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Messages - kc_moses

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1
Thanks for all the information everyone! Good to heard that beaumont could produce nuts in 8ft tall. I think Dana White seem to be the popular one. I still have to research on which kind I should grow.

As for squirrel get to the nuts. I'm thinking of growing macadamia nut at my front yard, so it could serve as ornamental tree. When the tree get big enough to produce nuts, then I will figure out how to protect it. I have a couple options I guess, like putting a bunch of catnip around the nut tree so the neighbor's feral cats (8+ cats!!!) will some how guard the tree. Worse case is the squirrels will get to the nuts and leave my mango, lychee and longan alone.

But so far I have seen less than 2 squirrel since I move in to my area 2.5 years ago. There are more peafowls than squirrels!

2
https://www.facebook.com/FLMGC/

The last time there is any activity in that site was 2015, so it's dead.

3
Where can I find that wood hammer tool?
The kind I see online have all large bowls.

Not sure about that one but this one is better I reckon https://bitsouttheback.com/queensland-nut-buster/

See it in action here https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=236&v=fNDSNCG4WtI

It is expensive and postage is a killer to you guys but it is nice. Do your shopping around, I just knew Rob sold them (and he is a good guy).

I remember as a kid my dad making a bolt through a triangle type that worked but was slow. Later I remember seeing the lever type but we never had one. The above seems better than any of them.

If I ever able to harvest the nut, I would look for something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxZVmBZ6FMs&feature=youtu.be

It's all metal and looks like you can control how hard to hit the nut with the hammer. The wood one seems to easy to shutter the nut completely.

4
This is pretty old now but might be useful

http://era.daf.qld.gov.au/id/eprint/1964/14/mac-varieties.pdf

Thanks! This will come in handy for at lease understand the nature of the tree. Good to hear that I can keep the tree short and it would still fruit!

5
Anyone know where to get one of this tree?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-3X3-2j5F0

If I were to grow the regular macadamia nut, would it fruit if I keep it at 20-30 ft?

6
I'm in West Palm area, the Peafowl problem is not as bad as Miami, but might be heading that way. The area also have some stupid law, like if you want to kill Iguana, it has to be a clean shoot, instant dead........ who has sniper skills?

7
I saw a Facebook Marketplace in my area where a guy sell FL grow macadamia nut out of his truck just like road side fruit stand. I think the price was $8-10/lb. So it's definitely doable in FL.

8
You should consider growing Macadamia nuts. The Low carb people love it too (I'm on Ketogenic diet). I went to Costco last week, a 24oz bag of Macadamia nut is selling at $20!!!!! If you have an acre of Macadamia nut, produce hundred and thousands pound of nut, some goes to the squirrel, you're still making a lot of profit. I read that FL is getting in to the Macadamia nut business because citrus is just not doing good, and FL is competing with CA for Macadamia nut. I myself will get one Macadamia nut tree to grow this Spring.

9
A well placed shot from a quality air rifle. They are supposed to be good eating.

It's illegal to harm peafowl, at least in South Florida. I want to find a way to deter them.  Trust me, if it's okay to hunt them, I would have some peafowl for Thanksgiving!

10
Any tips for Peafowl? There are 8 in my block!!!!! When I move in to the neighborhood 2 years ago, there were only 2. I'm afraid there will be more next year.

11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: When to harvest Wurtz Avocado in FL?
« on: December 18, 2018, 11:29:45 AM »
The skin is actually not thick, I would imagine if the skin is any thinner, we would have a lot of bugs eat through the skin.

Sorry, this is not the Wurtz I'm growing, purchased from Excalibur.  DEFINITELY NOT THIN-SKINNED.  The skin of my avocado is so hard it actually resembles a shell, much harder and more brittle than the skin of a Hass, which, in fact, is quite pliable and easily separates from the flesh.  The flesh of my Wurtz adheres to the skin.  (Which is why I say it's a negative factor, along with the large seed and THIN FLESH.)  Also, the size of my fruit is small to medium.  I will try to take pictures of the last fruit, but my tech skills are minimal.

I'm confused, did you get your Wurtz from Excalibur as well? Does your tree has similar characteristic as mine? (i.e. grow spread, and height around 15 ft.). As far as fruit size, what's the weight of fruit you get? This is the first year I have avocado on the tree, not sure if next year I would get the same size, but I will keep the other post alive and keep the progress going. Can't wait for next Spring to see all the crazy avocado flower!

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: When to harvest Wurtz Avocado in FL?
« on: December 17, 2018, 02:17:16 PM »
I harvested another Wurtz avocado about a week ago and tasted it today.  The exterior had lost its shine, as Rob had recommended.  I would judge this avocado to be perfectly ripe by the texture, oil content, flavor, and the fact that it didn't shrivel up as it ripened off the tree.  It was fairly close to a Hass avocado in flavor so I would say any South Floridian wanting to grow a California-type avocado should plant this variety.  (Only negatives are a large seed and very thick, hard skin.)  At this point in my experience I would say Wurtz doesn't reach its peak ripeness in our area until the beginning of December.  I have 2 left on my tree, and I'm going to pick one today.

I agree that the Wurtz avocado has the best flavor and texture if picked in December. However, the size of the fruit make up the size of the stone. The skin is actually not thick, I would imagine if the skin is any thinner, we would have a lot of bugs eat through the skin. Here is my report with photos of the Wurtz avocado:

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=27007.msg339337#msg339337

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: You can all thank me for today's rain.
« on: December 17, 2018, 02:06:03 PM »
Can someone explain why should we spray copper this time of the year? I have Nam Doc Mai and Mahachanok, which is a mid season mango, when should I spray? Thanks!

14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Wurtz Avocado from Excalibur is Type AB?
« on: December 05, 2018, 09:49:16 AM »
Not looking bad at all. How was the taste? Still anymore fruit on the tree?

It tasted pretty good, I can taste the nuttiness flavor, definitely more flavorful than store bought California Hass, which could be because they were picked way too early or have been refrigerated. The texture is slightly less creamy than California Hass, but it's good enough for me as seen in the "Mash test". I'm not sure if it's good enough for Avocado pie or smoothie, but I work with what I can get my hand on. I picked the last fruit off the tree a couple days ago, and that fruit is still sitting on my counter and should ripe some time next week.

What get me excited is the possibility of having more fruit next year. Wurtz is known to be high yield so hopefully I can get 30 or so fruit next year. I will report back and keep post alive when the tree start to bloom in April.

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Wurtz Avocado from Excalibur is Type AB?
« on: December 04, 2018, 04:26:42 PM »
My wurst is about 3 years in the ground and was bought as a larger tree I think 15 gallon sized. Have had horrible issue with small brown beetles eating holes in the leaves. It has flowered twice, this year and last and not a single fruit set. Have been at a loss with it. Hope next year something changes. Had no choice but to spray it to kill these beetles a few months ago, but I think they are back cuz new flushes have some leaves with holes.

Did you get your Wurtz tree from Excalibur? The only pest I have is Sri Lanka Weevil, which is quite easy to take care of. I just go out once in a while during morning and evening, hand pinch any weevil I found. You might want to try Sevin Dust. I was told in the morning while the leaves still have dew, sprinkle some Sevin Dust on cardboard, and blow the dust toward the tree to create a dust cloud and the dust will stick to the leaves for better control.

16
Keep them small enough to treat for the leaf miners and worse.  Unless you have the time to treat all the time, the only thing I've found that works is imidacloprid.

Yes my Kaffir lime is currently suffer from Leave miner. I applied this a few months ago so it seems like the leave miners have stopped:

https://www.amazon.com/BioAdanced-Science-Based-Solutions-Vegetable-Concentrate/dp/B004BLNVMS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

I will move forward with my citrus hedge project as soon as I get the current area clear up.


17
Thanks everyone, I think I should look for Dwarf Meyer Lemon as it's probably the biggest trees on my list. I already have Kaffir Lime and Calamansi, they are not that big for 3 years old plant so I don't think they will get much bigger that will be taller then my roof.

18
Calamansi/Calamondin is eatable, it can be made into marmalade, salad dressing, Asia lemonade, and "preserved calamansi lime" which is good for sore throat.

Kaffir lime leaves is critical for many Asian cooking such as Thai Tom Yum, Laos sausage and Malaysia Rendang. Those are the reason I grow them. Because they're not known for consumption by most American, it's save to grow at the front yard so people won't steal them. Meyer lemon would be a different story, it's quite expensive to buy at the store so I want to grow it if it fits into my grow area.

19
I'm thinking of growing Meyer lemon, Kaffir and Calamnsi in front of my house to block out South sun that shine into the window and head up my office. The area is about 8' x 8'. Can I grow these trees 3' away from my window?

This is the mess I need to clear up and replace with the citrus tree as Fig did not work out in my area and the peafowls are enjoying the figs too much.

20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Wurtz Avocado from Excalibur is Type AB?
« on: December 02, 2018, 06:22:24 PM »
Just picked my last Wurtz avocado today. It's quite big.


I was told peak time to pick Wurtz is mid November. The one on the right was picked the day after Thanksgiving, it took about a week to ripe as I did left it on the counter instead of in a brown bag.


The one I picked today is about 15oz. So far all the avocado I have picked are around this weight.


Cut open the one I picked the day after Thanksgiving. The stone is easy to remove. So far all the Wurtz avocado I open has crack line, but I don't think I let it get over ripe, so this is common?


The "mash test", it's creamy enough to make guacamole compare to other Florida grown avocado (I never seen Nishikawa avocado or Super Hass)


The skin is pretty thin.


I think Wurtz is a good avocado to grow in Florida, it's very productive (compare to Nishikawa), do not need other tree to polinate (Florida Wurtz is not the same as Wurtz/Little Cado in California, which require other tree to pollinate). Wurtz is also semi dwarf that grow up to 18ft, so I'm very happy with this tree. Hopefully next year I will get more avocado now that the tree has grown twice in size after this season.

21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Walmart mango sighting
« on: November 30, 2018, 01:00:13 PM »
Nam Doc Mai has a distinctive shape, it's very easy to tell. Asians like very sweet mango so NDM do have demand in the Asian grocery stores.

22
PS. I wish our prices were lower, but part of what we do is pay farmers good wages and that makes the retail cost high. For Musang King Durian we are paying $15/lb. when you add overnight shipping and the cost of the cooler, we’re not making much on those.

I think your Musang King import is not sustainable. Here is what I found in FoodTown, about $15/lb without the shell. If you're paying $/15 with the shell, you're already loosing advantage:


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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Walmart mango sighting
« on: November 28, 2018, 11:03:16 AM »
12 Miles is not far, you will find a lot of interesting things in Foodtown as it's International Market, the price are good on a lot of vege too.

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This place is expensive, but pretty good. Would be a helluva lot cheaper than what you’re proposing. https://miamifruit.org

Sign up for their email newsletter and they’ll let you know when they have jackfruit in. Much of their stuff is grown locally.

Can't help but notice miamifruit.org has 2 Musang King Durian for $224..... Jesus Christ!

25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Walmart mango sighting
« on: November 27, 2018, 10:02:39 AM »
If you are in South Florida area, go to Foodtown. I went there 2 weeks ago and they have Nam Doc Mai, as well as Yellow Dragon Fruit ($4.99/lb). The Yellow Dragon Fruit is very very sweet. The Nam Doc Mai tasted great we well, I forgot the price of the Nam Doc Mai, but I remember is was cheap.

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