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Topics - Gary Greenfingers

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1
Good to see you again, ladies and gentlemen! It's been some time since my last post.

Having tried metal halide lighting and experienced the pro's and cons first hand, I want to give LED lights a try. The model I have in mind is a 'Mars Hydro' 1200, which has a true wattage of 552W: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5X-Mars-II-1200-LED-Grow-Light-Hydro-Plant-Panel-Full-Spectrum-IR-Lamp-True-552W-/252109373367?hash=item3ab2e3bfb7:g:9PEAAOSwKtlWlMEj

Having watched a video on YouTube featuring tropical fruits grown under LED (the model was called 'Black Dog', if I recall correctly), I am rather excited about trying LED lights for indoor tropical fruit growing. Unfortunately, unlike the Black Dog LED (which is not readily obtainable in the UK- I would have to import one from the USA), the Mars Hydro (which is available in the UK) does not have UV-emitting LEDs incorporated into it. IR LEDs yes, but no UV whatsoever.

My question is: just how important is UV for  vegetative growth, fruit development & ripening, pigment production (e.g. carotenoids, lycopenes) and the production of essential oil flavour components (e.g. terpenes) in the leaves and fruits?

Considering that the LED light I am interested in does not produce any UV, could I supply UV externally using a reptile lamp?



2
Hi all,

Having finally come to terms with the fact that a supermarket mango seed (variety: 'Kent') will yield nothing more than an exotic foliage houseplant at best, I plan on getting a grafted dwarf mango. My hope is to get the plant to bear at least a single fruit to full maturation in the less than ideal climatic conditions of England, 51 degrees North. Hardly equatorial, I know, but I want to give it a shot! What would be the main obstacles to getting the plant to bear ripe and edible fruit?

My other tender/subtropicals, such as my 'Wonderful' pomegranate (seed), bergamot orange (grafted), kaffir lime (seed), yuzu (grafted), pineapple (top off a supermarket fruit) and tamarillo (seed), are doing OK outside at the moment, but I was surprised to learn that new leaf growth is easily sun scorched even at my northern latitude, where the summer UV levels never exceed 7. It's not just the sun that's causing the damage, but a combination of wind exposure and the UK's less than ideal humidity levels compared to the equatorial tropics. I am thinking of erecting a vertical clear polythene screen (like a wind breaker) around the plants, grouped together to conserve moisture, to protect them against the drying effect of the prevailing southwesterly wind.

I have 600W HPS and MH growlights for overwintering and a couple of ultrasonic humidifiers ('Mist Makers'). However, no matter how strong my growlights are, their UV-A and UV-B output can never match that of the sun- even at my latitude. I've heard that UV-A or UV-B is required for essential oil production and leaf pigmentation, but what about fruit ripening? Should I just call it quits and stick to growing strawberries and apples instead? Am I wasting my time in trying to grow a dwarf mango at my latitude?

Garry Greenfingers


3
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Leaf Issues
« on: April 05, 2015, 06:38:12 PM »
Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could possibly identify the cause(s) of these leaf issues some of my plants are having. All of my plants are currently grown under T5 fluorescent lighting. I am thinking of switching to a Dual Spectrum HPS Sunmaster brand of  growlight, connected to a dimmable ballast. My only concern would be the heat issue. Yes, a fan would help to dissipate excess heat, but would the constantly moving air lower the humidity too much?

Containerised Bergamot Orange, grafted, pictures of mature foliage. Note the yellow discolouration on leaf margins and the dry appearance of the leaves (the plant is well-watered, by the way):







Bergamot, new growth. Note that it looks pale green in colour, with a straggly appearance:





Graviola/soursop seedling:











Coffea Arabica seedling:







Note the very anaemic-looking (chlorotic) foliage of this coffea arabica seedling:



Tamarillo, young plant. Overall, very healthy, but I wonder what is causing the raised, discolured bumps on the leaf surface:



4
Hi,

I am growing tropical fruit trees indoors in England, UK. Hardly a tropical climate, I know, but I have to make do with what I have, unless I emigrate to sunnier climes. Among others, I have a 7ft tall 3 year old seed-grown carambola (not sure exactly which variety, but it was grown from a grocery store fruit imported into the UK from Thailand or Malaysia, if I recall correctly), a seed-grown grocery store lemon (variety:' Primofiore'), and a recently acquired grafted bergamot orange (c. berrgamia), which has recently finished flowering (only 1 flower, but it's a start).

Yes, I know that my seed-grown containerised trees may not bear fruit for some time yet, or if they manage to do so at some point in the future, the fruit may not be true to type, but I am keeping my seed grown lemon and starfruit for sentimental reasons. Anyhow, the leaves of my seed-grown lemon are deliciously fragrant when crushed. Plants grown from store-bought fruit first got me into this hobby; nowadays, however, I am more interested in getting fruit, so I try to hunt down grafted fruit trees.

I am also growing Ceylon cinnamon, Arabica coffee, tea tree (melaleuca), sapodilla, tea (camellia sinsensis), miracle berry, and the ultra-tropical soursop/graviola, all of which are very young plants and have a lot of growing up to do. 

My plants are gown under two T5 HO growlights: one 216W and one 432W, 33,200 lumens, 6,500 Kelvin. Light intensity at a distance of 30cm (1ft) away from the tubes is 20,000 lux. Whilst these growlights are very good for seedlings, I feel that they are not strong enough for getting containerised fruit trees to mature and bear fruit. The pale, straggly new growth with long internodes on my lemon and bergamot is probably indicative that the light they're getting is not enough.

Would you recommend that I switch over to a 400W metal halide or a powerful LED? The disadvantage of Metal Halide is the excess heat, which is why I would opt to have a few 400W units than a single powerful 1000W unit. If cost was not an issue, I would go for a powerful (400W and upwards) LED unit. I have heard good reviews of Black Dog LED (in fact, one guy on this forum has managed to get his carambolas and miracle berry plants to bear fruit under them), but this particular brand of LED is not available here in the UK. I am cautious about buying LED lights from Ebay- the poor grammar and spelling errors of the China-based suppliers only serves to embolden my suspicion that I would be paying a lot of money for useless junk that is no better than T5 fluorescents or CFL's

My plants get some natural sunlight from my west-facing window, but it is nowhere near enough as being outside in a greenhouse. Unfortunately, I don't currently have the outdoor space for a greenhouse, but I do have the option of putting my containerised plants outside during the summer months to soak up as much sun as they can. It's the best I can do when I am stuck with living in a Northerly latitude (if I had the opportunity, I would move to somewhere like Florida in an instant! You equatorial  growers are lucky!).

One thing my plants do get a lot of is humidity- thanks to the clear plastic growtent, which traps moisture.
















5
Hello,

Apart from tropical fruit-bearing trees and shrubs, I am also a big fan of tropical spices, herbs and medicinals. I am hoping that someone might be able to ship some pimenta racemosa (Bay Rum) or pimenta racemosa var. citrifolia (Bay Rum 'lemon scent') seeds or seedlings to England, UK?

PS: is slow growth a characteristic of seed-grown allspice? I have a 4 month old seedling that is barely 1.5cm tall. Despite ample 30 degree C warmth, light and high humidity, its growth rate is unbelievably slow- far slower than my sapodilla. I have a long wait before I can harvest the aromatic leaves for use in my recipes! My allspice seeds were imported from a grower in Hawaii.

Regards,

Gary

6
Dear fellow tropical fruit enthusiasts,

I would really appreciate some advice on:

GROWING TROPICAL FRUITS SUCCESSFULLY IN NORTHERN COOL TEMPERATE LATITUDES. IS IT POSSIBLE TO OBTAIN RIPE, EDIBLE FULL-SIZE FRUIT?

IS IT POSSIBLE TO WATERPROOF GROW LIGHTS TO ELIMINATE ELECTRICAL HAZARD WHEN OPERATING IN A HIGH HUMIDITY ENVIRONMENT?

I like to keep humidity levels high (at least 90% relative humidity) in my indoor mylar foil-lined plastic grow tent. My carambola, avocado, sapodilla (as featured in the photo), citrus and soursop (all grown from seed, since I find grafted plants impossible to import into the UK, especially from Florida) have put out an abundance of new growth since I maximised the humidity. I've never had fungal problems, but if I did, I would spray the affected areas with a very weak hydrogen peroxide or copper sulphate solution.

The humidity is so high that there is a lot of condensation. This poses an obvious safety risk when using electrical equipment, such as grow lights. However, my growlights, which consist of two T5 HO fluorescent units (each rated at 216 Watt, 16,600 lumens, 6500 Kelvin) are mounted outside my grow tent, which eliminates the electrical hazard, but light can still penetrate the clear PVC plastic of the grow tent. Mylar foil surrounding the T5 units and the grow tent maximises light availability to the plants. Do you think that my two current T5 units, which are run simultaneously, can generate enough light to induce not only flowering and fruit set, but also ripening/maturation? I live in a cool temperate climate (England, UK, latitude: 50 degrees 52' N) and plan to move many of my containerised tropicals (except ultra-tropicals, such as my soursop) outside from mid-April until late September. I overwinter them indoors.

I intend to buy a grafted 'Keitt' mango and Canistel ('Fes' or 'Bruce'- which is better for container culture?). Both will spend their lives in 30 litre size (equivalent to 7 US gallons?) containers. Do I stand a chance of obtaining fully ripe, edible fruit from them in my climate, and with my current T5 light set-up?

I've noticed that the light from my T5 fluorescent units only registers on my light meter when in close proximity, yet the supposedly weak sunlight of the March sunset gives a very strong reading!

On a different matter, I have a tiny, tiny 4 month old allspice (pimenta dioica) seedling, which is barely more than 1cm tall. It has hardly grown at all ever since it germinated- 4 months ago!. Is this extremely slow growth typical of seed-grown allspice? Could it be due to weak genetics of this particular seed? Out of 40 seeds, two germinated. One died, and I have one left, which I don't want to lose, since subtropical allspice shrubs/small trees are impossible to obtain here in England. Temperature inside my grow house is sultry 32 degrees Celcius when my T5's are on (they do emit some heat, which has a tendency of driving away moisture from the leaves of humidity-loving tropicals when it is too close to them).

Gary








7
I am thinking of getting a container-compatible grafted dwarf or 'condo' mango variety, such as a Pickering, Nam doc mai, Julie, Ice Cream, and so on. As someone who lives in the not-so-tropical United Kingdom, I plan to keep the containerised mango outside in my garden from late spring to early autumn, then return it indoors before the night time temperature starts to dip below 7 degrees C.

I can provide supplementary artifical light in the form of two 4-tube, 4ft, 216 Watt, 16,600 lumens, 6500 Kelvin T5 HO fluorescent units (brand: "Lightwave T5", marketed by Growth Technology). These two T5 units are running simultaneously, so that's a total lumen output of 33,200 lumens.

Is this sufficient lumen/light intensity output to assist the mango during the colder months? What about fruit set and ripening?

These growlights emit heat, but less so compared to HPS. With my two T5 units running simultaneously, the temperature in my conservatory reaches a sultry 35 degrees C. I keep the relative humidity high, at 90+%. My plants love these high humidity levels, especially my seed-grown carambola, which has put out an abundance of new growth. At lower humidity levels, I found that the heat from the T5 was driving moisture away from the leaves of the carambola, causing yellowing and twig die-back. Even my avocado plants like the high humidity levels and have put out a flush of new leaves. Despite such high humidity levels, I rarely encounter fungal growth on my plants. I think the high temperature discourages fungal growth.

I have been growing tropical fruit plants as 'novelty' indoor foliage plants, but I am becoming increasingly interested in getting my plants to bear fruit. Even if my plants bear a single fruit, I would be a happy man. I have become so deeply interested in tropicals that I now wished I lived in warmer climes!

8
Hello,

Would anyone consider shipping small size tropical fruit trees (preferably propagated by vegetative means, as opposed to seeds), small grafted specimens or cuttings overseas to England, UK?

I grow tropicals (including tropical fruit, herbs and spices) as indoor container plants. I am keen to acquire a small sized mango, canistel or sapote cultivar and various other tropical fruit species that are capable of bearing fruit if grown in a sufficiently large (i.e. 30 litre+) container on a permanent basis. I am currently growing healthy soursop/guanabana, sapodilla (manilkara zapota, of unknown variety), various citrus, lychee (of unknown variety), Hass avocado, allspice (pimenta dioica), dragonfruit, carambola and coffea arabica, but I have doubts as to whether these seed-grown plants will ever flower and bear fruit in containers. I figure that if I can successfully import live plants (preferably grafted dwarf or container-compatible cultivars) or cuttings taken from mature fruit-bearing plants, I would stand a more realistic chance of obtaining fruit (and within a reasonable time) compared to raising plants directly from seed.

I asked Connecticut-based Logees nursery (http://www.logees.com/ ) if they can ship plants internationally; they said that it was too difficult a task, so they've made it company policy not to ship overseas. When I made enquiries with Florida-based Top Tropicals ( http://toptropicals.com/), they said that the cost of the phytosanitary certificate is prohibitively expensive (but they didn't actually quote the price).

As you can imagine, no plant nurseries in the typically cool (and sometimes cold) UK offer anything more tropical than grafted citrus and olives. Hence, if I want to acquire truly tropical plants (as opposed to seeds, which are relatively easy to acquire), I have to consider importing them from nurseries based overseas in warmer climates, such as Florida and California in the US, and Thailand in Asia. I am more than happy to meet the additional expense of a phytosanitary certificate to satisfy UK Customs. The mild weather of spring is now upon us in the UK, and I am confident that plants will survive the journey provided they are packaged well.

Can anyone help?  :)

9
Would anyone be willing to ship PLANTS, CUTTINGS or GRAFTED specimens to England, UK? As someone who is VERY keen on growing rare and unusual tropicals as atypical indoor container plants/houseplants, I find it frustrating that nurseries/growers over here in the UK offer nothing more exotic than grafted generic citrus, pomegranate and olive. I'm under the impression that I would generally stand more chance of getting container-grown woody tropical trees/shrubs to bear fruit if they were propagated by VEGETATIVE means (i.e. cuttings or grafts derived from MATURE parent plants), rather than by seed.

I'd love to grow cinnamon (nice aromatic foliage), miracle fruit, acerola (Barbados cherry) as indoor plants, but nobody in my country is able to provide seeds, young plants or even cuttings (not surprising really, as the UK's climate is hardly tropical!). I'm growing soursop (from imported fruit), arabica coffee, allspice (I managed to obtain seed from Hawaii!), sapodilla (from a grocery store fruit), dragon fruit, Australian finger lime (seeds obtained from Australia), starfruit (from a grocery store fruit), citrus bergamia (from imported Calabrian bergamot fruits), citrus hystrix (from a Thai food store), Marsh grapefruit, Hass avocado, and various other tropicals and subtropicals as somewhat atypical/unusual (by UK horticultural standards!) houseplants. However, ALL of them were raised from SEED, and for this reason I have doubts that my seed-grown containerised tropical fruit trees, which will have to be pruned in order to maintain a manageable size, will ever mature enough to bear fruit. Yes, they are nice foliage houseplants (and the citrus and allspice have aromatic foliage as a bonus), but it would be great if they could ever bear flowers and fruit in years to come!

I read somewhere that seed-grown tropical fruit trees have to reach maturity (and gain many feet of vertical height in the process!) in order to become capable of bearing fruit. Pruning, which is essential for indoor plants, apparently keeps the tree in the juvenile stage, which means that it will never bear fruit. Is this a true assertion, and does it apply to ALL woody tropical fruit tree/shrub species?

I wish I could somehow import cuttings from MATURE parent trees, or grafted potted plants that are capable of bearing fruit if they're kept in containers on a permanent basis. I would like to import plant material (other than seeds) in a legal manner, and through the proper channels so that I don't get into trouble with UK Customs. I assume that I would need a phytosanitary certificate and permission from UK Customs before I can import plant material? Of course importing seeds is much easier, but not all seed-grown tropical fruit trees are capable of bearing fruit in containers.

If UK climate was warmer I could fully unleash my greenthumb potential; I think I'm living in the wrong country! 

Regards,

Gary

10
Hello,

It's been a while since my last post.
I'm on an endless quest to procure some VIABLE coffee (coffea arabica, canephora, liberica, etc) seeds. I'm not a comerical grower; I just like growing tropical plants as a hobby. Tropicals are something of a novelty in the cool, temperate parts of the world. Much to my frustration, the desiccated-looking coffee seeds bought from Ebay seed suppliers here in the UK never germinate, probably because they've been stored for so long that they are no longer viable. Can anyone suggest sources of viable, fresh coffee seeds? Seeds from recently harvested berries/cherries have the highest germination rate.

Also, I am considering selling seeds as a small home-based online business. I'd be very grateful for tips and advice from those who have relevant experience. Is selling seeds and plants profitable? Does anyone know of wholsale seeds uppliers in the UK/Europe?

Best Regards,

Gary

11
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« on: October 23, 2013, 07:05:40 PM »
Hello,

I'm new to this forum. My name is Gary, and I am from England, UK. I like to grow subtropical and tropical edibles and ethnobotanicals as unconventional containerised houseplants/indoor plants. Many of my plants have aromatic foliage; I like to put my chemistry knowledge to practical use by extracting the essential oils and other useful phytochemicals from plant material.

Until I can afford a spacious heated greenhouse, my growing space  is confined to within my home, with the aid of supplementary lighting during the shorter days of  autumn and winter, and a large clear polythene plastic walk-in growhouse (to maintain a humid microclimate around the plants).

 I grow all of my plants from seed, as I personally regard buying young or pre-germinated plants as 'cheating'! I am currently growing various species of citrus (Nagami kumquat, Marsh grapefruit, Meyer lemon, kaffir lime and clementine), soursop, red- and white-fleshed dragonfruit, Hass avoacdo, pineapple, lychee, carambola, passiflora ligularis, sapodilla (manilkara zapota), turmeric, patchouli (p.cablin) and damiana (the last 3 are obviously herb species).

Obviously, the fruit tree species will never reach tree-like proportions indoors, so branch and root pruning is a must (think 'semi-bonsai'). If they ever bear fruit in containers, then it's a bonus, but I am growing these plants purely for pleasure. If only I was lucky enough to live in the Tropics!  :D

I would like to procure fresh and viable seeds of the following:
1.Miracle fruit
2.Allspice (pimenta dioica)
3.Cassia cinnamon
4.Coffee (coffea arabica, canephora, liberica, etc)
5.Canistel (egg fruit)
6.Soursop/guanabana
7.Cacoa or other theobroma sp., such as cupuassu (I know that it is possible to grow cacoa indoors; take a look at Ray's 'Voodoo Garden' Youtube video: Look what's growing! Cacoa features at 24.10)

Do all of these species grow well in large containers, with regular root and branch pruning?

Having failed to germinate kaffir lime, soursop and coffee seeds purchased from UK-based horticultural suppliers (most of which are on Ebay), I have vowed to obtain the freshest seed possible, preferably directly from the source or country of origin. Whenever I sow fresh, viable seeds immediately after removal from the fruit, I nearly always get a 90-100% germination rate, no matter what the species.

Conversely, when I purchase dried, dessicated (most likely non-viable) seeds from horticultural suppliers, the resultant % germination is a big fat ZERO! Much to my frustration, every seed becomes discoloured and mushy. Eventually, a furry 'jacket' of grey mould covers the entire batch of expired seeds.  Pre-treatment with hydrogen peroxide (to kill fungal spores and bacteria) makes no difference. I start all my seeds in moist perlite, which is a sterile, inorganic growing media.

I would be very happy grower if fellow forum members can direct me towards a source of the seeds listed above. To ensure seed viability, I need the freshest seed possible, preferably direct from the source or country of origin. Dried or dessicated seeds, or seeds that have been stored for many weeks prior to purchase, simply don't work for me.  :(

Gary










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