In anticipation of TuBishvat, we saved the etrogim from Sukkot. This past week, the kitchen steamed with the scent of boiling citrus. But down stairs on the lobby windowsill, you could see two real “baby” etrog trees started from the seeds of last year’s etrogim.

The following piece was written by Rita Singer whose green thumb was responsible for bringing the seeds back to life. Wait a few years and maybe Shomrei will have its very own etrog tree.

What can you do with left over etrogim? by Rita Singer

Just ask Aileen Grossberg

Early last winter I went to help with Kiddush prep and when I entered the kitchen Aileen was cutting up left over etrogim to make marmalade. There were many many seeds that had to be removed before cutting up the fruit for cooking. So I did the seed removal while Aileen did the cutting.

As we were working together Aileen suggested that perhaps it would be fun to try to grow one of the etrog seeds. So…I took two seeds home, wrapped them in moist cotton and put them in my refrigerator to “hibernate” and maybe germinate over the winter.

I forgot all about them until I did my Spring cleaning which includes the refrigerator. Lo and behold, I found the seeds and they were fat and happy.

I planted them in potting soil and sure enough a few weeks later when I checked there were two little green sprouts poking out of the soil.

They flourished outside during the summer and are now about 8″ tall. They need to come inside for the winter and Sukkot was the perfect time to bring them in. So look for them at Shomrei and make sure they get enough water. Maybe we’ll grow our own etrogim.

Image:  “Etrog, sliced open” © Rachel Barenblat used with permission via Creative Commons License