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Messages - HIfarm

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951
Tropical Fruit Online Library / Wild Edible Plant Use in ... Congo
« on: November 26, 2013, 01:37:43 PM »
I was doing a search for a plant that Jean from Nutrecul mentioned and came across an interesting thesis:

http://www.tropicallab.ugent.be/thesisceline.pdf

These sorts of things are always great to find more fruiting plants you have not encountered before ...

John

952
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Treculia africana
« on: November 26, 2013, 12:10:22 AM »
Jean,

Just wondering are you familiar with T. obovoidea?  Is it similar (similar uses) to T. africana?

John

953
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: FRUITS FROM THE RAINFOREST - CONGO
« on: November 26, 2013, 12:07:17 AM »
Great posting, thanks for posting it.  I have had a great interest in African fruits since reading some of Roy Danforth's writings.

I have a couple of questions for you regarding some of the fruit pictured.  I have heard many species of Landolphia initially seem sweet when you taste it and then the taste becomes almost overpoweringly sour.  Is that the case for L. owariensis?  Also, is the viability of Piper guineense seed very short or can it remain viable for a couple of months?

John
Hilo, HI

954
Hey Micah,

You forgot hair sheep.  I'm planning on getting some.  Also guinea hens (won't make me too popular with neighbors, though).  Guinea hens eat all sorts of things so I am guessing that they will help with coquis, maybe snails / slugs as well.  I'm also planning on chickens & turkeys.

I have heard that muscovy ducks are great for eating all sorts of things and are amazingly good a fly control.  However, ducks & geese can be messy so I am undecided on adding any of them.

I am planning on just letting things free range although I am thinking of setting up a separate paddock for beetle pollinated stuff & keep the poultry out of there.

John

955
It's very different making a living farming in a place like Costa Rica or Thailand than in Hawaii. Compare labor costs, land costs, tax costs and you will get an idea why. So all depends on where you are located, the input costs, and how much people are willing to pay for good food. So the question "what is most profitable to grow" is not so simple, depends on a whole lot of different factors. Also what is most profitable to grow today may change tomorrow. Here a lot of people decided that rambutan was most profitable to grow, a lot of farmers planted it, and now there is a glut and farmers are cutting down rambutan trees.

It's funny, I still run into people (consumers, not planters) telling me to plant rambutan.  I have talked to a few people who have taken out their rambutan, at least one just shortly after they started bearing -- they just couldn't see a payback in keeping them.  It would be nice if we had some processing plants (juice, canning, etc) so that we could process some of the fruit produced here to make farming more profitable.

John

956
Very nice pic, Oscar -- incredible for a cell phone pic.  I assume that this was taken somewhere at altitude like Volcano, not down at your place?

John

957
I am sure that the method you mention is effective in stopping suckers from the stump but some trees we have here will sucker from the roots.  If you have the time & inclination, you might finally be able to get them to stop suckering by constantly whacking off the new sprouts as they emerge but a chemical agent can sure be helpful, especially if you are dealing with any significant sized piece of property.  There is an enormous amount of stored energy in the roots of a big tree and they will continue to sucker for a while.  It is further complicated if you do not whack off the sprouts immediately as it starts to photosynthesize and pump more energy back into the large root mass.

John

My experience in killing two Brazilian pepper trees (very hard to kill) w/o herbicides sometimes is easier once the tree produces side shoots on the stump. 

  • Cut the tree as close to the ground as possible.
  • Use a shovel to chip off as much of the stump's remaining bark as possible (this actually prevents the formation of recovery side shoots).
  • If the tree still manages to put up some suckers, scrape them off along with their the remaining bark they were growing from.  The tree will not have the energy left to put up another sucker.
This procedure will kill any tree w/o herbicides.  Trust me, I know what its like to have to deal with recurring suckers.  That is the malignant nature of Brazilian pepper.  However, if you do a thorough job of scraping most of the remaining stump bark off, it is near impossible for most trees to produce suckers.

958
If I recall correctly. I think I've been using Crossbow herbicide with more or less good success.  Use it 100% and paint it on the stump right after you cut.  It generally stops suckers from the stump but you may still have a few coming from the roots.  I have also tried it mixed with diesel and sprayed to the exterior at the base of the tree before cutting.  You have to completely encircle the tree and probably cover about a 1' strip around the tree.  It killed most of the trees I applied it to but took quite a while to kill them -- months for some.  A few have started to recover, I guess I should have hit them again but I thought there were going to die like the others.  These were not just very small saplings, but some in the 12+" range.  We have a variety of weeds here -- guava, albizia, etc.  that can be tough to kill.

Back on the mainland, I would sometimes be plagued with oaks suckering.  I had good success with taking a wood bit and drilling a few holes in the stump and pouring bleach in the holes.  Those stumps never suckered.  I haven't tried this yet with tropical trees but I am not optimistic as tropical trees seem a lot more tenacious.

John

959
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Best Way to Consume Carambola
« on: November 06, 2013, 03:24:38 PM »
My wife has used them in place of apples in "apple pie".  Came out pretty good as I recall.  I don't recall if it was a conventional apple pie recipe or her cranberry apple pie recipe but I recall it was tasty.

John

960
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Salacca sumatrana
« on: November 01, 2013, 02:44:26 PM »
S. sumatrana sounds like it is grown in northern Sumatra, I'm guessing around Medan or perhaps even farther north.  I suspect the fruit probably stays in that region.  I was in Medan years ago but it evidently was not salak season at the time.

John

961
Tropical Fruit Online Library / Re: Thesis on Balinese salak cultivars
« on: October 31, 2013, 05:53:12 PM »
Yeah, it looks like a great analysis.  I haven't had a chance to go through it in great detail yet but I have saved it on my harddrive & will later.  The only thing I have seen in quickly skimming over it that I would like to have seen is a comparison of seed size (or, better yet, of percentage pulp) for each cultivar.  It will be interesting to see what cultivar(s) I have as they get bigger with the key enclosed in the thesis.

John

Hifives Hifarm it is a great find and written in my hometown here but I have never seen this Bali Salak overview.I think there are many highlights including that Salacca zalacca subs amboina has yet to get its official subspecies status accepted. Other points of interest include the names S.edulis and S.rumphii which had contaminated the literature for 100 years only got dropped in 1982 and also that gula and boni are very closely related.Gula (pasir) and the red fleshed boni are the most reverred of all bali salak cultivars.

It is a ripping read for all salak enthusiasts and a great launching pad to tackle the other 2 big guns of the snake fruit world, Salacca zalacca zalacca and Salacca wallichiana.

962
Tropical Fruit Online Library / Thesis on Balinese salak cultivars
« on: October 31, 2013, 02:52:49 PM »
Some interesting info here on Bali salak cultivars:

http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/1329/2/02whole.pdf

John

963
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Salacca sumatrana
« on: October 30, 2013, 11:01:28 PM »
I know we have discussed salak a number of times before, however, I cannot recall any mention of S. sumatrana & could not find it in the forum with a google search.  I have seena couple of references to it being grown commercially in the highlands (of Sumatra, I would imagine).  Anyone know anything about it?

John

964
Tropical Fruit Online Library / Another African Resource
« on: October 29, 2013, 01:51:55 PM »
I came across a site that has a listing of African trees.  Most listings have no info other than synonyms (which can be useful in sorting out what something is).  Many have a listing about where the plant occurs, form (tree, shrub, liana), size, etc. but none I have seen include info on edibility.  Useful site if your expectations are not too high...

http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php

John

965
Do you have an answer of whether you have seeds for me & if you will print off my permit & Include it with the seeds?  If so, please send me an email so I can arrange payment.

I have emailed you twice about these seeds & I have gotten no reply.  Do you still have them?  If so, please email me.

John
This BBS sometimes I can't open, maybe I have to go to some of the nanchuan jackfruit seeds , how many do you want?

I'm not sure how well they will do in my climate so 10 seeds is probably all I am looking for.  If I send you my permit by email, can you print it off and include it?

John

966
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Wanted: Dacryodes edulis seeds
« on: October 23, 2013, 12:00:47 AM »
I think a place called Forest House (http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=2143.0) has carried them in the past.  That is not an endorsement for them -- I have not ordered from them so have no personal knowledge about how they are to do business with.

You might also try one of our members, Soren, to see if he has it.

African fruit seeds (aside from those from South Africa) tend to be hard to find.

John

967
I have emailed you twice about these seeds & I have gotten no reply.  Do you still have them?  If so, please email me.

John
This BBS sometimes I can't open, maybe I have to go to some of the nanchuan jackfruit seeds , how many do you want?

I'm not sure how well they will do in my climate so 10 seeds is probably all I am looking for.  If I send you my permit by email, can you print it off and include it?

John

968
I have emailed you twice about these seeds & I have gotten no reply.  Do you still have them?  If so, please email me.

John

969
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Durian smell
« on: October 16, 2013, 07:57:30 PM »
I remember hearing about a low odor durian bred in Thailand several years ago, I believe the clonal name is 'Chantaburi #1".  I have not personally spoken to anyone who had tried it but what I have heard is it is not a winner (doesn't smell enough like durian to be popular with durian eaters -- not the same experience).

John

970
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Need information on lucs garcinia.
« on: October 13, 2013, 12:18:10 PM »
Oscar -

Any idea how it would do up in Mt. View (~1700')?  I have a friend interested in trying it up there.

John

971
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: GUAQUICA
« on: October 09, 2013, 12:03:21 AM »
size is similar to cabeludinha, but has more flesh, and the flavor is just outstanding, has a lot more personality than cabeludinha, imho.

sorry for my delay to reply, but now I replied to all.

Cheers

carlos

Hi Carlos,

I sent you a note the same day you posted (Oct 4) & I have not seen a reply yet.  However, my aol account seems to be acting up -- I cannot access it from my laptop today, only from my phone but I do not see a message there.

John

972
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Maclura pomifera-Osage orange
« on: October 08, 2013, 02:05:07 PM »
I hadn't heard of che before and it sounds pretty interesting.  It sounds like it is a temperate to subtropical fruit.  Does anyone know how it does in more tropical climates -- does it need a chill to perform well?

John

973
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Kwai Muk
« on: October 05, 2013, 09:24:23 PM »


That may have been me; I had a nursery in Hakalau many years ago, and I did propagate kwai muk. I recall that the fruits were golf ball sized, and quite tasty IMO. All the trees I had were seed grown, from an introduction by Dr Franklin Martin.

I tried the fruit at one of our newer member's place -- Hawaiibotanist.44.  Perhaps his kwai muk could be traced back to your plants.  I think most of his plants go back about 7 years ago when he was building the place.  The fruit was tasty and a good size for snacking so I will probably find room for a tree in my planting.

John

974
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Kwai Muk
« on: October 04, 2013, 06:53:42 PM »

Where did you eat the kwai muk? Some people confuse lakoocha with kwai muk, so it's possible you actually tried lakoocha, which in my opinion lakoocha is not as good eating quality. I think i'm the first to introduce kwai muk to Hawaii. BTW i have a bunch of one gallon kwai muk plants available for sale.

Hi Oscar,

It was a grower over in Hakalau.  Not sure where he got the tree, I believe it was seed grown from what he said.  The fruit was small, size of a golf ball or perhaps a little bigger.

I need to make a visit down to your place some time -- I know you have a number of things I am interested in.

John

975
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Kwai Muk
« on: October 04, 2013, 05:35:28 PM »
Any special procedure, Mike, or just some rooting hormone and stick it in some media?  I assume hardwood cutting?

John

Can also be grown from cuttings if you find a good one.

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