Enjoying a flavour of the Med with toms and citrus delights... even my fig tree is a bit fruity
The fig tree that I moved into my new greenhouse in November is much happier under cover than it ever was in the garden.
For the first time ever, it has actually produced fruit. The tiny figs that have appeared at the ends of the branches won’t be ready to eat until late summer, but after five years of waiting in vain for it to produce any harvest, even one or two home-grown figs will feel like a feast.
The tomatoes that I raised from seed are also growing strongly. This year I’ve chosen Moneymaker which is a reliable favourite, and a beefsteak variety called Black Russian.
I love the flavour of darkskinned tomatoes but this is my first attempt at growing this one and I’m looking forward to eating it with a drizzle of olive oil and some homegrown basil. To complete the Mediterranean flavour, I’m also planted some orange and lemon seeds. Lemons can be tricky to grow in this country. They need a bright but cool place to spend the winter, which means that taking them indoors is not really an option, but leaving them in an unheated greenhouse is not a good idea either.
They also need different feeding regimes in summer and winter and, on top of that, the seed from a culinary variety bought in the supermarket may never produce fruit or, if it does, they could be very different from the parent plant.
So why bother? Well it’s mostly because I’m passionate about the smell of citrus blossom and if none of my trees does anything more that produce a few, scented flowers, then I’ll be happy.
It’s always fun to grow something a bit out of the ordinary, such as bath loofahs, and you never know, you might just get lucky and produce some fantastic results.
If you want to have a go at growing your own citrus fruits, and you’ve got the patience to wait years to see any juicy result, then here’s how you do it. Place the seed 1cm deep in peat-free, multipurpose compost and maintain a temperature of 16C.
Keep the pot in a bright place and once the seedlings appear, pot them on progressively into larger containers. Don’t let the temperature drop below 7C in winter, and in summer keep the atmosphere humid to prevent the leaves from scorching.
Feed with summer and winter feeds and water frequently.