It's amazing what a little selective violence will achieve. Last year the crows were giving me a hard time, so I shot one and left it where it fell. The other crows got all excited and swarmed around, cawing like crazy. One landed on top of a power pole, looking down at its dead comrade. Then it was his turn to come crashing to earth. The rest of the flock flew away and not one crow has landed anywhere on my property in a year. Now they won't even fly over my property! Crows are very intelligent, have good memories, and somehow communicate to other crows that my place is too dangerous to raid.
    A good quality pellet rifle is the answer if you can't fire a .22 where you live. If I lived in a place where I couldn't shoot, I'd at least try setting some snares made of lightweight monofilament fishing line in and around the lychee tree. If a crow got caught by the foot, his struggles would terrify the others, I would think.

You know, I hate to say it, but if I had known what lay ahead, I never would have planted that first fruit tree or set up that first vegetable garden when I first moved here. I was a city boy who went my whole life never owning property. I always dreamed of retiring in the country, and when I finally did, I looked at all this empty ground and envisioned lotsa delicious homegrown fruits and veggies. So, I set to work and made it happen.
     What I didn't envision was the never-ending onslaught of furred, feathered, and six-legged pests, not to mention exotic new diseases brought in from overseas on a daily basis.
       Considering the extra property tax (I've got the biggest lot in the neighborhood), the cost of fertilizer, pesticides, insecticides, bird netting, traps, bullets, and uncounted hours of grunt work, what little produce I harvest must be the most expensive in the world.
       Not to mention the killing. So much killing. I long ago lost count of the number of coons, squirrels, possums, armadillos, and birds I've killed trying to protect this stuff.   
       I'm so tired of this. I wish I'd never started. However, I'm in too deep to quit now.   
       It seemed like such a good idea at the time. 

They're not babies. One has been in the ground since 2007 and the smaller one since 2010. They are both quite mature and healthy.

Alrighty then... got those whips lassoed and tied down. Now they're kinda horseshoe-shaped, pointing toward the ground.
    Anybody know how long it will take them to take a permanent bend and I can untie them?

Last year I almost enjoyed my very first crop of macadamias. Unfortunately, I was putting in very long hours at work, and while I was gone, the squirrels got every one.
    I have since, ahem... "taken measures" to assure this doesn't happen again. 
    Now, my tree is covered with blossoms and I'm predicting good times ahead.
    Seeing as how I've never actually gotten to eat my macadamias yet, how will I tell when they are ready?

I aggressively prune my mulberry tree every winter, and by the end of summer there are these long, whip-like branches which have grown very quickly. These are usually 8 to 10 feet in length. I usually cut them off every year, but this year I'm thinking of leaving a few just to see what they turn into. See photo.
    Is this a mistake? Will they eventually branch out and produce berries, or will they just keep doing what they're doing?

I know these trees do well elsewhere, but I'm wondering if Southwest Florida's climate, humidity, and soil type can produce the best these trees have to offer.
     Also, how does one tell when pomegranates and macadamias are ripe and ready to pick? I can't seem to get the timing right.
     I've had pomegranates and macadamias in my yard down here for years and I am not impressed with their output thus far.

Well, it happened again. Went out this morning and found a huge portion of my jujube tree on the ground. One of the main branches had split and collapsed. This is the third time for this tree. Last time I was able to wire it back together and it healed nicely. The branch that broke last night was not the previously repaired one.
     This jujube is a "Thai Giant" and certainly lives up to its name. It is by far the biggest and fastest-growing fruit tree in my yard. I wish they all grew that fast!
     This tree apparently becomes too top-heavy to support itself. Is this a common trait with this variety? Does anyone else have this problem?
      This tree, and the much younger one on the other side of the property, has a main trunk which forks into a "Y" just a few inches from the ground. Then two main beams grow very large at about a 45-degree angle, bearing all the weight until something finally gives.
     I read somewhere that jujube trees don't do well if they're pruned, so I left this tree alone.
      Should I begin aggressively pruning to keep it from getting too top-heavy?
      Any suggestions would be appreciated.
         

When my jujube tree is in full bloom, it swarms with wasps of all shapes, colors, and sizes all day. It is fascinating to watch because I had no idea there were so many wasp varieties around here.
    Unfortunately, honeybees and butterflies seem to have no interest in these jujube flowers. I don't know if moths visit this tree at night or not.
     So, I suppose I must count on wasps for pollination. Lately, I've been disappointed in this tree's yield.
     Can wasps alone get the job done?   

I feel your pain!
The only solution for most of us is trapping and shooting. Coonhounds are very noisy animals and not suitable for most suburban situations.
    Back when I was "Mr. Nice Guy", I tried live-trapping coons and re-locating them miles away. Still had lotsa coons, so I started spraying their tails with orange paint before releasing them.
     I was shocked at how quickly orange-tailed coons got home again. I had no idea they could travel so far so fast!
     No more "Mr. Nice Guy!"

Ditto on the "good thing they can't climb trees" remark!
    That would be all we need! Another mango-raiding varmint!

I've seen "Fruit Cocktail" trees for sale in our local nurseries and became intrigued by the concept. Several different types of citrus fruits from the same tree seems to be gaining popularity around here.
      If it works for citrus, could it work for other trees, like carambola, mango, and lychee?
      I've got the feeling it wouldn't, or else somebody would have done it by now. But I just thought I'd get your opinions anyway.

My wellwater is pretty revolting stuff. Very hard and leaves rust stains everywhere. It takes a lot of treatment to make it suitable for household use. Some of my neighbors, who have deeper wells than mine, have a high sulphur content in their water.
    Do fruit trees benefit at all from being irrigated with such high-mineral water, as opposed to treated or pure rainwater?