Monday… Monday, so good to me…
Feb 23rd 2009PeterGetting My Life Back!
And so it seemed as I left the house early this morning, birds starting to sing, and sunrise at 7:10 as I was travelling up the A303! Definitely a feeling of Spring on its way!
Last week seemed to whizz by, busy at work, and then home again on Friday for the weekend. I finally completed the last piece of coursework for the PGCert – although I am not particularly happy with it – it still seems a bit ‘thin’ to me, so I hope that “less is more”! However I have been accepted for the next stage, the PGDip – the first module starts in just over a month.
We also had Olivia over for the afternoon on Sunday – now just over 2 years old (!) quite a toddler, very vocal and VERY active, so I’m afraid I didn’t get a chance to take any photographs of her this time! It has occurred to me that there haven’t been any photos of her for a while – I must do something about that, and re-arrange the photos already in the photogallery. However while walking round the garden with her (a garden in need of much TLC!) I did notice that there are a number of shoots appearing. The lemon tree (still indoors) has given up all its lemons but is putting out new shoots although it had a bit of a hissy fit and shed several leaves on Saturday – possibly because of a rapid change in temperature in the conservatory, or perhaps because I let it dry out a bit too much. Any horticultural tips gratefully received!
Onwards and Upwards!
7 Responses to “Monday… Monday, so good to me…”
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Liz on 23 Feb 2009 at 11:09 pm #
Glad to hear that all has been going well. Have just returned from St Andrew’s. Went to see my niece, Jenny, who’s at university there – a really nice place.
Lots of love,
Liz
Richard on 24 Feb 2009 at 7:32 am #
Lemons grow best in John Innes No 2 compost, with 25 per cent extra by volume horticultural grit or perlite to promote sharp drainage, which is vital. They can be grown in either terracotta or plastic pots. Whichford Pottery sells handsome lemon pots in a variety of sizes (01608 684416; http://www.whichfordpottery.com).
Avoid overpotting established trees; they only need moving every two to three years into a pot one size up. Otherwise, simply take off the top 2.5cm (1in) of soil each spring and add fresh compost. They thrive best in a pH of 6.2 to 6.5, so should preferably be watered with rainwater from a clean butt, kept at the same temperature as the soil. If you have to use tap water, Read suggests adding citric acid to it, at a rate of 2g per 10 litres. These plants should be well soaked when watered and then left alone until almost dry again. Never let them dry out completely, however, or they will drop leaves and flowers. Mist the foliage regularly with water to raise the humidity (they like about 50 per cent), or put the pot on a tray of wet pebbles.
Lemons are greedy feeders so should ideally be given a high-nitrogen feed frequently from March, when the clocks go forward, until October, when they go back, followed by a more balanced feed with trace elements in autumn and winter. Chempak’s (01992 890770; http://www.chempak.co.uk) specialised winter and summer citrus fertilisers are suitable; follow the recommended application rates and timings. In winter, if you are watering very little, a seaweed foliar feed is a suitable alternative.
Lemons are happiest if put outdoors in late May, since it is hard to achieve sufficient ventilation under glass in summer. Put the pot in part-shade initially, to allow the plant to acclimatise. It is important that the roots are not baked by the sun. Bring them in again before the frosts. Lemons, like all citrus, resent fluctuations of temperature, humidity and light levels, so keep a daily eye on them. Don’t despair, however, if flowers or small fruits fall off; a substantial drop is natural and inevitable. Read thins the crop, if necessary, by picking some fruits when they are still conker-sized.
Pruning
In late winter, before the surge of growth, cut back some shoots to help shape the plant, and pinch out the tips of very vigorous growths.
All sounds right to me as my neighbour wouldn’t listen and left hers out for the last few weeks and looks very very poorly.
Dry is better than too wet and lots of tlc much depends on the climate in your conservatory as they can have very dry air for obvious reasons.
Text nicked from the Telegraph on line via Google 🙁
Peter on 24 Feb 2009 at 6:47 pm #
Hi Liz, Gosh, I remember Jenny – vaguely- from a long time ago!
Richard, Think I do all of that – feed it, keep it in a terracotta pot (been in the same one for a couple of ears – the one it was in when the photos in the Gallery were taken – a layer of pebbles on top, rain water etc etc. I think I let it get a bt too dry, and it also had quite a large temperature variation.
It does have a scale problem, every week or so I spend half an hour or more cleaning it so I think I need to spray it with something (detergent solution?) to get the flies. We did have lots (about 12) very small but intensly flavoured lemons though – makes a beautiful G&T!
Gillian on 26 Feb 2009 at 8:52 pm #
or alternatively – buy organic lemons from waitrose 😀
Richard on 27 Feb 2009 at 7:20 am #
Or Lidl for us poor folk 🙂
PS they sell some great ground coffee ideal for espresso machines and washing up sponges for afterwards
Peter on 27 Feb 2009 at 7:57 am #
Our nearest Waitrose is about 20 miles away 🙁 – so not an option – and still not as fresh as one plucked from the tree with the morning (well, evening – can’t manage a G&T at dawn) still on it!
Lidl (and Aldi) both do great cured meats qand anti-pasta type stuff too!
(More shopping hints next week – anyone see Masterchef final last night?)
Richard on 27 Feb 2009 at 9:00 am #
Lidl Yoghurts (Greek style) about £1.50 a litre- flavoured varies are even cheaper (?) and, for the cooks, Creme Fraiche (Sorry cannot do the accents) is good value but not as flavoursome as the varieties that look and taste like clotted cream………good job I had kippers for breakfast or I should begin to feel hungry just looking forward to the first espresso of the day.
Richard (the fat one)