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Messages - Empoweredandfree

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / 8B Avocado varieties (tested)
« on: July 05, 2022, 07:54:10 PM »
Local nurseries here in zone 8B are selling Avocados now. The ones that we all here about for cold hardiness (fantastic/Joey/super haas) but I don’t see any avocado trees in the area. Has anyone planted and actually tested any of these varieties in zone 8 long term?

2
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Marsh Seedless White Grapefruit
« on: June 12, 2022, 07:53:01 PM »
Never had Oro Blanco but just random white grapefruit! The pink/red grapefruit is a product of the saying “you eat with your eyes first” because they aren’t sweeter IMO.

The only tree sold around here is Rio Red I’m assuming due to cold hardiness

3
Citrus General Discussion / Re: sign of citrus greening
« on: June 08, 2022, 07:38:24 PM »
Not greening as others have said.

in most places except Florida you at least have a chance to avoid it. In Florida it’s more or less a guarantee you’re tree will get it. Lemons, limes,kumquats and finger limes especially show some resilience to it as do a few newer tangerine varieties.

There are still groves around Florida that won’t give up the ghost and spraying the trees with chemical cocktails weekly...I guess it’s better to poison all of us.

4
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Marsh Seedless White Grapefruit
« on: June 08, 2022, 07:32:03 PM »
A good white grapefruit blows away any pink or red.

5
Thanks for the replies! I’ll take a look around and see what I can find.

6
I’m not opposed to trying grafting but I’d rather buy trees already ready. 

7
Any extra the deer and foxes will eat, nothing will be wasted. Might also invest in a freeze dryer. Chocolate or coffecake sound good. Any good sources online for persimmons?

8
So what is the best Persimmon to plant? I remember Saijo was the considered the best but am curious what else is out there. I like both astringent and non astringent!

9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Trying Barbados cherry in 8B
« on: May 28, 2022, 11:36:51 AM »
Yes miracle fruit tastes like artificial sweetness. I believe there are a few types of Miracle fruit as well so I’d be interested to see if there is any difference.

 The problem is getting Barbados cherry ripe without the birds or numerous other animals getting them. Animals know what’s good for them too. That sounds awesome I hope that different variety works out well for you. At least in Costa Rica you don’t need to worry about winter protection measures!!

10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Trying Barbados cherry in 8B
« on: May 27, 2022, 11:01:35 PM »
They’re must be a lot of variation in Barbados cherry because when they are truly ripe they’re sweet. They have to be very dark red though, purplish.

 Miracle fruit makes things taste nasty IMO , fun party gimmick though!!..haha

11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Trying Barbados cherry in 8B
« on: May 26, 2022, 08:34:10 PM »
A really ripe Barbados cherry I think are excellent. They have to be dark/red purple. They’re also extremely healthy so it’s worth a shot but certainly based on the feedback sounds like a long shot. They are certainly cheap enough that it’s not a huge loss and next year I’ll just grow one in a pot.

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Trying Barbados cherry in 8B
« on: May 26, 2022, 07:50:32 PM »
I’ve lived in 7b,9b, now I’m in 8B and 8B is closer to 7 than 9. We were below freezing almost every night in January-February. We didn’t see epic cold with only a low of 21 last year. 

 Freeze fabric won’t be enough obviously so I’m considering using smudge pots. I like the fact they don’t rely on electricity. I’m pushing the zone on quite a few things (citrus).

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Trying Barbados cherry in 8B
« on: May 26, 2022, 07:16:29 PM »
It’s amazing what even a few feet of placement can do for a borderline planting. I even witnessed that after a late frost this year where everything was coming out of dormancy and a 26 degree night set the stuff planted in the open way back, stuff closer to the house kept going.

  Sapodilla has an impressive cold tolerance as I witnessed in zone 9, 8 is much colder but I think with proper placement and protection it’s possible. Guava, Cherry of the Rio, are other worthy test subjects.


14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Trying Barbados cherry in 8B
« on: May 26, 2022, 06:14:56 PM »
There seems to be a lot of variation between individual plants but generally speaking they aren’t as cold hardy as was originally advertised. 8B has bad winters but I’m zone pushing a bunch of citrus. If I can get Barbados cherry through I’ll try Sapodilla which I personally think is hardier than Barbados cherry (depending on variety).

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Trying Barbados cherry in 8B
« on: May 26, 2022, 04:06:43 PM »
So I’m trying Barbados cherry in 8B. I will utilize protection measures and see how it does. Curious if anyone else has done this and succeeded?

16
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Thoughts on water sprout removal
« on: May 24, 2022, 03:21:51 PM »
Thanks for the replies. It seems there was mixed reviews on water sprouts based on my research. I know the citrus nurseries cut them all off to leave the trunk exposed.

  We have lots of wind here so weak growth is def not ideal. My chickens already forced me to cut one of my young trees back a year by breaking a limb attached to the main trunk. I pruned the water sprouts off that tree but I’ll let it go now and see what happens.

17
Citrus General Discussion / Thoughts on water sprout removal
« on: May 24, 2022, 01:36:33 PM »
So what’s the latest consensus on this? All my trees were growing low growth (above graft union) and sprouting on the trunk, I removed it but I was curious if I should bother.

18
 It really doesn’t look that bad. It’s putting a lot of energy into flowering/fruiting and I find certain trees don’t look their best as nutrients are going toward fruit production. A nice foliage feeding or a time release fertilizer might be of assistance.

 Are you seeing pests or bugs on the leaves? If so take a picture and with proper identification it can be resolved.

 With regards to watering, citrus hate overwatering. Soggy roots are a no no for just about all trees but citrus and avocado are especially vulnerable to soggy roots (rootstock also needs to be considered).

19
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Smudge pots?
« on: April 29, 2022, 11:48:41 PM »
They are indeed relics but some of the new ones can apparently run on anything from diesel to vegetable oil.

 I talked to a gentleman with a mango orchard and he tested the sprinklers vs the smudge pots and he said the smudge pots protected his trees better. Didn’t have time for specifics with what he did.

20
Citrus General Discussion / Smudge pots?
« on: April 29, 2022, 11:17:25 AM »
I went on a citrus buying spree in zone 8B . Got trees through this last winter but only got to 21 degrees so nothing horrible but epic freezes are a regular occurrence in 8B. So I know about old Christmas lights (where to get those?), frost fabric...but now I’m thinking smudge pots as a great backup in case power goes out....anyone have experience with these? How far do you keep them from trees?

21
I think Artic and Orange frost are not the same as frost owari. My reading indicates that the frost varieties are not as cold hardy as advertised but still I think more time is needed to confirm this. They started grafting them now which I’m not fond of because if it dies to the ground that’s the end of the tree. One of the things that intrigued me was they were on their own roots initially

22
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Osmocote Plus is cheap on Amazon right now
« on: December 12, 2021, 04:35:44 PM »
I have been applying fresh chicken manure from my organic chickens to my trees with no ill effects. I think it’s more problematic for plants than trees and pot as opposed to in ground.

In terms of micro plastics they are everywhere. All we can hope is that a life form evolves to consume it at the microscopic level. I try to avoid plastic but its futile. Just make smarter choices when possible.

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Osmocote Plus is cheap on Amazon right now
« on: December 11, 2021, 10:04:04 PM »
Osmocote, as others have said means lots of plastic pellets all over the soil and EDTA ( not easily biodegradable). I’m going to try lots of organic chicken manure and fish emulsion.

24
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Navel vs Hamlin zone 8B?
« on: December 11, 2021, 02:35:16 PM »
Thanks for the link.Do the Glenn’s taste as good as the Washington’s?

25
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Navel vs Hamlin zone 8B?
« on: December 10, 2021, 12:38:48 PM »
Thanks Country for all the info. Low production isn’t a great big concern if the taste is much better on one versus the other. I can only get Washington navel as that’s all my local nursery carries from Saxon Bechel & Sons.

 In terms of Satsumas I can choose from Brown Select and Owari with Meiwa kumquat as a wild card option.

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