What to do with oranges / orange peels?

Hi everyone,

we have bought a piece of land with about 10 orange/ citrus trees.

Now I want to know what to do with
- the (lot of) fallen oranges / citrus
- the peels from all the oranges/citrus we eat

I had heard that it's not a good idea to put them in the compost because they quickly form mold which then can produce antibiotical substances that would hinder the good bacteria to do their job.

Then I read that this is not the case and that one can happily put oranges / orange peels in ones compost (but in small quantities like if you buy and eat some from time to time I suppose)

Anyone with advice on oranges in the compost, or ideas what (else) to do with them?

Thanks!

In late winter and spring I squeeze juice and drink it at the rate of 10 kg/4 days. It's a lot of skins. I put them in my manure/compost pile and in the composting bin.
If I had excess of fruits I would buy one pig to fatten it. I had pigs before, but without excess of anything and they were eating all citrus skins, which was not the best solution, because the oranges were sprayed. If the trees are yours I would definitely feed a pig.

I'd just compost it, although I'd smash the rotten fruit first to open it up so there's more surface area exposed. Pretty much anything you want to compost is fine and if there's a problem the answer just comes down to "wait a little longer and it will still be fine."

Cut the peels into 3/8" strips. Candy them. Then dip them into melted semi-sweet chocolate. Allow to cool on waxed paper. Enjoy!
After this you can die. You will have reached the apex of living.

With them being your own, unsprayed trees, you can think about doing some stuff for small-scale sale. It will come down to how much time you have and if you think you might be able to market and sell stuff.

You can use the peels to make the already-mentioned candied peel. You can also infuse sugar and salt for flavoured versions of both. Dry it for cooking or for teas. Infuse oils for scent, soaps, wood care or cleaning.

It might be worth checking out some local producers of soaps, teas, bath products etc. Maybe at local craft or farmers markets and see if they want what you have as supplies.

Citrus waste is said to be good fertilizer.
On a small scale, dessication followed by grinding seems to be the process.

i often use citrus peels in vinegar to make an excellent cleaner.

but if you have 10 trees, you have enough space to trench compost. I often get 20 kg of oranges at a time and we will juice almost all of it, i dig a trench and dump all the skins in. i might throw a bit of lime on top to sweeten it up, cover it back up, and leave it for a year. you're probably only going to get a harvest once a year, so you can mix up the areas you use.

Susanne Hh wrote:Hi everyone,

we have bought a piece of land with about 10 orange/ citrus trees.

Now I want to know what to do with
<snip>
- the peels from all the oranges/citrus we eat...

I've made marmalade from good fruit minus the juice and the seeds, cooked with sugar and a touch of baking soda.

Brian
-

I remembered that we have a whole thread with marmalade options. Lots of ways to choose from, ( but the scotch stuff is best 😉)
https://permies.com/t/208836/Recipe-Making-Marmalade

I often end up with too many oranges.

Sometimes I pick up the surplus and throw them onto the compost heap, but mostly I just walk around and step on them so the skins split then the dog eats the juicy bit inside.

I dry all my citrus peels to use for potpourri.

Simmer the potpourri in a pan of water on the stove to make the house smell good.

Make wine out of them. Citrus wines are delicious. I have a lime mead going in the basement right now.

How wonderful to have an abundance of oranges.

I second the recommendations to make marmalade with them.

Juice them to make a cordial, poke whole cloves in a pretty pattern over the orange, tie with a ribbon and gift/sell them as pomander.

Is there a local farmer's market where you could sell your marmalade, cordial, candied peel & pomanders?

How wonderful! Thank you all for your replys that open a whole wide field of possibilities for me <3