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Messages - happyisland

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51
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2013 yard pics
« on: February 03, 2013, 10:42:57 AM »
totally mouth-watering! Thanks for the pics.

52
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango blooms...drying up
« on: February 01, 2013, 03:18:36 PM »
My small unhealthy potted Carrie is the only mango of mine that has flowered so far, but it lost all its tiny fruit and the flowers dried up. None of my other trees (a big VP, Alphonso, PPK, NDM4, Edward, Pickering, etc) have flowered. Yet?

53
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: MIni Yard Update........1/19/2013
« on: January 25, 2013, 11:23:22 AM »
No posts on this forum are more inspirational/jealousy-inducing than yours, Harry! I can't wait to see all the fruit pics in a few months. [drools]

54
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: First harvest of the "Pickering of bananas" - Pisang Klotek
« on: January 21, 2013, 02:27:48 PM »
Quote from: venturabananas on January 21, 2013, 02:14:51 PM
Quote from: happyisland on January 21, 2013, 07:20:34 AM
quick question: how do you know when to remove the bunch from the tree? My little tree is already about 4-feet tall, and I'm starting to get excited!

When you're new at it, it's easiest to wait until you see some of the fruit turn yellow, then cut the bunch.  When you're an old hand like Dan, you can tell by eye when the fruit have completely filled.  The risk in waiting for some fingers to turn yellow is that the peels may split.  But those fruit are still edible.

Keep in mind that if the bananas are for you own personal use, you don't need to harvest the whole bunch at once.  You can harvest a finger, a few fingers, or a hand at a time.  You can stretch out the ripening of a bunch for a month that way.  That's my preferred method, rather than being faced with eating or distributing 100-300 bananas at once.  Obviously, this method is much easier with short varieties with which you can reach the bunch from the ground than with tall varieties.

Nice. Thanks for the tips! I'll probably be posting here when I eventually have fruit anyway...

55
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: First harvest of the "Pickering of bananas" - Pisang Klotek
« on: January 21, 2013, 07:20:34 AM »
Wow, those look beautiful!

quick question: how do you know when to remove the bunch from the tree? My little tree is already about 4-feet tall, and I'm starting to get excited!

56
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: curled leaves on an otherwise healthy mango tree
« on: January 18, 2013, 10:43:34 AM »
Going out to mark the branches right now...

For another thread: this tree is 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide and has been in the ground for 3 years and has still not flowered, ever.

57
Tropical Fruit Discussion / curled leaves on an otherwise healthy mango tree
« on: January 18, 2013, 09:12:15 AM »
Hey guys and gals,

It's getting toward the end of the rainy season down here (Aruba is a desert island, so these things are relative) and all of my mango trees have pushed a bunch of vegetative growth. They all look happy and healthy, if fruitless. The one exception is my Alphonso tree, which is growing vigorously and is covered 97% in big healthy leaves. The other 3% come out curled, like in the attached picture. There are no visible pests on the undersides of the leaves, and it seems to happen to certain branches only. Weird, because as you'll see from this pic, the adjacent leaves that were produced at the same time are perfectly healthy:



Here's a slightly closer view of the unhealthy leaves:


Any ideas what's up here? I'm not super worried about it, since the tree seems so happy, but I am curious. I forgot to mention above that this happens every time the tree pushes out new leaves.

58
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What is the fastest-growing tropical fruit tree?
« on: January 13, 2013, 02:00:52 PM »
Well this was easy! Thanks for backing me up, everybody. VP it is!

59
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What is the fastest-growing tropical fruit tree?
« on: January 13, 2013, 01:17:44 PM »
I hear ya - it must be somewhat porous though, since he has two small mongrel mango trees (I know, I know) growing in other holes that seem to do fine.

60
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What is the fastest-growing tropical fruit tree?
« on: January 13, 2013, 12:59:38 PM »
Any reason to worry about the lack of root space for a VP? Would it stunt the tree? I think he would have a hole bored that would be around 2 meters in diameter.

61
Tropical Fruit Discussion / What is the fastest-growing tropical fruit tree?
« on: January 13, 2013, 12:06:43 PM »
So my best friend wants to plant a new tree in his big back yard, and he wants a shade tree and doesn't care about fruit. (How we remain friends is a bit of a mystery...)

Anyway, I selfishly see this as an opportunity to install another tasty fruit tree in a friendly yard here in Aruba.

Parameters:

1) tree must grow quickly, turning into a large shade tree.

2) his yard is basically solid limestone (he lives right on the water), so the tree will be planted in a hole made gouged into the rock.

Anybody have any opinions on this one? I was thinking about a Valencia Pride mango, but am worried that the smallish area for rooting might hold the tree back...


62
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Honey Gold Jackfruit
« on: January 09, 2013, 07:20:17 PM »
what is the smallest size you could reasonably fit one in? I've been looking for a small jackfruit variety for a little spot in my back yard between two mangoes...

63
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: That's the last time I eat parrot and gourd!
« on: January 06, 2013, 12:50:23 PM »
Wow. That is absolutely bizarre! (and hilarious!)

64
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What is the Pickering of Jackfruits?
« on: December 30, 2012, 01:38:18 PM »
Quote from: bsbullie on December 30, 2012, 09:22:36 AM
Quote from: ofdsurfer on December 30, 2012, 07:21:15 AM
Rob,
Do you have any idea when the Excalibur gold trees will be available?
Excalibur Gold jackfruit trees are available for sale at Excalibur in 3 gallon size.

Hey Rob - do you think a 3-gallon would make a 10-day trip to Aruba intact?

65
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What is the Pickering of Jackfruits?
« on: December 17, 2012, 08:52:52 PM »
Thanks Rob & Sheehan for the recommendations. Now, can you recommend a good nursery that could supply me with a nice grafted tree that would be able to survive to boat to Aruba? I love pruning and messing with trees, so I don't mind doing the work to keep the tree small - as long as I don't get the Valencia Pride of Jackfruits...  :D

66
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: First Mango Bloom for Upcoming 2013 Season
« on: December 17, 2012, 06:14:51 PM »
Quote from: DuncanYoung on December 16, 2012, 08:13:35 PM



Happy Edwards, life is good!


I've never been more jealous in my entire life!  ;D Enjoy. My Edward is doing nothing but growing leaves...

67
Tropical Fruit Discussion / What is the Pickering of Jackfruits?
« on: December 17, 2012, 06:05:35 PM »
I just found out that I have enough room for a jackfruit (for some reason I thought they were much bigger trees). So here's my question: since I can only get one, what is the perfect tree that will be easy to keep small, has great fruit, is precocious, and produces
a good crop? Anything else I should know about from you jackfruit veterans before i take the plunge?

I've done a bit of googling and sites like http://www.virtualherbarium.org/tropicalfruit/jackfruit-cultivars.html seem to point toward a Mia-1 as a good option...



68
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Auction to help the forum!
« on: December 10, 2012, 04:22:55 PM »
This is exactly why I love this forum! Just when I think there's no way I can shoehorn another tropical fruit tree onto my property, along comes an enabler/fellow sufferer of tropical fruit mania who shows me how. Now I've just got to figure out what Jackfruit varietal to get... I'll save that one for another thread though. Don't want to hijack the auction.

69
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Auction to help the forum!
« on: December 08, 2012, 09:58:21 AM »
Quote from: stressbaby on December 08, 2012, 08:51:26 AM
murahilin,
I would bid on this puppy but I have no where to grow it.
If you find a diminutive specimen suitable for us northern home/greenhouse/garage/whatever-you-call-Gerry's-setup container growers, please post it!

Agreed - I love the idea of supporting the forum with an auction, but I just don't have space for a huge tree anymore. Sigh... Now if there's a Pickering of Jackfruits I might be convinced to brave my wife's eye-rolling and make a bid...

70
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Could I have 'burned' my fingers with a Mangifera seed?
« on: November 14, 2012, 08:23:13 PM »
Haha! That's my iguana-catching champion wiener dog 'Pickle', the only reason anything in my yard has any leaves. My wife is holding him for the picture, and because we have to take the lizards away from him before he rips them up, eats them, and pukes. It's not a pretty process...

71
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Could I have 'burned' my fingers with a Mangifera seed?
« on: November 13, 2012, 02:46:14 PM »
I'll second tabbydan's note. I am intensely allergic to urushiol (have been since being exposed to poision ivy as a child) and can get a rash from handling the wood, sap, skin, etc. I've read that the most severely allergic can even get rashes from just eating the fruit, so it's definitely possible that the seed gave you a rash.

72
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Questions from a total grafting neophyte.
« on: November 12, 2012, 05:57:26 PM »
Quote from: Jackfruitwhisperer69 on November 12, 2012, 05:21:10 PM
Hi David,

Them Buds should be nice and fat...about to push. If them buds ain't swollen, the graft will heal...though will not push/flush.

Grafting Fruit Trees
Check the budwood that is harvested.

I now use exacto knife and razor blades for all my grafts :) Kitchen knifes are too thick and will split the wedge ;)

Fingers crossed, Buddy..hope they take :)


I watched that video yesterday, and that technique is what I tried to copy. I'm afraid my scion was not fat enough though. Do you think it will NEVER flush again if it wasn't budding, even if the graft does heal properly?

73
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Questions from a total grafting neophyte.
« on: November 12, 2012, 05:55:52 PM »
Quote from: Tim on November 12, 2012, 04:51:53 PM
Does Aruba forbid buying grafting knife online or something?  If not, you've got to get a grafting knife, or at least some razor blades.  Check this link out if you haven't already done so:
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=871.msg24281#msg24281


I definitely plan on buying a grafting knife online, but for some reason (a lazy afternoon Sunday spent thinking about what garden project to try next) I decided I needed to try a couple grafts ASAP. The kitchen knife I used was pretty thick, and while sharp did split the wood a bit. It was also unwieldy and made it hard to get a clean cut on the scion. You live and learn... Next time I think I'll try a disposable razor.

74
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: first attempt pics
« on: November 12, 2012, 05:52:56 PM »
Quote from: jcaldeira on November 12, 2012, 04:51:16 PM

If you didn't wrap the entire scion with a thin plastic, it almost certainly will not be successful.  You MUST stop the evaporative moisture loss.

Also, cutting the leaves off closer to the stem will make it easier to wrap with one layer of kitchen wrap; just spirol roll it up the top, over the top, back down one turn and tie-off.  I recommend a 10-12 cm (4"-5") scion.

To force more sap flowing to your scion, you might trim off nearby branches.

John

Cool - thanks for the feedback. I'm going to go back and re-wrap the ones I did today to make sure they're totally covered. Is it true in your experience that the new growth will push through the plastic wrap?

75
Tropical Fruit Discussion / first attempt pics
« on: November 12, 2012, 04:27:43 PM »
Here are the tools I had at my disposal:


And here's the first layer on my first graft, the teflon tape before I added plastic wrap and some duct tape.


Here's the (ugly) finished product, which includes duct tape and plastic wrap, but does not include wrapping the entire scion...


I'm at peace with the fact that this probably won't take. I didn't wrap the entire scion, I don't think I chose a particularly good scion, I might have cut it too long, etc, etc... My next attempt will be when I find a good budding branch to use as a scion.

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