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Messages - VUgearhead

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1
Didn't the state of FL go door to door removing and destroying people's Citrus tree's? I get that there may be hidden meaning but what is wrong about trying to stop the spread of HLB on a commercial level?


One of many reasons I would never live in Comifornia

You mean, other than the door-to-door campaign in Florida, and any other attempts at corralling HLB were dismal failures? 49'ers better sober up to the fact that HLB is upon them, no matter what they try to do. And destroying one nursery man's livlihood ain't gonna make a dent in the disease's progression one whit.

2
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Green house / hoop house
« on: February 08, 2018, 01:53:37 PM »
j-grow, I just did a quick look-up on the Florida Extension website (search C.U.P.S. - Citrus under Protective Screening). They are recommending a 40-50 mesh screening for the insect barrier. I believe there is also a U-tube video on CUPS, on a commercial level, where they enclosed multiple acre fields, and were also using mesh of that size.

3
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Passiflora ID
« on: February 05, 2018, 08:44:56 PM »
foetida is what grows wild in my front garden bed.

4
Temperate Fruit Discussion / Re: Mulberry Thread.
« on: February 05, 2018, 08:42:32 PM »
Is now a bad time to prune mulberries to shape? I know they are quick growing and pruning anytime won't hurt them. But mine was very spindly from lots of first year growth. I was just wondering do they flower on new growth or old? Will pruning now affect how much fruit I might get this year?

5
Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Your secret soil ingredients
« on: January 24, 2018, 09:56:32 AM »
I just recently turned my narrow side yard into a 'garden' of sorts. I've made about 150 of the 200 square feet  into beds on the south side of the house. I planted a pomogranate for my daughter and some bananas take up a corner, but the rest is free and clear and straight sand! I would like to have some perennials as well as some space for veggies.

I'm not wanting to build raised beds and haul in a bunch of topsoil, so I've been thinking about what to amend the existing soil with. I'm definitely going to put in what little homemade compost I have (my compost barrel makes a pittance, and never gets hot, so it takes a long time too!). I want to find some Oil Dri because I know the clay they use has some ionic bonding properties. I figured that would be a good addition to help with moisture and nutrient retention and be somewhat permanent. I plan on making some biochar from the HLB infected citrus tree I cut down recently and add that as well. I figured peat to help with organic matter and acidity as well. But beyond that, IDK.

What do you all use in your south florida sugar sand gardens?

6
Citrus General Discussion / Understory Citrus
« on: January 18, 2018, 07:02:59 PM »
Just saw this video from Pete Kanaris of Green Dreams about understory citrus showing possible resilience to HLB.

Here is the YT link. Anyone seen this before? Is it just wishful thinking?

7
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Range of ACP
« on: January 05, 2018, 08:56:49 PM »
Has it been identified as far north as NC yet?

8
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Range of ACP
« on: January 05, 2018, 04:54:53 PM »
Well I was thinking nationally actually. Since I read where it was in Georgia, I figured all of Florida had been compromised - Georgia, Louisianna, Texas, California. Seems any state along the southern border of the country is suspect.

What I'm trying to get at is how far north has the ACP been identified, and how far north do experts anticipate their expansion to go? Do they have a climactic limit on cold, winter weather, above which they cannot survive, or are we looking at an eventual expansion to where even northern citrus will be susceptible?

9
Citrus General Discussion / Range of ACP
« on: January 05, 2018, 01:50:25 PM »
How far north has the ACP been positively identified? I haven't seen what it's seasonal limitations are.

10
Temperate Fruit Discussion / Strawberry plants? where to go?
« on: October 25, 2017, 09:03:25 AM »
Where does everyone go to get their strawberry plants each fall? I see very few options for any of the varieties that UF IFAS recommend for Florida.

Can  the veterans offer some options?

Thanks

11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Best Rare Fruit Youtube Channels?
« on: September 03, 2017, 05:54:19 PM »
I"ll agree about David the Good, but he's not exactly rare fruits, just goofy organics.

I do like Pete Kanaris Green Dreams. Still wish I had been able to grab one of his food forests in a box before he got swamped by orders for them.

There is also Eat Your Back Yard. Not necessarily rare fruit, but very much akin to my back yard exploits.

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Holy Hell Santa Annas
« on: September 03, 2017, 05:46:21 PM »
Haha, I still remember 1976, when my father was transferred to San Bernardino....... from Anchorage, Alaska!

We arrived just in time for the Santa Ana's in late summer. Thermometer dial was reading in the mid 110's. Seemed like Dante's 7th circle of hell for one accustomed to a more northerly climate.

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango tree fertilizer
« on: September 03, 2017, 05:43:30 PM »
Mark,

This isn't a recent 'internet myth'. This has been a prevalent warning from the organic constituents since the late 70's, early 80's. That's when I read about it in Rodale Press's Organic Gardening magazine..... back when it was digest sized.

Now, how many of you can remember that?

14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango tree fertilizer
« on: September 01, 2017, 05:22:10 PM »
Regarding organic vs. non-organic fertilizers, raises a question.

While the tree may not care whether the nutrients it absorbs is derived from organic or non-organic sources, I grant is moot. What I had always been taught, though, was that non-organic (or 'chemical') fertilizers damaged the soil micro-organism eco-system to the point that organic soil based supplementation was no longer effective. So, you were, in essence, left with a choice of either going 'chemical' for all your plant nutrient requirements, or going the organic path by building the soil (micro-organisme, organic matter as a nutrient base, natural chelating agents to enable nutrient uptake).

Someone tell me if I am wrong here. I have never heard any learned advocate (i.e. research professor) state unequivocally that you could have/do both.

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Avocados for $0.30 a pound?
« on: August 28, 2017, 11:33:08 PM »
Man, if I wasn't afraid of puking and crapping green for the rest of the year, I would hit him up!

BTW, that steak plate looks awesome.

16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Avocados for $0.30 a pound?
« on: August 28, 2017, 08:58:23 PM »
Was just trolling CL and saw an ad where a seller was willing to sell South Florida avocados for 30 cents a pound (150 lb minimum). Would negotiate for even less for larger purchases.

Are South Florida avocados really that hard to unload?

17
I still remember the time I lived in San Antonio as a kid. My parents brought back a giant papaya from a trip over the border into Mexico. It was huge, the size of a large pumpkin. My mom cut into it, and OH!! the smell!

It smelled more like an equally sized dung pile than a fruit. I honestly couldn't tell you if the fruit tasted good, because the smell was so overwhelming!

If anyone knows a variety suited to Florida, that would not have a 'musky'(?) odor, please tell us!

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Soursop (guanabana) or atemoya?
« on: August 05, 2017, 01:18:32 PM »
I'm seriously considering planting one of these, but I can't decide on which one. There are several others scattered around my neighborhood, but I'm not good at identifying them from a distance.

I've heard good things about both. So, what does the collective think or prefer?

Thanks for any comments.

19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: bananas keep failing under fruit load
« on: July 16, 2017, 04:30:13 PM »
I've never seen any sign of borer, but I'll check this stem when I cut it down. It is an older clump. The stem usually buckles mid-way up.
I'll try to get some pics posted.


20
Slightly shady, acid soil conditions? Sounds ripe for blueberries. But we just don't have the chilling hours they need down here. Not sure of any tropical varieties, but Wiki does list species of vaccinium growing in Hawaii and Madagascar.

I do know pomegranates like acid soil.  But they might require more sunlight than your location offers.

21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / bananas keep failing under fruit load
« on: July 16, 2017, 09:03:08 AM »
Someone help me. I have a small patch of fingerling bananas (not sure what variety), from a pup a friend gave me. Trunks (stems) only grow 5-6 feet high. But almost every time, when they set an arm, the stems fail and I end up pulling less than mature arms off of failed plants.

What am I doing wrong? Is it a nutrient or water problem? The stems seem sturdy enough right up to when they fall over.

Someone give me a hand. I have yet to get them to ripen on the tree.

22
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Bark spalling aka Nevermind
« on: June 10, 2017, 04:56:25 PM »
Okay, I guess the bark spalling is just a symptom of end stage HLB. Took a closer look at it. Saw ACP's all over and their nymphs. Not sure why I hadn't noticed them before. What I thought was nutrient deficiency on the leaves now looks more like the disease mottling.

Tree has been in decline for a few years. I thought it had been due to my neglect, probably was. Anyway, tree will be coming out tomorrow.



23
Citrus General Discussion / Bark spalling
« on: June 08, 2017, 12:17:24 PM »
Guys, I don't know what is causing this on my honeybell tangelo.

First I noticed it on an exposed root. The bark on top just curled up and popped off. At first I thought it was due to sunburn as the canopy is not protecting this area. So I mulched it.

Now, I have noticed a fist sized area on the trunk doing the same thing. I would not think it would be sunburn here as it is better protected.

I have not found any disease descriptions that mention bark spalling like this.

Does anyone have any ideas?

TIA

24
Wow, just wow.

I got there about 15 minutes before opening, and the line was already quite long (maybe 50 yds. long). Fortunately they had a map of the aisle layouts, but what can I say...

It was like Black Friday. Literally, people were running around grabbing trees. By the time I got to the far end of the first aisle I walked down, it looked picked over by vultures. Yes, there were still some decent trees left. It made it much easier to fight the 'eyes are bigger than my stomach' syndrome than I thought I would be suffering from.

The annonas were selling slow right inside the entrance. If you want one, go get 'em. Everything else, tree-wise is pretty well picked over. Lots of herbs/edible plants left too.

Got a pomogranate for my daughter and a small moringa tree to try out.

Runs until 2.

25
Coming up Saturday May 20 at the fairgrounds. Anyone been to one of these before, and is it worth my time?

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