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Messages - ericalynne

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1
Yes, I’ve been growing Tallium paniculatum, jewel of opar, for years. The leaves are much like spinach…a little thicker, but tender and sweet. Flowers are tiny, bright pink, born on terminal panicles. The seed capsules are small, round and hot red. The seeds are numerous and minute.

It is supposed to be perennial, but mine do not seem to come back. It self-seeds, but not in the bed they were growing in. They pop up everywhere else, however.

2
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fruits with Side Effects
« on: March 15, 2023, 09:24:13 PM »
It's a flower and not a fruit, but buzz buttons probably count: https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Fresh_Flowers_Buzz_Button_4873.php

Also called toothache plant. It produces numbness on lips, tongue and gums.
Spilanthes oleracea

3
They are in the ground 10 years or more. Full sun.

A few meaning, say 15 beans out of all five trees.

Everyone says they are prolific, which is why I am mystified.

4
Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Not forming "beans" - Moringa
« on: March 07, 2023, 08:17:58 AM »
I have five very healthy moringa trees at least 10 years old each. Two are cuttings from the Kampong. Three are from seeds sold by ECHO.

They flower like crazy. Lots and lots of blooms. There are polinatotrs on the blooms, steadily.

But I will only get a very few of the "beans." This happens every year.

I am growing them for the beans as a fresh vegetable. Does anyone have any ideas of how to increase bean production?

Thank you.

5
Carrie seedling - mature, none
Carrie - few
Angie - few but much damaged by hurricanes
Maha Chanok - lower undamaged limbs with flowers, above and damaged areas, none
Jean Ellen - full bloom
Pickering - packed with blooms

6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2023 Mango Season
« on: February 19, 2023, 08:32:31 PM »
My mangoes were hit by frost last winter and then more damage from Hurricane Ian. I was sure I’d get nothing this season, but

Pickering is in heavy, full flower.

Maha Chanok, Angie and Jean Ellen are flowering some.

Carrie is just breaking a few. Nothing yet from the Carrie seedling.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

7
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Jaboticaba - Wet Feet Myth?
« on: August 28, 2022, 04:13:01 PM »
I have had many jabos that seem to be thriving dry up and die.
I believe it has to do with the soil becoming anaerobic. So even though the soil
is wet the tree cannot absorb water. I was reading some material and it said
by adding green compost to your soil it will keep the soil in balance.
In one of Adam's videos he mentions repotting jabos yearly and this also
could help keep the soil in balance. By keeping soil wet all the time it
makes the soil become anaerobic. Jabos love water in the right soil.

I remember being told by some expert - too long ago to remember who - that Jabos take a lot of water and flooding in the Amazon but it is moving water, ie fully oxygenated. So I think you may be correct about keeping the soil aerobic.

9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Can I grow Jackfruit in a pot?
« on: February 13, 2022, 05:41:17 PM »
I have two seedling jaks from a delicious Whitman fruit growing in 25 gal pots. They do flower, the fruits rot when small.  But, they are in the shade and I’m sure that impacts fruiting.

By now, they have grown out of the pots and into the ground. I’ve no idea what to do with them at this point.

10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: When it's time ......
« on: February 13, 2022, 05:37:21 PM »
K-Rimes, are you using commercial chicken manure, or do you have a source for fresh/composted chicken manure.

If commercial, are the microbes still present after commercial processing?

I use commercial, the Kellogg brand bags, $3 for 1 cu. ft. I'm sure they cook it to some degree for safety. All I can say is literally whatever I put it on IMMEDIATELY, I'm talking 1 week, starts flying growth wise.

Sounds good. I’ll try it. Thank you.

11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: When it's time ......
« on: February 12, 2022, 11:11:23 AM »
K-Rimes, are you using commercial chicken manure, or do you have a source for fresh/composted chicken manure.

If commercial, are the microbes still present after commercial processing?

12
I’m inland from you and my mango trees have been badly affected. I have 10 trees and it nearly makes me cry to look at them.

We had 6 hours of 29 degrees the first night and 4 hours of 30 degrees the second night.

We ran a smudge pot near the Maha Chanok, but that saved only a small portion of the leaves and blooms. This was the first time we tried a smudge pot as an experiment.

I am confident the trees will survive. Some may even push new blossoms, but I am not expecting much this year in the way of mango harvest.

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Pomegranates
« on: October 12, 2020, 02:46:31 PM »
Thanks, Paul,

I will look into Top Tropicals as a pomegranate source. I have not had good luck with them, but it has been a long time since I bought plants from them.

I wonder why Excalibur carries only Indian Red, if it does not do well in SFLa

It sounds like you have soil similar to mine. Very sandy and low nutrients. Its a struggle to grow anything until it gets established.

Erica

14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Pomegranates
« on: October 12, 2020, 11:16:56 AM »
Thanks for the information and the link.

My problem is not so much which variety to get, but how to get any tree.

I have also read that pomegranates don't do all that well in Florida, but I would still like to try it. Apparently it has pretty flowers that attract hummingbirds, as well as the fruit which is described as being nutritious.

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Pomegranates
« on: October 12, 2020, 09:46:22 AM »
Is anyone in the southern half of Florida state growing Pomegranates?

I have found only two nurseries offering it. Excalibur has Indian Red only. Florida Hill Nursery sells a dwarf Red Lady they say is self-fertile.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Erica

16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Chilly Florida AM
« on: January 18, 2018, 07:38:04 PM »
Rural Highlands County, the low was 30 and lasted a couple of hours, sandwiched by an hour on each end of 32. A bit harder freeze than the last one. I had covered or brought in same as last time and about the same damage.
Erica 9b

17
I'll try to make it up there. My last appointment in Port Charlotte is at 5 pm, shouldn't last more than an hour and then a half hour to get up there. Always nice to hear a good mango talk and meet people from the forum.
Erica

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Making changes after this freeze
« on: January 04, 2018, 07:43:57 PM »
C24, I feel for your losses. I undoubtedly will have some too. I lost my greenhouse in Irma, so had no place to protect many plants. I've been working to have fewer trees and not so many who need major frost protection. I sold a lot of my really tender tropicals last year. It is too exhausting to try to cover or heat everything when you're also working a full time job.
Erica
9a

19
In my experience, spider mites do not create such a major web. It looks more like tent caterpillars from your photo. If so, you should find little caterpillars inside, in the process of growing bigger. A brief google search shows that tent caterpillars do grow on sweet potatoes.
Erica

20
Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Re: Tropical Mushroom Cultivation
« on: October 18, 2017, 06:24:07 AM »
Collecting wild edible mushrooms is a whole different topic from cultivating mushrooms, just like foraging for wild herbs is different from a garden.

So while collecting edible wild mushrooms is interesting and tasty for some, and quite risky for others, what I am really interested in is if anyone is actually cultivating known edible mushrooms. It looks quite doable and I plan to go ahead. I am just wondering if anyone here has first hand knowledge. Googling will show that internationally, there are people cultivating mushrooms on a commercial level.

So I'll keep this thread going for a bit and see if anyone responds.

Erica

21
Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Tropical Mushroom Cultivation
« on: October 16, 2017, 08:07:53 AM »
I have 20 acres of downed trees, many of them oaks; it occurred to me that perhaps I could get some benefit out of Irma by cultivating edible mushrooms. I have done some googling. According to various sources, shiitake (Lentinula edodes.)  is actually from southeast Asia and there are warm weather strains. Also there is a warm species of Pleurotis pulmonarius that will grow on sweet bay, which is the other downed tree in abundance on my property.

I am wondering if anyone on this forum has been growing mushrooms in a tropical or subtropical environment?

Erica

22
Bryan Brunner is at Montoso Gardens in PR. Nothing new is posted on his website, but then if no one has power, that would be hard to do.

We think and hope and pray for all those in PR, Mexico City....

23
I remember the prop trick now that you mention it, from my experience in Naples when some really big mango trees went down. Can't remember if it was Wilma or Charley or what. That was when I lived in town and had professionals come and put them back up.

Just a safety reminder: We were using a 4x4 four wheeler and come along to pull up the biggest tree today. Had secured it with a 1" thick rope. Rope broke and the recoil whacked my right hand pretty good. Luckily nothing was broken. Just a swollen hand/fingers.

The ones I have heeled in and the ones I have pulled up and staked are looking pretty good. The ones that broke off are already pushing new growth. Nature is amazing in its capacity for rebirth.

Erica

24
We were hard hit by Irma as well. I have six mango trees, over seven years old and 15 feet tall. The ones that did not blow over were snapped off.

For the ones which blew over, completely, I have severely cut back before standing back up. I am in no way an expert, but my understanding is that when the roots are damaged, they can't support the volume of leaves (transpiration.) Also, I think the trees will tolerate a bit of a tilt and the new growth will straighten out. I have even toyed with the idea of only propping them up to a 45 degree angle in the hope they will have less wind resistance for the next time.

Erica

25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Suggestions for Potted plants in this storm
« on: September 07, 2017, 08:44:16 AM »
I'm no expert, but have been through a number of hurricanes and/or close calls. Here is what I do: I lay them on their sides in a protected area which will not flood. Now that I am out in the country, I put them in the thick stands of palmettos. When I lived in town, I put them in areas that by educated guesstimate will be subject to less wind. Do not put them where they could be blown into your pool. I can tell you those trees drowned. :-(

Erica

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