It’s still quite cold here in the part of Germany where I live. This Friday, the temperature is expected to drop to –8°C. After that, it should get a bit milder, which I’m already looking forward to.
This week, after returning from our trip to Portugal, I finally gave my lemon tree shower, which it had been needing. Scale insects had appeared, and the leaves had become sticky, so I wanted to wash everything off.
At first, I was so happy because the leaves hadn’t dropped, and it looked like the tree was going to overwinter well for the first time. When it started to flower, I even thought the stickiness might be some kind of nectar. But no—it turned out to be scale insects. After looking them up, they seemed to be a type of arrowhead scale. I don't put any photo ...
Luckily, they didn’t look too unpleasant (I even didn't notice they were there), so I covered the pot with a plastic bag, gave the whole tree a good shower, and washed off as much of the sticky residue and insects as possible. The insects that didn’t come off with water were removed using tape. Excuse me insects 🙏 For now, the tree looks clean again.
My partner bought the lemon tree for sale seven years ago when my daughter was still a baby, so it feels almost like part of the family. I was really relieved to see it looking fresh again.
Of course, when you only have one small tree, you can care for it this way. But if you were a farmer growing many trees, I can understand why pesticides are used. So I try to pay more to encourage organic farms. Or maybe it’s easier outdoors. In Portugal, I saw so many citrus trees in gardens, full of oranges and lemons. I found myself wondering if they are grown more like apple trees in Germany—just lightly pruned and mostly left as they are.
In any case, I have great respect for farmers who grow things organically. Ah, someday I’d love to have a small farm of my own and grow vegetables and fruits for family and friends.
Yes, my gardening motivation is gradually back! Happy gardening, everyone 🍋
🪴 🪴 🪴
ドイツの私が住んでいる地域はまだまだ寒い日が続いていて、今週の金曜日は最低気温がマイナス8度。その後は少し落ち着くようで、今から楽しみです。
今週は旅先のポルトガルから戻って、ずっとしたかったレモンのシャワーをしました。というのもカイガラムシがついて葉がベタベタしていて、カイガラムシとベタベタを一気にきれいにしたかったのです。当初は、葉っぱが落ちず、この冬は初めてうまく越冬できそう！と喜んで、花が咲いたので蜜でも出ているのかなと思っていたら、カイガラムシ・・・。調べてみると、ヤノネカイガラムシという種類のカイガラムシのようです。写真は控えますね。
そこまで苦手な感じの見た目の虫ではなかったので、鉢にビニール袋を被せて、シャワーでベタベタをザーザー流して、流れなかった虫をセロテープでとって、とりあえずきれいになりました。まだ子供が赤ちゃんだった頃にうちにやってきた家族のような木だったので、きれいになってよかったです 🥹
それにしても、小さな木一本であればこうしてケアできますが、たくさんの木を育てている農家だったら農薬をまいて対処したくなってしまう気持ちもわからないでもありません。外だったら比較的大丈夫なのかな、ポルトガルでは庭先に植えられた柑橘の木にオレンジやレモンがたくさん実っていたので。こういう木ってドイツのりんごのように、ちょっと枝を切る程度の放置栽培なのかしらなどと考えながら見て歩いていました。
いずれにせよ、オーガニックで育てている農家には頭があがりません。ああ、いつか小さな自分の農園を持ちたいなあ！
それではみなさん、Happy Gardening！