Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville has to be one of the best garden spots in the world. Everything I’ve planted seems to thrive. One of my favorite projects is my kumquat tree.

I picked mine up from a nursery and hardware store on San Jose Blvd. I planted it last spring, hoping I’d get at least one of these small citrus fruits. By mid-summer, the tree was full of tiny, white blossoms giving off a sweet scent. As we enjoyed our Christmas holidays, I harvested my bumper crop of kumquats.

I did an article about my experience with this small, edible-peel citrus for Christian Science Monitor.

Kumquat Growers Inc., an organization for industry growers, has great recipes on the Web site. The organization was kind enough to give us permission to use some of their recipes for my CSM article.

I learned that my tree is a Meiwa. Fruit from this variety is best eaten whole. The Nagami kumquat we see in groceries during November is the best one for cooking or baking.

Technically, the kumquat isn’t a member of the Citrus genus, having been classified in 1915 in its own genus, Fortunella. Many growers say the fruit was introduced to the United States by Japan.

It’s fun to grow something that I can harvest in the winter, long after my tomatoes and peppers have been picked and eaten. If you want to grow something really special, try a kumquat. (photo & text by Kay B. Day)

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Kumquat, Meiwa, Nagami, Jacksonville garden, Citrus, Recipes, Holidays