In My San Diego Garden and Kitchen

The Bearss limes are ready to harvest. I picked these four over the weekend and counted another three dozen on the small tree. It grows in a 20 gallon container on my sunny patio. Also known as Persian lime, it is a reliable produce of limes that are seedless, juicy and with a thin, smooth skin. Read more about Bearss limes, which date to 1895, at the University of California Riverside website.

In the last week blossoms exploded on the lime tree so I knew it was time to harvest. Usually, I like to let them turn slightly yellow for the most juice. At that stage, they usually drop off the tree.

Here’s a favorite picture of my lime tree and Lucy from a few years ago. The limes ripen from October to December most years, though I usually have a few limes most of the year.

With the bounty I pull out my folder of lime recipes. Some of my favorites include Lime Ginger Marmalade, Lime Soda, Sorrel-lime Cooler, Green Garlic Parsley Lime Flavor Bomb and most any Mexican entree which can benefit from a generous squeeze of lime juice. I freeze cubes of lime juice for use in recipes.

I always look to the Specialty Produce website for links to recipes using their produce. Checking just now there are over one hundred recipe links for limes. I’m considering Blackberry Lime Scones, Coconut Lime Macaroons, Basil Lime Chicken and Black Bean Salad.

As I bring out the lime recipe folder I will put the strawberry guava file in the drawer, at least for a month or so. Though our main crop has finished there is another on the way. The green guavas are about the size of small cherries now. Most will grow to 3/4-1” in size.

We’ll savor the remnant of the 45 pound harvest spread over the last six weeks.

I found a second very large ‘Gordon’ apple on the tree. The flavor reminded me of our MacIntosh trees in Massachusetts with the crisper, density of our Baldwin. In other words, just about perfect.

Here’s a bonus fall artichoke in the late afternoon light just before I harvested it for dinner. It was extraordinarily tender and flavorful.

Sometimes fruit and flowers end up together on my kitchen island as these did last week. Queen Red Lime zinnias and Gordon apples in the first week of fall.

You may enjoy seeing what other garden bloggers harvested last week at Harvest Monday hosted by Dave at Our Happy Acres.

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