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Messages - Epicatt2

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Planting out Cambucá in full sun? Advice please . . .
« on: Today at 12:49:18 AM »
Quote from: skhan on April 18, 2024, 06:58:31 AM
For me they've been pretty vigorous compared to other plinias, I can go from seed to a full 1g size in about a year.
As for the self compatibility I haven't really known plinias to have an issue with it but I mostly know mangos and annonas so I maybe be mistaken.

Thanks for that info about speed of growth, Skhan.

It's helpful to know.

Paul M.
==

2
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Planting out Cambucá in full sun? Advice please . . .
« on: April 18, 2024, 02:32:33 AM »
So, is cambucá one of those plants that when it's small grows very slowly
and then at some point suddenly takes off and grows lots faster?

Is it self-fertile or do you need more than one plant to get a good fruit set?

Paul M.
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3
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Slugs
« on: April 17, 2024, 11:32:43 AM »
PS -  You can also dilute leftover cold coffee with an equal amount of tap water and spray
it on or around your plants/seedlings and there's enough caffeine in it to repel the slugs.

The caffeine when it comes into direct contact with slugs and snails causes them to go into
convulsions and die.  They avoid any contact with caffeine at all cost.

I especially like the fact that caffeine is not toxic to mammals and birds.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
==

4
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Planting out Cambucá in full sun? Advice please . . .
« on: April 17, 2024, 11:12:29 AM »
Oh, I forgot to add that my cambucá is about 4 years old.

Paul M.
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5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Does anyone own this book? Is it worth it?
« on: April 17, 2024, 02:25:15 AM »
Quote from: K-Rimes on April 16, 2024, 01:44:42 PM
It's a fantastic book with photos of the trees in nature full size, the fruits, leaves, and flowers. It will not give you any advice that is revolutionary to growing the species, but it is an amazing coffee table book that you can use to show people the fruits you're chasing down, or give you inspiration for a new species you want to get for your yard.

It is by far the most I have ever spent on a book, and in the end I think it was worth it. I paid $120 delivered.

I paid close to the same amount as K-Rimes did, Triangle, and agree with him that it's a very useful and thorough book.

Even though it is in Portuguese many of the fruit and plant descriptions use similar terms for explanation so with the help of a translator it becomes gradually easier to understand a good bit of what's being described once you've memorized a dozen or so of the most commonly used desciptive words and phrases.

The photography and the grids showing the size of the fruits are also most helpful. 

I recommend this book highly.

Good luck finding a copy (of either version).  BTW, the english-language version with the blue cover seems to be essentially out of print.  The portuguese edition is a more recent publication and contains some fruits that weren't included in the earlier english-language edition.

Paul M.
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6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Planting out Cambucá in full sun? Advice please . . .
« on: April 17, 2024, 02:06:55 AM »
Gentle Tropical Fruit Lovers,

How large / old / tall does Plinia edulis, i..e. cambucá, need to be before it is safe
to plant it out into a full-sun situation here in zone 9b?

Mine had slowed down in a 3 gal pot so I moved it up into a 5 gal pot and doing
that seems to have jump-started it into a big flush of new leaves.

It's about two feet tall now and I keep a saucer under its pot as a water reservoir
to allow it to drink freely.  It tends to use up the water in its saucer in one day.

Any advice or suggestions welcomed.

Paul M.
==

7
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Slugs
« on: April 17, 2024, 01:53:36 AM »
Quote from: adhawk76 on April 16, 2024, 12:23:39 PM
Anyone else battling slugs this spring in Socal? They've totally infested my container seedlings. They're on a table and the legs have tanglefoot. I've got a few slugs with beer traps. But, I'm losing the battle. They're eating all the new spring young leaves. Any ideas?

Adam, the several suggestions about coffee grounds for slugs (and snails) is a good one.

That is because the residual caffeine in spent coffee grounds is a proven neurotoxin for slugs and snails. They will avoid the coffee grounds at all costs.  Only a .5- to 2% of residual caffeine in used coffee grounds is sufficient to repel slugs and snails.

BTW, if you don't drink coffee you may be able to convince a nearby restaurant of diner to let you have some old coffee grounds.  AND, coffee grounds are non-toxic to birds and mammals!

OK — HTH

Paul M.
==

8
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Question: Any Interest in Yellow Passion Fruit Cuttings
« on: April 16, 2024, 03:19:06 AM »
Quote from: sc4001992 on April 13, 2024, 08:51:17 AM
[snip]
[snip]

Dang!  Where's the goose that laid that golden egg??

Paul M.
==

9
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Question: Any Interest in Yellow Passion Fruit Cuttings
« on: April 15, 2024, 10:45:50 AM »
Quote from: sc4001992 on April 15, 2024, 12:03:43 AM
[snip]  if there are enough interest in these cuttings, I can make them available later this week. For now, I will send out to the people who already order & paid for them.

I should be able to go get more cuttings this week, so if there are more interest then I will do so.

Also, I will change the order quantity from 1 only to 2 max per member if you like to order 2 cuttings.

Please post below if you would be interested in a second Advance list order. Otherwise I won't take the cuttings.

PM sent.  Would like two cuttings.

Paul M.
==

10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Pint-sized pineapple introduced in Costa Rica
« on: April 14, 2024, 11:31:01 PM »
Apart from the complaints about Del Monte in Costa Rica, Fresh Del Monte is introducing the 'Honey-Glo':

Quote
Fresh Del Monte has announced the launch of a personal-sized pineapple, weighing between 0.6 and 0.9kg, grown in Costa Rica. This new product complements the well-known Honeyglow, Pinkglow (pink pineapple), and Rubyglow (red-shelled) varieties.

Precious Honeyglow will be exclusively available in the United States, catering to the needs of consumers in single-person households, thereby reducing food waste.

There is more to this article posted April 10th in Costa Rica's online newspaper, "The Tico Times', and for those interested, the rest of the article may be read here:

Precious Honeyglow: Costa Rica’s Personal-Sized Pineapple
https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/10/precious-honeyglow-costa-ricas-personal-sized-pineapple

Wonder how long it will be before we see these pocket piñas in US supermarkets?

Cheers!

Paul M.
==

11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Gopher Gold
« on: April 14, 2024, 02:28:17 PM »
If you're also having a problem with squirrels in addition to gophers in California there's now a provider of the Goodnature Pest Control Traps, model A18 for squirrels and rats. (At the time of this writing I looked and it's on sale.)

It's not cheap, but was worth it to me since mine is helping to control squirrels here in Tampa (FL) that have been stripping my tree of all my 'Mexicola Grande' fruit before it ever ripens.  The two seasons before I got zilch off my tree. 

The Goodnature traps are quick, humane, and effective using no poisons. 

I have no monetary interest in these traps, I'm just a satisfied user, so here's a link to the California provider.
Gallagher Animal Management:
https://store.am.gallagher.com/am/us/en_US/animal-management/goodnature-rat-%26-mouse-traps/goodnature-a18-squirrel-trap-kit/p/GNK-A18-003

True, these traps are on the pricey side but they work, and I have found them well worth the cost.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
==


12
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: 🌴🍉🥭 Argentine & Brazilian Native Fruit Tree Seeds! 40% Off This Weekend Only
« on: April 12, 2024, 12:59:33 PM »
Very nice website; easy to navigate; order placed for seeds; easy to pay with Paypal.

Plus a very nice discount offered this weekend!

Cheers!

Paul M.
Tampa, FL 33610
==

13
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Nursery pots for sale
« on: April 12, 2024, 01:54:33 AM »
Too bad that I'm all the way across country in Florida, Brad, or I'd take you up on some of those tall pots.

Good luck!

Paul M.
==

14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Sweet Cas Guava?
« on: April 11, 2024, 10:33:16 AM »
Just FWIW, ref letting cas guava get very ripe so it's sweet, in Costa Rica the
still greenish-ripe fruit is used to make a popular refresco that tastes rather
similar to lemonade.

Anyway that is another option for how to use cas guava fruit.

Cheers!

Paul M.
==

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: White sapote roots — are they invasive?
« on: April 11, 2024, 10:24:00 AM »
So...does a tall, lanky white sapote, depending on the cultivar in question, respond well
to pruning to keep it manageable for harvesting the fruit?  I'm considering purning back
mine which is in the ground and ten feet tall to keep it at about eight feet tall. It's trunk
is only about 2-inches in diameter.

Will pruning like this cause the tree to sulk and reduce the amount of fruit it will set?

It's either a 'Redland' or possibly a 'Sue Bell' or its seedling.

Paul M.
==

16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: White sapote roots — are they invasive?
« on: April 10, 2024, 02:47:11 AM »
[Bogus chatbot quote edited out by me.]

My situation now is that this (now planted) sapote was in a 7 gallon pot sitting in a saucer and would drink all the water n the saucer within one day if the temps were high enough here, which is most of our Florida summertime.

Problem causing me to finally plant it in the ground is that it suddenly dropped all its leaves, even though it was getting enough water, regularly. (It maybe resented the fluctuating temps.) And once in ground it finished dropping the rest of its few remaining leaves and sat there for about three weeks doing apparently nothing.

As of this writing it has begun to leaf out from an existing side-branch about two/thirds up its height (at about six feet). The very top quarter seems to be dead but I haven't given up on it yet.  It may still have some life left nearer the top.  It is now on an irrigation system that I run about every third day when it doesn't rain.

Fingers X-ed for it to recover its vigor.

Paul M.
==



17
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Saw New-to-Me Pests on Mangos
« on: April 08, 2024, 11:30:54 AM »
The first is a weevil and probably is a sucking insectl.  But the second one may be a predator bug.  Best to determine which before dispatching it.  A photo with a better resolution could help to better ID it.

Some RAID! House & Garden spray, if needed, should do them in.

Paul M.
==

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Drought in the Amazon
« on: April 07, 2024, 12:37:54 PM »
Quote from: K-Rimes on April 07, 2024, 11:52:20 AM
I am quite curious to see how the hurricane season stacks up in the Atlantic
with such warm water conditions this year, apparently will be a doozy.

2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season Could Be One Of Most Active On Record, CSU Outlook Says
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2024-04-04-hurricane-season-outlook-april

The various online news reporting entities are predicting a more active Atlantic hurricane
season for 2024, with:

named storms       23
hurricanes             11
major hurricanes     5

It is of course unknown at present how many could make landfall in the US or in other
areas. Fingers X-ed that the fewest of these possible storms affect us rather than many.

Paul M.
==

19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Two one gallon pawpaws have shipped . . .
« on: April 07, 2024, 02:05:06 AM »
UPDATE ON PAWPAWS . . .

The two dormant pawpaws I commented on earlier were planted into the ground a month ago and
as of two weeks ago both have leafed out nicely and fully.

Now let's see whether they take to having been planted in a part shade / part sun situation.

Hoping that they'll grow and thrive here in a zone that's warmer than where they are normally found.

Paul M.
==

20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Drought in the Amazon
« on: April 07, 2024, 01:58:45 AM »
While we here in west central Florida are starting to dry out, we've been benefitting
from a lot of rain durng our witertime brought by frequent passing cold fronts, com-
pliments of 'El Niño'.

Our current drying out may be thanks to a 'La Niña' pattern that's taking over now.

I am wondering whether the shifting so far north this winter of the 'El Niño' effect
managed to steal much of the rain away from areas of Central- and South Ameica.

Paul M.
==

21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Advance Preparation... Seasonal Mango rodent attacks
« on: April 06, 2024, 01:19:33 PM »
Interesting . . . Had not heard of using baking soda mixed with food (attractants) for squirrels/rodents.
I will have to try that.

I've had very good success controling rodents by using concrete powder and wheatgerm mixed half and half together and adding two or three drops of anise oil to the wheatgerm before mixing.  A bowl of water is placed nearby since the mixture will make them thirsty and the water helps the concrete to set afterwards.  They never build up any immunity to this mixture as happens with poisons.

Begone ye fluffy rats (squirrels)!

Paul M.
==



22
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Brazilian Red Pineapple
« on: April 05, 2024, 03:10:43 AM »
Sent a PM on WED evening.   Are there any slips still left?

Would like a couple if so.

Cheers!

Paul M.
==

23
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Brazilian Red Pineapple
« on: April 03, 2024, 11:12:03 PM »
PM sent . . . .

Paul M.
==

24
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Lilikoi - Which Ones Do You Grow
« on: April 03, 2024, 10:48:53 PM »
Quote from: sc4001992 on February 18, 2024, 08:26:09 PM
Just asking about the 3 types of lilikoi mentioned in the article. Some people call the P.laurifolia the Jamaican Lilikoi.

=>Jamaican Lillikoi a.k.a Water Lemon Passion fruit (Passiflora laurifolia)

I've planted two P. laurifoia plants last summer.  One never established and gradually just dried up.

The other 'took' and made it through the wintertime here in Tampa (though it didn't really cotton to the chilly temps) and has just started growing again now that it has warmed up here.

I'm hoping that this year it might bloom and try to set some fruit.

Paul M.
==

25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fruiting Biriba, Rollinia deliciosa in a container
« on: April 03, 2024, 01:23:38 PM »
It could be a build up of minerals in the soil from all the ondoor watering so likely the pots need a good flushing out.

Ideally if it's warm enough outside by now, set them out and let a good rainstorm flush the pots.

And in lieu of that go ahead with the repotting....

OK — HTH

Paul M.
==

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