Rad, here in California, commercial growers have abandoned the smudge pots in favor of doing two things: flooding the orchard to increase ambient temps, and running huge fans to keep the air moving. This was shared with us when I toured the UCR Citrus Variety Collection, as we walked by the old smudge pots. Someone asked Dr. Kahn what those were, and the explanation ensued. We also then talked about what varieties fared the best in the collection. We all assumed the satsumas & kumquats did well during a notorious freeze that occurred there about 8 years ago, but Dr. Kahn told us the one cultivar that did the best, and sustained the least amount of damage (no damage) was the Gold Nugget. Now, I'm sure the fruit was frozen, but the leaves and branches did just fine. And I think that the lows were around 17 degrees F (-8C) for a sustained number of hours.

Radoslav wrote:

Another useful technique, for protection of citrus trees in open area, against sudden short-lived cold snap, is by creating smoke screen using "smudge pots". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smudge_pot My father used to use this technique to protect apricot and peach trees in the spring, when sudden morning cold snap can easy kill new growth or flower buds.

My gold nugget was the only one I didnt cover when we had the freezing temps and it did pretty good.

That's it, I want a Gold Nugget now! Does anyone know if it is available here in Europe?

Can you Gold Nugget owners describe the taste please? How do you rank it for taste in your citrus top 10?