The Tropical Fruit Forum

Quote from: huertasurbanas on August 01, 2013, 10:52:24 AM

Vary thanks Karen, I did it just like you said.

How many days should I spect them to start to push up?

Usually, I just sow them in soil and wait for 40 days or more, but now in just 10 days they have roots so, I suspect I will have to wait 30 days, dont you think?

Not sure for guavas, it totally depends on the type of plant.  Some plants spend so long working on their root system that you might give them up for dead before they do anything above ground.  Some, are just the opposite and will be standing up in their pots the day after you plant them.  One of my funniest ones is santol, which first does the latter, then the former 

Good news: the seeds will probably be viable. Bad news: don't think the green fruits can continue to ripen off the tree.
Suggestion: if possible, better frost protection.

Looks nice, thanks for the photo. What size is the fruit? Is it similar size to surinam cherry?

Hi Luc, do you have Eugenia repanda? I have a small plant and wondering if the fruits are any good? Thanks,

I had 100% germination rate using the baggie method (germination took place from < 1 week to > 3 weeks).  For the health of the plants, I'd imagine it's better to start them in pots, but if you want to check your seed viability & germination times the baggie method is pretty user friendly.

When starting seeds in pots, I've never had good luck if I used a soil mix that was "rich"-- one that has compost, worm castings, etc. as all those good nutrients will feed not only plants but also fungus and bacteria.  I generally try to use a relatively nutrient-free medium composed of things like peat moss, perlite, vermiculite or milled sphagnum moss.  Once the seeds germinate and have their first leaves, you can top-dress with a little compost (but just a little to start!) to give the plants some nutrients, and when you transplant them into a larger pot they can certainly get a richer soil mix.

For watering, it does sound like you're watering too much.  When starting seeds indoors, low humidity will dry out the top of the soil where the seeds are, but it likely isn't drying out the bottom of the pot, and by watering every day or even multiple times a day you are encouraging the growth of seed- and root-rotting organisms lower in the pot.  Instead of watering every day, try mixing up a good batch of seed-starting mix, get it moist but not wet, plant your seeds and cover the pot (or whole tray of pots) with some clear plastic.  This will keep the humidity constant and high and prevent the pots from drying out.  Every few days lift the plastic up for a minute or two to let air in.

19-25 degrees may also be a little on the cool side for germination of tropicals like guavas; if you can put the pots / trays somewhere warmer (25-30 degrees C) you'll likely get faster and much better germination.  Covering the pots with plastic will also help to keep them a little warmer and hold the heat in.

   Kevin

P.S.  Pebbles / small rocks are generally a bad idea to use in potting mix, unless they have a lot of pore space like volcanic cinders / perlite, or if the entire mix is made of similarly-sized particles (such as the "gritty mix").  But if you're including things like peat moss / compost / worm castings in the mix and adding small pebbles, they won't help with aeration, but rather make it set up into something akin to concrete over time.

Quote from: RodneyS on July 08, 2013, 11:04:36 AM

I think B12 only comes from meat sources or supplementation

Nope. Dirt is where animal sources get B12. We clean are food, so no B12 for us.