lychees, mango, and tangerines sizing up nicely (pics)

[lycheeluva]

here are the latest pics from my garage/greenhouse in NY. These plants help keep me sane during the long cold winter.

view into the garage through a window



view into the garage from the bottom of the garage



my jab- not completely happy- it drops alot of leaves every year in the garage even though the container is inside another container that doesnt have drainage holes and I water heavily every two weeks. it always grows all the leaves  back in the spring but it must take alot of energy out of the plant. i wonder if it needs  more humidity.



my sweeteheart lychee tree



one of the lychee bunches, including a rare double lychee





my largest lychee


one of the last two pannicles to open- unfortunately, its 100% female and all the older male flowers have dried up- so no pollen available to pollinate these females- its killing me. i should have stored some of the male flowers in the fridge so I would have some pollen to pollinate these females.



2 of my smaller lychee trees- the nearer one came from a harry airlayer- possibly kaimana- the one further away is a mauritius.


this is also a harry airlayer- possibly garnet- harry- see how the leaves are cut up like your garnet tree is


my Maha Chanok mango- was so scared that it would snap off in my hand!




all the other smaller mangoes fell off- but 3 new ones have formed (out of focus)


new buds forming where i cut off a panicle whose mango-lets had all fallen off


last mango bud about to open- presumbly also a flower pannicle



my PSM mango- looks very healthy but hasnt had a gowth spurt in about 9 months.


my golden nugget tangerine- fruiting for first time



couple of pommegranates



thats all folks!  hope you enjoy!

 

[Tropicalgrower89]

Nice!  For the jabo, can you just drill or puncture the bottom portion of the pot in multiple spots for drainage?

[fruitlovers]

Thanks for posting the photos lycheeluva. Neat to see what is possible in NY. How do you heat your GH area? What temperature do you keep the area at? Do you alternate temperatures and daylight hours to help induce flowering
<OT> How does it help you to stay sane during long winter? Is being in a warm room uplifting? Or is it just the distraction of caring for your plants that helps, or both? I'm also wondering if large public greenhouses could help similarly curb depression in large cities with very long cold winters?
Oscar

[zands]

You are truly dedicated.... I would never have the patience to mess with that in my basement plus all the expenses. Plus cost of special lighting and electricity.

[lycheeluva]

tg- i deliberately have the outer container with out drainage holes- supposedly the jab likes a wet environment.
oscar- i heat the garage with a gas heater that i had hooked up to the gas line in my house. the MH lights also add heat and the mylar helps keep the heat inside the garage. the temperature in the garage depends on the extrernal temps, and whether the lights are on. the coldest it gets in there is probably around 50 degrees f which will  happen if the outside temp is about 20 degrees and the lights are not on. on average, its around 65 with the lights on and 60 without them on.  but the temps are also quite uneven within the garage. higher up and close to the walls, its about 10-15 dgrees hotter than at ground level in the middle of the garage.
regarding the sanity comment, im addicted to fruit gardening- so this gives me my fix durin the winter

[fruitlovers]

So you don't use a thermostat to control temperatures? Would a small fan help to circulate hot air and make temperatures more equal throughout the structure?
Oscar

[simon_grow]

That is awesome Lycheeluva!  Your plants look so healthy and green.  I moved some of my plants into the gargage and they are growing pretty well but I started to get spider mites.  Have you had any issues with mites or does the cold keep them away pretty well?  That Maha Chanok looks like its going to be delicious. 
Simon

[Saltcayman]

Wow! Fantastic setup and photos lycheeluva. I was in Brooklyn today with the family and picked up a soursop on Utica. What type of grow lights to you have? Is there a local source for those?  Thanks, dave

[Felipe]

WOW! Great job LL!

[puglvr1]

That's Awesome LL...you're doing a great job. Look at all those lychees and the Maha is looking good. You have more lychees than most of us that grow them in FL,lol...Congrats, thanks for the great pics.

[BluePalm]

LL, if I ever win the lottery I'll buy you an acre in south Florida specifically for you!   

[lycheeluva]

BP- one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me, and I am so holding you to that if you win!

SG- have had spider mite issues in previous years but not this year thankfully- i found that even leaving the plants out in 40 degree weather did nothing to kill the mites- they seem to be able to handle very cool temps.
this year i have some scale and some sooty mold but only moderate amounts so far

Oscar- i already use a fan though as it is not an oscilating fan, it doesnt do much for circulation- i should replace it with oscilating model. i believe the heater has some type of thermostat but its on a dial- i cant set it to a spcific temperature.

saltcay- where exactly did you get the soursop- i wouldnt mind going to get one- did they have any other unusual fruit?

[Saltcayman]

Found the soursop in a veg/fruit market at the corner of Utica and church. Next to a wing place i think.  One box on the floor near he cash registers. They had breadfruit, soursop and then the more usual stuff...  Just made a fantastic soursop milkshake. Yum. I hear Chinatown near canal and Mott or grand is the place to find great fruit. Even mangosteen. Have you been?   Let me know if you want to meet up there sometime.  Dave

[lycheeluva]

Salty-
yes corner of mott and canal is the best place to get tropical fruit in NYC, but only from late may onwards.  at this time of year they dont really have anything besides for tasteless dragon fruit and half-rate guavas.
i go almost ever day from late may through mid august. would be happy to meet up. how long are you in town for

[Saltcayman]

Great.  It will be warmer in may anyway:). I live  in nj and work in manhattan so I am around. I plant my fruit trees in the TCI but, sadly, only get down there two or three times a year.  Dave

[lycheeluva]

TCI is definitly on my visit list!

[samuelforest]

Looks like you gonna have some good fruits to eat this summer

[Saltcayman]

Lycheeluva, sent you a pm

[North_Tree_Man]

Great pics, Gerry. Everything looks like it's coming together nicely.

[MangoFang]

LL - just don't know how you do it...but if I still lived in Vestal NY (near Binghamton) I'm absolutely positive
I'd be greenhousing away my tropical dreams just like you!

When are you retiring so you can head south...or west?  How do you stand the winters there any more?

Anyway, fantastic job....


Fango

[HMHausman]

Thanks for reminding me that I did not post in your thread, Gerry.  I must have opened and read it during one of my breaks and  thought I had posted a reply.  So.....I am pleased to see the trees you got from me are being well cared for and are flourishing. It is quite amazing that you are able to do all this in a garage in Brooklyn.  Your Sweetheart lychee is setting fruit while mine (two trees) are not.  This is ridiculous to think possible if you consider the differencess in our growing conditions.  The airlayered Maha Chanok seems to be doing wonderfully.  It was my first and only, so far, mango airlayer.  It will interesting to hear a report about the quality of the fruit upon its maturing.  Looks like it is going to be ready to eat long before the regular mango season arrives here.  I am sure you won't remember the specific details, but Maha Chanok was the mango you tasted in PR when we went out to the resaturant with Ian.  Anyway, keep up the good work.  You are an inspiration to us all.

Harry

[lycheeluva]

Harry- thanks for the kind (if solicited!) words, and you vastly underestimate my fruit geekiness. I absolutely remember eating the Maha Chanok mango in PR at the restaurant and thoroughly enjoying it. I believe it was that experience that led me to ask you to airlayer one for me.  I'm very excited to hopefully  get to taste my own home grown fruit.
It is indeed crazy that I have sweetheart lychees growing and you dont, but that may be a cooling issue and NYC sure does cooling well.

And thanks to everyone else who posted words of encouragment. I really appreciate them, especially coming from such talented tropcial fruit growers.