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Messages - markinnaples

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Will Garcinia Cambogia grow in Florida?
« on: November 05, 2018, 07:21:41 PM »
They have beautiful Garcinia cambogia trees at the Fruit and Spice Park. Around November you can probably get as many seeds as you want and pick up the sour fruit from the ground to try. Bring some sugar.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Can I grow Navaho blackberries in zone 10b?
« on: November 05, 2018, 07:18:01 PM »
Kiwi has a chill requirement to flower: "There have been several attempts to grow kiwifruits in northern and central Florida, and a few vines are growing experimentally in the southern part of the state and even on the Florida Keys but, so far, only the plants at Tallahassee have fruited to any extent."

https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/kiwifruit_ars.html#Climate

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Cold Hardy Citrus / Re: Amazing Changsha tangerine survived 8F freeze!
« on: November 05, 2018, 07:12:42 PM »
I've seen even younger trees survive similar temperatures in Central Texas. Tasty but seedy fruit.

4
I believe that the plant for which you are looking is Telosma cordata. It is available from Logee's: https://www.logees.com/chinese-violet-telosma-cordata.html

5
I would also like to be put on the list for any of these interesting varieties.

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Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Dragonfruit Cuttings
« on: August 20, 2018, 10:43:47 PM »
Received my cuttings today. Very nice healthy cuttings. Thank you. And also thank you for indicating which end to plant on each cutting.

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Thanks, Miguel. I received my seeds Saturday and half of them had already germinated.

8
The roots that stores sell as a vegetable are storage organs that are incapable of producing new plants without specialized lab techniques using cytokinin. It is easy to find low-cyanide cuttings on eBay or etsy.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Be mindful
« on: June 04, 2018, 11:42:23 PM »

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Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: WANTED: velvet apple seeds
« on: May 29, 2018, 01:31:14 PM »
I bought velvet apple seeds from Luc last year and they arrived in Irma's aftermath. Every one of them sprouted and was growing well until I had the misting system on and they were moist when the night time temperature dropped below 50 F. All but 6 died within one day. So keep them on the dry side, especially if cool night time temperatures are expected. I hope to order more seeds from Luc this year now that my propagation area has been rehabilitated.

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Temperate Fruit Discussion / Re: Best tasting fig?
« on: May 12, 2018, 01:45:02 AM »
Figs taste differently when grown in different areas. In Texas, Louisiana Gold was my terrier's favorite as well as mine. But I've had Panache in the SF Bay area which were great although in Texas Panache often isn't that great. Figs4Fun has an amazing variety of cuttings available in Spring every year: http://figs4fun.com/Fig_Scion.html

12
That sure looks like Mirabilis jalapa, four o'clock. It certainly has tubers but definitely should not be eaten as a vegetable like yacon.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: quantity/method of gypsum application
« on: March 31, 2018, 02:55:05 AM »
Mango: Calcium – a key for good Mango yield and quality
Calcium is increasingly recognised as a key to mango production in the Northern Territory for both yield and quality. Observation on yields indicates some of the low yields and fruit drop problems may be the result of low calcium levels and we are becoming more convinced that calcium is essential for good quality, particularly good skin colour. The evidence at the moment is only by observation. Recent research from Africa indicates that mangoes use a lot of calcium – 10 times that of phosphorus and magnesium.
Leading growers in North Queensland have long recognised the importance of calcium. Research by DPIF in the Northern Territory has indicated that growers’ opinion that calcium is important is possibly correct. Most Northern Territory soils including Katherine are very low in calcium – around one quarter of recommended levels. Soil levels should be at least 1000 ppm; most Northern Territory soils are only 250-300ppm.
Not only is the amount of calcium important but the ratio of calcium to magnesium. This should be at least 5:1 calcium to magnesium (expressed as meq/100g) The quality reports have shown the best coloured fruit come from orchards high in calcium, low in magnesium. Unfortunately many Top End soils including Katherine have ratios less than 2:1 (expressed as meq/100g).
Magnesium is present in many Northern Territory water supplies and for mangoes this is a problem. It makes fruit green and soft. The amount of calcium and magnesium in water supplies is variable so soil testing is crucial to get levels right. Test your soils to ensure you have at least 1000ppm calcium and your calcium:magnesium ratio is at least 5:1. NTHA provide a free interpretation service to members.
Calcium can be applied as lime, gypsum or dolomite. Dolomite generally is not recommended for mangoes as it is high in magnesium. Lime is used to increase pH and gypsum is used to increase calcium where pH is OK or high. Foliar sprays of calcium around flowering and fruit set have also been used to improve yield and quality. Current indications are that calcium should be applied at flowering (soil and foliar), after harvest (optional), and especially at the end of the wet season after the heavy rains to set the tree up for good calcium levels before flowering.
The amounts of lime or gypsum required on most Top End soils are large. The recommendations to date have generally been too low. They fail to take into account wet season leaching and the negative effects of high magnesium in most irrigation water. Mangoes appear to use a lot of calcium. Most growers have taken 2-3 years to get their calcium levels and their calcium:magnesium ratio right. Applications of 20kg/tree, three times a year for 2-3 years are not uncommon so get your soil tested. Leaf analysis can be used as a guide but can be misleading as calcium increases naturally as leaves age. It is important to realise that other elements also have to be corrected to get the maximum benefit.
Boron is essential for the best calcium response and should be applied at up to 50gms per mature tree. It is also important to have phosphorus, zinc and potassium levels right. The bottom line is get your soil tested. The best time to test soil (in Northern Territory) is December to February before the main time for application in March.
Note from Sheryl:
Refer previous newsletters on talks by Peter Young and Robert Pulverenti
Robert says to only put on 5g per m2 per canopy and water in very well.
Authored by:
Ian Baker
http://stfc.org.au/mango-calcium-%E2%80%93-a-key-for-good-mango-yield-and-quality

15
 "In category 2, Casimiroa edulis (White sapote) was reported as a nonhost for ACP, with a score of 0 for both adult and nymph infestations".   It seems that the white sapote is not a host for the psyllid which carries HLB.


 https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/full/10.1094/PDIS-03-16-0271-RE

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Tithonia diversifolia provides a huge amount of biomass for chop and drop green manuring. It doesn't need much in the way of fertilizer  and grows very quickly from cuttings.

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Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Re: Pointed Gourd OR Parval
« on: March 17, 2018, 03:48:26 PM »
Actually, Trichosanthes dioica, pointed gourd, is different than, Coccinia grandis, tindora. Tindora is certainly common enough in Texas, California, and Florida.  But I have never seen the pointed gourd in the US. Like tindora it is propagated from cuttings. I would certainly like to find it though.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Too Late for Mango Rebloom?
« on: March 16, 2018, 08:34:35 PM »
"Most of the lots were sold by 1965, but unsuspecting buyers still get suckered into paying over $15,000 for a lot worth about $3,000.
It's funny reading it today and saying, Now Who Got Suckered? With land values priced today vs. 1965..."

Of course even today not all lots here are the same. It is very important before buying in Golden Gate Estates to have an environmental assessment on the lot a buyer is considering. Many lots are 80-100% wetland and very often even the person who has held the lot for 30 or more years doesn't even know. You can make a guess by the vegetation even from the satellite view (pines vs cypress), but it is still important to get a professional opinion.


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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Too Late for Mango Rebloom?
« on: March 16, 2018, 12:12:35 PM »
Last night in Golden Gate Estates we got down to 34.7 with a total of six and a half hours below 40 degrees. Very likely the small fruit on my trees will drop. Is it too late to hope for rebloom?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: A shovel, wheel barrow and sweat
« on: February 10, 2018, 12:28:41 AM »
That does look like a lot of hard work. You are off to a great start. Are you near Houston? Urban Harvest is a great resource for plant sales and classes: http://urbanharvest.org/fruit-tree-sale

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Help with damaged trunk on sapodilla tree
« on: January 22, 2018, 12:23:02 AM »
The damage takes up such a large area and goes so low that I think the tree is very unlikely to remain in a healthy, upright state for more than a few years. I wonder if there is enough healthy wood at the base to bridge graft without leaving a hole where disease and insects would find a home. You could plant a couple of seedlings close and pleach the strongest one into the trunk, but you will always have to rub off any sprout from the seedling. It would be an interesting experiment and that is what I would do; but I have five acres and like to experiment. And at my age 3 years is probably more precious than 3 years is at your age.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: mammee americana
« on: January 21, 2018, 02:34:06 PM »
I had Mammee americana at the Fruit and Spice Park and it was really great. To me it tasted strongly of apricot, but much more fragrant. I bought three plants as soon as I could find them, even though I will have to be diligent about pruning them and protecting them from cold.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Chilly Florida AM
« on: January 04, 2018, 01:39:54 PM »
I had 32 for almost an hour and a half off and on in Golden Gate Estates last night, 36 was predicted. Even using the Brunt equation I only expected 35.2. For the poster worried about mango flowers at 38; I had 35.5 for an hour last month when I had rosigold flowers and now they are pea sized fruit. A lot depends on the length of time of the freeze.

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Hi, did you get my PM from Wednesday? Thank you.

25
email sent. Thanks

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