The Tropical Fruit Forum

I've read about corn gluten based rat poison (like Rat X) that is safer for predators.
I've never had to use, so don't know if it works.

I've always had success using a mixture of half concrete powder and half wheatgerm the latter
first mixed with a few drops of anise oil, then everthing mixed togeter and set out where kids
won't get into it and it won't get rained on which will make it set up prematurely.  (Also set a
bowl of water nearby because they will be thirsty after eating the mix.)

Neither rats nor squirrels ever develop immunity to it and any scavengers finding the carcasses
do not get poisoned from ingesting them.

Just FWIW . . .

Paul M.
==

Mine is in a 15gal pot and gets irrigated regularly.  The trunk is now a bit more than 2inches in diameter
and it has been in the pot for four years now and is about 6ft tall.

Last year (2023) it made a dozen flowers but set no fruit. This past season it only made 3 or 4 flowers.

I'm hoping 2025 might be a turning point when it might try to set some fruit.

Maybe it's hoping for monsoon conditions like it would gets in the Amazon basin where it is native to.

Fingers X-ed!

Paul M.
==

I'll chime in with 283 seeds.

Fingers X-ed!

Paul M.
==

I have one here in 10a California. Haven't seen it take off yet, been in ground 1 year and still 1ft tall.

I'm wondering if the type of soil that you've planted it in is a main factor for its slow growth.

My two in Florida are in our sandy Florida soil (in zone 9b) which has good drainage but I keep
them mulched with oak and other leaves so that the soil doesn't dry out too fast.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
==

It'll be a tough sell with squirrels. People find them "cute". Iguanas, probably people would be into it.

Squirrels are only cute in the 'cute-finders' yards.  What they don't know we are doing to control
these fluffy rats (as long as we don't let the 'cute-finders' know) is out of sight / out of mind and
so won't upset them.

JM2¢worth . . . .

Paul M.
==

I'm focusing on the squirrels after getting the iguanas under control.  I've caught 3 in three days, using peanuts and hazelnuts as bait.  Since my mango trees should have their first crop this summer, I want to get their numbers down substantially before summer.  50% of the mangos on my neighbor's large tree get ruined by them.

John,

There's a cold snap coming to Florida.  So, won't a lot of the iguanas fall out of the trees in torpor diring that time?

Paul M.
==

But, why none of the landscaping/B&M stores in SoCal have it? Mostly I can see just "douglas fir bark".
I need Pine Bark to tackle RKN...

Why not contact a few of the manufacturers of bark mulch directly to see whether
you could acquire some bark fines from them.


That's what I would do if I wanted some fines.

Good luck!

Paul M.
==

Out of curiosity I googled squirrel meat.  Theres a lot of country people in the US eating it.  I would give it a try if someone served it.

I had it once years ago in Indiana as a kid.  It was fried and I recall that I liked it. 

We lived on a farm and I was warned to watch out for any buckshot while chewing!

Paul M.
==
PS – I like fried rabbit, too . . . .

The several pitangatubas that I've grown and fruited have been enjoyable and not overly tart for my taste.

Also several of the passionfruit varieties that I've grown have been quite tasty with that great passionfruit aftertaste.

Both of the above are very seldom, if ever, encountered in my local grocery stores!

Paul M.
==

Hi All,

Wanting to give a gift of a pomegranate to a friend who lives in Condcord, NC. 

Are there decent self-fertile, low-care varieties that would be suitable?

My friend lives in a section of old Concord.

Any suggestions for suitable varieties would be welcomed.  And for that area when is the best time to plant a pomegranate?

Paul M.
==

If you push on the employee in Outside Garden they can (if they choose to) go look up the invoice that those guavas came in on and sometimes the invoice will show the type of guava it is even though there are no labels to that effect on or in the pots.

I have done this with some of the orchids that come in to HD but aren't labeled fully yet the whole name shows on the invoice (but not always).  Worth a try though with your guava question, IMO.

HTH

Paul M.
==

Paul,
I clean ceramic orchid pots too sometimes. Soak in water+vinegar, use metal brush to clean it, let dry and see if some salts left. In that case repeat.
But you miss one very important step if you are going to use it for orchids again. Clorox doesn't kill orchid viruses. And they are present in any collection, I swear.
I let pots dry out after cleaning for several days and put them in the oven. 450 F for 3 hours (my oven can only do 450).
If used for trees I wouldn't do that, just clean.

Hola Maria,

I never had the occasion of transfering an orchid virus to a plant in a cleaned terra cotta pot. At least not so far and I have been growing orchids since 1962.  Of course I have had the odd virus in this or that orchid over the years.

Still, I've found that by using that strong bleach solution on the pots then a 2nd water bath with the vinegar to neutralize the bleach then at the end any remaining salts or old orchid roots are soft and just rub off/rinse away easily.

Afterwards just by letting the pots sit in the sun for a time so when dry they look clean as new.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
==

Gnappi,  I used to clean my old clay orchid pots, crusted with white salts, by stacking them in a 15 gallon galvanized washtub, filling it with water and then adding a couple cups of Clorox, then letting them sit overnight.

The next day I would carefully tip the tub to empty the water and then re-fill the tub and add a couple cups of vinegar to neutralize any remainng bleach and allow it to sit again overnight.

The following day most of the salts were gone and any which were left were soft and could easily be removed with a soft bristle brush.

After all the pots were brushed off and given a final rinse I stacked the pots and allowed them to dry.  They looked as good as new after they dried out.

Not sure how large your pots are but if they are terra cotta and really large you could do the same as above by using something large enough for the pot (or pots) to fit into and be submerged.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
==