The Old Folks Home

[bamadude]

Never heard of quark. I tasted 1 when they were green. It was the second grosses thing i have ever eaten. They are nice and orange now. Im still scared to try another 1

 

[perchie.girl]

SCG...here are some apple tree photos..not sure of what kind they are.
The first photo is soo full, that a branch has broken, and because we can't thin them out, the apples are small on this one. The other tree on the other hand, has nice size apples. They both taste wonderful! Even though the first ones are small, they taste really good. Kids over yesterday, eating apples off of the tree.






We know keeping them trimmed way down will make larger apples, but we only trim very little off each yr. We love the big trees. Still get nice enough apples for our asking.

beautiful..... My experience is with oranges and citrus in general. But I do know that thinning out the tree does not stop growth. It simply makes more "air" for sunlight to get in to help ripen. It also helps you get to the fruit for thinning. Dad used to make a hook with a coat hanger. Un wind it and straighten the wire then double the coat hanger over at the middle of the wire. Duct tape most of the wire to an extension pole. then bend the doubled wire for a hook.. Now you can reach up and slip the hook around the fruit you need to thin out and give it a quick tug.

when I moved to my mobile home I had one each of a variety if citrus already established there. I had Navel Orange, Valencia Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon and Tangerine.

that poor tangerine was planted two feet away from an out building It was almost fifteen feet tall and had grown around the building. It was also full of fruit some over a year old. But it was thriving all on its own without water or firtilizer.... It had a few yellow green leaves.

First thing I did was strip the fruit off. Most were good I wound up with a couple of bushels of plum sized tangerines.
Second thing I did was to prune out the dead branches, and the suckers
Then I removed interfering branches.... Branches that crossed and touched each other.
Then I shaped the tree. Bringing its height down to what the trunk could support and its diameter down to where the drip line should be on a tree that size.

I wound up with 50 percent of what was there. I gave it a rest to heal from the trimming.... Then I set up propper irrigation and firtilized the heck out of it. Oh my what a happy tree.... By the end of the month the leaves were all green and there were new ones beginning to grow to replace the ones dropped because of lack of water.

No Tangerines that year.... But the next year I got two bushels again but this time they were the size of mandarine oragnes and very sweet.

I did a similar thing to the lemon. with very similar results. The other citrus was on the other side of the house and those trees were still babies... Less than about three feet in diameter. Iceplant had pretty much choked them out....

I guess what i am saying is pruning is good will keep the tree healthy for a very long time.

deb

 

[vehve]

Bama, quark is an acidic dairy product, a bit similar to creme fraiche but with a lot less fat. And the persimons should be pretty sweet, I think the taste would be slightly similar to peaches or apricots.

 

[Wisher1000]

Dude, you can't eat persimmons until after the first frost hits them. Steer clear till then.

After that, they make great jelly, jam, or wine.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques19.asp

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Never heard of quark. I tasted 1 when they were green. It was the second grosses thing i have ever eaten. They are nice and orange now. Im still scared to try another 1

NEVER eat a green persimmon unless you want to be puckered for a week.

Dude, you can't eat persimmons until after the first frost hits them. Steer clear till then.

After that, they make great jelly, jam, or wine.

X2

I try to get some before the birds and squirrels do. When I had a bucket truck it was possible but now I have to wait till they fall. The chickens head there first thing in the morning in early winter.

 

[perchie.girl]

If I had the opportunity and they physical ability I would love to plant frost tolerant citrus at my house. There are several varieties that can handle the amount of frost we get up in the high desert.... Some varieties of: Tangerines, Kumquats, Lemons, Limes. I would espalier them to line the wall of my courtyard.

I would like to do this with all fruit bearing trees. In order to keep them from being damaged by the wind here.... but also in order to make them harvest able and tend able by someone who is in a wheel chair. I am headed there eventually.

Trees here have to be able to handle heat and drought or enjoy water from the grey water tank. I have Several trees on my property that requrie no water at all.

Mesquite. Mine is more than twenty feet tall and about thirty feet in diameter
Athol. Havent a clue as to what its really called but mom calls it that. Its a desert tree that grows where there is an up welling of water under ground. The leaves resemble pine needles but this is NOT a pine tree.
Eucalyptus. The kind with the smooth white bark.
Desert Willow. A specimine planted by the previous owner. They have beautiful soft pink flowers when they get rain.
Elderberry. Several scattered about. I have seen berries developing but the wild life here removes them before I get a chance.
Ribbonwood or Redshank. If they get access to water they can grow a good fifteen feet tall but most on my property are only about eight.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Anybody know of any uses for persimmons?

Jelly comes to mind.

but once they are ripe you have to beat me off with a stick. I eat them like an apple.

Persimmon Wine

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/fruits-and-vegetables/fruits/persimmons/

That should get you started.... LOL.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Never heard of quark. I tasted 1 when they were green. It was the second grosses thing i have ever eaten. They are nice and orange now. Im still scared to try another 1

The flesh should be almost transparent for them to not have that fibery texture. Oh they still have it to some extent but OH my they are sooo sweet. I have only bought them in the store so I have no idea when they are ready to pick.

edited to add: Looked up Quark..... Oooh me wants to try it....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(dairy_product)

deb

 

[vehve]

Quark is delicious. We make it as a dessert quite often with Karin. Take one cup of cream, pour in some sugar, a teeny pinch of salt and some vanilla extract, whip it, add a cup of quark, and then some berries of peaches in small pieces. My favorite is blueberry quark, but you can use currant, strawberries, raspberries... anything really. I prefer to add them frozen, and at the end you should taste that you have enough sugar in it. What berries/fruits you use will affect the need for sugar.

Here's dinner tonight, I ate alone since Karin is on call and had to return when she was halfway home.

Chicken pitas with homemade tzatziki and greek feta:

 

[vehve]

I might add some uses for quark: Mix it with Philadelphia cheese in a 50-50 ratio for a lighter cheesecake, and you can use it in quiches as a filler too. It has very little fat in it so it makes foods lighter and is a good source of protein.

*Edit* It works well in the homemade cheese recipe I shared earlier too.