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Messages - Droshi

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: How to start a farm? (Commercializing Permaculture... ?)
« on: June 15, 2017, 01:35:33 PM »
I could highly suggest as some others have mentioned: first research your market, see what is in demand, and try to fill a void or niche.

If for example there's no or little local market for durian, and you find out exporting to be impractical....don't plant an extensive durian farm and hope demand will pickup later. Leave this type of thing until you have already had success with something else.

The exact specifics (the growing techniques you are interested in and asking about) I would say you should start small if you can and expand with what you learn. Plenty of ideas work for many people, but they can also fail for others for a variety of reasons.

My ideas are to look at what the health community and chefs are demanding. Specialty fruit varieties, micro-greens, etc are all possibilities, but you have to see what is wanted first.

Not to say others here will lead you astray, but keep in mind that hobby forums like this are focused on growing what we as individuals like, no matter what the market demands. We can also relatively pick the fruit and stuff it in our face, so marketability of a product isn't as important.

2
Cold Hardy Citrus / Re: Arctic Frost Satsuma experience
« on: June 15, 2017, 01:24:31 PM »
I planted an Arctic Frost for my mother in Dallas, died this last winter when it got down to 10F (no protection, middle of yard). I was hoping it would come back from the roots, but no such luck.

Would have to agree that it's nothing special and might as well go with any other Satsuma and plan to protect it during winters.

3
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Selling: "the real king of fruit?" Cempedak (Artocarpus integer)
« on: June 13, 2017, 12:46:35 AM »
Quote from: manouk on June 07, 2017, 02:59:50 AM

Considered by many to be one of the best tasting fruits in the world, the Cempedak has a creamy consistency and caramel toffee taste with many subtle flavour undertones that are almost indescribable to those who haven't tasted it. Durian has a contender for the title, King of the Fruits.
.

I could describe it for you....smell a little more offensive than durian. Taste? Maybe caramel undertone, but dirty sock is the major overtone for me. Similar consistency to durian.

Durian reins supreme to my taste buds as king of fruits, besides this king can be put on a pike and used as a morning star. Smells like hell, tastes like heaven...durian. Though I will concede it's not for everyone (hence king). Queen (mangosteen) is more universally liked I would think.

I've also never heard anyone call chempedak as the king of fruits.

4
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: WTB feijoa Albert varieties
« on: June 12, 2017, 11:02:37 AM »
Any size would be OK that can be shipped, but generally doesn't need to be large, let me know price with shipping by PM. I'm in zipcode 27560.

5
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / WTB feijoa Albert varieties
« on: June 12, 2017, 12:46:36 AM »
Looking for either seeds or small plants of Alberts Pride or Albert Supreme etc. can be propagate daughter by seed, rooting or graft. In NC so likely mail order needed.

6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango ID
« on: May 27, 2016, 03:45:18 PM »
Also forgot to mention, but growth habit is very compact (short internode) and relatively slow, which I've heard is true of NDM as well. This year I've just gotten Fruit Punch and Sweet Tart, so don't have a large comparison yet as I expect any mango would be slow growing here.

7
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Black spots on sugar apples
« on: May 27, 2016, 03:34:44 PM »
looks like it may be starting to mummify, I would guess something fungal and spray copper.

Any other info on your spraying, fert and other treatment the trees receive (sun, temps, dry/wet) may help others in giving recommendations.

8
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango ID
« on: May 27, 2016, 03:09:02 PM »
Thanks everyone, glad to know! Based on other pics I've seen of NDM the hooked nose looked much more pronounced and much different when small. Maybe it's the difference between a regular NDM and NDM #4?

Thanks again, will post updated pics probably very late summer...mango comes late for me here in North Dallas area.

9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Mango ID
« on: May 27, 2016, 02:26:14 PM »
Any ideas? Was sold to me as NDM, but now looks like something else.

These fruits are small still, but just to give an idea. Are mature pics needed?








10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Costa Rica farm for sale . . .
« on: May 20, 2016, 12:01:48 PM »
The only thing I need to work is high speed internet, any options there other than satellite?

We've been looking for land, but not considered out of the country for various reasons, but it sure looks tempting.

11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Free mulch program
« on: May 14, 2016, 11:35:07 PM »
Chipdrop.in is another site, I joined there but never got a drop. I think I could just call up local tree services and get a load, I've seen a few trucks say free chips on the side, but I'm not sure where they'd deliver other than dumping on my driveway.

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 125 GalCogshall or Pickering ?
« on: May 07, 2016, 11:35:32 PM »
My suggestion is take the same amount of money and buy several 3 gallon trees. They'll establish fast and less likely to have root problems.

Lemon Zest, Fruit Punch, Sweet Tart...with those being so great, why get a 150g "common" variety. Not that those 3 will be hard to find there anyway.

Pickering is good and all, but the others make it seem like root stock.

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: My parents neighbors garden
« on: May 05, 2016, 03:33:55 PM »
Lot of trees love partial shade when young I've been finding out (at least in Texas). I'm guessing both because of the harsh summers, as well as they are likely often under story trees in the wild, it means if you plant in a sheltered spot, you'll notice fast growth as opposed to the middle of a field (even when watered).

I grow almost everything in pots, and now I'm starting to realize that apart from fertilizing adequately, big growth is coming from keeping everything close together and plenty of sub-irrigated water available. I now flood a small pond under all my pots and they slowly soak up the water from the bottom. Cloth pots, $35 pond liner on Amazon and I'm doing way better than my old watering methods, not to mention fertilizers likely don't leech out of pots as much as they used to.

In ground trees may eventually catch up either way you go about it, likely they put on more root growth than you would expect before pushing growth top side.

I'd also suggest tons of mulch instead of working amendments into the soil, it's easier to sustain, and doesn't disturb the tree as much. And yes places with amazing soil will have great growth with almost no work seemingly, at least for a while.

14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: heat treated manure vs Mulch (woodchips)
« on: May 05, 2016, 03:25:02 PM »
Keep in mind, he's in Dubai. Nothing there is free (except sand)! And just about everything is imported. I think even sand is imported (or more accurately moved from one place to another)!

I would just suggest the general as above, whatever you can get your hands on, go for it. Likely nothing will be cheap, but something like wood chips is nice because it will help act more as a sponge to hopefully counteract the sand below.

Look for any kind of yard waste from neighbors, calling up tree services that service public roads or the hotels around there (Atlantis etc seems to have decent greenery). Even local stuff (though still likely imported, but maybe not as far and cheaper) like palm fronds may work well enough.

Chipping is nice if you can get access to a chipper, but otherwise sticks you can build a hugelkultur bed with logs/sticks in the middle and adding whatever you can on top. The more you can grow, the more yard waste you'll produce and hopefully turn into your own mulch.

Dubai has access to anything you could think of, it's probably the most central port city around for world trade. But since nothing is really there locally, it all comes at a price. :) I'm sure OP knows that better than any of us, but best would be to see what is cheap enough relatively, then see if it will stay around, leeching all your good compost etc into the sand may ultimately just not be worth it.

Another alternative is to grow everything in pots and potting mix as you'll have to buy less material likely. Until you can start producing your own yard waste factory.

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Caught a fruit thief
« on: May 02, 2016, 12:07:14 PM »
Quote from: gnappi on May 02, 2016, 06:00:06 AM
The lunacy I am reading about people not knowing that trespass and theft is amazing. I read some stupidity in my life but that takes the cake.

Hey, you have a car in your driveway? Skateboard? Bicycle? lawnmower? By the tone of some it should be expected to have nothing of value where the uninformed can help themselves to ANYTHING on your property.

Gimme a break!

Just a thought... If there were a guy sitting under a mango and avocado tree in a front yard with a double barrel shotgun and a beer would ANYONE ON THIS PLANET believe that ANYONE would NOT have the concepts of theft and tresspass understood?

Yeah... agrue that one away.

Looks like you just posted to hear from those who agree with you.

Personally I can see your frustration, and I would be upset as well. But really, you can't think of it from another perspective? I know plenty of people that have NO CLUE what it takes to raise trees and get delicious fruit. "You mean it doesn't just grow on trees?" As if growing something is the easiest thing in the world.

Disease, fertilization schedule, watering, never being able to take a vacation....no one but us knows what we go through to raise our fruit.

From that perspective, and here in Texas, there's plenty of common wild mulberry trees that no one cultivates, and no one would care about picking, much less if anyone else picked them. Maybe people grew up in areas where cultivation of fruit is so easy that no one cares if you pick? In Minnesota where I grew up, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries (and occasional strawberries) all grew wild and many people are used to picking them for free. Of course I was educated enough to know how to look for public land (also for hunting purposes) and when I've stumbled into a domesticated berry patch and to not pick. Though I can think of plenty of kids who had no regard for personal property until they got into major trouble....

Either way it doesn't make stealing right, and it certainly isn't hard to just knock on a door and ask, especially in a suburban setting where the front door is right there.

But still if it was me, I can understand at least some other perspective where people have no idea that we spend money and time buying trees, tending them, and beating off wildlife...to where they think that fruit really is just so easy as to grow on a tree.  ::)

16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Atemoya Leaves Yellowing
« on: April 22, 2016, 11:45:45 PM »
Quote from: Cookie Monster on April 22, 2016, 11:04:21 PM
I think his tree is in a pot (that's what it looked like from the pictures). Palm fert can be risky in a pot.

Quote from: bsbullie on April 22, 2016, 03:42:40 PM
I dont like using osmocte on outdoor plants as the heat and rain can have adverse effects on it.  I would go with the palm, in general a better range of nutrients  (yes, better minors in plam fert than citrus).

Yes it's in a 50 gallon cloth pot.

17
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Jimmy Kimmel Tries Durian, 4/20/16
« on: April 22, 2016, 09:23:36 PM »
Quote from: fruitlovers on April 22, 2016, 06:09:36 PM

Jimmy Kimmel doesn't have the money to travel to Asia? He's never been to Thailand, Malaysia, or Singapore?  :o
I thought it was pretty clear....but no I wasn't saying celebrities don't have money for travel. I was talking about more common people. I can surely afford it if I budget, but many people in the US (or as mentioned any country) just can't or won't spend their excess money on travel.

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Jimmy Kimmel Tries Durian, 4/20/16
« on: April 22, 2016, 05:27:02 PM »
Quote from: fruitlovers on April 22, 2016, 05:19:35 PM
No matter what is said in the west the fact remains that billions of people in Asia consider durian king of fruits.That's not about to change due to anything Jimmy Kimmel says.
The only thing that can be concluded from such videos is how little Americans travel outside their own country. Durian has beenvery popular in Asia for hundreds of years, yet most Americans still don't know what a durian is?  :o

Could be very true on the travel, then again travelling is expensive for many people no matter which country they are from.

I'd say durian isn't popular on the mainland here because it doesn't grow here, and at $50+ for a fresh fruit, it's a pretty big risk to take. Even as a durian lover it's not worth that price to me. It may be cheaper than a plane ticket, but I would personally budget for a flight!

Quote from: fruitlovers on April 22, 2016, 05:24:14 PM
Fresh durian can be brought into USA because there are no agricultural restrictions on them. The main pest USDA watches out for, fruitfly, does not like them either. Or maybe the fruitlies can't penetrate the extremely hard exterior? The main difficulty bringing them in is finding a courier that will transport them. They will gas up inside closed cargo spaces. So most couriers don't want to deal with them.

Do you think it's easier to get durian from overseas than from Hawaii to the mainland?

19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Jimmy Kimmel Tries Durian, 4/20/16
« on: April 22, 2016, 04:48:02 PM »
Quote from: NewGen on April 22, 2016, 04:39:47 PM
I thought unless one has some special commercial permit, you can't bring fresh fruits to the USA.

I'm guessing that one was the standard frozen monthong, IMO the reason he didn't have a chance to like it. Hard to pick a good one and even if you do it's only nice to people who already like durian.

Best way to eat is from a stall in a producing country since if you eat it there and it's not nice, they will give you a different fruit. Generally they open it and won't give it to you, just by looking they will know.

Otherwise...I don't think there's much point in trying it for the first time. It's a lot like trying canned lychee and proclaiming you don't like lychee.

20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Atemoya Leaves Yellowing
« on: April 22, 2016, 02:28:19 PM »
Quote from: bsbullie on April 22, 2016, 02:21:37 PM

Not related to cold cause even here in South Florida, they drop their leaves in the winter and new Spring flushes should be a nice vivid green.

Yes, at that age anything in the mix should be gone.  It may not be that happy in general with the mix itself plus the age of the mix.

Organics are nice but try a well balanced granular fert.  See if you can find a palm fertilizer in your area.


I only mention cold because we got a very cold couple of nights about a month after the tree thought winter was over and started new flush. All of these new flush leaves were dark green until a couple days after those cold nights.

Thanks, yes I think I will try something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Osmocote-Outdoor-Smart-Release-8-Pound-Fertilizer/dp/B00GTDGMHC

or

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FSI2J30

Jack's makes a palm fert too, would it be better than the citrus? The rest of my trees (Mango, longan, satsuma, peach, fig, feijoa, cherry etc..) are doing fine in relatively the same potting mix and fertilizers. But along with one mango and the longan, I have had this atemoya relatively the longest at about 4 years.

21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Atemoya Leaves Yellowing
« on: April 22, 2016, 02:11:56 PM »
Quote from: bsbullie on April 22, 2016, 01:58:25 PM
Do you fertilize or treat your grass with anything?

I would look into a better potting mix.  StaGreen has a slow release fertilizer incorporated into it which is usually not the best for fruit trees.  It also has a "patent water absorbency polymer" which I have no idea what that is or how it really works and if that truly has positive or negative effect on your fruit trees.

Nothing on my grass, there's probably some weed seed in there is about all I could think of negative, but I don't get many weeds in the pots.

When I move, hopefully this year I'll probably repot it. It was repotted about 2 years ago, so I think any fertilizer in the mix is probably long gone.

I've been using only liquid ferts, but recently picked up some blood meal. I have been thinking of getting a slow release fert to toss on top in case I forget to fertilize too long.

Soil mix will be something I'll need to look more into, as once I move I'll probably never repot them again if I can. Will need something with at least half in-organics I'm guessing.


...still, to me, this is how my tree looks during the winter in the GH. No one thinks it's related to cold?

22
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Atemoya Leaves Yellowing
« on: April 22, 2016, 12:38:56 PM »
Quote from: cbss_daviefl on April 22, 2016, 12:06:23 PM
1 teaspoon per gallon is a maintenance dose. That tree needs a deficiency dose. 

Also, I would try some miracle gro water soluble powder, half strength every week.  Do not mix the Epsom salt together in the same solution with the miracle gro.  I would do them three days apart.

Thanks, I'll give it a few more days and try, only because last night I gave it a foliar spray, don't want to try too much.

Quote from: bsbullie on April 22, 2016, 12:21:35 PM
The soil in the picture looks very dry.  What mix are you using (if homemade, what is the composition)?

You can't see any soil as that is only the grass clippings I use for mulch. The potting mix is StaGreen bagged. I wish I could mix my own but I don't have the space or tools right now. If you pull the mulch back it's nice and moist and stays that way thanks mostly to the mulch. Even the light Spring sun now in Texas will bake most things dry otherwise pretty fast.

Here is a photo about 10 days ago, I guess I do notice a mild improvement:


I don't deny that the tree could be deficient, but what warned me that it may not be just that was from this link:
https://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/cherimoya.html

"It should be kept in mind that yellow leaves may mean that the soil too dry or the weather too cold, not always a need for fertilizer."

23
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Atemoya Leaves Yellowing
« on: April 22, 2016, 11:50:59 AM »
Quote from: cbss_daviefl on April 22, 2016, 11:44:45 AM
Magnesium and/or iron deficiency is my guess. Mix 1 tablespoon Epsom salt with per gallon of water.  I would do two doses a week apart and see how things look after a month.

I did give 1 tsp of epsom salt a week ago trying to correct it, my fertilizers do have micros and chelated iron as well. I'm using Dyna-Gro foliage pro and TurfPro with Iron for reference.

Maybe it just needs more time, but cold hit nearly a month ago...

Quote from: bsbullie on April 22, 2016, 11:48:17 AM
FEED MEEEEEEEEE..............and some water too, please.

Really? It's been raining like crazy here the last week or so...Nitrogen leeching I also suspected, but even with blood meal it hasn't bounced back. I didn't want to give too much, but sprinkled about 3 tbsp around the base.


24
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Atemoya Leaves Yellowing
« on: April 22, 2016, 11:22:54 AM »
Doh, rotated phone pics...will try and fix that.

25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Atemoya Leaves Yellowing
« on: April 22, 2016, 11:20:40 AM »
Wondering if anyone has any suggestions for me. My atemoya was growing great, then we had a bit of a cold snap and I believe that is when essentially leaves started turning yellow, looking like low in Iron or nitrogen and growth came to a halt.

I've fertilized well and given it extra foliar feedings, but growth still hasn't restarted. I think nutrition probably isn't the problem as cold seems to have been.

Would it be advisable to strip leaves so late in the season and restart? Any other ideas?






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