A beginner needs information about growing mangos,pluots,apri..
kngskid
13 years ago
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fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
13 years agogirlbug2
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Apple Questions from a Beginner - About Rootstocks
Comments (12)There are orchards in Tennessee, but no large ones near where I live. I have seen small plantings (10-15) trees around some of the local farms, but would be surprised to find that those growers were "experts". In any event, I don't know any experienced individual fruit growers locally. It seems to me that feedback from multiple sources, such as here on Gardenweb, is one of the best ways to get info. Another good thing is the "peer review" that goes on here. I have talked to the local extension people, but have found that the amount of helpful information from them is definitely limited. I think the combined years of experience here are probably highly useful compared to any single source with which I am familiar. As for planting the graft union right at ground level, from what I read about burying the graft unions to reduce/eliminate burr knots, I'm not sure that planting the graft unions at or just above ground level would work. I think the idea was to plant the trees so that the scion would form its own root system and eventually bypass the 111 rootstock. Has anyone else had good or bad experiences with 111 concerning burr knots? Anyone have any information about how much difference the EMLA (virus free) rootstock makes? How about the tomato ringspot virus issues?...See MoreBlack/Raspberry growing advice for beginner
Comments (15)Mark, I second Glenn's recommendation of Triple crown blackberry. They taste great, have no thorns and are highly productive and disease resistant -- probably the most productive fruit in my garden. Like Glenn's, mine have gone berserk with fruit this year. Blackberries need to be trellised and pruned. I have a twenty foot row, with two 4X4 end posts with two wires stretched between them, one a few feet above the ground, the other about 5-6 up. I then tie the canes to the wires as they grow. Some people get into weaving the canes horizontally along the wires as they grow or separating next year's canes from this year's fruiting ones, but this is all too much work for me. You definitely do not want to weave growing blackberries through a cage or mesh as you might do with tomatoes. You will also need to space your blackberries out a bit. Mine are probably a bit too close, but I would say 3' between plants would be a good minimal distance. They will send up new canes each year, on which next year's crop will be produced. You prune off the old canes after the harvest -- some do it in fall, some wait until winter or even early spring. I am less big on Fall gold raspberries. I have had them for three years now, and this will be their final year. They are pretty productive and very vigorous plants, which in the case of raspberries means they are very invasive. If you plant them in your raised bed, they will end up taking up the whole raised bed in a few years unless you work hard to prevent it. They are delicate and very sweet tasting raspberries -- some like this, others find them a bit cloying; I tend to the latter view. Their main advantage, I think, is that they produce in fall at a time the birds and insect pests are not interested so don't require netting. (I have to net my blackberries to keep off the birds.) I have not grown black raspberries, but I believe their culture is similar to that of blackberries. I'd check out from the library Stella Otto's book "The Backyard Berry grower" for more information or go to the Cornell University web site and find their on line book on fruit growing. Sorry, I don't have a link offhand....See MoreContainer growing basic beginner questions:
Comments (24)I can only assume that the 10 or more 55 Qt bags I bought this year must be a local mix or something then. Maybe it varies in different parts of the country which I believe it states on the bag. Mine has quite a bit of pine Bark fines in it already, in fact it looks like more bark (some of it very fine though)than anything else. Next is Peat then the "coir" and the Perlite. It can have up to 60% pine bark and compost according to the MSDS. All the bags I have gotten seem to have about that percentage. In 15+ gallon pots it seems to work very well for me, and in the 380 Qt Vegtrug it works great. Also in my part of the country blight is rampant regardless what mix you start it in unless you grow in a temp/humidity controlled greenhouse. The insane humidity here is a perfect breeding ground for it and spreads like wild fire. In zone 5 you are correct, not that much blight there. Craig Lehoullier just a couple miles from me just pulled all but about 30 of his 212 plants last week mostly because of blight. MGMC works just fine as long as you use large containers so that the perched water is not that much of a problem. I am going to pull my first 2 tomato plants probably within the next week, I will take pictures of where the perched water is in the container. I do plan on amending this years MGMC with a few bags of Orchid Mix next year which is nothing but perfect size pine bark fines and small charcoal and fired ceramic bits just to loosen it up just a bit more. But as long as you use at least 15+ gallon pots you should be fine with straight MGMC, at least what I get here in NC. I water my plants every single day unless it just rained. When over 100 degrees sometimes 2 even 3X a day. The 3rd time is mostly just to cool the roots. But I have never had any problems with this MGMC it drains quite good in large pots, the plants take a nice big drink, it drains right on out except for the bottom 2-3" is soaked the rest is just moist. All of my plants have done great in it. Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Lettuce, Mint, Rosemary, Bok Choy, Blueberries plus all my wifes flowers all planted in MGMC all are doing great. So I cant complain about it, even though I do think for "Tomatoes" that it should be amended with more Pine Bark and maybe some vermiculite, Perlite or what ever to lighten it up some....See Morebeginner needs help growing english ivy hydroponically
Comments (7)jentsu926, Just to give you a heads up. When you go to the Hydro store they typically will have a lot of options. I normally recommend going with three blend solution (N-P-K) and mixing it according to the directions. Now since you are growing Ivy you will be going through a lot of your N mixture, just as an fyi. Normally a large bottle runs around 15 dollars each and they have some smaller bottles you can buy. I would recommend buy the synthetic fertilizers over the organics just because you won’t be eating the ivy and they tend to be more bang for the buck. There are organic fertilizers that you can buy if you choose and the person at the hydro shop can normally point you in the right direction. I will also mention that they do sell one part solution you can buy. This might work well since you know what solution you want (High N) and it will not be changing to fruit or flower. They should be able to advise you at the store on what they have and price. Just to give you a heads up on the container, once you add nutrients into the water algae will normally shortly follow. You ca do two things: Add hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in little bits, this is a little controversial but typically accepted in the hydro community. Get a less clear container. This will inhibit the light, help the roots out, and still look cool if it is green or something....See Moreltilton
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13 years agofruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
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13 years agofruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
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13 years agofruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
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13 years agofruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
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