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Messages - pineislander

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51
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Papaya roots outside of the soil
« on: September 08, 2022, 08:57:19 AM »
It looks very healthy well grown seedling. They are very fast growing. It would have been better to break up the soil more around the planting hole when you planted it. I think the base of the plant is swelling fast which is pushing upwards. You can mound around the base they are not like hardwood trees and can be hilled up like corn and will even form adventitious roots. I sometimes plant them deeper than the soil level when in a pot. If it is a good hybrid variety the fruit load can easily topple or break off the plant, they are hollow soft fleshed stems. So, it's important to not let them start leaning. If the lean persists I'd suggest using two strong branches with forks to prop it and form a tripod shape since the leaning gets progressively worse as fruit swells up. Use some wide nylon strapping to attach sticks to trunk. Even then, the whole top can break off because they can carry over 50 kg fruit.



52
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Growing açaí commercially
« on: September 08, 2022, 08:38:55 AM »

Hi…by chance do you know if your friend grows dwarf açaí? I’m trying to find out if the dwarf (BRS Para)is a GMO.
Which would mean it cannot get organic certification in the US.
This paper is describing ordinary selective breeding of that variety,no genetic modification. Mainly they were looking for a shorter early bearing and dryland irrigation adapted selection.
https://ainfo.cnptia.embrapa.br/digital/bitstream/item/18825/1/com.tec.114.pdf

53
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 10b (south florida) perennial staple foods
« on: September 07, 2022, 08:19:38 AM »

Heat free " Habanero" type Capsicum chinense varieties can be very productive. Anybody growing these ?
There was a large red one like a tropical capsicum. Called Choco maybe ??
This one is commercially grown across the Caribbean islands and central america. I have found it to be very good bears right through rains and droughts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuMWC7P2Tn8&t

54
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 10b (south florida) perennial staple foods
« on: September 05, 2022, 09:15:39 PM »
I don't think you can beat Orinoco banana or dwarf plantain for a staple crop, except they do take up a lot of room.

55
Usually the rain water collector surface (roof) builds up some dissolvable minerals.

56
any good ideas for when to pick a melon?

looking at my watermelon now
Cantaloupe types begin to smell musky and may change to a more yellow hue, the stem pulls away from the fruit cleanly.
Watermelon is usually ready when the tendril directly opposite the fruit stem is completely dry.

57
Worms, while they are good for the garden, if the get in pots, it can be a nightmare. They end up turning the bottom of the soil to basically mush. Not good for plants. I understand that it should be fine in a greenhouse, but if the pots are on the ground the worms will go into them. Here the majority that I find are actually invasive and should be killed. They do more harm than good.

I find "wild" worms even getting into plants raised up on wire racks well above the ground.
They may be coming in as juveniles in the potting mix or climbed up.

I have a large vermiculture system holding 5 cubic yards(~4 cubic meters) and some worms migrate out of that system and get into pots. However, most of my potted plants and trees are only temporary in pots for propagation and are transplanted to ground by year 2. I do notice the worms break down potting soil and this wouldn't be a good practice for trees to remain in pots. I expect they do add fertility when they are active in the potting soil.
 


58
I put in mango tree thinking 15ft would be ok since they dont grow that fast here but they are already getting tight. 

20ft is probably better for florida.

I planted some mango @ 10 feet. They are not too tight yet and approaching year 5.
But if year 10 comes and I find they are tight I can eliminate every other one, at that point, to have 20 ft spacing.
They are averaging 40 pounds/tree each of fruit which is 40 x $3.50 USD = $140 USD/year/tree.
The trees cost $15 each at wholesale, so selling for two years easily recoups the cost of those trees which may be eliminated.
Selling crop from those trees another 8 years pays for the establishment and irrigation costs for the whole planting.

So, to me, planting close is not a problem so long as you can be pragmatic and willing to sacrifice excess trees.
After all, we usually thin vegetable seedlings, thinning out trees can be considered no differently.

59
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Introduce the new Variety of longan.
« on: August 28, 2022, 07:58:15 PM »
So based off of a quick read of the article, it seems like this one was made using traditional methods instead of gmo. Looks like China is gonna be keen to not let this one spread out of the country so they can monopolize it. Even so, it would take years until it lands into the US especially with import restrictions (since this is lychee)
Considering Chinas laxity about copy and patent I expect the opposite, that it will be widely copied if any good.

60
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Jaboticaba - Wet Feet Myth?
« on: August 28, 2022, 09:04:08 AM »
In ground established trees during a flood would be very different from in a container especially as they get older with well established root system. There may be no comparison.

61
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Advice for Starfruit
« on: August 26, 2022, 08:57:57 AM »
Seeds growing well for a few weeks then declining is often because they are originally growing off seed energy which runs out after a few weeks. From that point on it is up to the soil, light, temperature and moisture you are giving them.

62
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Best commercial papayas out there?
« on: August 25, 2022, 08:15:22 AM »
This one has been the best for me, but the Red Maradol has also been good. If you are growing commercial be absolutely sure to plant the professional level hybrid seeds. I believe they are specially grown so that the seeds are "Feminized". The advantage of that comes because when you plant them you never get useless male plants, plus some hybrid vigor and known fruit characteristics of size, flavor, and flesh color. As I understand it, the growers of these seeds force a female plant to make pollen which fertilizes a female flower and results in seeds produces no males. By doing this, you can reliably produce seedlings which will all make fruit when transplanted. Commercially you need to be sure there is no chance of standing water around the papaya, full sun and high fertility. Try to avoid leaning trees they bear heavy loads and can easily be lodged over or break off in wind. Pick fruit at first color stripe for shipping.

This shows a fine example of what can be achieved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6ooVX7icbY

The main problem of growing fruits on a commercial scale in most African countries is getting quality propagation material. I have been collecting since 2003, and most need to be carried into Uganda by hand. So hybrid seeds will - at least in the beginning - be a one-time off, after which we need to propagate, select and try to stabilize a lineage, which we can use. Results will obviously not be optimal, but compared to the current situation - a big step up.
Unless you learn to feminize the seeds you will waste half of the acreage growing male trees. Wasting half of the planting can't be commercialized. That is why no commercial farmer would plant open pollinated papaya seeds.

63
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Does this look like Maha Chanok?
« on: August 24, 2022, 08:53:27 AM »
I have 10 trees from Zill they conform to the fruit being tasted here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olPTNPtLUnM

64
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Best commercial papayas out there?
« on: August 24, 2022, 08:45:23 AM »
This one has been the best for me, but the Red Maradol has also been good. If you are growing commercial be absolutely sure to plant the professional level hybrid seeds. I believe they are specially grown so that the seeds are "Feminized". The advantage of that comes because when you plant them you never get useless male plants, plus some hybrid vigor and known fruit characteristics of size, flavor, and flesh color. As I understand it, the growers of these seeds force a female plant to make pollen which fertilizes a female flower and results in seeds produces no males. By doing this, you can reliably produce seedlings which will all make fruit when transplanted. Commercially you need to be sure there is no chance of standing water around the papaya, full sun and high fertility. Try to avoid leaning trees they bear heavy loads and can easily be lodged over or break off in wind. Pick fruit at first color stripe for shipping.

This shows a fine example of what can be achieved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6ooVX7icbY

65
This photo says it shows the difference between Nam Wah and Blue Java. Does everyone agree this is accurate?
 


66
I have both
To me they taste the same, the yellow is slightly larger fruit.

 I replaced the red with one that was a runner of a tree
with very large fruit. It is flowering now maybe I will get fruit this
season?
I did get a seedling of the yellow from you and mine made larger fruit than the red my neighbor had.
In my property this tree suckered so horribly I had to remove it, root suckers had extended to fifty feet away and were headed out further. Others who get some frost don't seem to have that problem but beware of the tendency. I was able to kill off everything by painting the cut off main stump and suckers with glyphosate within minutes of cutting them down and they all died.

67
There will be competition and maybe shading. There is also a temptation to let the plant grow too high in a large tree making harvest impossible and wasting energy. It is hard to climb up past a mass of dragonfruit stems.
However, cuttings are plentiful and my property came with several already on some ornamental trees. They actually do make fruit and the species of trees are ones which are seasonally deciduous, Yellow Tabebuia and Royal Poinciana (Delonix Regia). I doubt they would perform well on dense non deciduous trees due to shading.

68

Any ideas of what may be going on with the trunk of my sugarloaf mango and what, if anything, I can do?
Looks like tree was beating against the stake. I saw one which was staked with a metal t-post during Hurricane Irma it beat the trunk up like crazy.

69
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Best mangos of this season
« on: August 11, 2022, 07:50:42 PM »
Taste wise the one which I've come to enjoy a lot this year was Peach Cobbler. It does have a big problem that another grower agrees on. It ripens on the tree to the point of being soft with absolutely no color blush at all. I have 5 trees and really intended to sell but for that purpose you have to really pick regularly and if you want to get tree ripe forget it. That means squeezing every fruit on the tree every time, or picking a little earlier when you think they are full.

70
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: My pitomba is sad
« on: August 11, 2022, 07:46:09 PM »
Beware whoever grew it may have been keeping it in heavier shade and more humidity like in a shade house. They tend to grow in flushes and only a few flushes each year. I have a few in the ground and they are variable, one has grown well but for me they have been slow. I got a few flowers on the largest one after 4 years but they failed.

71
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: A theft on the horizon
« on: August 11, 2022, 06:59:53 PM »
Since they are young and have lots to learn, maybe give them a chance by introducing yourself as someone who grows and loves fruits, and works hard to grow them, thus valuing them. Add that you have noticed that they too appear to love fruits, and you are here to help. Let them know that picking at wrong time is a waste, and that asking is the way to go. Offer them cuttings or small plants of berry vines and whatever, a little at a time. Make a relationship with them. Won't guarantee they won't steal from you, but will make it more awkward and less desired.
I like this idea could be a win for everybody. It's probably a lot harder to steal significantly from a friend.

72
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Wrong Way to Support Banana Bunch :-(
« on: August 10, 2022, 08:59:12 PM »
I am given credit for this prop method but really did see others using it before me. Always put the fork in bamboo underneath the crook of the flower stem. The goal is to create a tripod with the two bamboo legs and the leaning banana stem. A tripod is the most stable shape and can withstand wind. If you need bamboo check around and find people with a large clump. Quite often they are happy to let you help control it, just pledge to remove the "top trash" from their property.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFMjDn_FSEg&t

73
Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Re: Taro ID Question
« on: August 09, 2022, 09:37:19 AM »
If anyone would like to trade for the brasiliense/Belembe type I have a xanthosoma relative from Surinam for trade. It is classically eaten as a lef vegetable there. It doesn't make edible corms but does cook down very nice and tender with no oxalates.
In Surinam they call it Tajerblad/Tayerblad and it's grown on a large commercial scale there. This video is in Surinamese Dutch but you can observe the way it is being grown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ciq2mcL1FA&t
 

74
I planted some tithonia in heavy mulch which came from chipped bamboo culms and leaves. The tithonia responded by having rounded leaves like this and never thrived. Ordinarily the plants grow so very well the difference was stark. So, perhaps there is some allelopathy from other plants or soil conditions causing this.

75
They grow very well but periodically get some sort of caterpillar infestation. The caterpillars are small but go through it like crazy rendering the leaves all messed up. If you trim it back fertilize and water it quickly regrows. I have been growing it several years and they attack several times/ year.

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