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Messages - happyisland

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26
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango news from Aruba
« on: July 22, 2013, 05:57:04 PM »
Thanks for the kind words, everybody! For the past week or so my wife and I have been getting as much delicious mango as we can eat. I'm thrilled!

@Saltcayman - I have no idea why I'm getting some splitting. I was hoping someone else knew... I started picking them before the fruit are totally ripe just to try to prevent splitting...

@MarinFla - rats! There's not a lot of interesting fruit stuff happening most of the time down here, but kinepa and mispel are local and interesting. I know the best batido places too!

@Bananimal - the PK is growing quite slowly (probably due to its mostly-shaded location semi-underneath the Valencia Pride) and only has two leaves currently, while it's around 3-4 feet tall. My best growing banana is actually an ice cream, which is 6-7 feet tall and has a bunch of healthy leaves on it. We're toward the end of the dry season, which is mostly a survival period. I'm hoping all the bananas I've got will thrive in the wet Aruban autumn.

27
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Mango news from Aruba
« on: July 21, 2013, 03:09:08 PM »
I've been responsible for many whiny posts over the years, complaining that my mango trees had yet to fruit, and seeking advice. Well this year, probably thanks to a KNO3 program, I got my first fruit! My Edward only put out one, but my Valencia Pride filled its lower branches with fruit (it's a 15 foot tall tree).

So creamy, so delicious:


Big fruit.


Some fruit split on the tree, and others seemed to ripen unevenly (ie very ripe in the middle and under-ripe by the skin. The fruit are so big though that there's always plenty of tasty flesh in every one.

And here's the good news, the tree, while it still has a bunch of fruit, is flowering again, this time on the top!



28
Tropical Fruit Discussion / How to know when to pick a mango
« on: May 12, 2013, 08:38:14 PM »
I have several mango trees that are fruiting for the first time right now, which confronts me with the question: how do I know when they're ripe for the picking? Is anyone aware of any resource out there with pictures or descriptions of different mango varieties with advice on when to pick? It might be a good column to add to the mango file Sheehan created on google docs...

My mouth is watering looking at these fruit hanging on my trees, and I'm worried that if I don't get some solid info I'm going to waste a bunch of mangoes by picking them too green!

29
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Shoshoro - a wild-growing mini passion fruit?
« on: May 01, 2013, 08:44:41 PM »
We went for a dog walk this evening at a sand quarry on the west side of the Island. On the ground, growing wild, we found these fruit, which are called "shoshoro" in Papiamento:



They're like small passion fruit in flavor, though less sweet than a good PF cultivar. Seeds slightly bitter if chewed.

Does anyone know what these might be?


30
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: today's china town haul
« on: April 11, 2013, 10:20:57 AM »
I'm drooling over those mangosteen pics, LL!

I'll be in Manhattan in a couple weeks - any idea what will be available at the Chinatown fruit stands then?

31
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Some pics from Nha Trang, Viet Nam
« on: March 30, 2013, 06:42:35 PM »
Awesome, mouth-watering pics.

32
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fruting shade loving trees for ultra-tropical climate
« on: March 29, 2013, 07:00:35 PM »
I got a garcinia intermedia that I planted in a shady spot under a huge ficus. It seems to be doing fine, but it has barely grown in the year it has been in the ground. It gets virtually no direct sun though.

33
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What are your observations using Compost tea for foliar and soil drench ...
« on: March 27, 2013, 06:14:13 PM »
WSU has done a bunch of work on Compost Tea. Here's a quick document to get you started on their findings:
http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda%20Chalker-Scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Compost%20tea.pdf

Here's the TL;DR:
"The Bottom Line
•Properly composted organic material makes a wonderful mulch
•Compost teas have not been suitably characterized, nor have their purported benefits been
validated scientifically
•Compost teas can be overused and potentially contribute to ground water pollution

34
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango cultivar with the largest leaves?
« on: March 26, 2013, 08:07:01 PM »
Of my trees the Alphonso has by far the biggest leaves - the longest measured at elbow-index finger. It's a beautiful tree.

35
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 25, 2013, 08:44:51 PM »
Quote from: Tropicdude on March 25, 2013, 12:31:17 PM
Quote from: happyisland on March 25, 2013, 07:58:41 AM
Quote from: Tropicdude on March 24, 2013, 11:32:26 PM
Good now we have Alphonsos fruiting in Aruba and California, I look forward to a review on these,  my container NDM still has not pushed out anything, but the terminals are swelling, I hope it flowers.

Alphonso is supposed to be pretty bad, when grown in Florida, right? I have a good feeling about Aruba-grown though, since it's so dry down here. I'm hoping our prolonged drought season will mimic the conditions that the tree likes back in its homeland. Have you ever had a Dominican-grown Alphonso?

No I have not tried any Alphonso yet.  I do not think Alphonso is considered bad, in Fla. my take is that it just not as good as one grown in India, and is just mediocre in Florida.  I have two potted Alphonso, and I am going to give one away to a friend that lives in a semi arid area of the country, I think they will do best there.

I did some research on climatic in the area where Alphonso grows best in India, for the most part , these trees get almost no rain all through the fruit development stage, fruit is picked just before the monsoon rains,  I think some flood irrigation is used in the driest areas/periods.   so its like no rain until after harvest, then you have rain almost non stop for 3 months.

I have high expectations on the Kesar, here in the city where we get more rain, I think it will do better, I will try and do an approach graft, so i can give one to a friend on the north coast where generally mangoes for plantations are not recommended, because it rains a lot, and soils are heavier.

Anyway, good luck on all your trees,  for the Alphonso you may just want to give them only enough water, this may be the "trick" for better flavor.

that sounds perfect, since we won't get any rain down here until September or so. I won't give it any water myself unless it looks like it's about to shrivel up. Any chance it would drop its fruit if it got super dry, or would the leaves start to curl before that?

My wife has a ton of Indian friends, and I'm hoping my Alphonsos turn out great so I can blow their minds with a taste of home!  :)

36
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 25, 2013, 07:58:41 AM »
Quote from: Tropicdude on March 24, 2013, 11:32:26 PM
Good now we have Alphonsos fruiting in Aruba and California, I look forward to a review on these,  my container NDM still has not pushed out anything, but the terminals are swelling, I hope it flowers.

Alphonso is supposed to be pretty bad, when grown in Florida, right? I have a good feeling about Aruba-grown though, since it's so dry down here. I'm hoping our prolonged drought season will mimic the conditions that the tree likes back in its homeland. Have you ever had a Dominican-grown Alphonso?

37
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 25, 2013, 07:56:47 AM »
Quote from: zands on March 24, 2013, 09:52:55 PM
It's about time you got redemption. Mango redemption.

Damn right!


38
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 24, 2013, 08:46:13 PM »
And now my Alphonso is getting in on the action! It's fruiting for the first time ever, around 7 weeks after I started weekly KNO3 applications. I'm getting pretty excited down here!

39
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: mangosteen tree
« on: March 23, 2013, 06:36:17 PM »
No matter what, it's worth the effort! I can't imagine how great it would be to have a productive mangosteen tree in my yard.

40
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: New Catalina Avacado & Valencia Pride Mango Tree.
« on: March 20, 2013, 04:01:48 PM »
I hope it's a big greenhouse! Valencia Prides grow like crazy.

41
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 15, 2013, 07:04:32 PM »
We have clay soil, and almost no rainfall at this time of year, but I haven't been watering the NDM and it seems ok. I think I'll switch to hand-watering it once a week, just to keep it hydrated. We're so close to sea level that I'd imagine the water table is quite close to the surface.

42
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 15, 2013, 10:58:06 AM »
Quote from: bangkok on March 15, 2013, 10:05:09 AM
Quote from: happyisland on March 15, 2013, 09:47:42 AM
Now my NDM4 is blooming for the first time ever!

Great! I hope for you it is a green NDM variety because they taste better then the golden. Don't fertilise with N no more now and don't water irregular or the fruits might collapse

I would not use kno3 as a fertiliser because your tree will have a shorter life if this is used often. I have no idea how old a grafted mangotree or one from seed can get by the way.

Thanks for the warning about using KNO3 too much - I am definitely thrilled how well it has worked, and am tempted to overuse it in the future.

When you say not to water irregularly what do you mean exactly? It is dry season here, the tree is still small (around 5 feet tall, though it has been in the ground for a couple years), and I have not been watering it at all. Should I start watering it on a regular basis while it flowers and fruits?

43
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 15, 2013, 09:47:42 AM »
Now my NDM4 is blooming for the first time ever!

44
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 12, 2013, 03:42:14 PM »
Quote from: Tropicdude on March 11, 2013, 12:45:50 PM
Spraying of KN03 also has to be timed right,  and this will vary depending on the location and variety of tree.

Below is an excellent report on trials done with KN03.  with information on concentrations and results with other nitrate based sprays. there are also charts in this PPT presentation that shows the effectiveness of KN03 application on different varieties.  Note. this is a industry presentation, so they are biased, but I have seen other reports with similar findings.  there is also information on KN03 for other crops like Litchi .

http://www.kno3.org/images/pna/pdf/PPT%20Non-nutritional%20applications%20of%20potassium%20nitrate%2029.10.10%20ENG.pdf

I think your KN03 sprays were a bit late for Aruba, I am glad you had some success though. 

Next time after the post harvest pruning, wait for the new growth to be around 4-5 months, then spray your KN03,  you may have to experiment with different concentrations, 1-4%  ( sometimes more is not better ). this may be different for each variety.   local commercial farmer usually only have 1 variety of tree, so they know already exactly what the best concentration, and the date they should spray.  I believe they do this around December here in the DR.


Cool presentation. Particularly interesting that it's not understood exactly why KNO3 induces flowering.

I appreciate your thoughts on timing KNO3 application too. This year I didn't really try to time it, but just saw the season slipping away and panicked.  :D

45
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 11, 2013, 07:59:42 AM »
Fruitnursery, I'm glad my experimentation helped.

Thanks for the idea on why I'm getting such a weird fruiting pattern. Now that you mention it I'm sure you're right. The lower branches are more mature and have darker leaves, etc, just like you mentioned.

46
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 10, 2013, 11:57:43 AM »
The potassium nitrate (KNO3) I used was repackaged by the local garden center. It's a white powder that they sell (cheaply) in little plastic tubs.

Now that I know that it works I'm definitely going to experiment in the future along the lines Sheehan recommended above. How great would it be to have a single tree fruiting for many months?

Question for everyone: on both my Edward and VP, the only blooms so far are on the lowest branches. Does anyone know if this is typical?

47
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 10, 2013, 08:37:48 AM »
Here's all I did:

Around 2 tablespoons of potassium nitrate powder per gallon of water, sprayed thoroughly over all leaves. I did this once a week for four weeks, and magically on the fifth week I had some flowers!

Caveat: I have ten other trees that are still flower-less.

So now I'm wondering if I should continue weekly applications on the unproductive trees, or if there's some reason that 4 weeks are what is recommended in the commercial agriculture method.

48
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Potassium nitrate worked!
« on: March 09, 2013, 05:10:56 PM »
I have had an inexplicably difficult time getting my mango trees to fruit. So I started the potassium nitrate spraying regimen (from another thread on this forum). Last week was the last of the 4 weeks of spraying, and guess what? Today I found the first blooms on my biggest two trees!

So excited!

The VP, so you can see how big it is. How is it possible this thing has never flowered before?



A representative flower. Weirdly, the whole bottom six feet or so has flowers, with nothing on higher branches (yet?)




Here's the only flower (so far!) on the Edward. I know this is pretty lame for you guys who are constantly inundated with fruit, but I've waited a LONG time for this! Woo hoo!


49
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mangosteen Tree Group Order.....
« on: February 14, 2013, 08:15:43 AM »
Sounds good! If it would be possible to have trees delivered to Miami I'd be in.

50
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potassium Nitrate to Induce Mango Flowering
« on: February 10, 2013, 02:37:00 PM »
I just did my first session of spraying KNO3 on my decent-sized but unproductive Edward and Alphonso trees. I'll spray my VP and PPK tomorrow. 1T/gallon - we'll see how this approach works in Aruba!

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