Last Pumpkin

We had frost the weekend before Christmas and that killed the Chinese Pumpkin vine.  This is a picture of the largest pumpkin (~20 lbs).

Kishu Mandarin

I planted a Kishu Mandarin this past weekend.  The tree has loads of sweet fruit the size of golf balls.  

This picture only shows a third of the fruit that was on the tree when I first got it.  I took a lot of the fruit off because I was afraid the branches would break off when the tree was removed from the container.  The container was 2 feet tall and quite heavy.  I later found out that the roots of the tree only went half way down the container.

I think the nursery purposely kept a lot of fruit on the trees they sell to make it more attractive to buyers.   November is a great time to buy a Mandarin tree as the fruits are just becoming ripe.   Certainly, the fruit from this tree is a winner.  The skin is thin, easy to peal, and the whole fruit fits easily into your mouth. My 10 year old son ate his first one in one bite.    One of the best tasting Mandarins I have ever tried.

Next year, I hope to pick a lot of fruit from this tree.

Hanging Chinese Pumpkin Update

The Hanging Chinese Pumpkin did not make it.  It was the lack of sun rather than the weight of the fruit that did it in.

The fruit started turning yellow, then black and finally fell off.    This area of the garden gets sun only a couple of hours during the day.