When life gives you lemons (and oranges and grapefruit)

Lemon

Orange

Grapefruit

 Happy Valentine"s Day, which here in the Phoenix area means it's time to fertilize citrus. These are our three oldest trees, planted in 2002. Even though we lost several large limbs on the lemon tree last fall, it still produced prolifically, so my Chandler friend if you are reading this, come and get some!

We've pruned the lemon tree into a tree shape, because we grow things under it, but left the grapefruit and orange untrimmed. When possible, citrus is best left in shrub form. The low hanging branches protect the trunk from sunburn, so you don't have to paint it with tree paint, and the lowest growing fruit is usually the sweetest.

The last couple of years we've frozen some of the lemon juice to enjoy fresh lemonade year round. For lemonade, I put about a cup in a ziplock bag, and I also freeze cubes in ice cube trays for uses that require smaller amounts.

My mother, who lives on the other side of the country, usually visits us once a year and pays the airline an extra luggage fee to take back a box of grapefruit. She is convinced ours taste better than the Florida-grown ones available to her. She's also a 23-year breast cancer survivor who is convinced that grapefruit played a role in her recovery.

We mostly eat the oranges fresh. I like to put them in salads instead of tomatoes which I can't grow myself this time of year. They are especially tasty when combined with avocados. (Unfortunately, we haven't been successful in growing those.)

This year we splurged on a Vitamix and I've been experimenting with citrus-based salad dressings and drinks. I find it much easier and less messy to use than a citrus juicer, because you can put the whole (peeled) fruit in. It's probably healthier to eat the whole fruit, pulp and all, too, because of the added fiber.

Citrus Fertilization Guide on the Maricopa Master Gardeners site