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Messages - Rob From Sydney

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1
My cousins have a bunch of loquat trees on their property. They have a cluster of about 5 tree growing together with monsteras underneath and a few others growing around the property. I was at their house a few days ago, and the loquats are starting to flower, so unfortunately no photos.

Throughout all these trees, there is a lot of variation - some are mouth-pluckeringly sour and some are sweet and tangy.
I have 2 favourites.
One is a white-yellow skinned, white fleshed one that has a pineapple like flavour. It is larger than the other loquats (which are all small-ish, normal seedling size), and is very pleasant tasting. It is one of the last to fruit in the season.
The other one I like is a typical orange loquat. Last year I tried a commercial loquat, and I just thought it was too sweet and not sour at all. This loquat is nice and sweet, with good flavour but also some sourness to complement the sweetness. Better than any commercial fruits.

I will speak more when they are fruiting...

2
Finally, some results!
After 8-9 months of trying to germinate Mexican Custard Apple, I tried Rain's method, and got success within 3 weeks.



Thank you, Rain!

To anybody reading this, try Rain's method for germinating annonas, it worked really well. Trim the seeds with a nail clipper, soak them overnight, and let them germinate in a paper towel in a plastic bag on top of a heat mat. It works really well.

I've got another reticulata going, and a bunch of soursops I started today. I am about to start some atemoya this way.

Again, thank you Rain!

3
Post away. I for one would love to see some new ideas for the passionfruit I end up drowning in.

You should make passionfruit yogurt!

4
Thanks for the video, Rain!
I will try to copy what you have done, and I will post an update of the other topic soon.

5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: is this front yard jackfruit fair game?
« on: February 06, 2025, 05:06:21 AM »
I live on a property and don't have fruit thief problems, but if I did live in a small yard, I reckon I would plant Kei Apples. Those things can keep out tigers...

6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Australian Mango ID.
« on: February 04, 2025, 03:22:22 AM »
Could it be Palmer?

7
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Tropical fruit resort
« on: February 03, 2025, 03:49:19 AM »
I read this topic, then had dinner and did some work on my orchard whilst I thought of what I would do if I started my own 'Tropical Fruit Resort'.

I would have a cabin inside a food forest for sure. The food forest would be low density, with lots of paths, and attached to each tree I would attach a little laminated sheet with the fruits name, scientific name, and background information. And I would blend in more common fruits with uncommon and rare fruits, so that the the 'Tropical Fruit Resort' would have something for everybody - not just for the fruit fanatic but for people looking for an interesting holiday.

8
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Snakes and Food Forests
« on: February 03, 2025, 01:25:49 AM »
I just got thinking about my to-be food forest, and wondered about the risk of snakes.
Has anybody ever had problems with snakes in their food forest?
And if you have, what have you done about it?
Thanks!

9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Does anybody else share my opinon?
« on: February 02, 2025, 04:58:26 AM »
They are not on the verge of being commercial in Australia and those two older varieties have been here a long time. Even commercial fruit farmers with big trees have trouble shifting them with rotting fruit beneath trees. Yes they are ok in smoothies but all efforts to make them more popular in recent decades have failed. A fruit that taste like sweet potato with a dash of honey doesn't seem to work for many people.

Tropical Fruit world is about to start planting them and other Sapotaceae commercially. Here is a video:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/585046334396749

The reason I created this topic is because I got thinking about how big Mameys get, and bigger fruits that are more expensive may have less of an uptake from the public. That's the case with Jakfruit, from what I've seen. If you aren't familiar with them, than $20 for a giant fruit you might not even like isn't that good a deal. A $5 fruit, on the other hand, is a good idea.

10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What Fruits do you regret not planting?
« on: January 30, 2025, 04:22:46 AM »
If you won't have land for 3 - 4 years, I would not worry about growing or getting plants yet. Just wait until you know what you're dealing with and make sure it's a permanent place. Your best bet would be to find a job in South Florida in the nursery / tropical fruit industry that includes room and board. There has to be a farm that needs a helper. Then start saving up and telling everyone you meet that you are looking for land. The networking will help you find something cheap or under the radar, eventually. Then you can plant your dream forest.

I would give the same advice, except for now if you want to grow fruits, get them in pots/grow bags, that way when you do get land, you have trees you can plant that will start fruiting right away. Your trees could essentially get through their juvenile stage before you even get land.

11
Just what I was thinking regarding the ilama.
Even better - is there an indicator of higher annonacin content in annonacae fruits?

12
Galatians read the study and ill attach his post. Basically the amount of annonacin in atemoya is very low compared to paw paw. Custard apple i have not seen a measurement for but the amount is probably similar to atemoya.

Har also pointed out that the people in the study were also consuming the seeds by blending them into smoothies and were drinking the bark and leaves via teas. These parts of the fruit have much more annonacin than the flesh.

The island the people lived on was heavily sprayed with agri chemicals. The annona consumption might not have even been the factor

Finally, all plants have toxins to some extent. Oxalates, phytates, etc. yet plants are the healthiest foods on the planet. This is probably just another case of trying to demonize plants.

I have a san pablo red custard apple tree that currently doesnt set fruit. For a lot of these tropical fruit trees, 2 trees are needed for pollination. Based on what im saying above, i feel comfortable planting a second custard apple tree. I may or may not freeze the fruit, but i will probably eat plenty when its in season..sure, the annonacin is still in the back of my mind, but the hazards produced by humans are a lot more dangerous than what is found in nature, in my opinion



I've bookmarked the topic - It's interesting reading material.
I'd just like to add the table that Galatians is referring to in the image you attached:

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: First fruits on my Luc's mangosteen
« on: January 29, 2025, 04:48:30 PM »
Hang on - are Luc's Garcinia dioecious?

From my observations and what I read here, most slant heavily to male or female. There are hermaphrodite trees but I have 8 flowering trees and they are all single sided. I attempted hand pollination using male appearing flowers from my female trees to pollinate other trees to rule out self incompatibility and never produced fruit. The fruit I did get before grafting a male were small and seedless. I am aware of a number of other forum member's trees that are also distinct.  I have not seen a hermaphrodite tree first-hand and I wonder how many fruits such trees produce. Two of my female trees flower heavily and produce heavily with hand pollination from pollen sourced from male trees. One is a light flower-er and others are too small in containers to measure. Hopefully someone with a hermaphrodite tree will share how many fruits they get per flowering. Last year, with about a dozen male flowers to work with I was able to get around 150 fruits between two females.

Thanks!
Good job with the hand pollination. How did you do it?
And also, do you have any idea what the odds of growing a bisexual tree from seed might be?

14
I'm relatively new to collecting tropical fruits - my first seedlings (a KP Mango, Jackfruit and White Sapote) are about 1.5 years old. I'm slowly increasing my collection by buying seeds and fruit trees. I have some more common fruits, and some rarer ones, but I still have a long way to go. Lots of gaps to fill.
At the moment I am collecting Garcinias, Pouterias, Annonas, Plinias, Eugenias, and the odd inga.

There are a few fruits, more common and more rare, that I really want to grow. Here are the common ones.
Green Sapote
Luc's Garcinia
Bananas (yes, I still don't have any. The closest I have is a small potted plantain)
Kasturi Mango (Mangifera Kasuri)
Grummichama
Common Ice Cream Bean (Edulis)
Giant Granadilla Passionfruit
Wooly Leaved White Sapote (Casimiroa Tetramera)
MORE Mexican Custard apples. I have one plant, and am trying to get some seeds growing.
Pawpaw
Ilama


And here are some rarer ones:
Pouteria Multiflora 'Supreme'
Poshe-te
Juicy Pearl Star Apple
Australian Native Longan (Dimocarpus Australianus)
Pouteria Ucuqui
MULCHI!!!
Soncoya. I am desperate for this one. I have already killed one seed.
Pouteria Torta (non furry)
Eugenia Beaurepaireana


15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: First fruits on my Luc's mangosteen
« on: January 29, 2025, 04:45:12 AM »
Female 1


Female 2


Female 1 with small fruits



OPs flower picture is male. That tree may be fully male which would explain lack of fruits.  Fully male trees do produce a few female flowers. Fully female trees will also result in 5 or less fruits per flowering.  I have one female that flowers lightly. This is a species that should be planted in 3s or more to increase early fruiting chances.

My trees flowered in 5 to 6 years but then I had to source and graft a male and grafted trees grow slowly. Grafting is not worth the effort unless you have very limited space and a long time horizon. Starting from a 7 gallon seedling, my grafted male took over 3 years to produce sufficient quantities of flowers. Luckily with hand pollination, a few male flowers can go far.

Hang on - are Luc's Garcinia dioecious?

16
Again, Loquats are pretty beautiful and are very popular in my area. There are so many some ever grow wild!
A Mango tree with good shape looks beautiful. Depending on the variety, the glossy flushes of growth look great, and something about looking at forming fruit just makes you feel great.
Skirt pruned Jaboticaba sure are a feature tree! The edible black orbs surprise everyone. Very tasty too!
Lychees and Longans look good.
Healthy garcinias, especially lemon drop mangosteen are good as well. Beautiful sweet and tangy fruits.

Those are my picks!

17
As far as the toxic chemicals are concerned, I'm sure you do more damage eating a fast food hamburger than eating residual annonacin in a ripe cherimoya.

Studies on soursop and pawpaw have shown very wide ranges of annonacin and squamocin in different cultivars or selections, and it's a toxin that only has symptoms after a long period of exposure, so it's a hard one to pin down until more studies have been done. I still love to eat pawpaw or cherimoya from time to time, but it's absolutely possible you could have a serious neurodegenerative disease from eating too many fruit in that family, and I would not suggest that anyone get obsessed with that family and plant tons of them and eat as many as you want year after year, unless you're a risk taker and know that about yourself.

Does anybody know how much annona fruits you can have before you consume too much annonacin? 1 fruit a week? 1 fruit a fortnight? No more than a few kilos a month?
I love annonas and I'm curious how much is safe. I want to plant a ton of annonas, thats all.

18
Hello, I've got an update - I've just got some pictures.
1: My rowded heatmat, with annonas, a mango seeds, a random psidium seed, and some Jamaican Cherry seeds.
2: One of my Mexican custard apple seeds.
3: A mexican custard apple seed in a bag.

The next pictures I have questions about:
4: A close of of the filed down seed. I filed until I saw some white specs from the centre of the seed. I might need to trim off some more, but I'm not sure. I would love some advice on if I should do it and how I should do it without killing the seed.
5: My Annona Salzmanii seed with it's coat removed. What should I do, I am concerned about rot and really want to grow this rare annona.

Thanks for your help!
Btw, the brown stuff you see in the pictures in cinnamon powder. It's supposed to be anti-mould.











19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What happened to WikiFruit?
« on: January 27, 2025, 05:58:09 PM »
Just thinking of it, both UsefulTropicalPlants and Wikipedia are both written in a 'monotone' form. Although you can learn a bot from both sites, they are just 'blobs of information', and they aren't very entertaining.

20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What happened to WikiFruit?
« on: January 26, 2025, 11:32:06 PM »
Wikipedia doesn't have too much information on the rarer varieties of fruit a good deal of us forum members love collecting.
And when there is information on the rarer trees, there usually isn't much.
Here is the page on the Machete Ice Cream Bean.

Quote
Inga spectabilis is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae.

It is native to Central America and the Andean states to Bolivia.[1] The blade-like morphology of the fruiting pod has earned it the common name machete ice-cream-bean (Guamo Macheto, Guaba Machete).[2]

There's not much there, and what is there someone actually interested (like me) in Inga Spectabilis already knows.
If Wikifruit got back online, not only could any volunteers give information on the fruit in question, we can also include information how to grow the specific plant. Now that's something wikipedia doesn't have!
People like myself could write about our experiences growing certain fruits. What does the tree in question like? What doesn't it like? How cold tolerant is it? What is the best way to graft in and onto which rootstock? How tall does it grow in cultivation? What is it's shade tolerance? Is it fast growing? What months does it fruit in? How can it pe pruned? etc, etc...

I reckon that's another great reason to get Wikifruit up and running again.

21
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Is Radiance Seeds Good?
« on: January 25, 2025, 08:13:54 PM »
Thanks very much.

Edit: Just going back onto the Radiance Seeds website, some of the same products have been for sale for a long time. I wonder how fresh the seeds are...

22
I can't help with concierge, but I do know some seeds sellers that do ship to Australia.

Trade Winds Fruit have a great selection of seeds. Something for everyone, from backyard growers to collectors.
https://www.tradewindsfruit.com/tropical-fruit/

Anderson Tropicals have lot's of seeds for rarer fruits. Most of their seeds are sourced from South America.
https://andersontropicals.com/

Bellamytrees is great, but I'm pretty sure that he's been told to only ship seed packages with Phyto Certificates, so shipping to Australia is too expensive until he can figure something out.

Fruitlovers is owned by a forum member from Hawaii. Loads of seeds, but shipping to Australia costs a bit. I haven't bought from the yet, but I've heard lots of good things about Fruitlovers.
https://fruitlovers.com/seeds/

There are a bunch of other seeds sites out there, these are just the major ones.
Hope I can help.

23
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Is Radiance Seeds Good?
« on: January 25, 2025, 03:35:06 AM »
I've seen the Radiance Seeds website a few times, and I was wondering if it was any good, and if they sell good, fresh seeds.
Has anyone bought from the in the past? And if so, have you been satisfied with your order?
There is a good selection of seeds, so if the site is good, I might make an order.
Thanks!

Link: https://www.raindanceseeds.com/

24
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: First fruits on my Luc's mangosteen
« on: January 25, 2025, 03:28:40 AM »
Is 8 or 9 years the standard wait time for Luc's Garcinia?

25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What happened to WikiFruit?
« on: January 25, 2025, 03:23:16 AM »
I didn’t have enough time to dedicate to figuring it out. I also lost interest.

Thats a shame.
I wonder, is there anyway volunteers could help run it, if it's not to code-y? If I could, I'd help a bit.

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