The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: Desertcitrus on May 01, 2019, 03:00:45 AM
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I have read at a lot of information but can’t seem to find out if you can grow avacado, mango and bananas indoors in the winter and outside in the summer in a container. If so is it worth the effort. you can get good crops off citrus this way but what about these others. And how hard are they to grow ? I live in zone 8b.
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Bananas they will grow but won't fruit easily, they are hungry for light.
Mangoes are really difficult to grow overall in cold climates, not like citrus.
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avocado you could in a 100 gallon
mango, pickering could probably fruit in a 25 gallon
banana would fruit in a 50 gallon
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I believe there are bananas that will grow outdoors in zone 8 if you cut them back and cover them in winter. I’m pretty sure I’ve read about people doing this.
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For avos the best info I have found so far is from Yoshimi Yonemoto, see his two presentations linked from http://htfg.org/conferences/2016, (http://htfg.org/conferences/2016,) there's also info on mango.
With bananas, what I always wonder is whether there's some way to control height.
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Thank you for everyone’s help and information you have shared.
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Anything will grow indoors given the right lighting and temperature. Do I think its smart to try and grow any of those indoors, no. You are better off buying a greenhouse.
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I believe there are bananas that will grow outdoors in zone 8 if you cut them back and cover them in winter. I’m pretty sure I’ve read about people doing this.
Here in zone 6 we grow bananas outdoor but its a decorative specie ,Musa Basjo ,and will not set fruit because it needs a longer growing season.For zone 8 i think Java blue could be the best choice but you have to buy the plant because it doesnt grow from seeds.
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Great, thank you.
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I grow 10 species of bananas and cut their leaves in winter, they go dormant. Those really tropical from A group are sensitive to cold and die easily. There is no edible banana that can grew outside in zone 8.
I have mangoes that set flower in a 2 gallon container. Flowering mango and set the fruit it's not about the container size, it's about the scion and the grafting way. A mature scion grafted will flower instantly.
The only problem with them is the lack of light in winter plus the diseases they get once it's cold.
In zone 8 sure you can grow them, bring them indoors for 2 months when it's really cold. but in spring and fall you will need a greenhouse to have a full season.
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Here in Texas those who choose to grow without a greenhouse haul their tropical fruit trees in and out of small greenhouse or into a garage, the house, whatever. There's very successful mango grower in Houston who grows and fruits 15' trees. He has figured out a way to cover them using a PVC structure and vinyl.
I grow/fruit mangos, avocados, pineapple, annonas, citrus, pitaya, maters, bananas, etc. in a 31' X 36' with a 18' peak using bottomless RootBuilder raised beds.
(https://i.postimg.cc/H8ntq1x4/Citrus-Juicing-Feb2017-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/H8ntq1x4)
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I believe there are bananas that will grow outdoors in zone 8 if you cut them back and cover them in winter. I’m pretty sure I’ve read about people doing this.
Rot is a big problem keeping them in ground over winter. I'm on a Facebook banana forum and see many trying but usually have to start over with just suckers surviving. If you try in these marginal climates maybe covering the whole root zone to keep them very dry might help. Basjo does well I got fruit in zone 6 but frost eventually killed the inedible bunch.
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You can get good fruit from plants in pots with Citrus, pomegrenade, carissa, macadamia, hapnophyllum, tamarillo etc. If you have a heated greenhouse edible bananas, papayas, cocoa, soursop etc grow well, too. Mango and avocado trees grow well in greenhouses but i have never seen them set fruit there. People say its possible, though.
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You can get good fruit from plants in pots with Citrus, pomegrenade, carissa, macadamia, hapnophyllum, tamarillo etc. If you have a heated greenhouse edible bananas, papayas, cocoa, soursop etc grow well, too. Mango and avocado trees grow well in greenhouses but i have never seen them set fruit there. People say its possible, though.
Damn straight it's possible. ;)
(https://i.postimg.cc/hh5tm6dW/Reed-Feb2017-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/hh5tm6dW)
(https://i.postimg.cc/xJFnKNqy/Oro-Negro-Feb.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/xJFnKNqy)
(https://i.postimg.cc/cK9VjyZd/Sweet-Tart-July24-Fruit.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/cK9VjyZd)
(https://i.postimg.cc/21PHBkzb/Sir-Prize-Dec4.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/21PHBkzb)
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(http://img03.ti-da.net/usr/potorika/1.jpg)
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Good grief. Must be Japan. They have their greenhouse tropical fruit production down to a science.
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;D ok, you convinced me that its possible in Texas and Japan. Still not sure it can work in Germany or other zone 8b locations. Maybe light, pollinators or other issues. But i wish it would be possible. guess the mangoes from here would be very bland, though.
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I am in zone 6 and i build a geodesic dome greenhouse with double walls( means insulated ) .My goal its to grow a few cherimoya trees ,somme sugar apples( i like theyr fast fruiting) and uvaria grandiflora .These are valuable fruits and verry rare to find to buy where i am.Mangos and avocados are cheap and can be found at any supermarket so i wont try growing them.The heating will be made with a rocket stove on wood but probably il only use that just a few weeks a year.(https://i.postimg.cc/rmr0RFYP/IMG-20181102-195740-285.jpg)
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;D ok, you convinced me that its possible in Texas and Japan. Still not sure it can work in Germany or other zone 8b locations. Maybe light, pollinators or other issues. But i wish it would be possible. guess the mangoes from here would be very bland, though.
I am in zone 7b and my mangoes are 1,5m now flowering, you just need a good grafted tree.
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;D ok, you convinced me that its possible in Texas and Japan. Still not sure it can work in Germany or other zone 8b locations. Maybe light, pollinators or other issues. But i wish it would be possible. guess the mangoes from here would be very bland, though.
I selected my greenhouse design so that pollinators can easily come and go at will. 2' roof vent, 4' drop down guillotine vent (which I hate cause it's leaky).
(https://i.postimg.cc/V5343yFh/Greenhouse.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/V5343yFh)
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I am in zone 6 and i build a geodesic dome greenhouse with double walls( means insulated ) .My goal its to grow a few cherimoya trees ,somme sugar apples( i like theyr fast fruiting) and uvaria grandiflora .These are valuable fruits and verry rare to find to buy where i am.Mangos and avocados are cheap and can be found at any supermarket so i wont try growing them.The heating will be made with a rocket stove on wood but probably il only use that just a few weeks a year.(https://i.postimg.cc/rmr0RFYP/IMG-20181102-195740-285.jpg)
There is some stock that doesn't like temps below 45F, 7C. My heater setpoint is 34F, just above freezing. I use a 100K BTU propane heater with a free standing construction heater as backup.
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There is some stock that doesn't like temps below 45F, 7C. My heater setpoint is 34F, just above freezing. I use a 100K BTU propane heater with a free standing construction heater as backup.
I have natural gas pipe there but il make the rocket stove on wood because i have branches and wood that its free.About polination ,i am a beekeper but cant use the beehives for it ,especially in winter.Instead il use bumblebees in the greenhouse that i catch and rear myself from the wild.Your greenhouse its verry nice,has a clasic design and the sliding window its nice too even thogh if reminds me of Hitlers window.
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Bees, honey and bumble, are just a small part of my pollinators. I have moths, butterflies, wasps, and several species of flies. This Gwen avocado was covered in flies.
(https://i.postimg.cc/n9fqrxrS/Flieson-Gwen-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/n9fqrxrS)
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;D ok, i guess i have to ask a few local people with greenhouses if they can grow those fruit, too.
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Bees, honey and bumble, are just a small part of my pollinators. I have moths, butterflies, wasps, and several species of flies. This Gwen avocado was covered in flies.
(https://i.postimg.cc/n9fqrxrS/Flieson-Gwen-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/n9fqrxrS)
I dont know much about avocados but i assume they must be like those annonaceae that are not pollinated by bees but by flyes,ants and somme otther bugs.Those plants il most likely polinate with a brush myself but to have a small bumblebee hive indoor in the winter here its good because they are easy to keep and we dont have any polinators in winter.
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I selected my greenhouse design so that pollinators can easily come and go at will. 2' roof vent, 4' drop down guillotine vent (which I hate cause it's leaky).
Mark, what would you use instead of the guillotine vent if you got to redo it? (what a name for just a window....)
SeaWalnut, that geodesic dome looks nice! A wood heater sounds like a lot of work during long cold nights, though...
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Bees, honey and bumble, are just a small part of my pollinators. I have moths, butterflies, wasps, and several species of flies. This Gwen avocado was covered in flies.
(https://i.postimg.cc/n9fqrxrS/Flieson-Gwen-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/n9fqrxrS)
I dont know much about avocados but i assume they must be like those annonaceae that are not pollinated by bees but by flyes,ants and somme otther bugs.Those plants il most likely polinate with a brush myself but to have a small bumblebee hive indoor in the winter here its good because they are easy to keep and we dont have any polinators in winter.
avocados have small flowers that bees can pollinate.
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Mangos and avocados are cheap and can be found at any supermarket so i wont try growing them.The heating will be made with a rocket stove on wood but probably il only use that just a few weeks a year
Mango ripe on tree cost 5 euros a piece, no so cheap.
You will use that rocket stove everyday to heat the dome, especially in the night for at least 2 months. Anyway welcome to the tropical fruit growers you have time to learn!
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I selected my greenhouse design so that pollinators can easily come and go at will. 2' roof vent, 4' drop down guillotine vent (which I hate cause it's leaky).
Mark, what would you use instead of the guillotine vent if you got to redo it? (what a name for just a window....)
SeaWalnut, that geodesic dome looks nice! A wood heater sounds like a lot of work during long cold nights, though...
Same rack and pinion vent that I have in the peak.
Only wood heater I'd consider is a wood pellet type. They can be regulated and are super efficient, like 88% efficiency. I have a wood pellet smoker/grill with a very accurate PID controller. Set it manually with your phone's app or manually on the unit to say.....225F, and it stays there for up to 16 hours a fill. Heat can be graphically tracked with the touch of your finger. I can cook 4 meals with this thing and have maybe a 1/2 cup of ashes to dump. Easy peasy.......
(https://i.postimg.cc/0b2K3nTz/Cowboy-Steak-March2019-3.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/0b2K3nTz)
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The rocket stove on wood that il build its verry efficient and my invention that will have a rotating feeder with pipes that are filled with just regular wood branches ( i dont have pellets here ).It will work similar to a revolver magazine and il feed it with wood just once a week or so( at least thats the goal).The burning chamber will be made of a verry high temperature resistant material wich i also used it for my mini metal foundry and the fire will be soo intense that it will burn even the smoke wich its why are rocket stoves soo efficient probably close to 100 percent but if il choose to add a condensing system for the heat transfer with recirculating pump,a pressure vessel and radiators,then its efficiency might go beyond 100 percent up to 110 percent efficiency.The rocket stoves are a relatively new invention and little known .In Europe i think there is a single manufacturer that makes rocket stoves certifyed ,the one in the link,Gamera.https://youtu.be/xywNEmDYYXk (https://youtu.be/xywNEmDYYXk)
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Rocket stoves have been around for centuries all over the world. Search "rocket mass heater" on youtube for ideas. The goal is to run a long exhaust run under many tons of mass (rocks, bricks, cob, etc) to slowly warm it and the mass acts as a thermal battery.
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Rocket stoves have been around for centuries all over the world. Search "rocket mass heater" on youtube for ideas. The goal is to run a long exhaust run under many tons of mass (rocks, bricks, cob, etc) to slowly warm it and the mass acts as a thermal battery.
I dont call my rocket stove rochet mass heater because i didnt decided iet how i will make the heat transfer(i am thinking to have a water with antifreeze run by a pump to somme heating radiators instead of having a mass battery or simply to not use any mass or liquid.heat transfer).The discovery of rocket stoves its thousands of years old( swedish log its a rochet stove) but they become available for sale only recently.This inventor rocket stove its my favourite and it features a stirling engine that spins a generator to produce electricity for the recirculating pump and can also produce electric energy to power the whoole house.Its from him that i got my inspiration to build the rocket stove.https://youtu.be/PaU_fjUtbmo (https://youtu.be/PaU_fjUtbmo)
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Cool heater!
If you heat-exchange to a liquid, do you end up with more long-wave radiation than if you had just an air-air heat exchange? Is that easier to keep contained in the GH or harder?
If you have hot water you can heat the soil, but I don't know up to what point that's beneficial...
Have you had a condensing heater of some form? I did and I'm glad I no longer have. It was a total disaster from a maintenance point of view (corrosion).
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I would use heat exchange to a liquid just to transfer the heat from the stove to the GH ,in wich case i would have the stove mounted outside of the greenhouse for safety issues .As for condensing boiler,i never had one but i know verry well how it works and that its so.ething extra i could add to increase the efficiency.I know the water from condensation its slightly acid ( ph @5) and off course il use food grade stainless steel pipes from beer cooling barrels to make the condenser coil.I also have a good source of quite cheap titanium(TA2) condensers for just 50 dollars.First il nake the stove with the revolver like feeder and after that i will think at heat transfer solutions.I would like to use a stirling engine to direct drive the recirculating pump .It would be awesome just to make a fire and have an autonomous non electrical sistem to recirculate the water.
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That technology sounds really cool.
Dwarf pineapple plant producing for the first time. It's a miracle baby! Went thru 18F, recovered, put off a pup and bloomed! Fruit is about 1" or so high. I'll have to be careful peeling this one. ;D
(https://i.postimg.cc/JttKbWpb/Dwarf-Pineapple.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/JttKbWpb)
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Mark in Texas. That is really fun to see your pineapple flower.
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I would be putting them in pots and putting them outside most the time. In the winter I have a corner of my house that has large east and west windows that come together that give lots and lots of sun in the winter. That’s actually one reason I bought the house. I would not plant them in the ground and my yard is to small for a real greenhouse. With that in mind and others have said it’s possible, how hard is it to grow those 3 individual things in pots. Inside in winter outside in the summer. It also gets to 108-110 in the summer but I can bring it in on those really hot days.
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I would be putting them in pots and putting them outside most the time. In the winter I have a corner of my house that has large east and west windows that come together that give lots and lots of sun in the winter. That’s actually one reason I bought the house. I would not plant them in the ground and my yard is to small for a real greenhouse. With that in mind and others have said it’s possible, how hard is it to grow those 3 individual things in pots. Inside in winter outside in the summer. It also gets to 108-110 in the summer but I can bring it in on those really hot days.
Grow what? All tropical trees want to get big. Yeah you have some dwarfs like Pickering mango which can be maintained in a small pot. I have a Meyer in a 15 gal. bottomless RootBuilder bed which I should have expanded long ago. It's doing very well.
Have a friend in Austin that built some carts with large 8" wheels, 2 that pivot. Does the RootBuilder thing and stores his trees in the garage during the winter.