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Messages - Vespasian

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: HLB Help Looks Very Promising

« on: August 13, 2021, 02:34:55 AM »

Quote from: poncirsguy on August 07, 2021, 10:38:20 PM

It sounds really good for the industry but I doubt any home owners will be able to pay the price for it.

It wont be that expensive because most growers are already dealing with really high input costs compared to what Tropicana is willing to pay for them which is probably what it costs them for oranges coming from Brazil. If they won't make any money on growing oranges, they wont grow any oranges.
i see abandoned groves right next to groves still in good shape. The industries woes are not just from HLB.

Citrus General Discussion / Re: Is there more than one Honeybell variety?

« on: February 15, 2021, 09:29:38 PM »

Quote from: Galatians522 on December 23, 2020, 06:43:15 AM

Sugarbelle was marketed as an "early honeybelle" when it first came out. It ripens 4-6 weeks before the original Honeybelle (or Minneola as I call it). Minneola was a hybrid between a Dancy Tangerine and a Duncan Grapefruit. Sugarbelle was then a hybrid between a Minneola and a Clementine (of Cutie/Halo fame). Sugarbelle looks a lot like Minneola/Honeybelle but is a little smaller, has fewer seeds, and ripens earlier. I drive by a small grove of them on my way to work and can verify that they were ripe here in central Florida several weeks ago (although I have yet to taste one ). Our Minneola is just starting to get good color.

I have 3 Minneola trees that originated from Record Buck. 6-7' tall. All 3 ripened about 7 weeks ago. But... I'm just now seeing FL grove grown Minneola's in the local supermarket. I feed heavily, not sure if that matters. If mine were any sweeter they would be too sweet so I considered them to be at their peak. They are all on a trifolate root stock growing in a sandy muck soil I top dress with lawn lime annually. Hands down my favorite citrus for juicing.

Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Does Black Sapote set fruits easily?

« on: June 07, 2020, 04:47:43 PM »

When I first got my tree it was about the same size as yours. I got 30 fruit from it about the size of a tennis ball. I had to support the branches with other poles. It was in a 15 gal pot. It was a real pain because I had to water it daily and fertilize it A LOT.

Its in the ground now, about 8 feet tall. this year there were easily 200+ flowers and fruit set on about 20% of them. They are golf ball size now.

I do not have another tree for pollination, It's self fertile.

Citrus General Discussion / Re: Record buck farms

« on: March 17, 2020, 09:22:39 PM »

Quote from: DaveinNoVA on March 04, 2020, 09:45:10 AM

I think all the Record Buck Farms citrus are rooted. Nothing wrong with that if you are just growing them in a container and not in the ground.

All of the trees I got from them were grafted, these were all 15 gallon size trees.

But my luck with their trees has been mixed. The ones that I have had bad luck with took two years to adjust to being in sandy soil rather than the wood mix they use for potting. I think of their trees as crack addicts.. they are so beautiful when you get them from all the chemicals they give them, once they are taken off those drugs they crash pretty hard.

And of course, they will not share how they are feeding them and what they are feeding them with.

Citrus General Discussion / Re: florida citrus?

« on: January 25, 2020, 08:02:51 AM »

It depends on where, and how the grove is being maintained. Where I live I have a fantastically healthy grove next to one that has clearly been abandoned. Trees are the same age in each. Florida could do better at battling HLB if Tropicana and the table fruit wholesalers would stop importing from third world countries and pay a little more locally so growers could apply more care to their trees.