Citrus Brown Rot

I was walking past my potted citrus trees, not really giving them more than a casual glance, when something unusual caught my eye. It was a big nasty brown area on a large but immature lemon.

Ugly looking lemon with a huge brown splotch.

I picked it off the tree and gave it a closer look. It actually had the appearance of a bulls-eye; brown concentric rings spreading from a circular center. I walked inside and fired up the Google while the bulls-eye stared back at me.

After a quick research session, I concluded that this lemon suffered (it's now deceased, I chucked it in the bin) from Citrus Brown Rot. According to the UC Pest Management Guidelines:

"Brown rot is caused by multiple species of Phytophthora when conditions are cool and wet. Brown rot develops mainly on fruit growing near the ground when Phytophthora spores from the soil are splashed onto the tree skirts during rainstorms; infections develop under continued wet conditions. Fruit in the early stage of the disease may go unnoticed at harvest and infect other fruit during storage."

Phytophthora is a tongue twister. It's also sort of like a fungi but also different. I won't get into the biological details. Not because I don't want to bore you, but because I don't understand most of it.

Guess where this lemon was growing? Yup, about four inches off the ground. We received over 10 inches of rain in the past five days and conditions have been generally wet and humid for two months. So basically perfect conditions for this stuff to thrive.

While I was fairly confident I correctly identified the ailment, I was more than disappointed that the person who named said ailment was less than creative. Citrus Brown Rot. Seriously? What about something like Brown Cyclops Syndrome or Ring of Suffering?

Citrus Brown Rot. It's a small price to pay for organic growing.

Fig Porn

Yeah, that's right, I said it. Fig Porn!

For the true fig lover out there, nothing is hotter than pictures of ripe figs. In full confession, I actually borrowed the expression from a member of the Figs4Fun forum. Here are a few pics of my Violette de Bordeaux and Celeste figs from my garden this morning. Keep your shirt on...

Violette de Bordeaux figs ripening, but not yet ready for harvest.

Violette de Bordeaux and Celeste figs harvested on August 5, 2012.

Fig porn.

Even raunchier fig porn.

Fig porn on a Sunday?! I'm gonna burn for this one.

Figs Are Ripening

This is what a ripe Celeste fig looks like.

Ripe Celeste fig hanging from a branch, waiting to be picked and eaten.

Notice how the fig has drooped, transitioned in color from green to dark brown, and the skin is visibly cracked. This fig also felt very heavy for its size. These are all good indicators that a fig is ripe.

My Celeste figs have been ripening since mid-July, and now my Violette de Bordeaux figs are starting to swell in size, change color, and droop a little bit. I will definitely be posting pictures of those as well for comparison.

Hope everybody else is enjoying mid-summer fruits from their own gardens.