Our mandarin tree is currently bursting with sweet delicious fruit and for the past week we've been (reluctantly) sharing it with the birds:
Not any longer though, a bit of netting does the trick:
... and they're all ours:
Oh bliss, they're such a treat!
I'd read once about making a cake with whole orange/s and am thinking I could do the same with mandarins so I shall do a bit of a search for a recipe.
If anyone has a favourite, I'd really appreciate a link :D)
Thanks for popping in!
Hi Sue, just strolling through Blogger, and found a new post from you. Your Mandarin tree sure is beautiful and healthy looking. You are so kindhearted to have shared with the birds, but I agree, you should have some for yourselves.
ReplyDeleteHere is a recipe from Betty Crocker that you may like to try, using a yellow cake mix and blending the orange segments into it with walnuts. I have copied the link and will paste it to you.
https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/luscious-mandarin-orange-cake/02e67811-b56b-4047-8804-9cf3992dd249
Hope you can call it up. Lovely post...sending hugs for a very nice week! ♥
Thanks very much for linking the recipe Suzanne - it looks really good!
DeleteCheers now and appreciate you popping over - all the best :D) xx
What a treat!
ReplyDeleteThey certainly are Christine 😊
DeleteSue, the mandarins make my mouth water...yummmm 🍊
ReplyDeleteThe birds will have to go find another restaurant!
Big Hugs ❤
Such a difference to last year's crop too Jan, we're really enjoying them 😊 yes, they've moved on to another! Xx
DeleteHello dear Sue!
ReplyDeleteYour mandarin tree is full of beautiful fruits!
It’s a shame to share it with the birds!
The net will sure protect the tree!
Thank you for sharing! Have a lovely day! Hugs!
Dimi...
Hi Dimi 😊 yes, it is.
DeleteThe betting is doing a good job too thanks xx
Oh my, they look so good, I wouldn't want to share them with the birds, either! Have a great day, Sue! Hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteThanks for popping over Valerie 😊
DeleteHello Sue! Your mandarin tree is gorgeous full of delicious fruits. What it may think about the dress you gave it 😏 Hope you will find resrepe.
ReplyDeleteHave wonderful upcoming weekend 😘
Lol... I'm thinking the tree may like it's new dress 😉 cheers now xx
DeleteNow and again it's okay to be selfish Sue - I'm sure there'll be fruit on someone else's tree close by that the birds can dine on :)
ReplyDeleteNice to see you back in business
Cathy
For sure Cathy 👍 thanks for visiting and, yes, it is nice to be back again! Xx
DeleteWhat a wonderful crop! Netting is a great idea; at the moment I’m reluctantly sharing my passion fruit crops with possums and fruit bats.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh Maria, sounds like you might not be getting much of a share !!
DeleteLovely to see you xx
The netting is a fantastic idea - oh my gosh such yummie friuts! GORGEOUS!
ReplyDeleteThanks Susi, it's working out really well too 😊👍
DeleteHello, the netting is a good idea to protect your fruit. The birds can find other food. Happy Thursday, enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteHi Eileen... Yes, the birdies never seem to go hungry in our neighbourhood 😊
DeleteOh that fruit looks great.
ReplyDeleteCould you maybe try/adapt this recipe, it's a Clementine Almond Low Carb Cake
https://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/2017/01/clementines-and-clementine-almond-cake.html
All the best Jan
PS That netting is a good idea.
Many thanks Jan, I shall. I appreciate you providing the link for the recipe 😊👍
DeleteThose birds really got onto your fruit! I guess it is delicious.
ReplyDeleteLol, they certainly did Carola 😊
DeleteOne saving grace though, they at least finished each mandarin before going on to another. Whatever got into our apples earlier in the year naughtily took a singular bite out of each one... that made us really cranky!!
Thanks for your visit xx
Your tree is certainly bursting with fruit Sue, I guess the birds needed a little vitamin C also.
ReplyDeleteHope you can find a great recipe to try with the mandarins.
Hugs Diane
Ha ha well, yes, Diane, they're nice and healthy now 😊
DeleteThanks, it will be nice eating them in a cake... Perhaps I might try a marmalade too. Cheers xx
Oh you happy lady! Mandarins from one's own garden is a dream not come true here :) I bet they taste sweet! Happy weekend - enjoy - don't share with birds!
ReplyDeleteThanks Riitta, we do view it as a real treat too and, yes they're very sweet, I love one straight after each meal.
DeleteYou enjoy your weekend too 😊
Wow Sue - what a wonderful treat. Something that does not grow here in my neck of the woods. Hope you have a great day and save me a piece of that cake :)! Hugs
ReplyDeleteIt is thanks Debbie, lovely to have you visit. Cheers 😊
DeleteBirds are cunning! They eat fruits if they are not protected. Here the birds eat the oats we planted on the ground. Greetings
ReplyDeleteThey certainly find treats very quickly.
DeleteIt'd be impossible trying to protect your oats I guess.
Thanks for visiting Anne 😊
Se ven muy buenas las mandarinas. Besitos.
ReplyDeleteTranslation: "The mandarins look very good. kisses"
DeleteThank you Teresa 😊
Hey, that's a great idea! I should get my husband to do this to our mulberry tree. He's always complaining about the birds eating all his berries.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely something we'll be doing each year... Well worth it! The birdies don't know about sharing fairly 😉
DeleteThat netting works! I use to have that problem with my plum tree which grew the most delicious plums and the odd thing is (my husband thinks I'm crazy) one year it grew peaches and I'm not crazy!! Anyway that orange or mandarin cake would be delicious.
ReplyDeleteYes, it makes a big difference.
DeleteThat's an amazing plum tree you have... all sorts of possibilities there!
Cheers Sandy :D) xx
Birds tend to steal our cherries. :) Great solution with the net.
ReplyDeleteOh goodness yes, we lost many of our cherries too... they're taken just before they get fully ripe we've found. Thanks for popping in!
DeleteWhat a delight to have your own mandarin tree. I am a little envious :)
ReplyDeletethanks Denise, it certainly is... we love it :D) xx
DeleteSomeone in Japan gave me some home made mandarin marmalade and it was fantastic. I think they need to be a bit sharp tasting for that, maybe yours is too sweet?
ReplyDeleteah yes Jenny, they may well be too sweet I've no idea about the art of marmalading... I've a feeling that, apart from a cake or two, we'll have finished them up eating straight from the tree. Thanks for your comment, cheers :D) xx
DeleteYou're blessed to have so many mandarins on your tree! We have a tree in Italy as well as a lemon tree, but have never been successful with them bearing fruit. We're not there enough to give them the watering and attention they deserve. We also have lemon trees here in the UK garden grown from pips. They're getting big! They're lovely as ornamental trees and the leaves smell good. Enjoy cooking with your mandarins or eating them just as they are straight from the tree.
ReplyDeleteHi Diane, yes, water is a big factor and they need 'feeding' which they got this past year. The leaves do smell lovely don't they!
DeleteBeaut to see you here, thanks for popping in :D) xx
Oh imagine growing mandarins outside! How marvellous. Maybe you could offer one or two to the birds?
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends made a cake from a whole lemon (from an old recipe) and it was most peculiar. I'll be very interested to read how yours turned out.
The birds had a real nice helping first off Sheila, lol, in the first photo, that's how they leave the remains after supping on them :D) All good though, it's our turn now ;D)
DeleteLovely to see you again, cheers! xx
Of course your birds will have no trouble finding other food in your current climate, Sue.
DeleteOur birds always seem to be a bit anxious just now as most of them are feeding and we see them racing about trying to find insects for their brood. Also some of them started their brood rather early this year and there are no caterpillars about yet.
Enjoy your mandarins. Looking forward to hearing about the cake - if you make it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBlogger seems to be publishing my comments on blogs twice. Blogger is strange sometimes.
Deleteyep, Blogger has a mind of its own at times lol !!
Deletewow...that tree sure is producing, lucky you, and i am sure the birds enjoyed them while they could. i don't have a recipe to share but if you search pinterest and google, i'm sure you will find something good!!!!
ReplyDeletewe are lucky Debbie, for sure. Yes, at least the birds finished off each fruit to the end, not just a bite here or there ;D)
DeleteOh yes, I've also found some on pinterest but was curious as to any bloggers' own tried and true recipes... which are the best, kind of like sharing over the back fence ;D)
Always lovely to have you visit, cheers now xx
Thanks for popping by today!!
DeleteHello, Sue.
ReplyDeleteI have similar problems with my plums, cherries, strawberries and medlars. The wire netting resulted while the fruit trees were small, but now that they are large, it is almost impossible to cover them.
I had a similar problem with my tangerines, but it was not caused by the birds, but by a nice native rodent in Portugal called Leirão or mouse of the orchards (Eliomys quercinus). I hope your mandarin trees produce abundantly for the tangerines to come to you and the birds. Who does not like a sweet, juicy mandarin? Even the birds.
P.S. There is a thinner and lighter green color network on the market that is easier to place and lets more light pass through.
Sorry for my writing in English.
Hello Manuel, thank you for your visit.
DeleteIt is for the reason of height with fruit trees that my Hubby espaliered his orchard in order to protect them more easily with netting. He keeps the mandarin tree at a manageable height for us.
Goodness me, you do have problems with the rodents also taking your fruits as well as the birds! I hope there is enough left for you 😊
Thanks for your suggestion about the netting. Cheers to you !
Thanks for your thoughts Nora. Yes, we are lucky to have our lovely mandarin tree... and we still continue to enjoy the fruits each day 😊
ReplyDeleteGood idea for the netting, Sue! I hope you find the recipe - the cake sounds delicious! x Karen
ReplyDeleteHello Karen, thankyou and, yes, I made a cake which was a little bitter...I used too many mandarins but we enjoyed having cake!
DeleteI have the same problem with my cherry trees. This year they got a little frost and don't have that many cherries. Makes not really sense to protect them. Unfortunately the birds don't wait until they are completely ripe.
ReplyDeleteHi Sigrid, yes we found that birds over here also like to eat the pre-ripened cherries... Sorry about the frost for yours. Thanks for your lovely visit 😊
Delete
ReplyDeleteHello Sue, you can certainly have a really good cake.
Why the birds do not attack the fruit because we have some cut for them in the garden.
Or maybe because I have a lot of fruit in my neighbor's orchard, they eat it right there.
I love to pass you but in certain places they give work, to do what né ...
Hugs
Hello Janicce! Thank you, I love citrus in recipes.
DeleteThat's a good idea to have a treat all ready for the birds ... as long as they keep to their own fruit ;D)
I'm thinking that, yes, perhaps they are enjoying your neighbour's fruit too.
Lovely to see you again xx
Hi, Sue. I love mandarins. I also have a tree with these delicious fruits in my garden. Thank you for sharing the great tip with the net! Kisses, my friend.
ReplyDeleteHello Mia and a big welcome to my blog.
DeleteMandarins are always much sweeter than oranges I feel and for that reason I too really love to eat them.
Thanks for your visit and kind words xx
Just Yummie!! ANd the tree looks cute with the netting!
ReplyDeleteHappy weeked!
Susi
lol, yes, I agree Susi!! Very yummie :D)
DeleteIt does look nice with its netting. Do you know, some cheeky birds have worked out how to poke their beaks through it and then cling on and eat some fruit ... still! Ah well, it's good to share I suppose!!
Cheers and you have a lovely week ahead xx
Hello Sue! Good idea. Have a happy weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sandra, always lovely to have feedback! Enjoy your week in your beautiful garden :D) xx
DeleteThere are lemon trees in just about every garden here in NZ and I wonder why they don't grow oranges of some sort. We eat mandarins a lot and I'd love to have my own tree! I guess gardening has a built-in 'share' with the critters :)
ReplyDeleteHello Betty :D)
Deletemandarins are such a treat and I hope you do get to have your own tree one day.
Thank you kindly for visiting, cheers and enjoy September xx