Anyone growing mangoes in raised beds?

[stormin]

Is anyone growing mangoes in raised beds? I've just bought some lumber today to make a 4'x4'x10" raised bed for my Carrie Mango. My yard is just too squishy during the rainy season, and afraid that the mango will develop root rot. What kind of garden soil do you use, or soil mixture? I'm in Osceola county and can't seem to find a source of compost besides mushroom compost.

[gunnar429]

I have seen pics of a yard where they were planted on mounds, and the owner wore knee high wading boots to harvest the mangoes.  If you search the forum, you may find the pics

[gnappi]

See Trees in the keys:

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=7804.0

[bangkok]

Just make a big mound of original soil/organic material. The bigger the better.

[gnappi]

I'm in Osceola county and can't seem to find a source of compost besides mushroom compost.

Lowes has a "Cow manure / Compost" that I use. It's less than $2 per bag.

[From the sea]

I had one in a 4'x4'x2' raised bed, it grew fine but the deer killed it. I have 8 trees in beds like that and it works fine.

See Trees in the keys:

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=7804.0

[SWRancher]

I have seen pics of a yard where they were planted on mounds, and the owner wore knee high wading boots to harvest the mangoes.  If you search the forum, you may find the pics

Thats was the back section of my yard, it floods like that a few times a year. I did not do framed raised beds, just large mounds/sections of 50/50 soil. I have not had any issues with root rot on mangos so would not be overly concerned with that.

[greenman62]

my yard is low, i have to make a mound or bed to plant almost anything.
my 1 mango is still in a container now, when i plant it out, it will certainly be 6 inches above grade.

since the put out a taproot, i imagine them drying out is not a huge issue
not in my climate anyway. I may have to water it a few times the first few months

the area right next to the house has an old hibiscus that died
which i am pulling out to make way for the mango

i am putting in papaya, starfruit and jaboticaba  as well

that is a papaya near the house that lost its leaves
and has a bit of a "bent" shape to it.


and a Loquat (center of pic)... the evergreens are coming out too.
i might keep them for another year though, they help keep the papaya from wind and cold damage.


ready for more papaya, blackberries, passionflower etc...

[stormin]

I'm in Osceola county and can't seem to find a source of compost besides mushroom compost.

Lowes has a "Cow manure / Compost" that I use. It's less than $2 per bag.

Yeah, I've seen manure at Lowe's and Home Depot. Can it be used in the soil or would it burn the roots? I've only used manure on the surface. I was actually looking for composted yard waste, but if composted manure is safe mixed in, I'll give it a shot.

[stormin]

I had one in a 4'x4'x2' raised bed, it grew fine but the deer killed it. I have 8 trees in beds like that and it works fine.

See Trees in the keys:

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=7804.0

Sorry to hear about the deer killing your mango tree. I've only seen one deer in the neighborhood, but I have a fence so I think it should keep it out.

[stormin]

I have seen pics of a yard where they were planted on mounds, and the owner wore knee high wading boots to harvest the mangoes.  If you search the forum, you may find the pics

Thats was the back section of my yard, it floods like that a few times a year. I did not do framed raised beds, just large mounds/sections of 50/50 soil. I have not had any issues with root rot on mangos so would not be overly concerned with that.

Yeah I stumbled across the picture of the yard flooded with a few mounds of mango trees above the flood. What is the other half of the 50/50 soil mix you use? how high is your mound compared to the rest of the yard?

[stormin]

my yard is low, i have to make a mound or bed to plant almost anything.
my 1 mango is still in a container now, when i plant it out, it will certainly be 6 inches above grade.

since the put out a taproot, i imagine them drying out is not a huge issue
not in my climate anyway. I may have to water it a few times the first few months

the area right next to the house has an old hibiscus that died
which i am pulling out to make way for the mango

i am putting in papaya, starfruit and jaboticaba  as well

that is a papaya near the house that lost its leaves
and has a bit of a "bent" shape to it.


and a Loquat (center of pic)... the evergreens are coming out too.
i might keep them for another year though, they help keep the papaya from wind and cold damage.


ready for more papaya, blackberries, passionflower etc...

Is that first and second picture in the front of your house? You're lucky. My HOA would probably send a warning, fine me, put a lien on my house if I did that, lol. What soil/compost are you using to fill your raised bed? And won't the grass grow through the soil if not removed or covered with thick newspaper or cardboard? I'll be removing my grass and transplanting it to my front yard (front yard has some dead spots for some reason).

[SWRancher]

I have seen pics of a yard where they were planted on mounds, and the owner wore knee high wading boots to harvest the mangoes.  If you search the forum, you may find the pics

Thats was the back section of my yard, it floods like that a few times a year. I did not do framed raised beds, just large mounds/sections of 50/50 soil. I have not had any issues with root rot on mangos so would not be overly concerned with that.

Yeah I stumbled across the picture of the yard flooded with a few mounds of mango trees above the flood. What is the other half of the 50/50 soil mix you use? how high is your mound compared to the rest of the yard?

50/50 is half topsoil/half sand most soil/fill companies sell it under that name. The mounds started about 2 feet above ground level but have since settled to maybe half that height now. All my mango trees planted that way in the low part of my yard have done very well.       

[stormin]

I have seen pics of a yard where they were planted on mounds, and the owner wore knee high wading boots to harvest the mangoes.  If you search the forum, you may find the pics

Thats was the back section of my yard, it floods like that a few times a year. I did not do framed raised beds, just large mounds/sections of 50/50 soil. I have not had any issues with root rot on mangos so would not be overly concerned with that.

Yeah I stumbled across the picture of the yard flooded with a few mounds of mango trees above the flood. What is the other half of the 50/50 soil mix you use? how high is your mound compared to the rest of the yard?

50/50 is half topsoil/half sand most soil/fill companies sell it under that name. The mounds started about 2 feet above ground level but have since settled to maybe half that height now. All my mango trees planted that way in the low part of my yard have done very well.     

OK, thanks I'll check the local soil companies. I've checked some online and it seems the ones that have websites that list their products, list their garden soil as half top soil and half mushroom compost. I'm starting to wonder what's up with all the mushroom compost, lol. Wow, your mound settled to half of what it was? That's good that your trees are doing good, hopefully mine will be doing good too,  once I find a local company that has soil with half sand.

[stormin]

Maybe I should start asking.. Has anyone grown mangoes using mushroom compost as half their soil mixture??

[greenman62]

Is that first and second picture in the front of your house? You're lucky. My HOA would probably send a warning, fine me, put a lien on my house if I did that, lol. What soil/compost are you using to fill your raised bed? And won't the grass grow through the soil if not removed or covered with thick newspaper or cardboard? I'll be removing my grass and transplanting it to my front yard (front yard has some dead spots for some reason).

Yep
my neighbors are pretty cool
there is no HOA

the soil is from a company that sells 3 yards for $100
there is 50/50
or, 33/33/33 (compost / sand / mulch)
it is actually pretty good stuff. i was impressed.

i have some newspaper in some areas. cardboard in the back yard
and in a few areas, i actually dug up the grass.
i plan on using some kind of ground cover though.
sweet potato worked real well in 1 area i had before.

[stormin]

Is that first and second picture in the front of your house? You're lucky. My HOA would probably send a warning, fine me, put a lien on my house if I did that, lol. What soil/compost are you using to fill your raised bed? And won't the grass grow through the soil if not removed or covered with thick newspaper or cardboard? I'll be removing my grass and transplanting it to my front yard (front yard has some dead spots for some reason).

Yep
my neighbors are pretty cool
there is no HOA

the soil is from a company that sells 3 yards for $100
there is 50/50
or, 33/33/33 (compost / sand / mulch)
it is actually pretty good stuff. i was impressed.

i have some newspaper in some areas. cardboard in the back yard
and in a few areas, i actually dug up the grass.
i plan on using some kind of ground cover though.
sweet potato worked real well in 1 area i had before.

Lucky you, no HOA.
I'm still searching for a place that sells 50/50 mix for a good draining soil. So far the few places that I have researched so far sells a 50/50 mix of top soil and mushroom compost.
Oh OK, I didn't notice cardboard. I'm not sure if I'll put any ground cover in my raised bed, probably just put mulch on it so the tree will not have to compete with other plants for nutrients.

[bsbullie]

As Tony, SWRancher,, said, be careful when mounding. Unless you preplan and set the mounds up way in advance,  the "fill" you bring in will settle and depending on how you planted, your trees could settle and sink to a level to where you put its survival at risk.  It also makes it that much more difficult to cover (due to the increased height) during your dangerous cold spells.

[stormin]

As Tony, SWRancher,, said, be careful when mounding. Unless you preplan and set the mounds up way in advance,  the "fill" you bring in will settle and depending on how you planted, your trees could settle and sink to a level to where you put its survival at risk.  It also makes it that much more difficult to cover (due to the increased height) during your dangerous cold spells.

I wonder if I can somehow compact the fill beforehand, by stomping around on it, then watering, wait for it to dry and stomp on it around some more. As for the height when trying to cover it from freezes, I can get 10 ft pvc pipes, unfortunately that will restrict my mango trees at being 8 ft tall during the winter time (I've read that the leaves shouldn't touch the fabric so I'll give it a 1 ft clearance).

[JF]

Here are perfect raised bed, very common in Socal, grow any tropicals you want . Soil mix 70% river sand 20% loam, 10% mulch

[greenman62]

Has anyone tried hugelkultur ?

i tried a "mini hugel" 3 times, and i love it.

i dug down about 3ft and burried some chopped branches about 2 or 3 inches diameter
added about 20lb of coffee grounds and some compost.

i took the soil from the hole and mixed it with compost
and used that to raise the area by 6-8 inches or so.
i planted a loquat in one of them which is getting lots of new growth right now.
also did it for hibiscus and papaya. had excellent growth on all of them.

http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/many-benefits-hugelkultur

[bsbullie]

Has anyone tried hugelkultur ?

i tried a "mini hugel" 3 times, and i love it.

i dug down about 3ft and burried some chopped branches about 2 or 3 inches diameter
added about 20lb of coffee grounds and some compost.

i took the soil from the hole and mixed it with compost
and used that to raise the area by 6-8 inches or so.
i planted a loquat in one of them which is getting lots of new growth right now.
also did it for hibiscus and papaya. had excellent growth on all of them.

http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/many-benefits-hugelkultur

If one did that and planted right away it would detrimental to a grafted tree.  With a grafted tree, with most grafts being at the bottom 6" - 8" of the trunk, the branches and compost would breakdown over time and cause the planted tree to sink and thus and most likely burying the graft.  I hope we all know what happens when a graft gets buried...

[JF]

Here is another mango in a raised bed growing very well
This Tim Thompson's Timoteyo   

[greenman62]

With a grafted tree, with most grafts being at the bottom 6" - 8" of the trunk, the branches and compost would breakdown over time and cause the planted tree to sink and thus and most likely burying the graft.

It is expected to drop a bit
thats why they tell you to build it higher than you normally would.
i think its %20 in the first couple of years, and almost nothing after that.

"Hugel" has a long track record behind it
trees sinking below collar level has not been an issue i have heard of.
admittedly not an expert, but, i have download 100s of videos on permaculture
and watch them in the evening. None of the mature hugel's ive seen displayed anything like that.

[stormin]

JF,

Thanks for the pictures of raised beds. Those raised beds look great.