Problem Lemons

nicolej

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Hey there,

I recently decided to try and give my lemon hybrid ( hybrid with lime i think, was never told) tree some new life. It has been here ever since we have moved in and i think its time to put it to some use during the summer. The problem I currently have is that when the lemons ripen and are cut open, i have very thick rind and little flesh and pretty much no juice at all. The soil is a sandy soil and currently very hard as that area hasn't been watered densely in quite a few years. What can I do to fix my fruit? Ive heard blood and bone etc is a good way to start? Thank in advance.
 

AndrewB

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I'd start with some good mature compost around it, then mulch to get the soil healthy & regulating moisture correctly.

There is also the possibility that the variety just naturally has a thick rind & not much inside. If it was grown from seed, that may be all you will ever get. I'd give it some love this year & if it doesn't improve, maybe look at cutting it right back & grafting on some new wood from a tree that you know produces good fruit.
 

Vicky

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great advice from AndrewB, I have also heard that you can give citrus a good watering with epsom salts to sweeten the fruit, here is a fact sheet from Gardening Australia which includes a couple of other tips I either didn't know about or forgot :)
I know there is a member (ClissAt) here that has done a great write up on caring for citrus, but I don't know my way around the site well enough to remember where you would find it!!
 

Shellhomed

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Hi @nicolej
We had a similar problem when we first moved onto our property with our citrus, we fertilised them with chook and duck manure (let the poultry into the orchard for a week at a time) and made sure they were never thirsty...it took a year but this year we got beautiful fruit from our lemons, mandarins and oranges. However, our grapefruit are still the same...the only difference with this tree is that it probably didn't get as much water as the others because of its location. So my thoughts are they need lots of water. Good luck...
These are our fruit this year...
 

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nicolej

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Hi @Shellhomed
Thanks for your advice! Not sure how the manure would go as the blackbirds love having digs and playing around the area all my veg garden is and the tree. Think itd end up everywhere else except the tree! Haha
 

Stephanie C

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great advice from AndrewB, I have also heard that you can give citrus a good watering with epsom salts to sweeten the fruit, here is a fact sheet from Gardening Australia which includes a couple of other tips I either didn't know about or forgot :)
I know there is a member (ClissAt) here that has done a great write up on caring for citrus, but I don't know my way around the site well enough to remember where you would find it!!
Hello! I’m new here and just browsing around, but thought I’d reply here as I’m pretty sure I just read the article you’re talking about earlier today! I’m too new to put a link in, but it’s on the Self Sufficient Me website, and the article is called “Citrus Care Luvathon Time during Autumn.” The writer named is “Clissa,” so I’m pretty sure it must be the same person. It was a really good article!
 

67HR

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Try wrapping the lemons with a thick pith in news paper and place them in a box in a cool dark area. I visited my uncle once and he was doing this. When asked he said it had a two fold effect. 1 they kept longer. 2 the thick pith thinned down and the lemons became juicier.
Hope this helps.
 

Vicky

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Hello! I’m new here and just browsing around, but thought I’d reply here as I’m pretty sure I just read the article you’re talking about earlier today! I’m too new to put a link in, but it’s on the Self Sufficient Me website, and the article is called “Citrus Care Luvathon Time during Autumn.” The writer named is “Clissa,” so I’m pretty sure it must be the same person. It was a really good article!
oh yay, well done Stephanie C, I could never find those articles, Clissat is a wealth of information and her posts are very easy to understand, I'll see if I can find it later :)
 

Vicky

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Try wrapping the lemons with a thick pith in news paper and place them in a box in a cool dark area. I visited my uncle once and he was doing this. When asked he said it had a two fold effect. 1 they kept longer. 2 the thick pith thinned down and the lemons became juicier.
Hope this helps.
Great tip 67HR, I've tried something similar, only when harvesting the lemons from the tree, using shears or cutters, cut the stem a little way from the fruit, I just put mine in a basket on a shelf in the kitchen - away from the stove etc - and let them sit, checking them often for ones that were turning bad. They did exactly what you said, the pith got really thin and they were very juicy and nearly sweet after a long time.
 

67HR

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Thanks for the feed back Vicky, ive not done it but glad it has helped.
Trev
 
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