lemon tree

My Lemon Tree

~ McArtor ~ 3 Comments

The weather is getting cooler so I will need to bring my Semi-Dwarf Meyer Lemon tree into the house soon.  Its lemons have finally turned completely yellow after being green and the same size for over 3 months.  Sometimes I wondered if the tree was actually a lime tree.  But my husband knew it was a lemon tree.  He gave it to me this year for Mother’s Day.

This past weekend, I picked 5 lemons from the tree.  I squeezed one lemon.  Its juice was sweeter and its peel was thinner and more tender than store bought lemons.  I mixed the juice from one lemon with hot water and a few drops of Stevia to make a soothing vitamin C rich drink for my husband who was sick with a cold.

I discovered that lemon zest can be frozen and lemon peels can be made into candy!  I plan to try this recipe for candied lemon peel.  I will let you know if it tastes as good as it looks.

The lemons took awhile to ripen, but they are ready at just the right time for cold and flu season and holiday baking and candy making!

The Flooding Rain

~ McArtor ~ 1 Comment
rope holding up Rose of Sharon

In the last 48 hours we had over 8 inches of rain fall in our area! There are major roads flooded, old stone walls in historical areas toppled by rushing water, trees uprooted and rivers rising over bridges. Our hearts go out those who suffered loss from the flooding rain.

The rain impacted our garden a little. Our Rose of Sharon bush almost toppled to the ground. I wrestled it to an upright position, wrapped rope around it and tied it to our deck post this morning. We have not been to our community garden plot since all the rain, but the seeds we planted on Monday are probably all washed away. I am glad my broccoli and brussel sprout plants are protected with row covers. The fragile lettuce seedlings in our salad table were smashed by all the rain so I propped an umbrella over them and they perked up. Our potted lemon tree prefers hot, dry weather so I brought it into the house. Now, the tree’s branches droop less from the eleven golf ball size green lemons on it.

I hope it stops raining soon.