On 2012-05-07 16:06:40 +0100, Chris Hogg said:

On Mon, 7 May 2012 14:26:35 +0100 (BST), wrote:

In article ,
Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
On Mon, 7 May 2012 11:45:46 +0100, "John Black"
wrote:

Have just been given some tiny grape sized oranges called Kinkan they are
from Japan.

They have normal pips in them. Is there anything i can do to encourage
these pips to germinate and then i would try to grow the orange trees
indoors on a south facing window.

Any tips appreciated.

Probably Kumquats. Don't expect them to taste like oranges. They are
very soar unless eaten whole. Their skins and rind are the sweet bits
just to confuse orange eaters! I've never been able to grow kumquats
so I depend on my greengrocer.

Kumquats are rarely eaten raw, but candied or otherwise used in
cooking. As with most citrus, the skin and pith are bitter,
though no more so than many oranges.

Note that bitterness and sourness are not the same taste, though
many people taste them as the same.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Hmm......but see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumquat where it says in
several places that the rind is sweet and the juicy centre is sour, in
contrast to most citrus fruits, and that it's usual just to eat the
rind and throw away the centre.

Hello, my wife has a very prolific kumquat growing in our conservatory.
My experience of the fruit is that they do have a sweet rind, and they
make good ingredients for puddings, as well as other dishes. My wife
had no problems in raising plants from the pips, they germinated quite
easily. I suspect, though, it will be some length of time before the
seedlings are mature enough to bear fruit.
Derek