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Messages - ericalynne

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151
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Homestead FL Trip 12/15/12
« on: December 16, 2012, 07:59:22 PM »
I love Krome Ave and Homestead. I love getting the tamales and the mamey smoothies and just seeing and tasting different kinds of fruit. Thanks for posting FloridaGreenMan.
Erica

152
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Cobra Melon from Goan Fruit Stand
« on: December 13, 2012, 06:08:15 PM »
WOW! What a colorful beautiful melon! Are you bringing home any seeds!  ;D

Erica

153
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: November '12 harvest
« on: December 01, 2012, 09:39:58 PM »
Quote from: ASaffron on November 29, 2012, 05:39:50 PM
Quote from: Felipe on November 29, 2012, 05:32:59 PM
Quote from: ASaffron on November 29, 2012, 04:45:52 PM
Garcinia livingstonei

Eugenia involucrata

and Homo sapien

HAHA.

not sure about the eugenia, just guessing.

but thanks for letting me play the guessing game!

I love it.

You recognized the imbe and the homo sapiens. Not bad amigo...  ;D

Eugenia involucrata?? Have you ever seen such big specimens?! I admit this was a tough one. The answer is: Syzygium oleosum  ;)

Thanks for letting me know!

at least I got 2 of 3...and was suspicious I was wrong about the Eugenia!

I've seen some that are about 30ft by me.

the really get happy here in Central FL, and they love our sand as opposed to the limerock of south FL.

the can withstand the cold down to about 21-25F (brief exposure) once they become somewhat established!

I have a friend growing some out where it gets down to 17F every so often...she does what she can to cover them, but temps have fallen below 24F for hours.

which one are you talking about here. The Syzygium oleosum? a Eguenia? a human? I just want to know what can take the lower winter blasts.

According to google search S. oleosum is an Australian native called Blue Lilly Pilly. Gotta have that plant just for the name!

Erica

154
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fertilizing with Fresh Manure
« on: November 18, 2012, 08:16:46 AM »
I used to raise lots of rabbits (50-100) and the pellets are wonderful fertilizer and do not have to be composted before side dressing plants. It worked so well and my soil here is so poor I've been thinking about raising rabbits ago just for the manure.

Erica

155
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Alligator Pears
« on: November 17, 2012, 10:29:25 AM »
Some friends have the type of avocado known locally (Florida) as alligator pear. It has lighter skin, reportedly a little less rich, and much larger than avocados I have seen. Does anyone know if this is also persea americana? Or if it is a different species. Is it worth growing from seed. I know that "regular" avocados are not. A google search did not reveal this information to me.

I was given a couple this week and one is already sprouting. I am wondering whether to grow it or put it in the compost pile.

Erica

156
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Need some opinions on Persimmon varieties
« on: November 06, 2012, 07:39:49 PM »
Quote from: tabbydan on November 03, 2012, 11:12:31 PM
I've heard it claimed that a good D. virginiana has excellent flavor

I had a most excellent D. virginiana fruit from a tree growing in the sand next to the Suwannee River just north of the Florida/Georgia line. Unfortunately, I didn't save the seed.

Erica

157
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What's the stupidest mistake you've made?
« on: November 06, 2012, 07:34:31 PM »
Well, back to stupid mistakes; I make a lot of mistakes but the really stupid thing I do is lose trees. I don't mean I kill them, I mean I can't find them. Most recently I lost a potted finger lime. I thought I had put it down by the greenhouse, but it wasn't there. It wasn't in either of the other places where I have potted trees standing. It wasn't on the dock, which is where I last had it, sitting in the sun. It could not be IN the pond, but it was, apparently blown off by the strong winds we had recently. It is too early to tell if it will survive the drowning. It still looks pretty good, but with the soaked roots for the two days it was lost...we'll have to see.

Erica

158
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Free Dragon Fruit Cuttings
« on: November 02, 2012, 07:42:37 PM »
Jacob,

I would love a segment of each or anything you have left over. Thanks for your generosity.

Erica

159
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: White Jade Pineapple Coming Soon, to a Nursery near you!
« on: November 02, 2012, 07:36:12 PM »
I would like 10 plants, please. This may be a pineapple my husband can eat. He loves the flavor, but not the acidity. I am always trying to get him to try more fruits.
Thank you
Erica

160
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 3 Garcinias and a Jak
« on: October 26, 2012, 07:47:15 PM »
I didn't know the F&SP imbe had been destroyed. Those with offspring thereof are edself and Bryan in PR. It's kind of scary how quickly we can
lose irreplaceable genetic material.

Thanks again for all the compliments.
Erica


161
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 3 Garcinias and a Jak
« on: October 24, 2012, 12:38:01 PM »
Thanks so much for all the compliments. I am really pleased.

I live in Venus, Florida a tiny really nonexistant town at the very southern end of the Lake Wales ridge. For those of you who don't know, there is a long ridge running from north of Orlando, down to Lake Placid and this is where the best orange groves are located.

I thought I had put this information in my profile, but now I can't even find where it goes. I am in zone 9B and so tropicals require protection. Everything pictured here goes into a simple greenhouse which is heated on the coldest nights only (below 32F.)

Almost everything rare that I have came from Whitmans or Fruit and Spice or the Kampong or friends met during those visits. Everything was started from seed. The names of the Garcinias that I gave here are what Bill Whitman told us. I was blessed with several tours of his yard before he passed away.

Erica
Venus
9b

162
Tropical Fruit Discussion / 3 Garcinias and a Jak
« on: October 23, 2012, 07:37:45 PM »
This is my first attempt at posting photos, so I apologize in advance for quality, technique, mistakes, etc.
Charichuela from from from Bill Whitman's tree. I think this is G. madruno, but feel free to correct. This blooms prolifically but has not set fruit.


G. gardeneriana, again from Whitman. I have four of these, so hoping to get both genders.


G. livingstonei, one generation from Fruit and Spice Park. I had three in Naples, two females and one male, but they did not survive the move to Venus. This is one of their offspring. I have three so hopefully will get some fruit.


This is a seedling from a Mia 1 jakfruit. It has borne male flowers for two years. I am hopeful eventually to get some fruit.


Erica

163
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Anyone planted Miracle Fruit in the ground?
« on: October 22, 2012, 06:44:50 PM »
Bill Whitman had one in the ground that was so large almost no one recognized it as miracle fruit. Of course, he trucked in all his soil.

I have one in the ground here in Venus, zone 9b. I covered it during the cold (24F), but did not add heat. I mulch with coffee grounds to acidify.

Erica

164
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: The perfect dwarf mango - Villaseñor
« on: September 17, 2012, 07:03:26 PM »
If you all are going to grow fruit trees, you may want to learn a little botany.  ;D

Mango and poison ivy are both in the same family of plants: Anacardiaceae. This is just one grouping up from genus and species. Some of these can produce skin reactions, even to mango and/or cashew which is also in this family.

Pine trees, on the other hand, are gymnosperms (seed bearing, but not flower bearing>) Whereas mangoes are angiosperms (flower bearing.) This is one of the most major classifications distinctions in the plant kingdom.

Erica


165
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Angie Mango
« on: September 12, 2012, 08:26:27 PM »
My Angie came from Fairchild Gardens a few years ago. I got it in the ground last year. This year it had three mangoes, (I thinned out a bunch because the tree is young) which were my first zone 9b mangoes. The flavor was delicious, texture perfect. Tree has had no problems at all and I am not an attentive grower.

Erica

166
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Black sugarcane
« on: September 12, 2012, 08:13:13 PM »
OK. So now I want sugar cane too!  :-\

(Reading this forum is hazardous to one's pocketbook.)

I was google searching and did come across an American made sugar cane press, but at $500 it is not cheap.

greenplanetfarm.com

Erica

167
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Amla trees
« on: September 10, 2012, 06:48:13 PM »
Julia Morton says they were introduced to Florida in 1901 and were cultivated in the mid-1950s for ascorbic acid. She specifically refers to some trees in Homestead and also says they will take some cold.

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

Erica

168
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Charichuela
« on: September 09, 2012, 07:52:55 PM »
I have a charichuela tree grown from fruit from Bill Whitman's tree. It flowers profusely but has never set fruit. It is in a pot; must be 8 years old or so. Now that I am in zone 9b, it stays in the greenhouse, which is heated if the outside temp is forecast for less than mid-30s F. The first year I had it in the greenhouse I neglected to turn on the heater just one night when it was about 32F and the upper branches, closest to the top of the greenhouse got killed, but the rest of the tree was fine and it has recovered fully. So, yes it does need protection from near freezing temps.

Erica

169
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Advice on Growing Australian Finger Lime - Florida (9B)
« on: September 08, 2012, 08:55:35 AM »
I recently purchased a finger lime from Excalibur. The tag says "Swingle." Googling results in a wonderful page on finger limes...it looks like Australia has dozens of varieties. It does say that in Australia, the limes are an understory tree. Here is what it says about Swingle finger limes:

Microcitrus maideniana (Domin.) Swingle
   
  Commonly known as Maiden’s Australian lime, Swingle's Microcitrus maideniana is often described as a variety or subspecies of the Russel River lime. The two species have a similar distribution, limited to a small area in far North Queensland. The deeply depressed apex of the fruit is the only clearly distinctive character known. Fruit is not commercially traded.

Some botanists today consider Russel River lime and Maiden's Australian wild lime to be one and the same species and the name Citrus inodora valid for both.

Here is the link: http://users.kymp.net/citruspages/australian.html

Erica

170
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: FGM: Fruiting Cacao in a container
« on: September 04, 2012, 07:56:25 PM »
I had several potted cacao, don't remember the species, but I think I ordered the seeds from Ecuador. At about 4-5 years old (in containers), they started bearing pods. It was very exciting. Unfortunately they have since succumbed to 9b winter. But if it worked for me, it will surely work for others too.

There is a beautiful cacao tree in the Display House at Selby Gardens in Sarasota, if anyone is ever in that neck of the woods. It usually has some flowers and/or beautiful fruit.

Erica

171
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Self Storing Tropical Fruits
« on: September 04, 2012, 07:52:15 PM »
There is a lot of vegetable agriculture in south Florida. But the amount of chemicals used is way higher than most people want to be exposed to. This is an area where there are lawsuits over birth defects of agricultural workers...

I suppose I should go to the organic markets and see what I can find out.

I know little about Hawai'i climate. I guess I always picture the 72 degrees and sun. Here, August is like well over 90 degrees daily with humidity to where you can't breathe. Even in the winter, when we can get a frost, the daytime temps may soar. I'm still trying to figure out 9b. it is trickier than 10.

Erica

172
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Self Storing Tropical Fruits
« on: September 04, 2012, 06:21:42 AM »
Thank you, all. I now feel that I have a new lease on squash/melon/pumpkin life to work with. What great information.

In regards to seed catalogs and descriptions, I have found them less than reliable...when they say "southern" conditions, they usually mean South Caroline or Georgia. A lot of "southern" varieties do not do well in my south. Also, I am not interested as much in, say, "resistance" as such. More like bullet-proof. :-)

I don't think Hawai'i is as humid as south Florida? I think it is the combination that does them in. I don't have much trouble in the way of fruit flies themselves. However, that pickleworm gets in there and rots out the inside and then the fruit flies come. I have read that some people cover the plants at night to discourage the pickleworm eggs and open them up during the day for pollination. I am not opposed to this, I just can't figure out how to fit it into my schedule. : -)

Erica

173
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Self Storing Tropical Fruits
« on: August 31, 2012, 06:40:57 PM »
Quote from: amaqeq on August 30, 2012, 07:30:48 AM
ericalynne
although I do not suffer from that problem, there are few varieties of hybrid and others melons better resistant to fungal despises


Thank you amaqueq. I do some spraying, but have a work schedule that frequently prevents me from spraying when it would do the most good, so would prefer to focus on types that don't need spraying so much. I have been trying different varieties of squash and melons, but have not yet found one that is significantly resistant.

If anyone has any experience with varieties they have found to be more resistant than others, please let me know. Thanks,
Erica

174
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Self Storing Tropical Fruits
« on: August 30, 2012, 05:32:47 AM »
In zone 9b/ south central Florida, I have found that all the melon plants quickly succumb to one or more of a variety of fungal diseases and pests. I rarely get more than one melon/squash or two per plant.

Are any of the melons mentioned particularly good for hot and humid places? Do those who grow them spray to prevent diseases?

I have found that grapefruit keep for weeks, more than a month, without refrigeration or special storage. They even get sweeter in time. An elderly farmer gave me that tip.

I did grow casabana one year in Naples. The vine grew up a tall mahogany tree and the fruit were inaccessible to me. A couple fruit did fall to the ground and they smelled wonderful.

Erica

175
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Hurricane Isaac Aftermath Thread!
« on: August 26, 2012, 02:33:47 PM »
so far, just rain. but the worst isn't supposed to hit until later.
Erica
Venus

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