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Messages - Weboh

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / When are mangosteens in season in PR?
« on: October 02, 2021, 09:38:21 PM »
Since plane tickets are so cheap now, I'm thinking about taking a trip to Puerto Rico soon. I would love to have fresh mangosteens, but I'm having a hard time finding information on when the season is in Puerto Rico; I've seen some places say it starts in October, and others saying it's from June to August.

Anyone think I could find any there in November? What would be the best place to look? Any other fruits (like maybe pulsan) that would be ripe around then?

Thanks!

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Are these still available?

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I'm interested in the seedlings, but I won't be in the area until June. Can you save one or two until then? If you can leave more, I can take a dozen or so to donate  to my RCFI chapter. They'll make good use of them. Thanks!

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Do you have fruit on your tree right now? I'm in the area and wouldn't mind sampling some fruit before I buy the seedlings. Thanks!

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Tropical Fruit in Exuma?
« on: April 11, 2021, 11:03:34 PM »
My family is going to Georgetown, Bahamas this summer to visit some friends. I want to see some orchards or sample some local fruits that we may not have back home. I'm not finding any information online; does anyone know of any nurseries, farmer's markets, or farms on Exuma (preferably near Georgetown) that we could go to? Thanks.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Lemon drop mangosteen ?
« on: March 02, 2021, 11:50:39 PM »
Someone you know got mangosteens to grow in zone 9b? I know lemondrops are supposedly more hardy, but I thought even 10b was too cold for them.

People are growing them in 9b they usually just need cold protection in the winter if temperatures get too cold. I am in 9b and mine seemed to do good in a protected area outside all winter.
Interesting. So many questions: How do you protect it, plant it by a south-facing wall? How productive are they in Florida? When does it fruit? Is yours old enough to fruit?

From SE Brazil and good cold tolerance. Very similar in many way to brasiliensis and gardneriana and also has a few variations and better types like these two.
I thought they were all from Malaya. Do the American species have the same mutation where they reproduce asexually instead of having seeds?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Lemon drop mangosteen ?
« on: February 28, 2021, 10:44:16 PM »
Someone you know got mangosteens to grow in zone 9b? I know lemondrops are supposedly more hardy, but I thought even 10b was too cold for them.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Letting young Mango trees bear fruit?
« on: February 23, 2021, 10:38:48 AM »
I have a Pickering mango planted in a ~30 gallon pot. I got it about three years ago in a three-gallon pot. It's full of blooms this year. What is your recommendation for letting fruits develop on it?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What Kind of Mangosteen is This?
« on: February 22, 2021, 11:17:59 PM »
Yep, it tasted like regular mangosteen.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / How Can I Make a Mangosteen Squash?
« on: February 21, 2021, 01:39:55 PM »
With how expensive mangosteens are, I want to use as much of them as I can. I read on Wikipedia that you can make a drink with them by cooking the rinds of the mangosteens. Anyone have a recipe to share?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garcinia_indica

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / What Kind of Mangosteen is This?
« on: February 21, 2021, 01:30:02 PM »




These just came in at my local Asian market. They look a lot fresher than they normally are, plus they're red instead of purple. Does this mean they're kokum mangosteens? I know they're red. Or it just that they're actually not overripe and regular mangosteens are redder at this sage of ripeness?

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There are a few members here from PR you need to develop a strong relationship with them. You could probably search the forums and find them then private message. Good thing to have outside income farming can be a negative income for years, but can also be very satisfying. Buying land is quite different from buying in the USA.
How is buying land in Puerto Rico different from buying it somewhere else in the US? Is there some ordinance against mainland US citizens buying land that I'm missing, or did you just not realize that Puerto Rico is a part of the US?

Check out this tool for planning long-term planting
https://www.agroforestryx.com/
Looks interesting. I'll definitely keep that tool in mind when I decide on the property.

Avoid Cat 4 & 5 hurricanes like the plague.  There are probably still a lot of messed up areas from Irma's and Maria's onslaught in 2017.
Yeah, I live in Florida, so I'm used to dealing with hurricanes. The only difference in Puerto Rico is how much longer it takes a corrupt, bankrupt government to repair infrastructure. That's why I'm planning on having my own power and water, so I don't have to depend on local infrastructure.

livingenergyfarm.org  Check them out.  Alexis in an innovator.
Looks similar to what I want to do. Thanks!

There are so many things to think about. If you are lucky and get a place with good soil like alluvial or basalt derived and have access to irrigation water and have a dwelling the real work can start.Are you hoping to make money selling fruit to the local markets? If so you have to make sure you can have them accepted and that you have the right fruits. Productivity per are, prices, season, harvesting and storage all have to be considered. If you want to supply restaurants, do tasting tours, propagate and sell plants or seeds then there are more thing to think about. Hurricane proofing trees, fertilizing, pruning and pesticides is another thing.
Now what to grow and for what reason and when will each fruit? Can you get specialty fruits others don't have and can you wait until trees start to fruit?
Good point on the soil. I'll definitely have to do a soil analysis before I buy any land. And I definitely want to sell fruits that people in Puerto Rico would want. I would love to have mangosteen be a main crop, but I understand it's not that popular there. Maybe I could export most of the excess to the mainland US; at ~$15 a pound here, it could actually be a good cash crop. I'll probably have some mangoes and guanabana, with ever-bearing citrus varieties and bananas for when the others aren't producing.

And of course, the real fun starts when I'm growing things not to sell, but for myself. I'd love to develop a huge collection of tropical fruit from all areas of the world... eventually. An idea I have is to have a setup similar to the Fruit and Spice Park's visitor center, where people from all over can get fresh, rare fruits, and also smoothies, preserved stuff, and souvenirs. But I have to start small.

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I'm planning on setting up an orchard in Puerto Rico in the next few years, and hopefully turn it into my main source of income eventually.

Right now, I'm looking into possible locations for the orchard. I don't have a spot nailed down, but I do know where I want to avoid: The southwest, (because of earthquakes) the highest parts, (because of difficulty getting equipment around on steep ground plus making hurricane damage worse) and the coast (because of hurricanes and high prices).

Mayaguez looks promising. I know it's a historical agricultural area, so there will probably be a lot of people and resources there to help (especially the USDA facility). It's also a flatter area with a good elevation. It will probably be a place I check out when I go to Puerto Rico for a trip next year. However, before I go there, I'd like to look at classifieds to see what's available so I don't waste a lot of time driving around looking for "Se vende" signs.

Where is the best place to find land for sale in Puerto Rico? I tried Zillow and similar sites, but I couldn't find many entries on them for properties with a  large amount of land. I'm looking to buy around 20-50 acres (or more, if I can find a really good deal).

If anyone has any other advice, I'd be glad to hear that, too. I'm already brushing up on my Spanish, and I'm prepared to not have reliable utilities. I'm planning on drilling a well and installing solar panels. I don't have that much money set away yet (about $30,000) but I'm planning on taking it all a step at a time. I'm also looking into getting a job that will let me work remotely to give me extra money while I get my farm established.

Looking forward to hearing what you all have to say!

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2021 Lychee Season
« on: January 29, 2021, 11:28:38 PM »

My 5 year old Hak Ip is about to bloom for the first time. It flowers every year but never a full bloom. I had a vegetative growth flush start at the end of November, so I tipped it the first week of December before the cold fronts came. This is the first year I've pruned in hopes of this happening.

There's also a big 25+ year old tree and a smaller 15 year old tree about to bloom in my neighborhood. It's definitely been cold enough, we've had twice the amount of chill hours from last year. My best friend in pinellas park has a 20+ year old tree I'll check on tomorrow. I feel like this will be a good year for lychee
Good to hear an update from someone else in St. Pete! I guess I haven't been paying as close attention to all the trees around town as I thought. I guess it's just all the ones that I go to for lychees that aren't blooming; I have two neighbors I normally get lychees from, but neither of their trees are flowering this year, nor is my potted emperor lychee. If you guys end up having any extra this year, I'd be glad to take some off your hands.  :)

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2021 Lychee Season
« on: January 29, 2021, 05:04:09 PM »
It's funny you guys are seeing new growth so soon. There are a lot of lychee trees in my area, and I've only seen one of them pushing out new growth (about a month ago, and it's done now. No flowers  :().

Is it possible we'll see growth at all this year? We have had a pretty mild winter, so I expect little fruit, but it's funny that I don't even see new growth coming out on trees. Is cold related to when growth comes out, too?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Grow Pandan/Hala Fruit in Florida?
« on: September 22, 2020, 06:34:59 PM »
I guess it doesn't really taste that good then? If even the people on this forum haven't heard of it, it must not be worth the trouble to grow.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Grow Pandan/Hala Fruit in Florida?
« on: September 17, 2020, 04:25:08 PM »
I just checked Hawaiian Tropicals. Looks like they sell the kind of pandan that is used for an herb, and not the type that gives off hala fruit. They're sold out anyway. Does anyone have any information on growing hala fruit?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Grow Pandan/Hala Fruit in Florida?
« on: September 15, 2020, 11:07:39 AM »
I'm looking for information on how to grow Hala fruit, or Pandanus Tectorius. Searching this site for pandan only shows up info for relatives that don't have this kind of fruit. It looks interesting, and supposedly tastes delicious too. Does anyone know if it will do well in Florida, zone 10a? I know other Hawaiian plants like frangipani and hibiscus do.

Do you know if it will grow well in a pot, at least for the first couple years, just being moved indoors when it gets too cold?

I can't find any plants available for sale here. I've heard that it doesn't really grow well from seeds, either. If they will do well here, does anyone have any cuttings, or know a place that sells them? Thanks.

http://nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Pandanus_tectorius
https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/hala-fruit

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Passionfruit devasted by caterpillars
« on: March 27, 2020, 05:55:09 PM »
Search Bacillus Thuringiensis treatment.Its a biological control for caterpillars .
A bacteria thats harmless for people and animals but it kills caterpillars after they get in contact with it.
Probably its more expensive than regular insecticides ( poisonous) but worth the monney because its effective and safe.
Its soo safe that i use it to kill wax moth caterpillars that are inside the beehive.Doesnt kill bees or the bees larvae.
Thanks. That looks promising I'll try it.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Passionfruit devasted by caterpillars
« on: March 26, 2020, 09:05:07 PM »
I have a couple passionfruit vines that have been growing great all winter. Today, I came out and saw practically all the foliage on both vines was eaten by these caterpillars. https://postimg.cc/gallery/9MsqtQg

Last summer, I had a bit of a problem with these guys; probably half of the foliage of one plant (back when I only had one) was eaten. Back then, I put some some insecticide on it that seemed to help. However, the directions on it said to wait until after the plant flowered to apply it--I assume because it inhibits flowering. What can I do? I don't want to have to keep on applying the insecticide and keeping me from getting any flowers and fruit off them, but if I don't apply it, the plants still can't flower because they don't have any leaves.

TL;DR, How do you guys in Florida deal with pest caterpillars on your passion vines? Thanks.

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Thanks for the advice, everyone. I guess I'll move it to a larger pot.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: How many mangoes can a 5 ft tree support?
« on: February 26, 2020, 08:49:55 AM »
Here are a few photos of my tree. Sorry they aren't good pictures; I don't have a big yard so it's kind of squeezed in there.






It's not as full as Redland's tree. What do you guys think?

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It's really come along in a year. Still not sure how long it'll be before I get fruit. Can you guys make a guess based how much foliage there is how long it will probably be to fruit? 1-2 years?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / How many mangoes can a 5 ft tree support?
« on: February 24, 2020, 05:45:43 PM »
My Pickering mango tree had a ton of flowers and now has about 50-80 fruits starting to set, with the rest of flowers drying up and falling off. It's only about 5 feet tall and in a pot. How many mangoes can the tree support at that size?

Should I trim off some mangoes, or will the tree just abort the ones it can't support anyway? The new branches that the mangoes are on don't look like they'd be able to support more than one mango apiece, but I guess since mangoes only grow on new growth anyway, the branches will just get thicker as the mangoes get bigger.

What do you guys think?

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So your recommendation is to fertilize 4x the recommended amount, doing it about once a month? Anyone else have a different experience?

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