Although it’s probable that the average home gardener doesn’t cultivate a lot of tangerine trees in his or her gardening space, let’s take a quick look at this plant and at the exceptionally nutritious fruit it produces.
If you do want to try your hand at growing one or more tangerine trees, several sources of growing stock can be found on the internet.
I’d suggest ordering trees rather than seeds for your gardening project. You have the advantage of plants that have already been started just for the purpose of selling to the home gardener, so the stock should be healthy and growing—no need to wait for germination of seeds that may not produce healthy plants anyway.
And unless you live where the climate is fairly warm year-round, you’re probably going to want to think of raising your tangerine tree as a container plant.
This way, you can leave it outdoors in the warmer summer season and then bring it indoors to a sunny window location to make it through the colder winter months.
Tangerines have been cultivated for thousands of years and are believed to have originated in China and other parts of the Orient. Today they are a major part of the citrus production in the United States, much of which comes from Florida.
Though generally smaller than oranges, the tangerines are easier to peel and break apart in sections, and often much sweeter and juicier than the oranges.
Like all the other citrus fruits, tangerines are high in their content of Vitamin C, which means they boost your immune system by way of antioxidants that attack disease-causing free radicals in the body.
Tangerines are also a good source of fiber, beta-carotene, Vitamin A, and the B Vitamins.
In addition, tangerines help aid in digestion and can help in weight management by stimulating metabolism.
Adding tangerines to your diet can also help lower high levels of undesirable blood cholesterol, help prevent the onset of type-2 diabetes, and help control elevated levels of blood pressure.
Tangerines are usually eaten by themselves as a snack, but can also be added to salads or to other dishes along with fruits and nuts. Also, tangerine juice can often be found in the grocery store alongside orange juice and other citrus juices and drinks.
Super good for your health, inexpensive to purchase at the store, and really delicious. What’s not to love about tangerines?
