Operation Save the Citrus

Operation Save the Citrus Y’all, what a DAY! Today was crazy, got packages in the mail for home, spine appt and got my atlas back in, a few groceries – with this storm bearing down it was today or never, so they say. We are allegedly facing rain and snow, wind, below zero wind chills and a wild ride for the next 5 days. One never knows – but we have a garden to save and traffic was a mess. Came home, made dinner, then OUT to WRAP OUR Citrus and prayerfully save it. We have been planning, but the LAST minute and time running out is always the BEST INSPIRATION! Our neighbor brought some additional supplies, and we were able to cover the side square foots and our winter veggies! I harvested kale, lacinato and curly, arugula, herbs, green onions and more!

In the citrus, we put bricks around the bottom to hold heat, wrapped stems GENTLY with bubble wrap, plastic, PAPER bags, garbage bags, cozy FLEECE, another plastic garbage bag to keep the storm from soaking the fleece, which may put pressure on and damage the tender leaves and shoots! Fleece covering saved them the whole time we were in CA, my neighbor came over and wrapped them in multiple cold sessions! But it gets heavy in and it may freeze, so we are using an abundance of caution. We braced the trees with sticks and garden sculptures and taped it all down because we expect freezing cold winds. Y’all! We tried to prepare for it ALL and this is our first few months of having a citrus garden in Tennessee, so we are total novices!

We have planted citrus in a 7b that should be an 8a. The satsumas are hearty to 15° and the Meyer and grapefruit a little above that. This flakey storm is taking us way below “normal” and we are just going to do what we ALWAYS DO, and try our best to get thru and freezing temps in the next few hours, then the great “Siberian blast” of cold for 5 days. It has been so cold, as we left for Cali, then so warm that trees/flowers/are budding and grass is springing up after spring like rains. This storm almost seems designed to be the worst and wipe out the budding plants.