Everything you never knew you wanted to know about oranges...

[circa1968]

Ok, its a slow week and time for a distraction from the "other" issue of the day...

I've been growing, harvesting and enjoying my own oranges for the last 25 years, one of my simple joys in life, so here's what I've learned that I never knew I wanted to know...

Orange trees produce one crop/year and its almost exactly a 1-year process from bloom to peak ripeness/sweetness.

Different varieties bloom/ripen at different times and the most commercially grown varieties are Navel (large, thick rinds, easier to peel and commonly found in the store) and Valencia (smaller, thin rinds, hard to peel but very dense juice content, commonly used for making juice).

There are multiple varieties of Navel oranges, Washington & Robertson being the most common.  I have Washington Navels.

My oranges start turning orange in November and by Christmas, they are all pretty much solid orange.  This is the time commercial growers will harvest, pack and store them for delivery to your local grocer.

Unfortunately, this is also when the acid content of the orange is highest and they have not yet fully developed their sugars.  But, this is when they will have the longest post-harvest shelf life due to the acids fighting the bacterias which would cause them to rot.  They are very juicy right now, but very acidic.  Later, they become much sweeter but less juicy as the sugars develop, starting around late January.

Now, here's where it get's crazy!  No other fruit or vegetable that I know of has this characteristic - each annual crop of oranges can amazingly hang on the tree for a solid 6 months after they turn orange and continue to sweeten!  The longer they stay, there will be a small % that does rot & drop, but those that survive are absolutely amazing. I also have a lemon tree, it produces year round and once ripe, the fruit will start dropping in about two weeks if not picked.

If you've enjoyed homegrown tomatoes vs. store bought, you know the difference in flavor/sweetness, its basically the same thing with most fruits/veggies.  Most of us have experienced that, but I suspect most of the world's population has never enjoyed a home-grown, fully tree-ripened orange before.

I enjoy sharing them with others who experience them for the first time, they can't believe what they are tasting. 

For about 6 mos of the year, I get to enjoy a fresh-picked, fresh-squeezed cup of OJ in the morning - one of my simple joys in life.

If you are ever in Northern CA from January to June, hit me up!! 😉

Now, a few more interesting tidbits:

Oranges can survive freezing temps, down to 28 degrees for a couple of hours due to the sugars acting as a natural antifreeze.  I've only had significant crop damage once in 25 years from freezing and I now I put halogen lights in the tree to add some heat if its going to get close.

Some will say a hot summer makes for sweeter orange, but now there's a growing camp that says a cold winter makes for a sweeter orange.  I subscribe to the latter theory, based on my observations and the premise that like a maple tree, the colder weather causes the tree to push more sugary sap out to act as an antifreeze and protect itself.

There's a relatively new & growing threat from some imported fly which spreads a fatal citrus disease.  I don't understand how/why its this one and only bug capable of spreading the disease, but I pray it stays away.  I will be deeply depressed if I lose my orange tree.

And now back to your regular programming.

 

[Freebird]

Interesting facts.  Even though I lived in California for a couple of years, I’ve likely never had one that ripened on the tree. 

[Marcarl]

I'm gonna get me a tree!!! Where did you say you live??

[circa1968]

42 minutes ago, Marcarl said:

I'm gonna get me a tree!!! Where did you say you live??

Oh, sorry, the other CA...

[circa1968]

1 hour ago, Freebird said:

Interesting facts.  Even though I lived in California for a couple of years, I’ve likely never had one that ripened on the tree. 

Its on my bucket list to find out what a tree-ripened banana tastes like!  They are picked green.

[BlueSky]

My son is renting a house in LA County that has orange trees and lemon trees in the back yard.  The lot is about 3/4 of an acre.  He also has a horrendous water bill from the irrigation.  The owners lived there for several decades before moving to a smaller home and renting the place.  He thinks it's pretty cool to walk out back and pick some oranges for breakfast too.  

[saddlebum]

Another interesting fact that my Dr told me which totally threw me for a loop is that oranges are fattening. I guess it, and can only assume it has to do with the sugar content. Who Knew.

[bpate4home]

That's pretty cool.  The orange trees I've seen here in Houston produce a pretty bitter fruit.  Most of the home owners stay away from them or only use them for the zest of the peel. The lemon trees though are great. Unfortunately where I live out lot is too small for any type of ground garden. Our back yard has a pool and a gazebo. add bushes and a few trees and it's packed. Been naggin the wife to get somewhere where we can have some land but the $$$ is ridiculous. 

[circa1968]

45 minutes ago, saddlebum said:

Another interesting fact that my Dr told me which totally threw me for a loop is that oranges are fattening. I guess it, and can only assume it has to do with the sugar content. Who Knew.

Yeah, I would imagine they have high calorie content with the sugars, but isn't it just a math equation that makes any food fattening?  Calories in - Calories burnt = fat stored/(fat burned)

At least I get a little extra vitamin C and fiber in my diet from them.

[circa1968]

43 minutes ago, bpate4home said:

That's pretty cool.  The orange trees I've seen here in Houston produce a pretty bitter fruit.  Most of the home owners stay away from them or only use them for the zest of the peel. The lemon trees though are great. Unfortunately where I live out lot is too small for any type of ground garden. Our back yard has a pool and a gazebo. add bushes and a few trees and it's packed. Been naggin the wife to get somewhere where we can have some land but the $$$ is ridiculous. 

My mother in law had a blood orange that previous owner had planted.  Same thing, bitter.  A neighbor used to pick them and make marmalade.

[larrydr]

I try to eat at least one orange per day , to maintain my Vitamin C my body needs  ....In 1958 & 1959 we were living in Burbank California during my 6th grade  , and I remember driving out of the city with family to visit Orchards and picking a fresh orange from a tree and I can tell you that there is a difference in taste from a orange picked fresh from a tree and one you buy at a store ..When one sees the result of weather damage to a orchard , you can imagine the long lasting effects that has on fresh fruit ..

[circa1968]

13 hours ago, BlueSky said:

My son is renting a house in LA County that has orange trees and lemon trees in the back yard.  The lot is about 3/4 of an acre.  He also has a horrendous water bill from the irrigation.  The owners lived there for several decades before moving to a smaller home and renting the place.  He thinks it's pretty cool to walk out back and pick some oranges for breakfast too.  

Wow, that's a huge lot for the west coast!  Yeah, I would imagine the water bill on that size lot can get pretty high.

[BlueSky]

3 hours ago, circa1968 said:

Wow, that's a huge lot for the west coast!  Yeah, I would imagine the water bill on that size lot can get pretty high.

He talks about buying the place but isn't sure he could qualify for the loan since he and his ex have a condo in Brooklyn, NYC that they cosigned the loan for.  The owners didn't mind when he set up a music recording studio in the house.  The property has two small cottages in the back that are rented to another recording engineer that my son knows and found for the owner.  I haven't been out there yet to visit and see the place but I hope to next year.  A lot of his neighbors have horses.  

[videoarizona]

I have an orange tree that gave me fruit for about 4 years that was very good. Now the oranges are dry. I still get tons of fruit every year but each orange is dry. I increased water supply but to no avail. I have two drip lines that water the tree...the emitters are off so the water runs not drip. 2 hours a day every other day.

Not enough water?

[RDawson]

5 hours ago, videoarizona said:

I have an orange tree that gave me fruit for about 4 years that was very good. Now the oranges are dry. I still get tons of fruit every year but each orange is dry. I increased water supply but to no avail. I have two drip lines that water the tree...the emitters are off so the water runs not drip. 2 hours a day every other day.

Not enough water?

I’d add some Seafoam and change the tree oil to Rotella. 

[Marcarl]

2 hours ago, RDawson said:

I’d add some Seafoam and change the tree oil to Rotella. 

I'm with Ronnie on that, just thinking that the oranges are short on carbs so maybe a good quality carb/system cleaner in the water might help. But then what do I know!

[circa1968]

@videoarizona If the above suggestions don't improve the situation with the oranges (not saying they won't, just not holding my breath on it...), I've got a couple thoughts on it, but got a few questions first, if you're up for humoring me:

1) potted or planted in the ground?  I'm assuming planted in the ground, if not, it could be root bound in the pot.

2) how big is the tree(width & height)?

3) Do you prune the tree at all?

4) Fertilizer?  How often?

5) Is the tree lush, deep green with dense leaves or is it sparse with lots of branches visible & lot's of yellow showing in leaves?

6)how much area under the tree is getting watered? 

You mentioned two drip lines, so my first thought was while it might be getting enough gallons of water, it might not be getting dispersed enough to properly water the tree.  If you can visualize the root system, it should essentially look like almost like a mirror image of the above ground tree, in terms of width/depth.    If its only getting water in two spots, there will be a high density of roots forming in those two spots, with the rest of the roots essentially withering away.  That's not good for the tree's health as it will struggle to consume enough water/nutrients from just those two dense root areas.  Could also make it prone to toppling in a high wind if the root system is not balanced and robust.

The whole area within the dripline of the tree needs to be watered regularly and given a citrus specific fertilizer several times/year.   The soil in my area is lacking in iron, so I have to feed it lots of iron supplements or I start seeing yellow veining in the leaves. 

I regularly prune my tree to maintain its size of around 12-15' tall and ~ same in width.  I also keep the interior of the tree pruned and open so that it has good air/light flow through the tree and regularly prune away any dead wood.

I'm not in any way trained in horticulture, but have always enjoyed gardening and growing stuff.  My orange tree is my pride & joy in that hobby, with my 3-variety cherry tree taking a very close 2nd place, but don't get me started on the horrors of growing a cherry crop. 😉

[videoarizona]

On 1/3/2022 at 12:49 AM, circa1968 said:

@videoarizona If the above suggestions don't improve the situation with the oranges (not saying they won't, just not holding my breath on it...), I've got a couple thoughts on it, but got a few questions first, if you're up for humoring me:

1) potted or planted in the ground?  I'm assuming planted in the ground, if not, it could be root bound in the pot.

2) how big is the tree(width & height)?

3) Do you prune the tree at all?

4) Fertilizer?  How often?

5) Is the tree lush, deep green with dense leaves or is it sparse with lots of branches visible & lot's of yellow showing in leaves?

6)how much area under the tree is getting watered? 

You mentioned two drip lines, so my first thought was while it might be getting enough gallons of water, it might not be getting dispersed enough to properly water the tree.  If you can visualize the root system, it should essentially look like almost like a mirror image of the above ground tree, in terms of width/depth.    If its only getting water in two spots, there will be a high density of roots forming in those two spots, with the rest of the roots essentially withering away.  That's not good for the tree's health as it will struggle to consume enough water/nutrients from just those two dense root areas.  Could also make it prone to toppling in a high wind if the root system is not balanced and robust.

The whole area within the dripline of the tree needs to be watered regularly and given a citrus specific fertilizer several times/year.   The soil in my area is lacking in iron, so I have to feed it lots of iron supplements or I start seeing yellow veining in the leaves. 

I regularly prune my tree to maintain its size of around 12-15' tall and ~ same in width.  I also keep the interior of the tree pruned and open so that it has good air/light flow through the tree and regularly prune away any dead wood.

I'm not in any way trained in horticulture, but have always enjoyed gardening and growing stuff.  My orange tree is my pride & joy in that hobby, with my 3-variety cherry tree taking a very close 2nd place, but don't get me started on the horrors of growing a cherry crop. 😉

 

 

Well...I think You answered my question...all of the above is my problem!

The tree is approximately 20 years old. My father planted it before he passed. It was taken care of by a yard service for years. I stopped the yard service in 2013.

I have been fertilizing it but only once a year. The irrigation heads haven't moved since the tree was planted except that I did move them out as far as they could go to be under the branch line....the width of the tree.

Tree has been pruned in past years, but not lately. And it sorely needs to have the dead wood trimmed. Tree is about 14 feet high and 9 feet wide. Produces plenty of fruit but they are all dry.

SO, I will be contacting a tree person to come and trim/clear out the dead wood. Then I'll look into adding another water line. Having 3 should give me much better coverage, I agree. I should probably dig out the rocks (have a rock yard) around the tree line...and know I'll be weeding again....but it should help with watering.

I printed out your message so I can refer to it!

Thank you! Appreciate it...

david 

 

[circa1968]

@videoarizona Hi David, It will come back and be a healthy tree again!  Once you get it pruned and the water/feeding worked out, watch how quickly new growth starts.  You will be surprised.

 As far as how often/long to water, you may have to consult with your local arborist or nursery as it will depend on your soil type and local evapotranspiration rate, but generally speaking, deeper and less frequent watering is better than frequent wetting of the top soil.

I hope to hear from you in a year that you are enjoying some sweet and juicy oranges!

Dean