The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: sidney on December 19, 2017, 07:36:49 PM
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Wanting to plant a sweet variety of carambola. There was a sour one on the property when I bought it but cut it down.i recently tasted a sweet one at a friends house but he did not know the variety.as he started it from seed someone gave him. He claims the tree is only 3 years old, it’s about 7 feet and prolific. I would have place for one carambola but have a sweet tooth. What varieties would be recommended.please?
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A few varieties and their attributes:
http://rfcarchives.org.au/Next/Fruits/Carambola/CarambolaVarieties9-86.htm (http://rfcarchives.org.au/Next/Fruits/Carambola/CarambolaVarieties9-86.htm)
Sounds like your friends one could be worth grafting from if it’s something special?
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Kari & Sri Kembangan
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I’ve gotten good sweet carombola by planting seeds. Why not plant seeds from your friends tree?
Peter
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Due to my ignorance I did not realize the carambolas would grow true to seed. I might do both in a pot to begin with, yes?
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Kari, Arkin, fwang tung, or Bell are all good choices.
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Growing Kari and it is nice, sweet flavor, and refreshing.
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🗯
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I'm growing all but Possum Gold, Fwang Tung, and that one chance seedling near a Chinese restaurant that was being promoted whose cv name I forget a.t.m. .
In any case, Bell is the sweetest I've tasted- even green.
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Due to my ignorance I did not realize the carambolas would grow true to seed. I might do both in a pot to begin with, yes?
I didn’t intend to say that carombola would come true to seed. The seed of sweet carombola will always come sweet but with some variation likely. I have gotten some nice trees like that and they don’t take so long to produce either so I encourage it but 'true' is not guaranteed.
Peter
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I'm growing all but Possum Gold, Fwang Tung, and that one chance seedling near a Chinese restaurant that was being promoted whose cv name I forget a.t.m. .
In any case, Bell is the sweetest I've tasted- even green.
That chance seedling is Red's Dumpster aka Pine Island Gold. I heard the Chinese restaurant story as well but it was actually a seafood restaurant on Pine Island. They are good. Mine are coming in right now.
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Carambola is an excellent candidate for multigrafting as well.
I am still looking for Bell and Kajang if anyone wants to trade budwood.
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Bell and Kari, with the former having the best all around flavor, but perhaps not the productivity of the latter, would be my two choices.
Keep in mind, though, that brix is dependent on Ca levels in your soil. Kari, for example, can range in brix from 8 to 13 degrees from one specimen to another depending on soil conditions. A Kari with 13 degrees of brix is outstanding, where 8 degrees of brix is interpreted as insipid.
If your soil is not naturally rich in Ca, you can go bonkers with gypsum. I noted a 4 degree rise in brix after dumping a few tons of gypsum on the property -- with no discernible rise in pH.
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Bell and Kari, with the former having the best all around flavor, but perhaps not the productivity of the latter, would be my two choices.
Keep in mind, though, that brix is dependent on Ca levels in your soil. Kari, for example, can range in brix from 8 to 13 degrees from one specimen to another depending on soil conditions. A Kari with 13 degrees of brix is outstanding, where 8 degrees of brix is interpreted as insipid.
If your soil is not naturally rich in Ca, you can go bonkers with gypsum. I noted a 4 degree rise in brix after dumping a few tons of gypsum on the property -- with no discernible rise in pH.
Do you know if I am making calcium sulfate since I am dumping sulfuric acid into my high calcium carbonate water to drop the pH? I wonder what the opposing mineral is to calcium and if I am locking it up. Magnesium maybe like in the human body. I routinely add magnesium sulfate.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I need to get a better grasp of water chemistry. Things look happy though.
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If you have Ca to begin with, I don't think sulfur affects the available calcium. As you've mentioned, I believe it just turns caco3 to gypsum.
Bell and Kari, with the former having the best all around flavor, but perhaps not the productivity of the latter, would be my two choices.
Keep in mind, though, that brix is dependent on Ca levels in your soil. Kari, for example, can range in brix from 8 to 13 degrees from one specimen to another depending on soil conditions. A Kari with 13 degrees of brix is outstanding, where 8 degrees of brix is interpreted as insipid.
If your soil is not naturally rich in Ca, you can go bonkers with gypsum. I noted a 4 degree rise in brix after dumping a few tons of gypsum on the property -- with no discernible rise in pH.
Do you know if I am making calcium sulfate since I am dumping sulfuric acid into my high calcium carbonate water to drop the pH? I wonder what the opposing mineral is to calcium and if I am locking it up. Magnesium maybe like in the human body. I routinely add magnesium sulfate.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I need to get a better grasp of water chemistry. Things look happy though.