Organic Heirloom Gardening Blog
Central Florida is a great place to grow fruit trees. The warm winters and hot summers of this USDA zone 9 tropical climate mean year-round growing for gardeners. While there are many wonderful fruits we can grow in this region, we’ve tried to pick out the very best for the home gardener. We have included some popular favorites as well as a few special delicacies you may never have heard of!
Few people know that propagating citrus fruit trees from cuttings is possible, but it is. It’s also a straightforward process that requires nothing more than a little time, due diligence, and care. And by giving your cuttings what they need – like high humidity and sterile soil – you’ll watch them grow into lovely, productive trees.
It’s pretty easy to grow citrus trees from cuttings, but you need to be aware of a few things before you get started. For instance, if you live in California or plan to order citrus cuttings from this state, they must originate in an insect-resistant structure. They must also come from trees that have been tested and proven to be disease-free.
Why are such regulations in place? California, like much of the world, now deals with a highly contagious disease known as huanglongbing, which reduces the life expectancy of citrus trees to a mere five years. This illness is difficult to detect and spreads via insects and human movement of citrus trees and cuttings. Even hobbyists must therefore use the proper cuttings to reduce incidences of this disease.
Read More about Can You Grow Citrus Trees From Cuttings?An avocado tree is easy to grow and makes for a beautiful house plant when first starting out. But the best part is the fruit they bear–the avocados themselves! So how long will it take for your avocado tree to bear fruit? Well, that depends on where you are starting from.
If you are going to start growing an avocado tree “from scratch” by sprouting roots and planting a seed, then it could be many years before your tree can produce fruit. It could take as many as seven to fifteen years, although many growers say you can start to see avocados in only three to four years. What’s more, once your tree is grown, you can “jump-start” fruit-bearing by grafting or budding the productive limbs.
Read More about How Long Does It Take for an Avocado Tree to Bear Fruit?The origins of the Pomegranate can be traced to the middle east, most believe in modern day Iran. They were grown widely in most of the middle east, which makes sense since they tend to do better in drier climates. Both ancient romans & greeks grew and ate pomegranate. Greek knew it as the fruit of the dead. Ancient Egyptians ascribed prosperity and ambition to the humble pomegranate. They are mentioned in Greek, Hebrew, and Until recently they were were only available seasonally in the US. Some farmers have been growing them in California with good success. Making them available in more stores for longer than in the past.
Read More about Growing PomegranateThe first stage involved finding and preparing a good spot for the trees to grow; good sun, proper soil preparation and a water source. I had a great spot picked out that would give them all the sun they need and room to grow.
Loquat is a fruit that grows on a tree, it has been known to be grown in Japan dating back to 1000 AD. In the US it has been primarily been used as a landscape plant. Loquat grows well in many soils and in adaptable to a variety of climates.
Mexico is the largest grower of blackberries in the world, Orgegon being the largest producing state in the US. World production of blackberries exceeds 170,000 tons, with about 15K of that being picked from wide blackberry plants.
Lemons are a small evergreen citrus tree thought to be originally from Asia. Is commonly thought that they are a hybrid of citron and oranges. We have writing of that suggest cultivation in the Middle East as far back as 90BC.
Olives have a long and storied history going back thousands of years. It was a staple crop in the middles east and during the Roman era they brought it to far corners of the empire. It was eaten as a hand fruit and processed into oil. Olive oil was even used as a sort of commodity currency since it was desired by so many and stored very well. Its one downfall is of course, weight. It is very heavy to store and carry around especially when considering it was stored in clay pots, adding to the already heavy weight. Literature has also a special place for the olive tree. It was mentioned in the old and new testament of the bible 30 times. But most notable it is tied closely to the Greek people. Many of the most known Greek stories mention the olive and the tree itself with a sort of reverence. It is said that the first Olive tree grew in Athens, where it grew for over 200 years. Maybe a part of me has absorbed part of the cultural significance or maybe the historic importance the olive has played, but it is certainly one of my favorite foods in either form.
Read More about How do you grow olives at home?
