Limes

As an early birthday present I’ve received two lime trees, but not your Tahitian Lime. At long last I’ve been able to get Australian Native Limes. One is a Native Finger Lime (Citrus australasica ‘Rainforest Pearl’) and the second, a Finger Lime cross with a mandarian called Red Centre which has been developed by the CSIRO. The one thing they do have in common with other citrus are very long spikes! Now I just have to wait as the growing instructions say remove any fruit in year one and two of growth before you can start harvesting.

We are not taking any chances with the limes given the frosts that we can expect, according to the weather bureau, any day now. They have been tucked away in our ‘grove’ of Snow Gums and Kurrajong which will provide overhead protection for the plants. TB has also added several bales of hay around them to help with the insulation.

I’ve also tucked in with them a pot of a native mint (Mentha australis) which I bought at the Bellevale Open Garden Fair. Its looking quite happy since its been moved there. This mint can be used just like your introduced culinary mints. Slowly my list of native bush tucker plants is growing! Our greatest success in this area is a Spear Lily (Doryanthes palmeri) which is a native of the Great Dividing Range up on the NSW/Qld border. Its very happy after several years of living in this spot.

The Spear Lily is on the left (as you look at it) side of the picture and the mint is growing in the pre-loved olive oil tin. There are some strawberry runners I dug up from the new broad bean bed also over-wintering here.