New Citrus: Kiyomi Tangor & Okitsu Wase Mandarin

   

This week i have acquired two new Citrus buddies for the garden with both being able to be ready to eat straight off the tree. 
The first is the Kiyomi Tangor. I chose this guy as i've been FOMOing about the Sumo/Dekopon tree for a while now (check out my post here) and i discovered that Kiyomi is one of the parent varieties of the Dekopon so would be worth a try.
Kiyomi is a Tangor hybrid. It has a parentage of Miyagawa-wase (Satsuma mandarin) crossed with a Trovita orange at the Okitsu Branch, Fruit Research Station in Japan in 1949. It was named Kiyomi after the temple Seiken-ji (清見寺) and the lagoon Kiyomi-gata (清見潟) near its experiment station in Shizuoka city
Fruit are medium-large (150-200 g), flat, seedless, juicy, and orange scented.
The tree bears good crops of large, bright orange fruit with pebbly-textured skin that is fairly easy to peel. Rich and spicy in flavor, Kiyomi are sweet. Sugar content is normally 11–12°Bx and reaches even 13°Bx if conditions are met. Citric acid content is around 1%. It has no seeds. They will ripen about late September in NZ. The flavour is similar to that of a mikan Mandarin, while the aroma is similar to that of an Orange.

  

The second tree i chose this time is the Okitsu Wase Mandarin. I chose this tree as i had read promising things about them via the Fruit Mentor. In his taste test of over 60 varieties, Okitsu Wase was the overall winner:

"Okitsu Wase Satsuma was the overall winner. Tasters reported Okitsu Wase to be sweet with excellent flavor and very juicy. One taster also noted its fragrant skin. On a scale from 1 to 9, Okitsu Wase scored 7.3, a bit higher than “very good” (7)."

Another desirable quality is that Okitsu Wase is an early season Satsuma, in fact is the earliest ripening cultivar so is a good choice to help extend the season.

The fruit is Seedless, Easy Peel, good rich flavour with low acid and high sugar.  The skin has smooth pale yellow peel, and plump, juicy flesh. 

Okitsu is a variety from the Unshiu tangerine group Wase, second most popular and cultivated variety in Japan. It was discovered in 1940 as a Miyagawa' seedling in the Okitsu research station, Honshu. It was bred by crossing 'Miyagawa' with Poncirus. It is most commonly growing in the colder subtropical areas with harsh winters.

'Okitsu' is a big shrub or a small tree, it can grow up to 2,7m and has very wide, spherical crown made of curly branches with small spikes. The foliage is usually very scarce, but the large, pointed leaves resemble those of Unshiu tangerine 'Clausellina'. 'Okitsu' starts producing at very early age and is fairly resistant to cold but also dislikes hot and dry climates and can easily get sun-damaged during hot weather. It is also necessary to thin the fruit shortly after formation, because this variety usually produces much more than it can bring to full ripeness. Pollination is not required to produce high yields. Okitsu fruit is distinctively spherical or slightly flattened, average (5,5-8cm) weighs 120-190g and has a small navel with big neck. Its dark orange rind is soft, smooth, thin (2-4mm) and well attached to the refreshing, juicy (54%) orange pulp, which contains 19% sugars. It is usually divided into 11-12 segments and usually doesn't contain any seeds. 

The fruit is usually harvested in March-April in NZ and contains lots of acids in the pre-ripening phase; it usually ripens 15-20 days earlier than 'Owari'. Almost unripe fruit has to be carefully harvested and put into the storage to let it ripen. It is vital to be careful and not to damage the thin rind or otherwise the fruit dries out.

The Citrus Hedge

I thought i'd share with you guys one area of my garden i call "The Citrus Hedge".
I planted most of it about 3 years ago and it seems this year it has really grown to its full potential. It runs along the southern edge of my section and was initially planted to screen off the neighbours for privacy but the main purpose was a space to practice intensive backyard orchard culture for delicious fruit! I first came across the concept of Backyard Orchard Culture online at Dave Wilson Nursery. (See Below). 

Here's what i have planted, just in this hedge area:

Feijoa Apollo

Eureka Lemon

Tarrocco Blood Orange

Tahitian Lime

Scarlett Burgess Mandarin

Variegated Calamondin

Tahitian Lime

Australian Finger Lime

Buddha's Hand

Cara Cara Orange

Invictus Gooseberry

Moro Blood Orange

Grapes : Albany Black & Niagra

Also planted down the side of house i have:

Peach Golden Queen

Apple Pacific Rose

Nectarine 

Peach Pixzee

They all seem to be growing well together the only thing is that some of the trees are more vigorous than others, so need pruning to control them so they don't invade the other tree's space. I have to be careful in the timing of this however as in NZ we have a nasty bug called Lemon Tree Borer that, if its around, will smell the freshly cut wounds and lay its eggs which in turn will bore destructively through the tree's branches. I also prune to keep the trees from taking over the whole space down the side of the house and to allow for walking down the area.

What is Backyard Orchard Culture? Here's the low down in a nutshell......

The objective of Backyard Orchard Culture is a prolonged harvest of tree-ripe fruit from a small space in the yard. This is accomplished by planting an assortment of fruit trees close together and keeping them small by summer pruning.
Backyard Orchard Culture Is Not Commercial Orchard Culture.
For years, most of the information about growing fruit came from commercial orchard culture: methods that promoted maximum size for maximum yield but required 12-foot ladders for pruning, thinning and picking, and 400 to 600 square feet of land per tree. Tree spacing had to allow for tractors. Most people today do not need nor expect commercial results from their backyard fruit trees. A commercial grower would never consider using his methods on a 90 ft. x 100 ft. parcel, so why should a homeowner?

Backyard Orchard Culture Is High Density Planting And Successive Ripening.

The length of the fruit season is maximized by planting several (or many) fruit varieties with different ripening times. Because of the limited space available to most homeowners, this means using one or more of the techniques for close-planting and training fruit trees; two, three or four trees in one hole, espalier, and hedgerow are the most common of these techniques. Four trees instead of one means ten to twelve weeks of fruit instead of only two or three. Close-planting offers the additional advantage of restricting a tree's vigor. A tree won't grow as large when there are competing trees close by. Close-planting works best when rootstocks of similar vigor are planted together. In many climates, planting more varieties can also mean better cross-pollination of pears, apples, plums and cherries, which means more consistent production.

Backyard Orchard Culture Means Accepting The Responsibility For Tree Size.
Small trees yield crops of manageable size and are much easier to spray, thin, prune, net and harvest than large trees. If trees are kept small, it is possible to plant a greater number of trees in a given space, affording the opportunity for more kinds of fruit and a longer fruit season. Pruning is the only way to keep most fruit trees under twelve feet tall. The most practical method of pruning for size control is Summer Pruning. There are several reasons why summer pruning is the easiest way to keep fruit trees small. Reducing the canopy by pruning in summer reduces photosynthesis (food manufacture), thereby reducing the capacity for new growth. Summer pruning also reduces the total amount of food materials and energy available to be stored in the root system in late summer and fall. This controls vigor the following spring, since spring growth is supported primarily by stored foods and energy. And, for many people, pruning is more enjoyable in nice weather than in winter, hence more likely to get done.

 

 

How to make Lemon Curd.

There's something about Lemon Curd that makes it so luscious, so delicious. Its a magical mixture of tart Lemonyness, sweet Sugar & creamy Egg yolks that makes it like the Chocolate of Citrus lovers, the ultimate for any Citrus Enthusiast. Made by gently cooking a mixture of fresh Lemon juice, Sugar, Butter & Eggs until thickened, its simplicity makes it even more attractive. Lemon Curd is divine on buttered toast, a simple and perfect way to appreciate the curd's cool, satiny texture. It also makes an easy and delicious filling for tarts, cakes & desserts. Its tart Lemon flavour makes it a great ingredient to balance the spiciness or the richness of other ingredients. Pair it with a Scone or slice of Toast and you'll appreciate how Lemon Curd can transform a simple, somewhat homely item into something wonderful.

Lemon Curd Recipe

250ml fresh Lemon juice, finely grated zest.

5 Whole Eggs

500gm Caster Sugar

100gm Butter, cut into small cubes.

1. Put the Lemon zest and juice, the Sugar and the Butter into a heatproof mixing bowl. Sit the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Stir the mixture every now and again until all of the butter has melted.
2. Lightly whisk the Eggs and stir them into the Lemon mixture. Whisk until all of the ingredients are well combined, then leave to cook for 10-20mins. Be careful that it doesn’t curdle by making sure the temperature remains constant, and it doesn’t get too hot. Stir regularly until the mixture is creamy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
3. Remove the Lemon Curd from the heat and set aside to cool, stirring occasionally as it cools. Once cooled, spoon the Lemon Curd into sterilised jars and seal. Keep in the fridge until ready to use. It will keep (refrigerated) for 1 month.
   
   

   

   Photo: Karen Booth

New Citrus: Seville Orange & Lemonade.

This week i spent some time up in the tropical, far north of New Zealand. On the way home i drove through the Orange-growing mecca of NZ called Kerikeri. I thought it might be cool to stop in to an interesting nursery called Flying Dragon (named after the trifoliate orange dwarfing root stock). Most Citrus plants in garden centres in NZ will come from this nursery and they have many interesting varieties. They have several large greenhouses housing all their rootstock plants growing on and then subsequent budding of the various varieties onto rootstocks. Unfortunately they weren't keen on photos sorry:(

Anyhoo i picked up a couple of new Citrus friends to come home with me: a Seville Orange and a Lemonade (aka 'New Zealand' Lemonade for non-kiwis)

Seville orange is a widely known, particularly tart orange which is now grown throughout the Mediterranean region. It has a thick, dimpled skin, and is prized for making marmalade, being higher in pectin than the sweet orange, and therefore giving a better set and a higher yield. It is also used in baking, compotes and orange-flavored liqueurs. Once a year, oranges of this variety are collected from trees in Seville, Spain and shipped to Britain to be used in marmalade. However, the fruit is rarely consumed locally in Andalusia.

Although the Seville orange smells like a true orange, it is quite different. Its rough, thick and bumpy deep orange coloured peel clings tightly to its pale orange translucent flesh, making it hard to peel. The fruit is sour, tart, sometimes bitter and laden with seeds. It is medium size, round, with a slightly depressed apex. It has two primary attributes: the peel contains fragrant essential oils and its flesh, when ripe, is extremely juicy. The tree is attractive, large, vigorous, productive and cold tolerant. It has very few or no thorns. The most common usage for the Seville orange is for the production of marmalade where it can use its peel and juice to its advantage; any sour and bitter flavours can be developed and enriched into elements of depth. Other culinary uses can be to use the zest and juice in flavoured syrups, cocktails, vinaigrette or marinades. Pair with fennel, bitter greens, chicories, olives, other citrus, fresh herbs, aged cheeses, seafood, rice, and Spanish spices. Look here for a great recipe for a Seville Orange Curd Tart or here for Seville Orange Marmalade.
As you can see the Blossoms are large, plentiful and come with the most intoxicating Orange Blossom aroma which wafts throughout the garden, an added bonus to the fruit.

The Seville orange, is also been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat nausea, indigestion and constipation. The crushed fruit and macerated leaves will lather when mixed with water and is used as a soap substitute in the Pacific Islands. The Seville orange peel, when dried and concentrated, contains a chemical similar to ephedra and has been used in many modern weight-loss products. 

Sour oranges are native to China. Trade routes brought them to Africa and the Mediterranean. This variety was brought directly to Spain by Arab conquerors in the 10th century from northern Africa via Morocco. Cultivation of sour orange varieties led to the Seville orange of Seville, Spain in the 12th Century, where it would accrue its name. The Seville orange was the only orange variety in Europe for the next 500 years. It was also one of the first citrus varieties brought to the New World where it was naturalized in the Caribbean, South, Central and North America. When sweet oranges were introduced to America, sour orange trees would begin to shift their role as edible fruit to rootstock. Cross pollination of the sour and sweet orange trees also proved to create bitter fruits in sweet orange varieties which forced farmers to reduce production of sour orange trees.

A Lemonade is a natural crossbread between an Orange and a Meyer Lemon, first cultivated in the 1980’s in Northland, New Zealand. It grows to about about 2.5-3 metres high. The fruit has the appearance and shape of a lemon though it is easily peeled, and easily segmented. It is unusually sweet and juicy and has a sweet effervescent flavour with a low acid content, tasting of lemonade. It is devoid of bitterness and can easily be eaten as a fresh fruit, or squeezed for drinks. The Lemonade tree often has small thorns and can bear a heavy crop each year. Fruit is ripe when light green in colour and is consumed fresh, juiced, with mixed drinks, or used to make marmalades with other citrus. It is quite popular as a backyard tree throughout NZ & Australia, with a only a few small commercial plantings.

Backyard Lavender Farm

My wife has been on at me for ages to get rid of our lawn and use it for something useful and I've finally caved and have planted a Lavender Farm! A while ago we visited an amazing Lavender Farm near Queenstown called Ben Lomond Lavender and I've always dreamt of having rows of fragrant Lavender on mass like theirs. Since then I've always had lots of single Lavs planted around my Citrus and dotted around the garden but i think when in rows and properly trimmed, Lavender really shines.
With Lavender, my favourite varietal is "English Lavender" (its common name) or Lavendula Angustifolia (its Latin name). At the plant store you rarely see this one though as the average punter there seems to prefer the Stoechas variety or "Spanish Lavender" which, my friends, is a seriously inferior plant, trust me. The scent & essential oil of the Angustifolia is sweet, light & beautiful, whereas the other lavenders have a resinous, camphor element to their oil which makes it much inferior. 
When deciding on the variety to use we went with "Grosso". For years Grosso has been the world's most extensively grown lavender for oil production. Grosso is a lavandin, in other words, a hybrid between Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia. It has intermediate characteristics of both parents, having long flowering stems with multiple lateral branching. The habit of the plant is bushy and rounded with greenish-grey foliage. It is reasonably slow growing at first but by its third year forming a spherical mound of between 40-50cm both in width and height. For us in New Zealand it is a plant that looks great from early January through to March if left to flower untouched. This is often a time when many other plants are suffering with the heat and dry yet this lavender never fails to impress. The flowers still look good in March, even if a little faded. Plants can then be cut back and trimmings and flowers and stems make good compost. Personally i would have gone with Pacific Blue which is an Angustifolia as the scent is just so beautiful but they are a lot smaller plants and the yield of flowers is about 1/3 or 1/4 compared to Grosso. The Grosso plants also look more appealing during flowering in Summer as they have many prolific long spikes of flowers that look great over an extended period. 
The plants i purchased are all fairly young and will take about 2 or 3 years to fully mature but we should see some flowers this summer hopefully. Today i laid out all the plants evenly in straight rows. Tomorrow i will plant the Lavenders in a easy draining pumice/compost growing medium mix in raised mounds over the stodgy clay topsoil. I'll then lay weed mat over the entire area to suppress the grass & weeds. Eventually i'll lay bark over to give a more natural look.

The Plants.

Spacing out the plants. 

The growing medium.

Mounding up in the growing medium.

   

Peaches

Just thinking of the word “Peach” conjures up an image of yellow, juicy, sweet flesh dribbling down your chin in summer. Peaches epitomise Summer fruits. Its hard to think Summer even exists at the moment, being in the dark depths of Winter. But i have just being spraying my Peach trees with Copper this week and it got me looking forward to this years bounty. Peaches are a tree well worth growing for its delectable fruit, the Peach is also a truly beautiful flowering specimen, with its blossoms bursting into ‘pinkness’ in the early spring which are as good as many Cherry Blossoms. And, being a deciduous tree, it will also produce beautiful autumn foliage after the fruiting is over. I have the below four Peach trees at home; two dwarfs, one full size (Golden Queen) and one in a pseudo espalier (Blackboy). With the full size tree i will have to work hard to shape & prune it over its years as they can grow into being massive trees. Its already is getting quite large and i wish i had pruned him down lower to the ground initially as i will probably now need a ladder to harvest the fruit. There is some great videos here from Dave Wilson Nurseries about pruning with Back Yard Orchard Culture in mind (i.e.: keeping trees at home at a manageable size).

Photo: Scot Nelson

Peaches do need a bit of care throughout the year to combat the dreaded Peach Leaf Curl. Peach leaf curl is a disease caused by fungus. It affects the blossoms, leaves, and shoots of peaches and nectarines, and is the most common disease problem for backyard gardeners growing these trees. The distorted, reddened foliage that it causes is easily seen in spring. When severe, the disease can reduce fruit production substantially.
Peach leaf curl first appears in spring as reddish areas on developing leaves. These areas become thickened and puckered, causing leaves to curl and severely distort. The thickened areas turn yellowish and then grayish white, as velvety spores are produced on the surface by the leaf curl fungus. Later affected leaves turn yellow or brown and can remain on the tree or may fall off; they are replaced by a second set of leaves that develop more normally unless wet weather continues. The loss of leaves and the production of a second set result in decreased tree growth and fruit production. 
The best way to combat PLC is to spray with Copper Fungicide. I would recommend an early treatment when the tree is dormant in early August. It is also advisable to apply a second spray late in the dormant season, preferably as flower buds begin to swell but before green leaf tips are first visible.

Peach Blackboy
A stunning peach with a dark wine coloured outer and inner. The rich, juicy, textured flesh is absolutely delicious. One of my favourites. If there are any left over after raiding the tree (which I doubt) they also bottle well. Deciduous.
Suitable for warmer areas including Auckland/Northland
Flower Colour: Pink
Habit: Upright & Spreading
Estimate Mature Size: 5m x 3m

Peach Bonanza
A genetic dwarf standard Peach tree that will provide you with a bonanza of delicious juicy peaches in summer. The fruit have yellow skin with a red blush and yellow flesh. With pretty pink spring blossom and lush green foliage this tree is highly ornamental as well as productive. Self fertile. Deciduous. Peaches are tolerant of most soils but they do need good drainage and love to be in the sun. 
Suitable for warmer areas including Auckland/Northland
Habit: Compact Standard
Estimate Mature Size: 2m x 1.5m

   

Peach Golden Queen
NZ's favourite peach. As the name suggests this is the Queen of peaches with firm, tasty, golden yellow flesh. Great for bottling or eating straight from the tree. Crops well, ripens in late February/March. Cling-stone. Deciduous.
Suitable for warmer areas including Auckland/Northland
Flower Colour: Pink
Habit: Upright & Spreading
Estimate Mature Size: 5m x 3m

Peach Pixzee
This dwarf standard Peach tree is a real little sweetie. With beautiful pink blossom in spring, followed by fresh green leaves and then delectable full size freestone peaches in summer. The peaches are a warm golden yellow blushed red with freestone flesh that is also golden. Happy in the garden or a container. Mostly Deciduous but can hang on to green leaves right through to late winter.
Colour: Pink
Habit: Compact Standard
Estimate Mature Size: 2m x 1.5m

Taste Test: Dweet Tangor.

Well today i decided that it was time to crack open & try one of my Dweet Tangors. They all seemed to have fully coloured up and look about the perfect ripeness to eat. So here we go.......

It was quite a large fruit, bigger than your usual supermarket Navel with a rigid, thick, pebbled rind that was surprisingly very easy to detach like a Mandarin.
Once peeled it had very little albedo left on the segments which were easy to separate for a very easy eating of the fruit.
Taste-wise it was very enjoyable. Very sweet but with just a slight tang at the end. 
Taste was mix of a rich Tangerine/Mandarin with Orange finish very flavourful.
Flesh was orange coloured & very juicy but quite delicate like a Mandarin not dry at all.
There were about 5 seeds present but for its size didn't seem to problematic.
Overall it was a very pleasant fruit to eat, way better flavour than an Orange almost like eating a giant Satsuma. 
Im excited about the up-coming Blood Oranges that are next to harvest. Still about two weeks i reckon so i can try and get some good blood colour going!

  

  

Kumquats

Kumquats are Citrus with edible fruit that closely resembles that of the Orange but it is much smaller, being approximately the size and shape of a large Olive. They differ also by having edible sweet rinds with relatively sour flesh inside. Kumquats are a cold hardy Citrus.

The plants are native to Southern Asia. The earliest historical reference to Kumquats appears in Chinese literature in the 12th century. They have long been cultivated throughout Asia in India, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and China. They were introduced to Europe in 1846 by Robert Fortune, collector for the London Horticultural Society, and shortly thereafter into North America. 

They are slow-growing small trees, from 2m to 4.5m tall, with dense branches, sometimes bearing small thorns. The leaves are dark glossy green, and the flowers are white, similar to other citrus flowers. Depending on size & maturity, the kumquat tree can produce hundreds or even thousands of fruits each year.

Here are the varieties available in New Zealand:

Nagami Kumquat: is oval in shape. It has a relatively small number of segments (four to five) and contains 2 to 5 seeds. Nagami fruit have a deep orange colour and a distinctive flavour. The rind is pleasantly sweet with very sour juice & flesh. A mature specimen can bear a crop of up to 3500 fruits. Nagami is in season from April to July in NZ. This was the first kumquat to arrive in the Western world. The plant was introduced from China to London in 1846 by Robert Fortune, plant explorer for the Royal  Horticultural Society. I have a Nagami in my garden at home but is currently very small.

Indio Mandarinquat: came about from an open pollinated seedling that sprung up under a large old Nagami tree at UCLA. It is a kumquat-mandarin hybrid with orange bell-shaped fruit much larger than a typical kumquat. The sweet peel is eaten along with the tart flesh for a unique flavour combination. This variety usually blooms during the summer months and produces abundant crops of fruit that stay on the tree during the winter months. Indio looks like a giant kumquat, with similar tangy-sweet flesh and edible rind. A very decorative tree. I have one in my garden at home quite large at 1.5m and is four years old. It is however a very reluctant fruiter and I've only ever had two fruits off him. This spring i'll give him some extra TLC to see if this helps with fruiting. Maybe some Potassium in the form of ‘Sulphate of Potash’ to promote the growth of flowering buds (and therefore fruit).

Meiwa Kumquat: is thought to be a natural hybrid between the oval Nagami and round Marumi kumquats. The most distinctive features of this Kumquat are the short round form, the more numerous sections (commonly seven), the very thick and sweet rind and comparatively sweet flavour, and the low seed content. Many fruits are seedless. This is the best kumquat variety for eating fresh as it has the sweetest juice and is the most popular Kumquat in NZ. I tried one at the Garden Centre the other day & it has surprisingly sweet skin! The flesh is still a little tart though. Meiwa was introduced from Japan between 1910 and 1912. The tree is a dwarf, frequently thornless, the leaves differ from those of other kumquats in being very thick and rigid and partly folded lengthwise & pitted with numerous dark-green oil glands.

Eustis Limequats: are a hybrid of Mexican Limes & a Round Kumquat made in 1909. Trees are more cold-tolerant than a regular lime but not as hardy as the Kumquat. Fruit is used much like a Lime. I tasted one recently and it was like eating a Lime so i don't really see the appeal apart from the novelty factor. Limequats are oval or round, 2-4 cm wide with thin, pale-yellow, smooth, glossy skin with prominent oil glands. Inside the flesh is edible but very acid like a Lime. It is light greenish in 6 to 9 segments, juicy, with 5 to 12 small seeds. Trees are early ever-bearing but mainly in autumn to winter. The tree produces pure-white flower buds and flowers prolifically.

Calamondin: is an acid fruit that is most commonly grown in the Philippines.  It is believed to be a natural hybrid of a Kumquat & a Mandarin Orange. It is also sometimes called a Calamansi.  It is an unusual but beautiful tree, its form is upright & columnar, the leaves are small & dense giving the tree a fine textural appearance.  The fruits are small, round, & orange at full maturity ripening around May. The orange flesh is acidic, juicy, and contains a few seeds. Calamondin trees flower and set fruit intermittently throughout the year, adding to the decorative appeal of these trees.  It can come in variegated form, which i have at home, with yellow & green marbled leaves and striped fruit ripening to Orange colour. The fruit have a thin sweet mandarin flavoured skin and a tart sour-mandarin flavoured flesh. Culinary uses are mainly to add a citrus zing to drinks. Other uses are for citrus flavour in baking & Marmalade.