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It looks to have been picked too early, thus uneven ripening. If you pick when completely yellow the ripen fine.
Peter
Root stock choice will make a big difference within same varieties.Can they taste better grafted than on their own roots Or is own roots always superior for fruit flavor?
nice, I'm growing some meiwa seeds to graft to poncirus to replace my dead meiwa
Youngster, what concentration of sulphuric acid do you use? Or are you simply acidifying your water down to a ph of 5ish?
In my part of Southern California, our municipal water has a pH of 7.0-7.5
The sulfuric acid I use is the battery refill solution available from AutoZone, which is a 12% sulphuric acid solution, if I remember correctly. I use this to acidify the tap water, bringing it down to a pH range of 4.3 - 5.3, depending on the conditions and situation.
I have two sets of blueberry plants: 4 plants in 20-gallon pots and 10 plants in raised beds.
The blueberry plants in the pots are about 6 years old. I initially used a soil mix of half cactus soil and half peat moss. Now, the plants are a bit root-bound, and the soil is played-out. However, the blueberries don't seem to mind. I treat them similarly to how I grew weed in rockwool. Since the potted soil now lacks nutrients, I use a fertilizer solution with every watering, which is usually once a week for most of the year. The fertilizer solution varies, but it mainly consists of one part of a miracid-like fertilizer and one part ammonium sulfate pellets dissolved into a 50-gallon barrel on a caddy, for hand watering. I aim for a solution of about 100 - 700 ppm, depending on what I'm trying to achieve with the plants, typically staying within the range of 100-200 ppm. When aiming for higher ppm, I use more ammonium sulfate. I ensure to give them a good flush to prevent fertilizer salt buildup. With this approach, these plants are happy and productive.
The blueberries in the raised beds, also in a mix of half cactus soil and half peat moss, are watered using a direct inject system connected to a spigot to adjust the water's pH. I'm less precise with this system, and the pH usually ranges from 5.0 - 5.5, depending on how close I am to needing to change the injection tank, which holds 2 gallons of a highly acidic water/sulphuric acid solution. I run this irrigation system once a week and check the pH frequently. The injection tank typically lasts for a few months, but when it becomes too diluted, the pH suddenly rises. I don't use a fertilizer solution for these blueberries, as it would require adding a second injection tank to the system, which I prefer to avoid due to the added complexity and maintenance. This Spring, I fertilized the beds by broadcasting Espoma Holly-Tone Organic Granules and some sulfur pellets over the beds and mixing it into the bark mulch to distribute the fertilizer toward the soil surface. Despite not receiving regular fertilizer solution, these plants are also happy and productive.
I'd love to plant some BB directly into the ground but my adobe clay soil is daunting for this type of plant.
Thanks Rispa,
Yes, I hope so too. I just recently grafted them so it will probably be another few years. I haven't had any of the named varieties but these are highly regarded. I have tasted unnamed fruit though and like the taste so I'm looking forward to it. The main issue with the natives was that they were full of seeds. Having seedless fruit will be great!
GG
Where could I go to learn more about to mess with the genes and embryo rescue like you're describing?I did manage getting some seeds. I'm not picky at all about flavors so it's possible I might like them. Do have 3 older trees I got from member pokeweed awhile back. They look good but certainly grow slowly. We've got American persimmon trees all over around here. Maybe someday I'll get hybrids from trees on my land. Be interesting to see how they mix. Hopefully the Texas persimmon seeds I got will sprout good. Still stratifying them now.
I don't believe they can cross with virginiana, since their native range does overlap a little bit in northeastern Texas, so they would likely have naturally hybridized if they could. Their ploidy doesn't match (diploid vs tetraploid/hexaploid depending on which virginiana you have), so you'd probably have to double (or triple) the texana chromosomes, and even then something like embryo rescue may be required. Since black sapote is also diploid, I hope there's a chance of crossing, albeit not a great one.
Tell them to visit the farmers market. There is a seller with good quality cherimoya, maybe white sapote, and some guava.
You could send them my way and they can grab some almost ripe skittles guava for the seeds.
Not a whole lot in season yet
I’ve had a few Prunus ilicifolia fruits, and had a similar experience. They were mild, but pleasant, with subtle sugar and very little flesh. So much so, they seemed pointless to grow for fruit, unless you had a passion for breeding, and 30 years to spend on the species. Haha… Maybe a cross could be made to make a more desirable fruit?
In regards to Prunus salicifolia, I have only tasted Emerich #1, which was pretty good. If I’m remembering correctly, even slightly underripe fruit was pretty astringent and unpleasant. A little funky tasting. Not much margin for error in picking good fruit. However, the perfectly ripe fruit were delicious. They were slightly smaller than sweet cherries, but had a good flesh to seed ratio.
I probably had 200 flowers on my 5’ tree, so I’m suspicious it need a pollinator.
Will find out in a few daysI'll be waiting with lots of anticipation
Ok, if we wanted to have an extended loquat season, which varieties could be put together to stretch it out?This is the reason why I would do multiple varieties
Early?
Middle?
Late?
I don't think you actually need to remove the shell, the idea is to crack it enough to let water in more easily.
