Sad news today about lemon prices, which have doubled or more. It’s sad because there really is no substitute for lemon in most recipes. Occasionally a light-flavored vinegar will suit, if acidity and brightness are all that’s needed from the lemon, and sometimes you can use another citrus, but in that case it doesn’t really alleviate many of the issues making lemon prices jump, like gas prices and weather damage to citrus crops.

Fortunately for me, I got two little lemon trees this spring, one a year-old Improved Meyer from Territorial, and one older/bushier one from the nursery. The younger tree is still growing its branches and leaves and whatnot, but the older one is pretty robust, except it lost a lot of its leaves when we first got it home. I learned it wanted to be fertilized! So I did that. Now it is happily leaved and it is growing me lots of tiny lemons.



My Meyer lemont ree, originally uploaded by laurenipsum.

Apparently it takes a long time for a tiny green lemon to turn into a delicious juicy cookable lemon, but it also (apparently) blooms and fruits whenever it feels like it, hence the tiny fruit, mediumly tiny fruit, and the blossom, all at once.

Both of these (as well as my fig and bay trees) will come inside in the winters, at least until they are bigger and hardier.

4 Comments »