Some pictures of my trees

[Conden]

I have five acres at high elevation on the dry side of Big Island Hawaii, and these are some of my trees/fruiting plants. 


Selma Cherimoya, in-ground 1 1/2 years. 


Another Selma Cherimoya


Cherimoya seedling


Denzler White Sapote, one year in ground


Moringa PKM1 seedings in greenhouse, six months old. 


The most vigorous of my three low-chill Dessert Delight nectarines, planted six months ago. 

[Conden]

Row of 9 low-chill blueberry plants

 
Two year old tamarillo seedling


Last year's harvest


Two new tamarillo seedlings and one of ten young fig trees I planted this year, with recently planted grafted fujikawa avocado on the far right.


container garden of citrus and figs


Jiro persimmon (fuyu type)

[Conden]

Peanut butter fruit tree...it was healthy and green when I brought it home nearly two years ago, but has always looked like this; I think because it wants more heat so I'm considering digging it up and putting inside the greenhouse with my moringa trees. 


My other greenhouse where I start my seedlings and grow some heat-loving fruits and vegetables.


greenhouse melons


and peppers.


white fleshed pineapples


dragonfruit

[Conden]

one of my three chayote vines, with tomatoes in the background


yacon


Many different kinds of ohelo berries grow on our property






my strawberry pot full of berries


one of three jackfruit seedlings I just planted out. 

[Conden]

five year old avocado seedling

[Tim]

Beautiful pictures,  how do those ohelo berries taste¿

[Conden]

Thanks Tim, the ohelo's taste sort of like wild blueberries, some are sweeter than others. 

[Kona400]

Very nice, lucky you have ohelo on your property.  We used to pick the wild ones a long time ago but we leave them for the nene now.

[zands]

Your soil looks like it comes from black lava. Very nice photos.

[Guanabanus]

Looks to be quite the adventure--- growing in conditions that most of us have never seen!

[Tropicalgrower89]

Nice fruit trees and vegetable plants. 

[Saltcayman]

Thanks for sharing. Really nice crop you have going there. Love the big island!  Dave

[fruitlovers]

Great job! Especially liked the greenhouse melons. Were those ohelos growing wild there or did you plant them? BTW i doubt jackfruit will fruit outdoors at your elevation. That's one you might want to keep in the greenhouse.

[anaxel]

I like your pictures of ohelo berries,excellent photo. 

[Conden]

Thanks guys.  The "soil" here is more lava rock then anything else--I need to mix in a lot of compost and manure to plant anything.  There are no nenes up here to eat the Ohelo berries, but they grow entirely on their own--I didn't plant any.  The Hawaii organic growing guide says jackfruit can grow at up to 4,000 feet and can tolerate wind, so I thought I would give it a chance in the unprotected part of my gardens.  I don't have the room for it in the greenhouse, but they're just seedlings so if they don't do well I can yank them and plant more rose apples, mullberries, or guava's in that windy space. 

[fruitlovers]

Thanks guys.  The "soil" here is more lava rock then anything else--I need to mix in a lot of compost and manure to plant anything.  There are no nenes up here to eat the Ohelo berries, but they grow entirely on their own--I didn't plant any.  The Hawaii organic growing guide says jackfruit can grow at up to 4,000 feet and can tolerate wind, so I thought I would give it a chance in the unprotected part of my gardens.  I don't have the room for it in the greenhouse, but they're just seedlings so if they don't do well I can yank them and plant more rose apples, mullberries, or guava's in that windy space.

Jackfruit will grow, but will not fruit at above 2500 ft. Kona side. Here on this wet/cloudy side of island will not fruit above 2000. Same is true for breadfruit.

[Xeno]

The most vigorous of my three low-chill Dessert Delight nectarines, planted six months ago.

Huh. I read that nectarines grow terrible in Hawaii. Have you eaten any off this tree yet?

[Jackfruitwhisperer69]

Hi Conden,

Truly impressive fruit trees and veggies Those melons look freak'n awesome....I mean YUMMY

THX for sharing 

[Conden]

Thanks Jackfruitwhisperer, the melons are as good as they look--very sweet and aromatic. 

Jackfruit will grow, but will not fruit at above 2500 ft. Kona side. Here on this wet/cloudy side of island will not fruit above 2000. Same is true for breadfruit.

Oh, thanks for letting me know!  I'm glad now that I gave some of those seedlings to friends a few thousand feet below us; maybe they'll share their harvest with me someday. 

Xeno, one of my other nectarine trees that is older has already flowered and put out little fruits (which I picked off because it's the first year.)  Nectarines won't grow well at sea level, but here at 3,600 feet elevation they're very comfortable and happy.  I can also grow big heirloom tomatoes outdoors up here, which people in the lowlands can't do.   You can grow anything in Hawaii if you can find the right microclimate.  Some agricultural land is as high as 6,000 feet. 

[fruitlovers]

Thanks Jackfruitwhisperer, the melons are as good as they look--very sweet and aromatic. 

Jackfruit will grow, but will not fruit at above 2500 ft. Kona side. Here on this wet/cloudy side of island will not fruit above 2000. Same is true for breadfruit.

Oh, thanks for letting me know!  I'm glad now that I gave some of those seedlings to friends a few thousand feet below us; maybe they'll share their harvest with me someday. 

Xeno, one of my other nectarine trees that is older has already flowered and put out little fruits (which I picked off because it's the first year.)  Nectarines won't grow well at sea level, but here at 3,600 feet elevation they're very comfortable and happy.  I can also grow big heirloom tomatoes outdoors up here, which people in the lowlands can't do.   You can grow anything in Hawaii if you can find the right microclimate.  Some agricultural land is as high as 6,000 feet.

Tomatoes grow fine in the lowlands. Remember tomato is a tropical plants, just widely adapted and usually grown as an annual.
BTW that Hawaii Organic Gardening Guide in my opinion is very dated, in fact it's out of print. I think it was published over 30 years ago. The author, Shunyam Nirav, was coming out with a new and improved second edition, but unfortunately passed away before he could finish it and so it was never published.

[Conden]

Tomatoes grow fine in the lowlands. Remember tomato is a tropical plants, just widely adapted and usually grown as an annual.
BTW that Hawaii Organic Gardening Guide in my opinion is very dated, in fact it's out of print. I think it was published over 30 years ago. The author, Shunyam Nirav, was coming out with a new and improved second edition, but unfortunately passed away before he could finish it and so it was never published.

They grow fine at low elevation, but often the tomatoes need special protection from fruit flies--like a screen-house (or people will only grow cherry tomatoes or hybrids with skin), and can have additional problems with fungus that are also not present in my growing conditions.  But of course those issues won't be universal across what we call the "lowlands," it's just what I've heard some people complain about.   That's interesting about the Hawaii Organic Growing Guide--I had wondered why there was no newer edition.  It is quite dated and limited in it's information though, I try to look to other localized sources such as Ken Love's website when I can. 

[fruitlovers]

Tomatoes grow fine in the lowlands. Remember tomato is a tropical plants, just widely adapted and usually grown as an annual.
BTW that Hawaii Organic Gardening Guide in my opinion is very dated, in fact it's out of print. I think it was published over 30 years ago. The author, Shunyam Nirav, was coming out with a new and improved second edition, but unfortunately passed away before he could finish it and so it was never published.

They grow fine at low elevation, but often the tomatoes need special protection from fruit flies--like a screen-house (or people will only grow cherry tomatoes or hybrids with skin), and can have additional problems with fungus that are also not present in my growing conditions.  But of course those issues won't be universal across what we call the "lowlands," it's just what I've heard some people complain about.   That's interesting about the Hawaii Organic Growing Guide--I had wondered why there was no newer edition.  It is quite dated and limited in it's information though, I try to look to other localized sources such as Ken Love's website when I can.

Yes the main problem at low elevations in Hawaii with growing tomatoes is fruit flies. The medium and large sized tomatoes if not protected will be stung. Cherry tomatoes because they have thicker tighter skin don't usually get stung. But this is not a weather related problem. Tomatoes are native to the tropics. They still grow wild on the Galapagos islands. Also many of the large sized tomatoes have been over time bred to grow outside the tropics. It's interesting that people forget that crops like tomatoes and corn are really tropical crops. They have just been worked over long periods of selective breeding to grow outside their normal zones.

[Conden]

No, it's not really a weather problem--since fruit flies are a relatively recent and unfortunate introduction to the Hawaiian islands.  Having grown tamarillo, pepino, naranjila, poha, etc. and knowing their distant relation to tomatoes, I certainly haven't forgotten that they are essentially tropical myself.  But I'm very glad we don't have many fruit flies on my property and they've never stung my tomatoes or other crops. 

[fruitlovers]

No, it's not really a weather problem--since fruit flies are a relatively recent and unfortunate introduction to the Hawaiian islands.  Having grown tamarillo, pepino, naranjila, poha, etc. and knowing their distant relation to tomatoes, I certainly haven't forgotten that they are essentially tropical myself.  But I'm very glad we don't have many fruit flies on my property and they've never stung my tomatoes or other crops.

I've heard that in Volcano village (3800 feet elevation) they have some fruit flies. So it might be a combination of cool weather and strong breezes at your location that help to keep down fruit fly population. Also maybe lack of dense vegetation in your area due to low rainfall?

[johnb51]

Could you describe the climate where you live?  What are your average daytime highs and nighttime lows?  Do you have different seasons during the year?