On Monday, April 25, 2016 at 6:43:44 PM UTC-7, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Hypatia Nachshon wrote:
On Friday, January 29, 2016 at 11:47:28 AM UTC-8, Hypatia Nachshon
wrote:
Follow-up to "Six Oranges".

Saved for ritual tasting by visiting family. One reported "acidic".
Why?!
I water & feed them regularly; they get plenty of sun; good soil.
My heart is broken. Any thoughts?

HB

Checking in late because of an influx of house guests since early
January - -FIVE in quick succession! Now in recovery; gradually
starting to put life back together and follow up on group.

VERY grateful for scholarly research on this topic! Will study and
integrate info, links, etc. for the next crop, due in about a year.
This is a dwarf Washington that is dear to my heart, so your wisdom
is appreciated.

Will be more consistent in watering and fertilizing.

Note that I DID let oranges get quite, quite ripe (in fact I lost a
few through cracks in the skin).

Thanks again to all!

Sorry for the late reply. Oranges should *never* split or crack on the tree.
If you leave them on "too long" they should simply drop to the ground.
Splits or cracks are a sign of irregular watering*.

[*] Usually at least, it can be caused by other things but 95% of the time
it's watering issues. The oranges on my biggest container tree are just
starting to turn yellowish and I've lost maybe 8 from splitting. In this
case it's not irregular watering per se that's the issue it's the fact I've
let perhaps 75 fruits set on a tree that's under 6' tall and 5' wide in a 20
gallon container. The roots are struggling to supply enough for all of the
fruits despite the tree being watered every day - sometimes twice if it's
hot - there simply isn't enough root area in such a small container. What
happens is when it rains the foliage takes in water as well as the roots and
the increased water available in the tree goes to the fruits faster than the
skins can stretch to accomodate it.

I could have simply removed half of the fruit just after it set when they
were marble-sized and I wouldn't have this problem - after all there are a
*lot* of fruit on a small tree. However I decided that I'd try to ripen as
many as I can as not only do I eat the fruits but I also candy the peel for
my fruit bread and it's hard to get enough good peel to last the year from
my own container-grown trees.
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

Thanks; very helpful. My little Washington (in the ground, not in pot) has never set more than 12, but I'll keep an eye out in case it gets as prolific as yours.

I've been away since early March; accident, surgery, rehab, PT continuing, Couldabinworse.

Found garden in lousy condition; whathehell was "devoted" gardener doing for 8 weeks?!
I'm not able to do the heavy stuff, but I do what I can.

Good to be back wit' yiz.

Onward!

HB