yes, a typical October harvest here in central Virginia.  A few remaining string beans, tomatoes, eggplant, muscadine grapes, Asian persimmons and Key limes.  Key limes?  As in the Florida Keys? Yep.  I have written about growing citrus before, so this is sort of an update.   I enjoy growing plants that are atypical for my region (the Asian persommon is another exmaple, though I have seen a few of these trees around the area recently).  Citrus are not very difficult to grow if you have indoor room (like my heated attic) and some shop lights suspended a few inches above the plants (as I do). I grow:

 Key lime, 

Kaffir lime (grown for its pungent leaves used in Thai cooking) 

and a Meyer lemon (not pictured).

So, do I get much fruit?  This is the ultimate gardeners' bottom line. The Key lime seems to be the most productive of the bunch, but I get all the Kaffir lime leaves I need and some Meyer lemons. How much? Enough for a little fresh eating and to make about three Key lime pies per year.  If I had a greenhouse, I would get much more.

How difficult is it to care for citrus in a non-citrus growing zone (we are zone 7, most citrus is grown in zone 9 and 10)?  I set them outside when the days have warmed reliably, in mid-May.  I water and fertilize them with liquid seaweed and fish emulsion, and sometimes a citrus tab (I know, not organic) and recently I had to  bury a rusty nail in the soil for iron (the leaves were yellowing a bit, a sign of iron deficiency).  The only pests I have had are spider mites, which respond to the blast of a hose and a little insecticidal soap, and fungus gnats (many houseplants get these), which I control with a BT granule solution that kills them (BT is a naturally occurring bacteria that is safe to use, unless you are a target insect).  When the trees bloom in winter (filling my house with a lovely scent) I hand pollinate them with a paintbrush.  I (read my strong son) bring(s) them inside around mid-October (definately before the first frost) after blasting them with the hose and spraying with insecticidal soap (if needed).  I occasionally prune them to keep them from getting too tall.  It might be time to re-pot them next spring and I will use a good quality, organic potting soil amended with finished compost!

Happy gardening!  (Spell check is not working, sorry!)

Wednesday Lagniappe: Citrus. In Virginia.

I grow Meyer lemons and Key limes.  In Virginia.  In the summer, they are outside on my porch, in the winter they are in my attic, under florescent lights.  Two weeks ago I harvested enough key limes to make our favorite pie.  I know, it is not a huge harvest, and I don't even really expect it to be, but I love growing citrus indoors, if only for the intoxicating fragrance of their flowers!
Happy gardening!

Meyer Lemon

I purchased a Meyer lemon plant about a year ago (and A Kaffir lime last fall, both from Edible Landscaping in Afton, VA) and it did well outside all summer. In the fall, I brought it inside and put it in my heated attic under regular florescent lights and it bloomed beautifully. I wanted fruit, and, knowing there were no pollinators in the house (I hope!) I hand pollinated it (basically take a flower, strip off the petals and brush the pollen-bearing anthers against all the other flowers' pistils). The above fruits are the result!

So far the Meyer lemon has been fairly easy to care for. It needs winter protection indoors, of course, and I fertilized with with citrus tabs. The plant needs regular watering, but not too much, and some artificial light. The only pest I have had is whiteflies, easily taken care of with Safer's insecticidal soap. The plant rewarded me with fragrant blossoms in winter, when nothing else (save forced amaryllis and narcissus) is blooming.

So far, I recommend this outdoor/indoor plant. Happy gardening!