Covering letter to the delivery from Verger de Alicia :
The clementines that you’re looking at while reading this letter were grown in the Verger de Alicia. This year, we just started the process of “reforesting” our land. In a forest, there is a perfect balance of plant and animal biodiversity. Observing how forests work is a source of inspiration to apply new cultivation practices. Many of the answers that would allow us to acquire a deeper understanding of pest control or to increase soil fertility can be found in the mechanisms present in our forests. We have launched two reforestation projects: The digging of 7 ponds for animals to come and drink and the creation of a biodiversity island where we will plant non-productive trees and aromatic plants.
Clementines are our earliest ripening citrus fruit. The first clementines of the season, which we harvest in mid-November, usually have a greenish skin. From December onwards, as temperatures drop, they naturally turn orange. If it rains during the month of December the skin of the clementines can be somewhat looser from the fruit, and the season will end at the end of December. If it doesn’t rain too much, the skin will be firmer and the season will last until mid-January.
Why do some of them have pips? Pips in clementines are produced when a bee pollinates a flower with pollen from another citrus variety. The vast majority of our clementines do not have pips, but some (1 in 10) may have pips because nature’s fate has made them so.
Gonzalo Úrculo
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