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Messages - Anolis

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fruit thieves rant
« on: May 30, 2020, 07:51:30 PM »
No problems for me. Fenced in yard with house in the middle, and two oversized dogs on patrol. No trespassing signs don’t hurt! ...I love your idea of publicly shaming the thieves though! 🤣

2
I believe broccoli sprouts are supposed to have the highest concentration of sulforaphane, which is an extremely beneficial plant compound. Here’s a really informative video describing its effects. https://youtu.be/zz4YVJ4aRfg

3
Did anyone mention ashitaba? I planted one in a bed with peanuts and it has become huge. Can't eat it quickly enough.

I’ve always assumed ashitaba required a mild climate. I’ll definitely be searching out this plant if it can handle the south’s heat and humidity.

4
@ Botanicus. No, it doesn’t, but I suspect star anise may be cold hardy enough to pull through a zone 8 winter. I have yet to find a source for the plant...so the search continues.

5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Sorrel
« on: January 07, 2020, 11:45:12 AM »
There are a few plants with the common name “sorrel”. If it’s an oxalis species, I would just leave it. They’re edible, attractive, and stay rather small. If it’s in the rumex family, you might want to identify the species first. Some get tall and rangy, some taste bitter, most spread quickly. If it was a good tasting variety like sheep’s sorrel, I would probably just leave it and incorporate it into my diet. It really just depends on your tastes and aesthetic sensibilities.

6
Yeah, it’s interesting for sure. From my understanding, there are improved varieties of A. paeoniifolius that have been selected for eating quality (less acrid), so I have been trying to source them from ethnic markets to ensure edibility. No luck so far.

I would be happy to trade! Unfortunately, the goats have killed my passion fruit vine, however, I do have some smallish cassava cuttings that may work for you, autumn olive too. The coral vine is supposed to be easy to propagate from tubers, but I’ve not had any luck with it. ...still, I could send you one or two if you’d like to give it a go. The daylilies aren’t dormant yet.

I’m definitely interested in the chaya and gopher apple...and maybe d. alata too, depending on variety. I’m also always on the hunt for fruit tree scion wood, should you have any available. I’ve had some scale on a few of my trees this year, so I don’t think I’d be comfortable sending out any of my own. Figs and autumn olives have not been exposed.


7
I also live in the Florida panhandle, and have had great success with Turks cap hibiscus (edible flowers + leaves), goumi, improved autumn olive, Chinese water chestnuts, cassava, ground nuts (Apios Americana), old fashioned edible daylily, native beauty berry (delicious jelly), coral vine (Antigonon leptopus...invasive potential, but entirely edible), arrow root (Maranta arundinaceae), ginger, turmeric, malanga, pecan, elderberries, Passion fruit, raja puri banana.

Unusual plants I’ve had my eye on:

. Fish mint. (Houttuynia cordata)
. American hazel nut.
. Ginkgo.
. Bunya pine.
. Strawberry guava.
. Taro root.
. Dunstan chestnut.
. Topi tambo (Calathea allouia)
. Suran root (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius).
. Water caltrop.
. Mayhaw trees. (Should handle poor drainage)
. Improved honey locust varieties. (Hershey, millwood, etc.)
. Dioscorea species.
. Latex vine. (Araujia odorata).
. Peruvian apple cactus.(Cereus Peruvianus)
. Improved prickly pear cactus.
. Sochan. (Rudbeckia laciniata)
. Chaya.
. Edible bamboo.
. Magnolia vine. (Schisandra chinensis)
. Lagos spinach. (Celosia argentea)
. Reverend Morgan apple tree.
. Improved Chickasaw plums.
. Good tasting hosta varieties. (Hosta fortunei)
. Ipomoea macrorhiza.
. Star anise. (Illicium verum)
. Florida native pawpaws. Asimina sp.
. Gopher apples.
. Madeira vine. (Anredera cordifolia.)



8
Temperate Fruit Discussion / Re: Peach leaf curl
« on: December 13, 2019, 12:51:23 PM »
It would probably be easier to just plant/graft resistant varieties. One green world sells some trees that are known to be resistant to peach leaf curl.

9
If you’re worried about them outgrowing the space, here’s a link with some interesting pruning techniques: https://www.hawaiitropicalfruitgrowers.org/conferences/2016/2016_JohnYoshimiYonemoto_PruningforAvocadoandMangoProduction.pdf

As for fruiting, only time will tell.

10
Caesar, that Nonthaburi yellow is gorgeous! It seems like quite a unique variety, and I’ll be very interested to see how it preforms for you next season. Food looks delicious too!

11
The problem is, it can be very difficult to distinguish even a benign growth/spot from a deadly melanoma. (that’s why biopsies are taken.) In my opinion, it would be a much safer and more scientifically sound approach to first biopsy the problem area, get your results, and then proceed with whatever experimental treatment you’ve decided on. (under a doctor’s supervision.) Only then could you be fully aware of the potential risks while also hoping to obtain any evidence on the effectiveness of your experimental compound.

12
@ Caesar & Louisport.

Nice! Those are the angular African types from Las Cañadas, correct? For some reason I was picturing the more sharply angled bulbils I’ve seen circulating online, but I guess it’s a different variety. Hope they do well for you guys!


13
While experimentation like this is commendable...I honestly don’t think it’s worth the risk when we’re talking about something like cancer. Best case scenario...you save a few hundred dollars and avoid a scar. Worst case scenario...you end up shrinking the visible portion of a potentially deadly cancer, concealing it’s growth while it continues to spread below the skin’s surface. It would likely delay a visit to the dermatologist, and may make obtaining a biopsy more difficult. With early detection being key to successful treatment...you risk both your finances, and your life.


14
Caesar, that sounds excellent! I’ll probably purchase two or three of the CV-1 bulbils, depending on price, and I’m definitely willing to give the smaller Hawaii 2 bulbils a go. (I’ll PM shipping info)

It sounds like you’ll be overflowing in bulbils next year. 10 varieties is incredible, I’m excited to see how they turn out for you.

15
Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Re: Decorative cabbage
« on: November 29, 2019, 01:51:11 PM »
Amazing. They look more like flowers than they do vegetables.

16
If the sweet potatoes were imported they were likely irradiated, and sprayed with sprout inhibitors. Your best bet would be to find some organically grown produce grown here in the US, or you could just purchase some slips online.


17
Temperate Fruit Discussion / Re: Pistachios in Florida?
« on: November 29, 2019, 01:28:59 PM »
I’ve Looked into growing pistachios here in nw Florida in the past, and the consensus seems to be no. There doesn’t seem to be a variety able to withstand our rain and humidity.

Still...if you can find cheap trees (or viable seed) it might be worth growing some out as an experiment.

18
Temperate Fruit Discussion / Re: osage orange
« on: November 29, 2019, 01:15:34 PM »
The seeds are reportedly edible. I’ve tried a few myself, but found them too much of a bother for what you get. http://www.eattheweeds.com/maclura-pomifera-the-edible-inedible-2/

Other than its use as rootstock, fenceposts, and bows...it can also be used to make a pretty wicked living fence.

19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Carambola Juice
« on: November 27, 2019, 05:29:34 PM »
Here’s a video regarding toxicity. https://youtu.be/4kvGK1qqPMU

I was so excited about growing this fruit...not so much anymore 😵

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Pokeweed, that’s excellent, thank you!
I’ve heard good things about sugar cane. I’ll have to see how some of these varieties preform for me, perhaps I wrote them off too soon.

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Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Re: Sweet Potatoes? Please help
« on: November 16, 2019, 04:21:39 PM »
They really seem to appreciate heat and well draining soil. I grew a patch in an area with moist soil and only got a few small tubers despite ample foliage growth. They rot quite easily.

22
Temperate Fruit Discussion / Re: Persimmon (Diospyros kaki) in Poland?
« on: November 16, 2019, 04:14:01 PM »
As others have said, you may be better off with a more cold hardy variety. Your best bet for keeping this tree alive would likely be moving it against a south facing wall, the more thermal mass the better. A more labor intensive method would be to place one or two 55 gallon barrels around your tree and fill them with water (portable thermal mass), then throw a tarp over it overnight when the temperatures fall. For extra protection, wrap the tree in old fashioned (heat producing) Christmas lights before covering it with the tarp to trap maximum heat.

23
Pokeweed, sorry for the late reply, (new to forum) but I’ll definitely give those Spanish black grapes a try, thank you! Our climates are very similar, but I’m in a bit of a low area “swamp edge” really, and that could be a factor...despite planting on giant mounds.

If you don’t mind me asking, what varieties of jujube and pomegranate are working well for you? I’ve only tried a couple varieties of each. Pomegranate variety wonderful has died multiple times, Afganski looks good until mid spring, but has severe fungal issues when the rains come and always drops fruit. (I don’t spray)

Jujube ga-866 has never fruited for me, and neither has the other “mystery” jujube, trees also lack vigor.

24
Honesty...I think YouTube is the best teacher for grafting. (at least for visual people like me.)

I only have one book, and it covers multiple means of propagation. It’s by: The American Horticultural Society “Plant Propagation.” I’ve found it to be pretty useful.

25
I’ve grown an unknown variety of purple D. alata (found in an Asian market) for about 5 years now, and have noticed the same thing regarding pigmentation. It was my first yam, so I took very good care of it and harvested about 20 lbs of large tubers that year. They were all a beautiful dark purple color through and through. Unfortunately, today I’m mostly getting white tubers with some pale purple marbling, and if I’m lucky enough to get a pure purple one, it is generally a smaller, newer tuber.

I’m not sure what is causing the color change, but have a suspicion it could be related to the yams growth rate, as I have been ever more neglectful while their numbers grow. (The newest growth...bulbils...are always a dark rich purple.) Next year I may put my theory to the test, making sure to feed and water a portion of them to see if that helps retain their purple coloration.

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