Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: goose on April 01, 2017, 17:09
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so, was passing lidl and saw a lovely lemon tree for £16.99. Bargain! I know they are hard to keep but I have always fancied one, so at this price, it was worth the risk IMHO.
just reading the label and it says 'not for human consumption-decorative purposes only'
gutted that I had been duped, I googled it and some sites say that they put this on the label if it has been treated with chemicals but the new fruit that (hopefully) comes will be ok to eat. some say they have used the flesh from the fruit that was already present on the 'treated' plant with no probs, but advise caution over using the rind.
thoughts please?
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I'd give them a good scrub and use them myself, although I realise some may find this cavalier
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I bought one of these last year. Didn't read the label, never do. Potted it up and over the summer it grew well initially in the greenhouse then outside in the summer. It wintered inside facing a bright relatively cool bedroom window. Shorten the sappy upward growths so the lemons are not borne on thin bendy growth.
It grew four lemons ripening mostly over winter (they can stay on the tree until you are ready to pick) the last one picked in march. They are a little bland to eat but maybe I left them on the tree too long.
It has been repotted again and is back in he greenhouse to start the whole process again. :)
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just reading the label and it says 'not for human consumption-decorative purposes only'
I am with the others. More so, because citrus fruits so commonly and easily cross as cucurbits. I have no knowledge (anybody correct me) of toxic citrus fruit, so simply, it is not a type grown for flavour.
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just reading the label and it says 'not for human consumption-decorative purposes only'
I am with the others. More so, because citrus fruits so commonly and easily cross as cucurbits. I have no knowledge (anybody correct me) of toxic citrus fruit, so simply, it is not a type grown for flavour.
I think the concern was more about chemicals the plant had been treated with chemicals prior to purchase that might affect the edibility of the fruit though .... the rind of new fruit would be clear anyway I should think
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A lot of these cheap plant deals come in via the Dutch plant importers and they stick those 'not for human consumption' warnings on everything, just because they buy so much stuff and can't guarantee what a plant has or hasn't been treated with in the past. I've seen them on citrus, bay trees and even plants like rosemary.
Pesticides are a huge expense for commercial growers and they don't spray them around as much as people think. I would go with Sunshineband's advice and just give the lemons a good scrub before using them.
£16.99 for a lemon tree is a great deal - I would have snaffled one as well at that price :)
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thanks so much for your reassurances. I will one a scrub and try a slice in a G&T later...hopefully the alcohol will kill off anything more harmful!
I think they only came on sale yesterday, so they may still have some if anyone else is interested.
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thanks so much for your reassurances. I will one a scrub and try a slice in a G&T later...hopefully the alcohol will kill off anything more harmful!
I think they only came on sale yesterday, so they may still have some if anyone else is interested.
Aha! That's the answer... sterilisation with alcohol. Now why didn't I think of that?????
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(http://chat.allotment-garden.org/gallery/4465-030417155348.jpeg)
this is a pic of my new baby...just hope the pic works as its my first time uploading an image!
hmmmm....not sure why there is a link rather than a photo? but if you click it opens up.
edit - You need image tags (click the button under the B) for the photo to show
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thanks mumofstig, I will give it a try next time. x
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That looks lovely.
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thanks! i am very pleased with it, just hope i can give it the TLC it needs. i have put the heater on in the greenhouse (for the toms too) as it is going to be cold tonight.
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Is it too heavy to bring in just for the night?
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you are right, I should have done that. it is heavier than it looks and quite a distance from my back door. I will bring him in tomorrow and take a hit on the electric bill tonight. I am away on business for the next week and the overnight temperatures look very cold so its probably a good idea. thanks.
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(http://chat.allotment-garden.org/gallery/4465-030417155348.jpeg)
this is a pic of my new baby...just hope the pic works as its my first time uploading an image!
hmmmm....not sure why there is a link rather than a photo? but if you click it opens up.
edit - You need image tags (click the button under the B) for the photo to show
Hm. You admit, you just wanted to boast with it...
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It's very boastworthy.
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well it might be if the new lemons next year look as good as the ones that came on it, although it does have lots of lovely new flowers opening and new shoots since I re potted/fed it and I have been misting it every day.
whilst I am not holding my breath, I am taking tips from my Italian in laws that have monster lemon trees growing in their garden.
time will tell. x
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Hi every one it's my first post so here goes - I hope some of you who bought their Citrus trees from either
Lidle or Aldi can say what month it was when they bought them.
I've always had a liking for Citrus but have found over the years they miss the correct climates sun
drenched environment sometimes. They can be grown and do fruit but there is a lot to learn in keeping them in good condition, not least a bit of extra light on some occasions.......
I bought a calamondin and a Lemon ( more likely Citrus Limoni- Lunato) which has quite elongated fruit
with a nose each end. Very nice and very juicy lemons are this variety and well worth the £14.99 I paid for it. My lad 'looked after' them while we were away 2 weeks last year but sorry to say the Kumquat which
made up the three I bought was dead from sun burn and no fluid. I would dearly like to buy another
from Aldi or Lidl if I only knew if they are going to sell them this year. Please can you say?
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from my initial post, I think i bought it in early april. I have recently cut off the lemons as it was flowering well and now have lots of mini lemons growing. I am feeding once a week with citrus food and only using rainwater and 'misting' regularly. I only moved it out of the greenhouse last week into a sheltered/sunny spot. I am determined to grow my own lemons even if the time/effort/cost doesn't make economical sense!
if anyone has any other growing tips, I would love to hear them. thanks.
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a quick update on my baby......the lemons that were on it were delicious and as I am posting today, didn't kill me :lol:
it spent most of its time in the greenhouse as I didn't want to expose it to the windy summer weather we had. It's done really well with currently 7 decent sized fruits and about 8 smaller ones and continues to produce blossom.
today I decided to bring him into a cool corner in the kitchen as I fear the overnight temp expected would be too cold, even with a heater in my greenhouse.
I have included a pic. according to info on t 'interweb I have stopped feeding and err on dryer side for soil at this time of year.
Fingers crossed that all my molly codling pays off ;)
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hmmm....sorry about the pic...I will try again
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trying another pic.
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nah...sorry, I don't know what I am doing wrong....but trust me, its looking great¬ :lol:
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The pics are there, just so big that you have to scroll across to see it in pieces. You'd need to reduce the size before uploading, if you want everyone to see it properly ;)
It looks very healthy, just hope the move doesn't make it drop its leaves!
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thanks mumofstig for the tip.
I wasn't sure if I had made the right call by bringing him indoors as I was concerned about the sudden change of temperature. the next couple of nights are forcasted to be really cold so was worried it might suffer in the greenhouse.
do you think it would be better back in the greenhouse with the heater (although it still gets cold in there), or alternatively in my shed (with a very small window)?
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Just frost free isn't really warm enough, more like 5-8C for citrus, I'd say.... although some varieties are hardier than others. They do need as much light as you can give them though.
I haven't grown one for years, perhaps someone else with more experience will post in a bit..
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thanks, I appreciate your advice. I have been doing some reading up and decided to put him back in the greenhouse with the heater on for the time being. i have also wrapped the pot in sacking (as advised on one website) to protect the rootball from freezing. i will keep an eye on him, as he currently looks very happy and we have had a few cold nights recently that didn't seem to do any harm. many websites don't recommend bringing them indoors as the air is too dry.
if it turns Baltic i may temporarily put him in the shed. my Italian inlaws bring all of theirs into a large outbuilding for the winter but they have more light than i have in my shed.
fingers crossed. ;)
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Good luck!
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He’s looking splendid, well done!
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I tried very hard 2017 to buy another Kumquat from Lidl but was unable to. Someone said the Citrus trees were available in March 2017 but I did not see them nor in the weekly Lidl magazine.
It was early 2016 I bought three trees at £14.99 each - Kumquat -Nagami, Calamondin and an italian lemon = possibly 'Verna' as the fruit tapers a lot at both ends. But it could be a Primofiori type..... I wish the growers would put names on their plants? They seem well worth the cost.
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I bought this one in the last few days of March 2017, I recall them having 3 varieties of citrus available so it may be an annual event. It may be worth checking around end of March to see if they sell them again. at £14.99, it's worth the chance/experiment/challenge IMHO 👍