Ever picked up a product in a shop and known it was a winner? Coonowrin Fingerlimes are now in their second year of production and Tracy Mackle graciously agreed to be the first farmer off the rank for my series of interviews with local farmers called dishing the dirt.

Fingerlimes, Citrus australasica, are an Australian native fruit, growing naturally in…. Fingerlime season had started Welcoming in the festive season at Green Valley Fi Beautiful Chartreuse fingerlimes with exquisite op Instagram post NAIDOC week celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Stra Always so exciting to see our fingerlimes being us Loads of fingerlime fruit approaching harvest and Cloud landing on our fingerlime orchard.

We would love for you to to be part of our journey…. Just some of the things we do…. Find out more about Green Valley Fingerlimes.

Picking, packing and posting all on the same day f. Hope i. Some pests which impact finger lime production include the spined citrus bug, bronze orange bug, aphids, mealybugs, caterpillars, snails, katydids and grasshoppers.

Preliminary research suggests finger limes are not hosts for fruit fly. Pests can be treated with a variety of pesticides, destruction of infested fruit and foliage or, if isolated, physical removal of the pest species.

Pest Oil is a widely used pesticide which can control a range of citrus pest species. Some diseases which are common to citrus also affect finger limes.

Selection of resistant varieties, appropriate care at harvest time to ensure ongoing plant health and treatments such as copper fungicide are some of the strategies used to manage these diseases.

Infrastructure used to produce traditional citrus varieties is largely compatible with finger lime production. Some of the equipment required includes:.

Finger limes trees typically flower from June to October and fruit is harvested between December and May. Harvesting is predominantly conducted by hand because fruit is easily damaged and trees do not lend themselves to mechanical harvesting.

Fruit is picked when it changes colour, signalling that it is ripe, as it does not ripen off the tree. Finger limes are delicate and care must be taken to avoid damage as the fruit is handled along the supply chain.

Finger limes are often packed into kg plastic bags and then packed into 2 or 5kg fibreboard boxes. Unique packaging requirements have been developed for some cultivars and new methods are constantly being tested.

Refrigerated transport is commonly used to send the fruit to market. Finger lime fruit has a shelf life of weeks.

Early settlers consumed the fruit [4] and retained the trees when clearing for agriculture. Colonial botanists suggested that they should be cultivated.

The finger lime has been recently popularised as a gourmet bushfood. The globular juice vesicles also known as pearls have been likened to a "lime caviar", [5] [6] which can be used as a garnish or added to various recipes.

The fresh vesicles have the effect of a burst of effervescent tangy flavour as they are chewed. The fruit juice is acidic and similar to that of a lime.

Marmalade and pickles are also made from finger lime. The finger lime peel can be dried and used as a flavouring spice. Commercial use of finger lime fruit started in the mids in boutique marmalades made from wild harvested fruit.

Skip to the beginning of the images gallery. They are prized by chefs because the interior pulp has a caviar-like appearanc Out of stock. More Information.