Uses of lemon trees
Lemon trees are grown for their Lemon fruits which are produced over a long season with the main crop ripening in early November. Unpicked fruit continues to swell and ripen until it rots, so it is possible to have an almost constant supply of lemons for household use through the winter. Lemons are essential to Greek Cuisine but have many other uses.
Lemon trees are also grown as ornamental trees with glossy foliage and beautiful white flowers which have orange anthers, pink tinted buds and a strong, sweet, scent. When grown as ornaments they are best planted in a sheltered position to the South side of a building or in a conservatory.
Lemon wood is a useful crop for the domestic user. It burns when still "green" (i.e. newly cut) with a hot, clear flame and ca be used to fuel wood-burning dtoves and pizza ovens. The straight, spiny branches that grow from below the graft on younger trees have been used as broom handles.
With Their dense, prickly branches, lemon trees afford a safe home for small birds.
Damage to lemon trees
There is a Greek saying that you should "never take a saw to a lemon tree!" This could well be true because open wounds on trees allow fungal growth and pests to attack. Unfortunately, lemon trees seem very prone to die back due to cold wet conditions and attack by pests and diseases. Had we not cleared damaged lower branches in 2000-2001, trees at the lemon grove would have been inaccessable for harvesting and tilling, yet by pruning, we may have hastened their demise. The trees were sprayed with copper sulphate in December 2000 to minimise fungal attack and produced a 15 ton crop in Spring 2001.
Unlike olive trees which live to a great age, lemon trees have a limited lifespan, perhaps between 30 and 50 years. During the last ten years I've observed the decline, not only of the Lemon Grove at Trigono-Lamda but also elsewhere in the area. Commercial groves have been replaced or interplanted with more robust olive trees which might afford them some protection while elsewhere groves have been replanted with other crops or sold for development.
Care of Lemon trees
Spray trees with copper sulphate in December to inhibit fungal growth.
Fertilise annually, following harvest, during winter or early spring when rain will help to ease the fertiliser into the soil and spur new growth.
Remove dead wood (resulting from die back caused by frost damage or fungal growth) in late spring, once harvest is complete and rainy weather has ceased. Fungal spores are less likely to damage the wood during the hot dry summer weather which enables cuts to dry and seal quickly.
Remove growth from below the graft regularly as soon as possible to avoid strong, straight spiny branches which grow through the middle of the tree.
Harvest the main small fruit crop when fruit is still green (around November in Greece) or just turning yellow. Harvest later for larger fruit and in spring for juice.
Note that lemons are not necessarily produced annually and by forcing the correct conditions it is possible to get more than one crop a year. I have described practice in Greece between 2000 and 2002 but recommend research to avoid the losses made at Trigon-Lamda. More information can be obtained by reference to growers organisations and to publications such as "CITRUS" by F.s. Davies and L.G. Albrigo. Published by CAB International, 1994 ISBN: 0 85198 867 9.
Lessons from Trigono-Lamda
The grove had apparently flourished from around 1969 to the late 1990s, regularly producing crops of around 15 tonnes. It was in two parts, around 150 trees grown on rough lemon rootstock furthest from the river and planted around 1970. A later plantation of 150 trees on the lower half of the Lemon Grove grown on a bitter orange rootstock which produced a moderate tree size, some disease resistance but rapid spiny growth from below the graft which should have been removed annually before it could weaken the fruit-bearing branches of the trees.
By the time of purchase in 2000, the drilled well was broken, trees overgrown and borders left wild. The farm building was in a state of disrepair and it was acknowledged that the cost of upkeep far exceeded any return on investment and was insufficient to cover even labour or Upkeep costs.
Following purchase, during 2000 and 2001, the lemon Grove was rejuvenated. Trees were pruned to reduce height and lower branches, which were preventing clearing beneath the trees and had been broken by heavy fruit, were removed. A 15 ton crop was produced in 2001, sold mainly for juice at local fruit co-operative at Gialova.
Subsequent difficulties were mainly due to absence - necessary because it was more sensible to work routinely in the UK, setting funds aside for work in Greece, than to continue working in Greece. Subsequent crops appeared small but this was undoubtedly because fruit was taken by others without permission. In 2003-04 when temperatures dropped to -14 degrees Centigrade causing devastation of lemon trees throughout the Peloponnese, I noted on my March visit that while every tree had blackened leaves the amount of fruit was low. Following the devastation, up to a third of the trees died or reverted to the rootstock type.
Lack of funds to pay increasingly high wages ensured that the trees were neglected even longer. It was not until 2009 that it was possible to pay for Clearance
The pesent aim at Trigono-Lamda is to retain the 100 or so trees capable of surviving, even if they have reverted to the bitter orange type. Orange blossom from the bitter orange is even more attractive to bees and has a sweeter scent. Flowers, which bloom mainly in April- May can be used in Bach Flower rememdies and the trees provide nesting for birds. Moreover, damaged trees close to the stream play hosts to an interesting variety of fungi, mosses and lichen. The importance of these life forms is not fully understand or appreciated and would be a useful study.
The lessons learnt are:
That looking after Lemon trees is not easy.
Constant care is not necessary but there is no real substitute for an owner on site at harvest-time, and for fertilising, and pruning.
While the help of friends is valuable, the long term solution is a proper, paid, contract, with auditable records - almost impossible to achieve unless you make every purchase yourself, demanding (and getting) receipts as proof.
When things go wrong, all is not lost! The advice has been to "give up and sell" but losing a crop is not necessarily the end of the world. The land is still beautiful, the wildlife is still there! It's simply a case of keeping the place in some sort of order and producing an income from elsewhere in order to support it. Hence the website,the Shop and the gradual renovation of Ithaki the farm building that can hopefully be reneted out as additional space for someone with transport such as a camper van to provide the facilities the building lacks at present.