The Citrus Grove

Okay, I will admit… I used to be one of those people who got a little irritated when crops “went missing” from our garden.  Whether it was the opossums helping themselves to our tomatoes, or neighbors plucking from our trees, I got a little upset.  Okay, no… a LOT upset!

I changed my tune though after reading a few books on Urban Farming.  In America, we so often have more food than we can possibly use.  Pair that with our rugged sense of autonomy and entitlement and, well, you get a bad, bad recipe in my opinion.  I’m glad I have the opportunity to untangle that with this experiment.  There will be opossums.  There will likely be gophers and birds and insects in large number!  Hell, I only recently got over my selfish homesteading with the skunks in my home!  But this much is true… there will be neighbors in awe of good things growing, there will be “Freegans” (I know, I have already seen and met a few), I am hoping there will be “Guerilla Gardeners” in abundance, and there will be neighbors in need.

And so, when I saw a young woman walking by our yard this morning, stopping briefly to look around before plucking three lemons from our absolutely over-burdened tree out front, I just smiled and waved and sent her the thumbs up when she blushed as she saw me in the kitchen window.  Hard to know whether she blushed because I was half naked or because she “got caught”.  J  The Farmer McGregor I was in the past might have run for a pellet gun and shouted “GIT OFF’N MAH LAND YEH FREELOADIN’ HIPPY!!”  But these days, I am considering placing a sign out front saying something to the effect of “Need a Lemon, Take a Lemon, Have a Lemon, Leave a Lemon”, and enrolling our trees (including an Apricot, not pictured here, but near the garden shed in previous posts) at this cool website… Neighborhood Fruit.

Lemons, Limes, and Oranges, oh my!

 

 Buddha Hand Citron out on the back of the property

Mineola in the front yard 

But if you happen by, help yourself to some citrus.  We have plenty.  And of course, there will always be zucchini!  Blooming AGAIN in fact. J

Zucchini never goes out of style... or bloom apparently!

I will work on my love of gophers next.  J