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Messages - Fiddler

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / How Long Do Macadamia Nuts Remain Edible?
« on: November 19, 2023, 05:54:49 AM »
Once macadamia nuts are harvested and de-husked, but remaining in their shells, how long are they safe to eat if not frozen, refrigerated, or otherwise processed? I still have some of last year's harvest simply stored in a cabinet. Once cracked, there is no disagreeable odor or color indicating spoilage. I'd hate to throw them out, but I'd also hate to get sick. What would you do?

2
I've had good luck with jujube in the wintertime.

3
I have several 15 year-old fruit trees on my property that have been neglected over the years for several reasons. Now that my health and finances have been somewhat restored, I'd like to try to rehabilitate some of these old trees I've been shamefully been neglecting lately. These are macadamias, starfruit, loquat, and jujube. These trees are still alive, but showing a lot of dead wood and are not producing fruit anymore. Would aggressive pruning, watering, and fertilizing help? At the age of 72, I'd rather not start over with baby trees.

4
C'mon people! Can't you see "diversity is our strength?" Just because "refugees" arrive illegally from all over the world with no respect for private property that we take for granted in western civilizations , why must you be so mean? Don't they have a right to strip your trees in the middle of the night and sell the fruit at flea markets? Don't you believe in Capitalism, free enterprise, and pulling yourself up by the bootstraps? Didn't your Irish, English, Italian, and German ancestors do the same thing? Stop basking in your "privilege" and join the world community!

5
Trail cameras are you friends. They're not too expensive and they catch everything that happens out there while you're sleeping. Until I set mine up, I had no idea how much wildlife activity was going on in my yard every night! Most people would be surprised what's "out there" even in an urban setting.

6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: It's September 1st, where are your Mangos?
« on: September 01, 2022, 03:02:45 PM »
Mine are in the droppings of red-bellied woodpeckers, scattered here and there.

7
Will macadamias grow in Orlando? They've become my favorite here in Sarasota County. I wish I had planted more of them fifteen years ago. My Beaumont was the best producer, but it caught some kind of fungal disease and quickly died a few years ago.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Name and shame trouble-making birds!
« on: June 21, 2022, 04:20:39 AM »
Here in Florida the red-bellied woodpecker makes up the third member of the "Big Three" on my enemies list. The raccoon and grey squirrel being the other two. Trapping and shooting controls the mammals pretty well, but the woodpeckers have the advantage of sheer numbers. Very destructive birds!
    Crows, being very smart, get the message quickly when you make an example of one of them. I shoot the lookout while the others are busily engaged in raiding my lychee and loquat trees. After that, they'll avoid even flying over my property for a year or two. Flocks of common grackles used to be a problem when I was growing citrus, but since I lost all my citrus to greening disease years ago, they tend to leave my other fruit alone.

9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Terrible season
« on: May 16, 2022, 09:25:39 PM »
All my fruit are WAY early this year. Lychees are showing color, as are the few mangoes I have. The macadamias are nearly ready for harvest. This usually doesn't happen until September. Weird!

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Terrible season
« on: May 15, 2022, 07:38:45 AM »
Same here! I have no idea what the problem is.   :(

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Transplanting Mature Lychee Tree?
« on: May 09, 2022, 05:55:05 AM »
Thanks for the responses! This tree is about 8' tall and has been in the ground for about 5 years. There's no hurry and I've got plenty of time to prep. Florida's rainy season is almost upon us, so between that and irrigation, there's not much danger of it drying out too much.

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Transplanting Mature Lychee Tree?
« on: May 08, 2022, 12:33:02 AM »
My neighbor has decided he no longer wants his rather large Emperor Lychee in his yard. He says he's going to destroy it. I was horrified, and tried to talk him out of it. This tree is very healthy and attractive and has produced fruit in past years, but apparently not this year.
     I told him I'd take the tree and try to save it, and he agreed. It'll be a two-man job to lug it over into my yard. I'm pretty sure we'll have to cut through some roots when we dig it up.
     Any suggestions on how to successfully transplant this tree? Should it be aggressively pruned, or transferred as-is? One of my other neighbors moved a mature mango tree across his yard a few years ago, and it survived, so I figured to give this a try.

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Root Feeding: Yea Or Nay?
« on: January 18, 2022, 07:00:04 PM »
What kind of old fruit trees are you referring to?
I'm assuming you mean me, the original poster. That would be lychees, macadamias, loquats, mulberry, jujube, mangoes, starfruit, etc.
    The macadamias look the worst.

14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Root Feeding: Yea Or Nay?
« on: January 17, 2022, 06:00:45 AM »
A retired arborist friend of mine stopped by, and when I complained about some of my oldest fruit trees looking poorly, he recommended "root feeding" with sort of a giant hypodermic needle that forces fertilizer and water deep underground. He said he used this technique up north and it quickly rejuvenates fading old trees. We rode around town to various stores and nurseries, looking for a root feeder, but to no avail. Before I go to the trouble of ordering one online, I thought I'd seek opinions here.

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Sick Macadamia?
« on: January 05, 2022, 01:34:12 AM »
No, it didn't make it. I pulled it out and burned it. Then I sprayed fungicide into the spot where it used to be. Reading your post sorta makes me wonder if there might be some kind of genetic defect in the Beaumont variety that makes it vulnerable to fungal disease. I have four other macadamias on the property and they're not sick.

16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Spanish Moss As Mulch?
« on: December 23, 2021, 06:04:52 AM »
As those of you in Southwest Florida already know, we had a freakish windstorm the other day. A huge amount of spanish moss was blown out of my oak trees and now must be disposed of. Is there any reason this stuff couldn't be placed under my fruit trees to prevent weeds? I've never used it as mulch before and figured I'd better check to see if any harm could come of it.
    On another note: The jujubes I've been watching and sampling every day for ripeness are now all on the ground. Damn! I just needed a few more days!

17
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Can I Get Larger Jujubes?
« on: November 21, 2021, 10:37:59 AM »
Does the tree have thorns? If so you probably have the rootstock not the grafted top scion of Thai Giant. Most growers in my area prune VERY hard every year, down to a waist high stump. The smaller tree might limit fruit number and develop less but larger fruit. Maybe you could try thinning.
   No thorns. In fact, I bought them in your neck of the woods, at the old Tree Haus nursery in Bokeelia. I used to prune aggressively, but haven't in a few years and these trees have gotten huge.

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Can I Get Larger Jujubes?
« on: November 20, 2021, 10:43:06 AM »
I've got two large "Thai Giant" Indian jujube trees that produce a lot of fruit every winter. I just wish they weren't so small! Most of them are somewhere between a large olive and a grape tomato in size. A small handful reach the size of a small apple.
    Why are most so small and why do some get much larger? These trees are at least ten years old and seem healthy.
     Is there anything I can do to produce bigger jujubes?

19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Aggressively Pruning Macadamias?
« on: August 24, 2021, 03:56:20 AM »
Yes, they produced nuts, but not as many as last year. One is a Dana White, the other is an Arkan Papershell. It's been raining like crazy here, so I doubt water is an issue.
   I've always piled a lot of fallen oak leaves around the base of these trees because I've been told macadamias like acidified soil. This natural Southwest Florida soil is rather poor and sandy.

20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Aggressively Pruning Macadamias?
« on: August 23, 2021, 07:42:13 PM »
My macadamia trees are about 15 years old and have produced well over the years. However, these days they look weird with a lot of dead branches mixed in with the live stuff. I did some pruning of all branches a couple of years ago, but there hasn't been any new growth since. Is that normal? All my other trees (mangoes, lychees, loquats, etc.) respond to pruning with lots of new growth. But not the macadamias.
   What can be done?

21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 1 Mango, 1 Rat, 2 Cats
« on: July 15, 2021, 03:35:54 PM »
Those cats aren't exactly what I'd call "natural born killers!"   ::)

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Are These Anything Worthwhile?
« on: May 20, 2021, 09:54:55 AM »
Across the street from me is an overgrown lot. I never took any interest in it until I saw a county worker go in and put up fruit fly traps. This guy informed me that back in the thicket there were several old fruit trees. I never bothered investigating because the thicket is pretty much impenetrable.
    This morning I saw these fruit hanging from a rather large tree. Are they Surinam Cherries or something?


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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Should I Buy Fruit Trees Online?
« on: May 15, 2021, 09:02:40 PM »
I've had a positive experience w/ Plantogram
Wow! I just visited the Plantogram website. $120 for a 3-gallon macadamia, not including shipping?! And they don't even say what variety it is?
   Uh yeah, no. That drive to Pine Island isn't looking so bad after all! Thanks anyway!

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Should I Buy Fruit Trees Online?
« on: May 15, 2021, 04:25:08 PM »
Do you have a favorite online retail vendor who ships quality trees with good customer service? None of my local nurseries have any macadamia trees and I'd rather not drive all the way to Pine Island this time. Apparently, the covid shutdowns have cancelled the twice-yearly fruit tree sales at the community center in Nokomis. Back in the "good old days" I used to call Steve at Fruitscapes and order some trees to be brought to the event, which is much closer to my home.
   I guess I'm gonna have to take a chance on mail-order trees. Any recommendations?

25
My lychees are beginning to show some pink. I'm rather surprised because it seems too early, but hey, everything in nature seems to be starting early this year! The Chuck-Will's-Widows in the nearby woods started calling in February, as did the Bobwhite Quail. These birds usually don't start until May. Global Warming?

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