Two of the papaya trees on my farm are producing multiple fruit at each leaf node. Is this multiple fruit a response to environmental conditions or do some varieties simply bear fruit this way?

Both of these trees are volunteers spread by birds and/or bats.  All my other papaya trees have a single fruit per leave node.  Here's the first tree:



This second tree is doing it too, but the stems are hidden due to the number of fruit:


What's going on?

John

My method is consistent with Jeff's.  For plants that most benefit from it, I like to mulch 6 inches (150 mm) or so, but think of it more as an ongoing process to add more mulch as the older stuff rots. I don't have enough organic matter to do this with all my fruit trees, but on the ones I do I keep it off the trunk and try to cover the area where I want to prevent weed growth.

John

Drainage would be good with cloth bags, but soil water would evaporate more quickly than in plastic bags, resulting in less soil moisture.  Also, plastic bags are constructed with pleats that allow them to lay upright, whereas the cloth bags in the link do not.  They would rot quickly in some environments.  Rather expensive too.

EDIT:   Ha!  I thought you meant planting bags, not bags to cover fruit!  I get it now.  -John

I can't  answer your question from personal experience, but this web page has some good information on varieties and propagation methods:

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/sapote_ars.html

I use wood lattice and vines to shade one of my shadehouses.  After a cyclone tore up the shadecloth, I rebuilt one of my two shadehouses with the lattice.  The vines have not yet covered the top, but passionfruit, black pepper, granadilla and cucumber are starting to climb now.

The lattice is not as good as shadecloth at breaking up big raindrops during big storms, and it provides less shade that the cloth (until the vines grow overhead).  I'm using it mostly to harden-off plants before planting.

Are the kids going to get hurt climbing the trees? This is why fruit trees are now not planted here in municipal spaces or schoolyards. Fear of lawsuits......even from the kid getting ill from eating the fruit

Not a problem in Fiji.  These kids grow up climbing trees.

Almost all the cane sold in farmers' markets is soft cane, suitable for eating out of hand.  The two most common varieties have a purple or varigated colored bark.  Yellow/green cane is usually for commercial sugar production. 

I recommend buying the cane at a farmers' market, trying some and planting the rest if you like it.

If the rootstock is approximately the same diameter as the scion you'll be grafting, then it's a great time to graft. 

If your seedling is not yet thick enough for the scion, and still in a pot or bag, I recommend planting in its permanent location now and graft in the field when it's ready.  Avocados left in the bag too long seem to grow slowly in the field, presumeably due to absence of a good taproot and/or exhausted nutrition from the seed.

John

Thanks for all the suggestions.    I'll research which seeds are available for delivery during the March timeframe.  Others will have to wait.   

Does anyone know a source of durian seeds (or fruit) in the U.S.?

John
PS:  What I called 'Custard Apple' on my list is really sugar apple  in U.S. terminology.  Is 'Rainforest Plum' teh same as 'Davidson's Plum'?

I need help deciding the most appropriate fruit to grow on my hobby farm. I want to focus on fruits that would be well-adapted to my climate and also be tasty.  The 'top fruits' poll on this forum was helpful, but I'd appreciate more suggestions. 

First, a little about the growing environment:
The farm is tropical (18 degrees south) and in an intermediate rainfall area (wet season and dry season).   Droughts in the dry season rarely last more than a month.  Soil is mostly clay/loam, hilly but with some bottom land with a shallow water table.  It is low elevation (seaside) but prevailing winds come from inland at this location so no significant salt  in the air or soil.

     

The fruit growing is mainly for my own enjoyment.  However, it is also possible that some day the land might be subdivided for residential so I've planted a lot of citrus, mango and avocado, since those are staples here and I know I can sell the fruit.  I think it's too tropical for lychee and cherimoya.

In a few weeks, I will be visiting the U.S. and want to bring fruit seeds back to Fiji.  I'll be searching the Asian and Hispanic markets around Dallas, Texas, and also plan to mail order seeds.  Unfortunately, I can't bring green wood back to Fiji due to biosecurity concerns.   I have almost everything available here in Fiji.

I've only had the farm for a year and half, so not much is fruiting.   Here's what's on the farm now:

Abiu  6
African Pride (Custard apple) 1
Avocado (Local) 44
Banana – Big  18
Banana – Lady's Finger  1
Black Sapote 1
Brazilian Cherry 2
Breadfruit 3
Bullocks Heart (American Custard apple) 2
Cashew  3
Cinnamon  6
Citrus – Cleopatra Mandarin   12
Citrus – Cutter Valencia  2
Citrus – Dancy Tangerine  2
Citrus – Grapefruit Ruby Red 6
Citrus – Harvey Lemon  2
Citrus – Kumquat (round) 1
Citrus – Late Valencia 24
Citrus – Lee Mandarin  2
Citrus – Meyer Lemon  50
Citrus – Seedless Lime  37
Citrus – Lisbon Lemon  2
Citrus – Miniola Tangelo  11
Citrus – Olinda Valencia  12
Citrus – Orlando Tangelo  2
Citrus – Page Mandarin  2
Citrus – Rough Lemon  5
Citrus – Satsuma Mandarin  9
Citrus – Fiji/Unknown Mandarin  23
Citrus – Washington Navel  18
Citrus – West Indian Lime  2
Cocoa 8
Coconut – Dwarf 10
Coconut – Tall  50
Coffee 5
Curry Tree  3
Custard Apple (US Sugar Apple) 9
Davidson Plum  2
Dawa (Fijian Longan)  2
Dragon Fruit (White interior)  2
Fig  2
Ginger 2
Granadilla  4
Guava (3 types)  6
Ivi  2
Jackfruit  3
Jacoticaba  4
Jamun – white 1
Jamun – back 2
Kavika (Rose apple) 6
Langsat  1
Lemon Grass  2
Lychee  3
Macadamia  2
Mamey Sapote  1
Mango (2 varieites) 80
Mangosteen  7
Miracle Fruit 1
Mulberry  4
Neem 2
Noni  3
Nutmeg 4
Papaya (Hawaiian & local)  19
Passionfruit (yellow and purple) 19
Pepper, black 4
Pineapple (2 varieities) 30
Plantain 4
Pomegranate  2
Rambutan  4
Sandalwood  4
Sapodilla  4
Soursop  8
Star Apple  4
Starfruit (Carambola)  5
Sugar Cane (purple) 2
Tamarind  2
Tarawau  2
Tavola   2
Turmeric 2
Vanilla    2
Vutu     3
Wi  2
Yaqona (Kava) 2

What else would be good to grow?

Thanks,  John

I use companion planting mostly to provide shade and wind protection.  Under coconut and native trees, I have cocoa, coffee, vanilla and a few other shade-loving plants.  Trees such as jackfruit that are more wind-resistant are planted upwind to provide protection to sapodilla, star apple, starfruit and others that suffer from strong tradewinds.

John

I'd appreciate your recommendations for books describing the cultivation of tropical fruits, especially books on mango, citrus and avocado. I'll be putting together an Amazon book order soon. 

Julia Morton's 'Fruits of Warm Climates' and Paull's  'Tropical Fruits (Crop Production Science in Horticulture)' volumes 1 & 2 are books I'm seriously considering, so  comments on these books would especially be appreciated.

So far, my favorite general books are 'Florida's Best Fruiting Plants' by Boning, and 'Specialty Crops for Pacific Islands' by Elevitch.  Also like 'Citrus Growing in Florida' by Davies and Jackson.

Interesting guy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/arts/television/bill-pullman-keeps-his-passions-out-front.html

John