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Caught my eye this morning


Canna ‘Intrigue’


Garden spider breakfast


I’ve switched out some of the plants in my chair planter. A ‘Red Sensation’ Cordyline adds some structure and height, and I stuck a mishmash of cuttings and seeds around the rim.

2007 Nature Sweet Tomato Challenge


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 29, 2007

www.naturesweettomatoes.com

GET GROWING NORTHERN CALIFORNIA!

MORE THAN $6,000 TO BE AWARDED TO SACRAMENTO’S BEST BACKYARD GARDENERS

ATTN: LOCAL GARDENERS WITH THE BEST HOMEGROWN TOMATOES

NatureSweet Tomatoes, America’s year-round tomato garden, will partner with Raley’s to bring the Homegrown Tomato Challenge back to Sacramento this August to see who grows the area’s best tomatoes. This year, the overall prize money has increased as well as your chances to win — two grand prize winners will walk away with $2500 each for the best tomato in both the small and large categories, while runners-up will each receive $250 in prizes.

“Due to feedback from our contest participants and customers over the past few years, we saw a need to select two grand prize winners for this year’s Homegrown Challenge – one for the best small tomato AND one in the large tomato category,” said Kathryn Ault, Director of Marketing for NatureSweet. “Contestants are also thrilled that we’ve increased the overall amount of cash and prizes from $5,000 to $6,000.”

The event will take place on Saturday, August 25 at the Raley’s located at 25025 Blue Ravine Road in Folsom. Visit www.naturesweettomatoes.com for complete contest details or or call toll free at 1-800-315-8209.

Check out last year’s winners.

When life gives you lemons…

… make lemonade, lemon bars, and lemon meringue pie.

In Sacramento, it’s criminal not to grow citrus. Despite touchy frosts and occasional freezes, we can walk out front or back and pluck oranges, lemons, kumquats, mandarins and other citrus fruits right off the tree most months of the year. That’s one of the wonderful things about living here.

In my early twenties as a renter, I was able to pick grapefruits off a large tree from the roof of my Victorian four-plex apartment in midtown Sacramento. Pretty cool. I envied my aunt Eileen for her spectacular mature Washington navel tree that came with her cute bungalow in east Sacramento. Those were the hugest, sweetest oranges… mere steps from her kitchen.

In my late twenties, my husband and I bought our first house, also a little bungalow in east Sacramento… that came with a mature Meyer lemon tree. Meyer lemons can be used like grocery store lemons (Eureka, Lisbon, etc.) but they have a sweetness and unique fragrance that builds nostalgic loyalty. Lemon bars are great, but have you ever had a Meyer lemon bar? Heaven.

I hated selling our little house when we outgrew it, but I mostly hated losing that tree. Anyone buying a house with mature citrus trees is very lucky. A few years ago, I planted several dwarf citrus trees from Four Winds, hoping to have pluckable citrus sometime in the future. I finally do, or I’m about to. My Eureka lemon is so far the most robust tree and it’s covered with egg-sized fruits. Ok, so it’s not the Meyer, but I’m not complaining. The Meyer I planted in the ground here bit the dust and its replacement is getting established in a half-barrel. I’m also raising orange trees, a kumquat, a lime, and an indiomandarinquat. They’re still in that awkward teenage stage.

Will I be in this house long enough to see all my citrus trees mature? Who knows? If not, at least someone else will inherit mature citrus like I did in my first house. For now, though, I’m looking forward to making lemonade and lemon bars… soon. I guess I didn’t have to wait too long. Just a few birthdays.