The Tropical Fruit Forum

I have a property in west broward, water table varies from 1-3 feet below ground surface throughout year. I also have nearly 100% muck on limerock, no sand, so high ability to hold water. I have some stuff on 1-2 ft mounds, but I honestly doubt it make any difference. This is my experience with trees in the ground:

Do well: custard apple, banana, mango, longan, peanut butter fruit, acerola, jamaican cherry, sapodilla, surinam cherry(flowering/fruiting not very good, but leaf growth is amazing), avacado ( i know people say this doesn't like wet feet, but me and many neighbors have amazing looking avocado trees), pineapple, guava

Do terrible: sugar apple, atemoya, star fruit, lychee, loquat, mamey sapote, jackfruit, white sapote

Do you have a high water table or do you have poor draining soil? Both these issues can be alleviated by not having monoculture lawn around your trees that you mow, because this situation creates compaction and flooding. More diversity of roots will help with drainage by increasing aeration through better soil structure and more macro pores.

Very interesting Carolyn! Thanks for sharing. you should post results of the next one here, would be interesting to see.

This is a thread to start a conversation, hopefully not a war, on how chemical or organic/biological fertilizers/pesticides may impact the taste of fruit.

If two genetically identical plants have the full availability of the elements (water, micros/macros) they need, will the flavor be the same or are there other biological factors that impact fruit taste?

I have 8 seedlings left for sale. $15 each. Shipping $10 to US and PR.

This species is dioecious.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccaurea_motleyana#/media/File:Fruits_of_Baccaurea_motleyana_(Phyllanthaceae).JPG

Quote from: Finca Loco on August 24, 2021, 08:29:56 PM

I had one in the ground (about the size of a full 3 gallon plant) it flowered for a year, but never set fruit. I also thought it was a pollination issue, so I bought a second 3 gallon, put it the ground right next to the first one. Year 2 and the 1st one is not a 5-7 gallon plant and makes plenty of fruit, the smaller one has some fruit, but much less. I think you need a 5-7 gallon plant, or at least a 4-5 year old for consistent fruit set.

I just just cut off a successful air layer of the first plant today, it has been flowering/fruiting since spring. It's in a 3 gallon, but will need to grow into it. PM if anyone is interested.

That is awesome, I know airlayers and cuttings can be done but I haven't had luck.. care to share the details of what you did/hormones/medium/time span etc?

looking fwd to it

I used plain spagnum moss, no hormones. Started in early june and was just now ready for the chop, so about 3 months. I did 3 total air layers but only got 1 to take. 

Finca Loco, thank you. It was so dry when I planted everything here and it is almost 3 acres with limited spigot and hoses. I have no desire to inject or treat the water it is just a big waste of time and don't like the thought of a backflow preventer failing or the chemicals involved. The property was overgrown with pepper hedge/ ear leaf acacia, so I ripped it all out over the last year. I'm not doing sod or anything and do like the natural groundcover of weeds and different grasses to make it more bio-diverse. I do have some char I use and will get some gypsum to help improve the soil. Seems the weeds just havnt made it to the sapote yet. There around most everything else and plan keeping it that way except the bitter Mellon vine. I hate that thing and has no place here in my yard lol! Do you have any suggestions on plants to add for companionship/biodiversity?  I've been transplanting the sparky mix marigolds all over for their supposed root knot nematode control.
P

I'm in the same situation, my newly purchased property is almost pure pepper hedge/ ear leaf acacia, but Ill probably just chop and drop them as I plant out new areas. I have seen studies about certain grasses making iron more bioavaliable, but in the context of our soils, our grasses, our fungi, trees, etc., there are just so many variables and it's hard to study the entire system like that. I'm just going to let whatever the birds/wind plant there do its thing, provided its not a complete nuisance, like some of the vines. Your mix of plants there will probably change with season as time progresses, but you're going to have a lot more butterflys, insects, etc with a naturally planted unmowed groundcover. Some of it may be that a multispecies groundcover provides more aeration than pure st augustine grass, given the diversity of roots. These are interesting times for tropical fruit growers in Florida.

Sounds like quite a few of us going through this process. I am speaking with a water well driller tomorrow to get more specifics on prices and sizing for my well and pump, will keep you all updated.

I was showing a friend some monster Jackfruit from a supermarket in Austin.  She wonders if Jackfruit can be imported to Bermuda from a US source through the supermarkets (some of which do get their hands on mangosteen, lychee, cherimoya regularly). At the same time as far as I know we cannot import fruit from Florida.  So, are there commercially grown jackfruit outside of FL in the US?

Mind you, distributors are probably not clear on or even communicating where fruit was grown.  I know FL grown jackfruit are distributed as far north as Toronto...

Why can't you get jackfruit from Florida. I thought there were just restrictions on citrus?

Quote from: vall on August 05, 2021, 10:32:54 PM

Quote from: Finca Loco on August 05, 2021, 09:40:15 PM

a home well is not a irrigation well

What's the difference? Diameter? I'm building a house in Florida and want to be set up for irrigating a couple acres.

i am also interested in the difference between a home well and irrigation well.

There are legal/permitting differences, then there are the engineering/practical differences. Starting with the latter, your home uses maybe 4-5 gallons per minute(gpm), with everything running. I'm irrigating 1 acre, 6 inches per month, which is about 30 min at 150 gpm, every day. A 4 inch well is going to dry up at that consumption rate. You can go bigger diameter or deeper with the well, both are more expensive. In S Fl. water table is very shallow. So you can cheaply dig a pond and pump out of that, or what Im doing, dig a small "pond" more like 5ft x 5ft hole as deep as I can, backfill with porous material, install the 4 inch well through the porous material. You will effectively have a well with a diameter 5ft x 5ft at the top. This can be permitted, just like a normal well. Downside is contamination much easier. I wouldn't drink out of this well if I was in an area with extensive conventional ag, but my area is surrounded by 5 acre homesteads. Regardless, you need to treat your drinking water anyway, at least softening, iron and sulfur are common contaminants, not toxic to health, more like taste/odor issues.

Water should not be stopping you in S. Florida. We have unlimited water 3-10 feet right under your feet. Well drillers are all over the place and waiting for your call. I work in a related industry, if you need a well driller quick and cheap, send me a PM.

Quote from: Finca Loco on August 04, 2021, 09:28:02 PM

As mentioned, buying land is cheapest option in FL right now. You'll need cash, or something as collateral. I refinanced my house, which ill rent out, and live in a trailer on the 5 acres I purchased with the refi funds in Loxahatchee FL. Ill be saving money for new home construction. Good news is that Lox is a quick growing area with massive local market for basically anything I want to grow, bad news is I have to live in a trailer and continue to grind out the desk job until I can make this full time gig.

You need to write your priorities down, rearrange them in order, start crossing them out from the bottom until you can't stand to cross anything else out, then proceed. You don't need to apprentice with someone who knows how to grow plants, you can get that info anywhere. You need to figure out your finances.

Is he correct that he could finance the purchase of an agricultural property that has a house on it? I just want to make sure they don’t split out the house and the land and then make him pay cash for the land.

Admire what you’re doing by the way. Hope you can make it a full time job soon.

As long as land has a home on it, it can be financed. The home value to land value has to be reasonable. I don't think you could split out the house from the land, never heard of that.

Beware, this seems like a scam. I contacted seller on whats up. prices suddenly changed, higher prices suddenly,  a bunch of other "fees". For 20 seeds came to $274...


You've been warned.

google peaceriverorganics