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Messages - BQ McFry

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Ultimate potted plant food forest?
« on: February 18, 2022, 08:43:29 AM »
The Wurtz (sometimes called "Littlecado") is the best dwarfing avocado prospect for container growing. You'd need to change soil and trim the roots every few years. And as mentioned with other trees, it's really best to go with the largest pot that you can still manage to move around.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mexican avocado imports blocked?
« on: February 16, 2022, 09:50:53 PM »
I bought 3 for $1.49 each this afternoon. Stores were not gouging yet. But if this drags on... people will begin hoarding. If they did it over toilet paper, why not avocados?

2022 is shaping up as the "supply chain year".

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mexican avocado imports blocked?
« on: February 16, 2022, 09:06:30 PM »
Actually the statement "the only state in Mexico that can export avocados" is only partially true.

Jalisco is approved also, but to my knowledge the trees in the groves are still small, and not producing quite yet.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mexican avocado imports blocked?
« on: February 16, 2022, 08:05:33 PM »
The news report I saw an hour ago said that the US imports 2.5 billion pounds of avocados from Mexico. California grows about a half billion pounds. Local producers can't come anywhere close to filling the gap.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: South/Central Florida Cold Fronts
« on: January 29, 2022, 11:18:33 AM »
Gotta love a Florida weather forecast that calls for a "Falling Lizard Warning"  ;D 🦎🦎🦎

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: South/Central Florida Cold Fronts
« on: January 26, 2022, 10:40:19 PM »
Forecasts indicate that it could even get down to the mid 50s in the Bahamas during this freeze.

7
Yeah, I have thought too that a dark trash can could be a handy "quick grab and cover" method. Another possibility is a black composite horse/cattle watering trough - although it's a bit pricey to use one of those just for covering plants. Maybe more justifiable if the trough is used as a planter for vegetables during the growing season.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: South/Central Florida Cold Fronts
« on: January 22, 2022, 08:48:28 PM »
The I-10 corridor is forecast to go below freezing tonight. I suppose everyone here is battle hardened and prepared.  8)

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Avocado Laurel Wilt Question
« on: January 15, 2022, 05:55:34 PM »
Having killed most of the Redbay trees, the beetles may be shifting to Sassafras as a host tree. There are reports of Laurel Wilt in Tennessee and Kentucky - so it takes more intense cold than temperate winters provide, to stop these beetles.

10
I've read enough and watched enough videos, to be skeptical that a 15 gallon pot works very well to grow a tree to fruit bearing size. That seems to be about the minimum, and requires an experienced gardener to know how to properly balance all of the conditions. If you can work out a way to get a larger pot (even if permanently mounted on a dolly) I'd really advise that. Shoot for a 24 inch box, or even larger.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Unhardening off
« on: January 05, 2022, 12:09:16 PM »
Well, think of it this way... If you kept plants in a garage for 2-3 days I don't think that's too much worse than if they experienced 2-3 days under very cloudy conditions. Even sun loving plants have to be able to handle some variability in the weather. Plants are shipped in boxes completely devoid of light, and that takes a bit of time too, right?

You could keep some full-spectrum lighting on them if you have any available, just as a safety margin.


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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: How cold tolerant is Choquette Avocado
« on: December 16, 2021, 09:35:33 PM »
Yes, a bigger pot is a helpful insurance policy to protect the root ball, in the event the top gets frosted too badly.

13
Some fruit will have a propensity to draw fruit flies more than others. Then even the tiniest bits of it with eggs in the garbage pail of your house, leads to flies.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Avocado poll
« on: November 28, 2021, 08:13:53 PM »
Thats like sir prize, makes lots of fruit some years, gets weepy, sun burns.  Not a winner.  Notice no one really ever started planting those commercially?  Maybe theres some lamb plantings but most everyone seems to still be hass or GEM.

It may depend on where you are - here in N.C. just about every source label I see, says "from Mexico." I often find Sir Prize in grocers (judging by the dark skin and the polygonal tops). And I strongly suspect Lamb Hass has commercial groves. I grew a few seedlings from the pits of dark skinned avocados, and the leaf shapes and color transition on two of mine seem to be very Lamb Hass descended.

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21 degrees F (-6 C) on my reference thermometer this morning. Fortunately this will be the coldest day for the rest of November. Even the weather service was stating that we've been experiencing "early January conditions" recently.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Avocado poll
« on: November 22, 2021, 11:20:05 PM »
The average person is unaware that there are different kinds of avocados. The only reason I had any knowledge either, was noticing that once in a while my local store would stock Pinkertons when Hass was not available - and would post a notice explaining that Pinkerton is supposed to be green and shaped differently. In other words, the grocery management was also aware that most people think Hass is what avocados "should be" and have to explain anything that deviates from that.

Once in a while I see a few Dominican/Florida avocados here in North Carolina. And the Latino grocers will stock some of the darker skinned Mexican varieties. But really, Hass is 95% or more of what you find on the shelf.


17
I was reading how container plants can get hit pretty hard by frost because they are above ground and pretty much right where the coldest air sits. They can freeze faster than if they were in ground.  Have you thought about burying the pots in a hole and filling them in loosely? That way they would have a some some heat from the earth. I haven't tried it yet but it's worth looking into. I'd mulch them heavily around the trunk with leaves.

Right now I have the luxury of "not too many plants" and "all can be carried". But yes when a pot is becoming cumbersome to move, this is an intermediate workaround. Even covering the whole plant for a few days, probably is better than allowing it to go through once-in-twenty-years temperature extremes.

You're right that cold air pools in low areas. My yard has a moderate slope. When I have checked the temperature in a far corner, it will be about 5 degrees colder than my reference point thermometer, which I keep on a railing near the kitchen door. I know that 20 feet or so from the house will be 2 degrees, so that other 3 must be from the descending cold air.

Interestingly, the lowest point on my property is a drainage hole surrounded by elderberry bushes. By this time of year, the elderberry is completely barren of leaves. But the branches still provide protection from radiational cooling. The ground in between them all, usually does not frost.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Avocado poll
« on: November 21, 2021, 09:35:18 AM »
Yeah, my first thought is that is was one of those "don't bother me we get asked that all the time" answers. There is such a strong "grow it locally" ethos nowadays. I have seen food trucks in my area with a map posted on the side of the farms they source from. If there's truth to the answer it must have something to do with California specific regulations.

19
Forecast calls for mid 20s (maybe even low 20s) across the piedmont Tuesday and Wednesday.  :o This is unusual for November - but it's a good early test of my 7B avocado project, and it is giving me opportunities to learn where to move the pots and push my plants to harden up.

I posted a new video this morning.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ0y3wvZgVdqdBSVxVM2OVw

20
Looks like mid 20s are coming overnight on Monday and overnight on Tuesday. The National Weather service says it's a cold front tonight that's quickly followed by a second one.

It's kind of unusual to see nights getting into these low ranges before Thanksgiving.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Can you ID this avocado?
« on: November 16, 2021, 05:30:23 PM »
Fuerte or Zutano sound most plausible to me, with so many light colored lenticels. The neck isn't narrow enough for me to think it's a Pinkerton.

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I woke up to crunchy grass and the ambiance of "a late December morning" in mid November. My thermometer and the nearest weather station indicated a low of 27 F.

I took my avocadoes out of storage at dawn, figuring that a lingering hour below freezing in a pot several degrees warmer, would be OK.

I may need to push myself to be less cautious - and really test my plants on deeper nights to see which ones have the best cold hardy traits. Then I could have a better idea who deserves a chance to be rooted in the ground someday. But there will be more opportunities. In my area, usually there are about 3-4 subfreezing nights in November.


23
Basically, right on schedule for my area. The forecast calls for 4 hours below freezing tomorrow morning.

I think I'll lay my tomato cages on their sides for this one, cover with a tarp, and see if I can get the vines to struggle on into the remainder of November.

My avocado trees are small enough that I could take them into the house. But for a 29 degree night, I believe just putting them into my storage shed to shield them from radiational chill will be enough.

I will blog my results on YouTube. Hopefully I don't get to tell the world in just a few days that I already killed my trees.  :o

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ0y3wvZgVdqdBSVxVM2OVw/videos






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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Your favorite South Florida Nursery
« on: October 14, 2021, 05:37:11 PM »
I don't have an extensive shopping comparison among them all, but will give a shout out to ANaturalFarm in Howie-In-the-Hills, since this is a Florida thread. I have gotten a few things there, which are not stocked here in N.C. nurseries.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Gopher Gold
« on: May 24, 2021, 08:17:02 AM »
We don't have gophers in N.C. but we do have groundhogs. Groundhogs love to move into previously excavated areas, and my neighbor's barn attracts a new female each year, which will give birth to 3 or so kits.

The neighbor will shoot or trap the groundhogs over the course of the summer, but it's not his top priority. He said he has tried to fill the holes with gravel and the groundhogs quickly dig that out. He probably needs to pour cement in the holes.

Groundhogs often seem to establish warrens under abandoned buildings... There are youtube videos of exterminators removing a colony of them from old barns.

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