All year indoor tangerines and other fruits-lighting
Comments (15)
poncirusguy6b452xx
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoUse the cheapest lighting that is rated daylight If this is going to run all summer than LED lighting is about the best. You will not need to much additional cooling in the summer. If you are not electrically inclined "electrician or other" you will want to get over head plug in 4 foot shop lights. Just plug it into an outlet. These light will heat your house in the winter. Paint your wall, foor, and ceiling bright gloss white. It will make a big difference in growing. You can also buy floor stand light and use LED flood lights you screw into each socket.
Don't do what I do
Steve
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoRelated Discussions
Growing Subtropical and Tropical Fruit Indoors
Comments (7)Gardeners in the true tropics may hate me for saying this but I find the flavor of our native passionfruit to be pretty equal to P. edulis or any of the purple round ones or the large yellow forms found in the tropics. You just have to let them fully ripen (fall off the plant) and start to wrinkle to get the tropical tones to the juice. Otherwise they taste fine but not extra fine. The problem with potted papayas is that flowering and fruiting are affected - you'll see what I mean if you get somewhere that you can grow one outside (even in your zone). The trees just grow better with their roots in the ground. In pots the fruit struggle to size up and ripen. The Mexican types have better flavor when greenhouse grown but those are the ones that get extra tall and have watermelon sized fruit - no way to grow them inside a house. You might want to try the little Strawberry Guava - the bushes don't get covered with fruit like a kumquat but you'll find yourself wanting more and more of them once you start eating them (I think they are even better than regular guavas). They are hardy to like 28 degrees so you can wait until it really gets cold to move them indoors. I don't grow Mango but the few that I have seen only produce a few fruit when grown in pots. I'm lucky that I live near a large Asian market that has all sorts of mangoes to choose from. I'm in zone 7b and move all my potted plants into a simple hoophouse that I only keep above freezing so the winter heating doesn't cost too much. I think the cool winters does a lot to improve blooming in the citrus. It seems to me that the tropicals that produce smaller berry type fruit do best when grown in pots out-of-zone....See MoreTangerine and Tangelo oranges fruits are sour
Comments (6)Okay, everything mentioned above can affect the sugar content of your fruit. However, the most important issue is the time you're picking your fruit. What kind of orange tree is it? Valencias ripen March through July. Navel oranges ripen January through February here in S. Calif. If you're picking a Valencia orange now, they'll be sour. Most mandarins are ripe in the winter, but not all. What types of trees you have would help, amongst all the recommendations offered, previously. If you live in Los Angeles, you have plenty of heat, and we're all assuming the trees are receiving full sun (you don't mention how much sun they are receiving). But, you definitely have not fertilized enough, and timing the picking of your fruit is also pretty important. Patty S....See MorePassiflora Caerulea indoors all year
Comments (5)I'd leave it in the container that it's in for the time being. They can take full sun but you don't want it to burn. I'd leave it where it is and get a small grow light. I'd allow the soil to dry some between waterings. More indoor plants are killed from overwatering then anything else but you might want to mist the foliage every few days to reduce the chance of infestation of spider mites, mealy bugs, etc which thrive in dry conditions. Make sure it's not sitting in a saucer of water. I'd feed it with a balanced fertilizer monthly. I've been told that potassium increases blooms and I dig a small amount of chopped banana peels ito the soil. For all I know it might just be the organic matter that helps....See MoreHouse plants that can stay indoors all year long
Comments (7)It's a matter of preference and there are a lot of factors to consider. Generally, plants can be healthier outside in regard to actual vigor, and in regard to exposure to predators that should keep pests from settling in and becoming an infestation issue that requires some kind of action, but are also at risk of sunburn, weather damage & being eaten by critters that hopefully would never be inside a house. Carrying plants around also puts them at risk of being dropped. The lighter color of carpet, the more likely the dropping, IME. :+) There is no such thing as a plant that naturally comes from inside a structure, so bringing any plant inside at any time of year will have inherent challenges. Whether or not you and your structure can meet them, on a plant-by-plant basis, is the question to ask and answer....See Moreponcirusguy6b452xx
6 years ago
lanecort71
6 years agoThese are all of the seeds I have right now, plus milk melon, Chinese water spinach, Italian giant parsley and Parisian round carrots. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with all these seeds, so I’ll try these first then get other ones.
I was mistaken about the basement heat system, there is no cooling but I’m sure I can add fans or some sort of AC and a heater/humidifier.
The basement is unfurnished
im going to declutter one side of it and put a reflective white tile or something along that line-as mentioned above. I was envisioning something like a greenhouse, so that humidity would stay in it along with heat. Maybe like clear plastic walls/ whatever materials are used to make green houses. I would put reflective Mylar film roll ( saw this on amazon) on most of the walls and above the lights. As for the ceiling of it, I was thinking of something that could be taken off (there are pipes above on the ceiling that might need to be tended to in the future)
i need ventilation ideas- could I use a screen ceiling, would it damage the basement?
As for lighting, any particular favorite brands that are able to let fruit bloom and thrive?
poncirusguy6b452xx
6 years agoHardy kiwi can grow outside in your area. I grow them and they taste good. You are much better off with a greenhouse and grow leafy greens in your basement. If you are good with ideas and your hands they you could build something like what I haver but it could actually look good.
lanecort71
6 years agoponcirusguy6b452xx
6 years agoThis is my 2.5 year ald seed grown tangerine tree
These are just under 7 feet tall. They will need to grow at least another 2 -6 feet higher before they will reach a leaf node count of maturity to flower and fruit. Don't blow your time on the tangerine seed. Buy a grafted New Zealand lemonade tree or a Kumquat (Meiwa, sunquat ,of Fukushu) Or one of the unique varieties I mentioned above that cannot be bought at the grocery.
Can you grow on your rooftop
Steve
lanecort71
6 years agolanecort71
6 years agoponcirusguy6b452xx
6 years agolanecort71
6 years agoponcirusguy6b452xx
6 years agolanecort71
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
Nancy
6 years ago
tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)