The Tropical Fruit Forum

Not trying to slander anyone.  For the record, gardening is my past time.  Regular job is dr.  Shamus is worse than Jake.  Hi new nickname on the Internet is shameless.  He makes even worse claims.  I guess, the other thing I don't like is that there are really good places out here for fruit trees, tropicamango,  a tropical concept, RSI nurseries.  These are great places to buy, the owners have a wealth of information and will talk you out of purchases if they think you are going to kill a tree.  But, because they don't go shirtless on the Internet or completely nude, they are all just old foggies that don't know what they are talking about.
If you have to educate yourself first to figure out what parts Jake and shamus say are true, versus total bs, then I wouldn't say they are good people to learn about gardening.

Andrew, you seem like you've been gardening long enough to be able to discern the differences between good and bad horticultural techniques. Why not use what you have learned to discuss the bad techniques and practices that you claim Jake and Shamus make in order to educate newer gardeners? Criticism and accusations are easy to make, especially if they are broad and general without specific details.

When I try to help our newer members out with questions they have, I try to give them very specific answers but it is Extremely difficult because in order to help people diagnose an issue, you have to know their exact growing conditions because what may seem like something minor and insignificant such as the pH of the water can have drastic effects on the plant. Trying to help out members by answering questions is an arduous task and one answer does not fit all situations.

Take for example the hypothetical question a new member might ask "why are my leaves yellow"? First you have to find out their growing conditions such as the pH of their water, soil, how and what they fertilize with, etc... From my perspective, Jake, Shamus and John are helping gardeners by making their videos and although they may not give you all the specific information on how to grow a plant to its full potential, they are giving out more information than a keyboard warrior that only points out very general flaws in other people's advice or instructional videos.

I am not and I don't claim to be an expert gardener, in fact I'm a newbie compared to some of the founding fathers and mothers of the California Rare Fruit Growers Association but I still like to help people where I can. Sometimes I will give out wrong information because I miss typed, miss read the question or any other number of reasons but other members more knowledgeable than myself will often correct my mistakes and explain why my rationale was in fault and in doing so I learn from my mistakes.

It is easy to cry wolf but the more beneficial and practical approach would be to do the leg work and fix the issue by calling the animal control people.

Simon

We are all free to form our own opinions about people but I just want to make sure there are hard facts that prove or disprove anything that could be considered slander against an individual or group of people, not that anyone is slandering but that would depend on the intent of the persons making the statements and how the individual being spoken about interprets such statements.

I appreciate those that brought up the potential issues as I feel they are just looking out for us forum members and don't want us getting any misinformation.

I am not followers of John and Jake although I have seen many of their videos and appreciate the work they do in making their videos. Yes, they sell products and make a living off their videos but I'm not going to hold it against them doing it, heck, I would do the same if I were good in front of a camera.

John has great videos on juicers, which he sells but the videos are very informational and helped me to decide on which make and model I purchased to juice my wheatgrass and other veggies. John also has many videos that show you how to grow many greens.

Jake has some great videos as well, I especially like the video he and Shamus O'Leary made on the huge Avocado and Mango trees growing in Arizona. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jd122RCGySg

Back on the subject of rock dust and nutrient needs for plants, if nutrients are already available in the soil supplementing with additional minerals may not show any added benefit, especially if the mineral is not broken down and made bioavailable by following appropriate horticultural techniques.

Rock dust on clay soils which are mineral rich may not make sense but addition of rock dust to potted plants which are grown in depleted potting soils which are frequently watered may be able to help re mineralize the soil if compost and mulch are utilized properly along with beneficial soil organisms.

Simon

Don't these guys both promote azomite rock dust in their videos? That stuff is expensive and practically useless as far as I'm concerned.

Just wondering why you feel it's practically useless?

Rock dust as with all plant mineral/nutritional supplements must be used properly to take full advantage of its benefits. This video gives a brief talk about how it can be used properly and improperly.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xh3749rxFCw

Another example that gardeners should become educated with what they use on their plants before using the product is when foliar spraying. Foliar spraying a plant in the middle of Winter without a non ionic surfactant during relative metabolic inactivity the day before it rains is likely not going to give you the same results as foliar spraying with a surfactant on newer growth in the early morning or evening during warmer weather with increased metabolic activity in the plant.

Simon

Definitely at least partially due to lack of Iron because I can see the veins are still a bit green with yellow in between the veins and it appears both young and older leaves are affected. You may need a bit of Magnesium as well. I would try a foliar with something like Southern Ag Citrus nutritional spray which you can pick up at Home Depot.

Your pot may be slightly too large for the plant so you are washing away a lot of the nutrients from the soil. It's better to gradually step up the pot but it's probably best to leave it in its current container because it's probably already somewhat filled the pot.

Simon

Oscar, now we know where you got the fruit bug from. I can get along with anyone willing to grow mango from seeds or pineapples from crowns 😃

Simon

My parents aren't as enthusiastic about growing fruit as I am so I do the growing and I bring them the fruit. In a month or two when all the blooms drop, I usually take back the orchids and nurture them until they gain their strength back before forcing them to bloom again. I get a lot of Keikis( baby orchid clones) and repot them in orchid bark and my coworkers line up to receive them.

The main thing I do to keep these Phalenopsis alive is to remove the moss that the orchids come in and replant them in orchid bark. Most of the store bought Phalenopsis have mold and crown rot so I have to put them in intensive care after their blooms drop.

I look up to my mom and dad, I literally wouldn't be here without them. Happy Mothers Day everyone!

Simon

Thanks Anisha. Here's one last one my daughters helped me to pick out for my wife.


Simon

Here's an arrangement I made for my boss when she gave birth last year

Simon

Frank, I wish I were your neighbor😀

All those fruit look awesome!

I only have a few trees fruiting now
Blueberries

Yellow and Black Sugarcane



Yellow Dragon

Lemon, Limes, Tango and Gold Nugget Tangerine, large Shiranui







A single Jaboticaba

6 different varieties of Asian Pear and two apples on the same rootstock


Violette De Bordeaux Fig not ripe

PCH Tuna, first ever fruits forming

Loquats all starting to dry up


Simon

The fruit from the Yellow Undatus was really bland. I don't remember which thread I posted about the taste. It tastes about the same as the typical supermarket white fleshed variety of Dragonfruit.

The Megalanthus on the other hand is a very sweet and tasty fruit.

Simon

Thanks Scott, I think I'm going to actually keep most my Jaboticabas in pots since they fruit well in containers and it will be easier to move them to make room for other plants.

Simon

Anyone know what variety of pineapple this could be? I got it from Home Depotand it did not have a variety name on it. Most the longer outer leaves are thornless but some of the inner leaves are serrated.







Simon

Here are some pictures of the Zululand Queen Pineapples







Simon