Greenhouse, RootMaker pots for tropicals and fruit "porn"

[Coach62]

Hi Bruce.  Osmocote is slow release and works very well in our soil.  You can likely get away with 2 applications per year instead of 4.  It is the best stuff I’ve used hands down and worth every penny.

Thanks Mark, I have about 6 trees here that need I need to transplant. 

Where do you suggest I buy these?

Bruce

Harrell's is a Florida op.  You can get that Osmocote on Amazon.  8# for $16 would be a fair price.

Would love to use the Osmocote, but I have over 100 trees and Florida sand does NOT hold any nutrients to speak of.  I have to fertilize about 4X a year typically.

The cost would just b prohibitive.

And if you find yourself using tons of osmocote, Harrell's sells a similar product called polyon in 50lb bags for about half the cost of osmocote.

Thank you, I'll check that out.

[Coach62]

Hi Bruce.  Osmocote is slow release and works very well in our soil.  You can likely get away with 2 applications per year instead of 4.  It is the best stuff I’ve used hands down and worth every penny.

Thanks Mark, I have about 6 trees here that need I need to transplant. 

Where do you suggest I buy these?

Bruce

Harrell's is a Florida op.  You can get that Osmocote on Amazon.  8# for $16 would be a fair price.

Would love to use the Osmocote, but I have over 100 trees and Florida sand does NOT hold any nutrients to speak of.  I have to fertilize about 4X a year typically.

The cost would just b prohibitive.

Hmm, I wouldn't mind stopping by sometime and seeing how much you use, and where you get it from.   

Do you apply the same amount?

Thanks Marley

[Mark in Texas]

And if you find yourself using tons of osmocote, Harrell's sells a similar product called polyon in 50lb bags for about half the cost of osmocote.

And a better product by design.  It's not only regulated by water but by temp.  Warmer it is the more the nutrients are released.  Owner bought Polyon by the pallet and we applied it when planting a large vineyard just up the road from me.  I've applied Polyon to about 10,000 newly planted trees, grapevines, etc. over the years.

Being that the farm is mature I only apply Polyon/Osmocote to my greenhouse trees, about a good handful each spring to each big "pot".

[OCchris1]

Where can we get Harrell's 18-4-9 in so cal?

[Mark in Texas]

Brad, Sharwil is going nuts.  Normally my avocado trees would be dormant this time of the year.  Pinkerton is blooming too albeit it small and smothered by the others like Sharwil and Lamb.

[hawkfish007]

Where can we get Harrell's 18-4-9 in so cal?

I usually buy fertilizer from local crop production services in Temecula or San Jacinto. San Jacinto stores gives a grower discount if you have more than 20 or 25 fruit trees.

[Mark in Texas]

Hi Mark!
Glad to hear about the dwarf pineapple.  They are fun little things!  I honestly don't know what I am doing wrong with Jackfruit and Mango.  Over-watering? Not enough light? Not enough heat? I want to use the Rootmaker pots, but I worry that my native soil under the greenhouse gets too cold in the winter (under 45-50 by the wall).  Plus, we flood irrigate, and the greenhouse gets 6 inches of water every week in the summer, and it takes over a day to drain down through our nasty clay soil.  Also, I tend to move my pots a lot.  Sometimes I can't reach the wall of the greenhouse unless I move pots around (read - she just has too many freakin' plants out there...).
I wonder, are any of these valid concerns? Thoughts on cold clay soil and frequent flooding, anyone???

Merry Christmas to you, and to all my "fruity" friends!

Carolyn

Missed this one Carolyn, sorry.

Yeah, I don't think RootBuilder is the way to go for you.  Perhaps a conventional pot painted with MicroKote would be more practical.  The frequent flooding doesn't sound tree friendly to me considering you have clay.  Most plants need little water during their cold dormant season.  Pineapples can get away (and should) with none for months during the winter, then again I let my lows drop to around 35F.  Too much water on some of these trees during winter and the root rot sets in.

Happy New Year and gardening, stay warm!

[OCchris1]

Thanks Hawk!

[Daintree]

Thanks Mark!

I just finished repotting my citrus today into a mix with WAY more vermiculite than I normally use to encourage drainage.  The bottoms of the pots were just mud and the bottom third of their roots were not looking good.  Although I HAVE been getting fruit off of them...

I am going to try to raise all the pots onto bricks or something before the next irrigation season, and next time I repot, I will try the MicroKote.

Cheers,
Carolyn

[Mark in Texas]

Thanks Mark!

I just finished repotting my citrus today into a mix with WAY more vermiculite than I normally use to encourage drainage.  The bottoms of the pots were just mud and the bottom third of their roots were not looking good.  Although I HAVE been getting fruit off of them...

I am going to try to raise all the pots onto bricks or something before the next irrigation season, and next time I repot, I will try the MicroKote.

Cheers,
Carolyn

Good luck!  Some rootstocks do well in heavy clay, some don't.  Choice of the rootstock is important.

[z_willus_d]

Hi Mark, everything you're doing there looks great.  Best wishes for a successful Spring this year.

[Mark in Texas]

Hi Mark, everything you're doing there looks great.  Best wishes for a successful Spring this year.

Thanks bud, same to you!  How did your project turn out?

I've got a 12' Reed about to explode in blooms.

[OCchris1]

That Microkote is no joke by the way. Ive used it on hundreds of pots by now, and the root mass looks beautiful when repotting/ planting. I think 90% of my collection has Micrkote on their pots (not sponsored)

[Mark in Texas]

That Microkote is no joke by the way. Ive used it on hundreds of pots by now, and the root mass looks beautiful when repotting/ planting. I think 90% of my collection has Micrkote on their pots (not sponsored)

Yep, it's the only way to garden in pots.  I may have mentioned it but until I ran out I used a similar product called Griffin's Spin-Out.  Copper hydroxide in a latex paint.  100% effective.

[z_willus_d]

Hi Mark, everything you're doing there looks great.  Best wishes for a successful Spring this year.

Thanks bud, same to you!  How did your project turn out?

I've got a 12' Reed about to explode in blooms.

Things are going well here.  You can read up and see pics from the side-yard Avocado project here:
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=27629.msg346847#msg346847

This past week, I transplanted 13 citrus trees to 4-panel RootMaker pots.  I have limited space in the flat part of my backyard, so I'm going to have to prune heavily to keep the trees in their limited airspace.  Here's a pic of the situation as of today.  I'm looking forward to observing how the citrus thrives in their new root-pruning pots.  Several of them were quite root-bound from just a year in their 5G pots. They all arrived via mail from Four Winds Nursery in very small 1 quart (or thereabout) tall, square-shaped nursery "pots."  I look forward to following your fabled Reed.

[Mark in Texas]

Things are going well here.  You can read up and see pics from the side-yard Avocado project here:
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=27629.msg346847#msg346847

This past week, I transplanted 13 citrus trees to 4-panel RootMaker pots.  I have limited space in the flat part of my backyard, so I'm going to have to prune heavily to keep the trees in their limited airspace.  Here's a pic of the situation as of today.  I'm looking forward to observing how the citrus thrives in their new root-pruning pots.  Several of them were quite root-bound from just a year in their 5G pots. They all arrived via mail from Four Winds Nursery in very small 1 quart (or thereabout) tall, square-shaped nursery "pots."  I look forward to following your fabled Reed.

Everything looks great!

Wish I could order from Four Winds.  Much of Texas is under quarantine regarding HLB, citrus greening problem.

[z_willus_d]

Well, I wouldn't say everything looks great with all the roots I had to tear up to flatten the side-yard area still lingering, and I need to lay down the wood chips over that weed cover...run the irrigation lines.  But I think those citrus trees should be happy there getting morning to afternoon light, etc.  It will be interesting to see how mature they get in their 4-panel root-builder "containers."

[zephian]

Things are going well here.  You can read up and see pics from the side-yard Avocado project here:
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=27629.msg346847#msg346847

This past week, I transplanted 13 citrus trees to 4-panel RootMaker pots.  I have limited space in the flat part of my backyard, so I'm going to have to prune heavily to keep the trees in their limited airspace.  Here's a pic of the situation as of today.  I'm looking forward to observing how the citrus thrives in their new root-pruning pots.  Several of them were quite root-bound from just a year in their 5G pots. They all arrived via mail from Four Winds Nursery in very small 1 quart (or thereabout) tall, square-shaped nursery "pots."  I look forward to following your fabled Reed.

Everything looks great!

Wish I could order from Four Winds.  Much of Texas is under quarantine regarding HLB, citrus greening problem.

In the county he lives in they have a quarantine zone (I buy my plants in the same county) but they never actually ask what county you're going to be planting in...
as a side note - Green acres had some australian finger limes from four wind growers a few weeks back!

[z_willus_d]

Hi Kris,

That first small-leaved shrubby tree/plant in my pic is an Australian Finger Lime from Four Winds.  I saw a plant at Costco a year back that was probably 5 times the size of that plant and for half the price.  I cringed a bit when I saw that, but I kind of like shepherding the trees from acorn to maturity.

[Bananaizme]

That Microkote is no joke by the way. Ive used it on hundreds of pots by now, and the root mass looks beautiful when repotting/ planting. I think 90% of my collection has Micrkote on their pots (not sponsored)

 Chris I totally agree with you about Micro-kote. I have just about everything grown in pots treated with it and when I do repot I notice a perfect rootball. I planted 90% of my mangos last year into 15 gallon painted with microkote and will bump into 25 gallon next year and do the same thing.

 William

[Mark in Texas]

Reed avocado tree has become a beast at 12'H X 8' wide, coming back from a frozen stump in March 2018. 3 thick trunks, just beginning to flower. Love the big, red new leaves. Gorgeous tree.  "Naked" cocktail cherimoya tree in the foreground, 3 varieties were from Behl, all took.  Side veneer and cleft. 





Nice size Ardith I grafted Sept. 2018 on the left, giant Atis sugar apple, newly plucked skeleton, Reed in the back.



Second Pinkerton graft to push, this one at a permanent installation.  Still waiting on another side veneer graft to push on this Bacon seedling rootstock.

[alangr088]

Reed avocado tree has become a beast at 12'H X 8' wide, coming back from a frozen stump in March 2018. 3 thick trunks, just beginning to flower. Love the big, red new leaves. Gorgeous tree.  "Naked" cocktail cherimoya tree in the foreground, 3 varieties were from Behl, all took.  Side veneer and cleft. 





Nice size Ardith I grafted Sept. 2018 on the left, giant Atis sugar apple, newly plucked skeleton, Reed in the back.



Second Pinkerton graft to push, this one at a permanent installation.  Still waiting on another side veneer graft to push on this Bacon seedling rootstock.

My Reed looks like that and it took it 4 years in ground to get that size. Pretty crazy growth...do you give it anything special?  Ive heard foliar feeding with Molasses, fish fertilizer, and seaweed makes trees grow fast.

[spaugh]

Mark your setup is really rockin it.  Your trees look amazing.  You using all rain water on those beauties?  How big is your rain catch?

[Mark in Texas]

Mark your setup is really rockin it.  Your trees look amazing.  You using all rain water on those beauties?  How big is your rain catch?

Thanks man.  305 gal. tank.  Last time I watered I went thru 200 gals.  which was overkill.

Have a friendly hummingbird that hits on the citrus flowers.



Side veneer graft of the Pinkerton is pushing.    So far all grafts took and look great.

[Mark in Texas]

My Reed looks like that and it took it 4 years in ground to get that size. Pretty crazy growth...do you give it anything special?  Ive heard foliar feeding with Molasses, fish fertilizer, and seaweed makes trees grow fast.

Nothing more than rainwater and either Polyon or Osmocote, 12 month release, high N.

This is what it looked like March 19, 2018.  It was 10' tall 7 months later.  I chose 3 of those shoots to become trunks which are going on 3" thick!