Lemon tree: how to plant wherever you live
Check out the step by step to get a leafy and fruitful lemon tree
Image: Naturallivingideas
Having a lemon tree at home is being able to enjoy the benefits of lemon and its leaves all year round! With care and affection it is possible to grow a lemon tree even in pots.
- Lemon Benefits: From Health to Cleanliness
How to plant a lemon tree
- Before planting the lemon tree it is necessary to find organic lemons. Organic lemons are a guarantee of good seeds, as transgenic or cultivars can be developed with sterile seeds and still need pesticides and artificial inputs for their development. If you can't find an organic lemon tree, look for organic seeds for sale.
- Set aside six pots (or reuse disposable plastic pots) drilled underneath that are about three inches high and two inches in diameter. Fill them with black earth (humus) and drill small holes two inches deep and two inches in diameter.
Image: Planting soil in pot by Theornamentalist is licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0
- Open three lemons and remove the two largest seeds from each one. Put the seeds in your mouth and leave for about five seconds. If you don't want to put them in your mouth, moisten them with wet cotton. Then, when the seeds are still wet, place them in the small holes in the pot, cover them with soil and water until the soil is completely moist.
- Cover each vase with plastic wrap pierced with a toothpick and leave them in a spot that gets the sun for half the day. If the soil becomes too dry (finger test daily) you will need to water the seedlings every day. If not, at least two or three times a week. But be careful not to leave the soil too soaked, as the seeds will rot.
- After a few weeks, when the seedlings start showing their roots through the holes under the pot, it's time to choose the biggest and strongest one to transplant to the bigger pot.
- Set aside a vase (with holes underneath) about two feet deep and one foot in diameter, and at the bottom, make a layer of mineral stones two to four inches long. Mix two kilos of humus with one kilo of sand and one kilo of red earth; and pour into the vessel.
- Make a hole in the pot that is a suitable size for the roots of your seedling. Transplant the seedling and wet the soil well. Try to water the new pot at least three times a week. On very hot days, check the soil daily with your finger to see if it is too dry, if so, water it.
As your lemon tree grows, you can make tea from its leaves to drink or to flavor the house. To enjoy the fruits of the lemon tree, it will be necessary to wait three to five years. If you want to get fruit earlier, graft an older lemon tree that already bears fruit.
As time goes by, your lemon tree will need nutrient replenishment. A natural alternative is to add liquid or solid earthworm fertilizer, which you can get in stores online or from a composter, for example.
- Humus: what it is and what are its functions for the soil
