Volume 11, Issue 90 - November 3, 2006

Hello Member,

I would like to thank the fine folks at the TexaSweet Citrus Marketing, Inc. for their great content and recipes about Texas Grapefruit. I would also like to thank Julie Thacker Scott who help wrap it all together. Thanks Julie. See you in Chicago soon.

Next week we are going to cover onions. Have a great weekend...you deserve it!

Caring for Citrus Trees:

Taking care of citrus trees can be hard work. We've accumulated some questions over the years and hope we can offer some insight to anything you might need to help grow your garden.

How do I tell and orange tree from a grapefruit tree?

Identifying citrus varieties by their leaves can be complicated when you are looking at plants in containers because their care can have an influence on color and size--which are a couple of the characteristics you look for. In normal, well maintained citrus trees, you will find the grapefruit leaves larger and a couple of shades lighter green in color. Again, lack of fertilizer or over-watering can produce the same result.

Beyond color and size, and in normal leaves, the grapefruit leaf has a larger petiole than the navel orange leaf. If that term is new to you, this is a smaller second leaf between the large terminal leaf and the stem or limb to which it is attached. In a grapefruit with a main leaf spanning 2 1/2 inches in width, the petiole might be around an inch wide. A large navel orange leaf might be 1 1/4 inches wide in the middle and the petiole would be difficult to find or not much over 1/4 inch.

Color and size can vary with care and condition, but the petiole test is the most certain.

Why does a tree only have a few blossoms this year when it had lots of fruit last year?

Some varieties are naturally alternate bearers. For others, very often the nutrition necessary to provide blooms is used up by a heavy crop and it takes a while to recover. We see this in early oranges when much of the crop isn't harvested--the next crop is diminished. Extra nutrition is necessary when a big crop has been produced--and this needs to be available to the tree before the spring growth occurs. Commercial groves are usually fertilized in December and January.

Do citrus trees go dormant every year? For how long? Why?

Citrus is a sub-tropical plant which does not actually go dormant. However, the root system becomes inactive when the ground temperatures fall below 50 degrees F. With proper conditioning by sustained cool temperatures, citrus becomes inactive, but a few days of warmth can break dormancy very quickly. Drought conditions can have the same effect, but both conditions can be very damaging when carried too far.

A tree is 2 years old and its leaves are falling off...Why?

Falling leaves are a bad sign. In a yard it can mean that the trunk has been injured by a yard implement and a fungus has begun to infect the bark. Too much water in a poorly drained soil can do the same thing--and so can cold weather, but so far we haven't seen cold to that extent this year. Look closely at the trunk near the ground for a lesion. A systemic fungicide will control the fungus if it isn't too late.

Source: TexaSweet.com

TexaSweet Citrus Marketing Pick Texas Citrus. Shippers, Nutrition, Newsletters, Gift Fruit and Great Recipes. Pink Grapefruit at its Finest.

Texas Rio Star Grapefruit and Compari Gelée

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 Texas Rio Star grapefruits, peeled and segmented
7 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups water, divided
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups fresh squeezed Texas Rio Star grapefruit juice (from about 3 medium grapefruit)
1/2 cup plus two tablespoons Compari liqueur
whipped cream, for garnish

Preparation:

Arrange grapefruit segments in four martini glasses. Set aside.

Dissolve gelatin in 1/2 cup water and set aside.

In a heavy saucepan over low heat, combine sugar and remaining water. Stir until mixture is clear. Heat to boiling and boil for one minute. Add grapefruit juice and Compari and return to a boil. Add gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. Cool slightly.

Pour into martini glasses and chill until firm. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

For added flair, top the whipped cream with candied grapefruit peel using a recipe for candied fruit peel.

Recipe by: Executive Pastry Chef Jason Licker, The Peninsula Hotel, New York, NY

Can I grow a Citrus Tree from a Seed?

For centuries the Chinese propagated citrus trees from seed and the Florida citrus industry still has some of the seedling groves which were planted around the turn of the last century. If you have the time and luck, you will have what you are after.

Four factors have changed the practice of orchard propagation to budding in modern times:

• By budding a piece of an outstanding tree that is true-to-type, you have a clone of the individual source tree. An orchard can be expected to have fruit which is consistent and the same throughout the grove.
   
• Seedlings are the results of cross-pollination. As the genes combine, the characteristics of the parents can display in ways which are somewhat different from the parent. And if the parent is of another variety (a bee visits a lime blossom just before he visits your parent grapefruit tree)--then your individual seedling can be very different from the one parent.
   
• There is a term in plant biology called "seedling vigor." It relates to the way seedling plants grow much more rapidly than budded plants or rooted cuttings. In citrus trees the rapid growth produces individuals with very long thorns, which most people don't care for; and secondly, the emphasis on growth usually delays fruiting. Many times a seedling variety in citrus will not bear for 6 to 8 years from planting while a budded tree will often begin bearing the second year after planting.
   
• Soil compatibility--some rootstocks are selected because they are adaptable to the soil conditions and weather factors where they must grow. Seedlings can be vulnerable to soil diseases and not impart much dormancy. As few areas use grapefruit as an understock, I must presume that they have good reasons.

If you are comfortable with these possibilities, you can certainly try your luck. If you want to be sure of what you will get, use a budded tree...

Source: TexaSweet.com

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Texas Rio Star No-Bake Grapefruit Cheesecake

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 Texas Rio Star grapefruit
1/2 cup water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 package (8 ounces) whipped cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup fresh squeezed Texas Rio Star grapefruit juice
1 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 9-inch graham cracker piecrust* (recipe follows)
fresh mint sprigs, optional garnish

Preparation:

Peel and section grapefruit. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand 1 minute. Cook over low heat 3 minutes or until gelatin is completely dissolved; cool.

In large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Add sour cream, dissolved gelatin and grapefruit juice; beat well. Stir in whipped cream. Pour into prepared piecrust. Chill until firm, about 4 hours. Top with grapefruit sections and fresh mint.

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 24 graham crackers)
1/4 cup sugar

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Stir in butter and mix well. Mixture will resemble coarse sand.

Press the mixture in the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F. oven. Cool completely before adding filling.

*Substitute a purchased graham cracker piecrust if desired.

Recipe by: Pastry Chef Anabel Trudeau, Take the Cake, Houston, TX