What's Been Happening?
Hmmm...what's been happening? Really not a lot for the end of 2021. Just the same old greenhouse chores and dealing with bad decisions. Me? Making bad decisions? Yeah, I know that's hard to take in, but yeah, I've made a few! A good example of one of the latest is planting passion fruit
directly into the ground. Sounded neat at the time and I put a really strong fence up against the wall to act as a trellis. Man did this thing go ape shit! Much more aggressive than when in a container for sure. I knew this, but did it anyway thinking I could control it. I probably could have, but it was nearly a daily thing to go out and remove vines from the sugar apples and mango. It became a monster. Well over eight feet across, six feet high and nearly two deep and seemed to grow about two feet per day. That shit had to go. And it did! So another lesson learned the hard way. Is there another way?? LOL! My lessons always seem to cause a lot of work too.
Exciting Firsts
My Sweet Tart mango produced fruit for the first time. Ended up getting 3-5 fruit. More than a few had dropped and/or split which was very disappointing. Still, I was happy for any. The fruit were a little on the small side, but tasted great. Hope it does better for 2022.
If you've read previous blogs, you'll know that my Sweet Tart has gone thru some serious troubles. My buddy Brandon in Florida sent this tree up to me as a 7 gallon beast. A year later it picked up a disease that was killing it from top to bottom. I had to cut it back to about an inch or two above the graft just to find good wood. It took a long time to recover properly from that. So all mangoes now get regular fungicide applications. So far so good.
The Cotton Candy and Orange Sherbet mangoes were frustratingly void of any blooms. Both were absolutely big and mature enough to produce. I'm sure it all comes down to poor timing with the pruning. They just seemed to be in a never-ending growth flush. Believe me, they receive no nitrogen, but sure did not slow them down. Gonna be difficult nailing down the formula for getting these two to bloom/fruit. The problem is that if it fails, you pretty much wait for another year to see if your next effort is successful.
This is not a greenhouse issue, folks down south can experience the same frustrations. I think the best would be to prune them the same time as the Sweet Tart...after the fruit is harvested. After that...leave them alone to do as they will. Drop the temps during winter and hope for a flowery spring.
If you've read previous blogs, you'll know that my Sweet Tart has gone thru some serious troubles. My buddy Brandon in Florida sent this tree up to me as a 7 gallon beast. A year later it picked up a disease that was killing it from top to bottom. I had to cut it back to about an inch or two above the graft just to find good wood. It took a long time to recover properly from that. So all mangoes now get regular fungicide applications. So far so good.
The Cotton Candy and Orange Sherbet mangoes were frustratingly void of any blooms. Both were absolutely big and mature enough to produce. I'm sure it all comes down to poor timing with the pruning. They just seemed to be in a never-ending growth flush. Believe me, they receive no nitrogen, but sure did not slow them down. Gonna be difficult nailing down the formula for getting these two to bloom/fruit. The problem is that if it fails, you pretty much wait for another year to see if your next effort is successful.
This is not a greenhouse issue, folks down south can experience the same frustrations. I think the best would be to prune them the same time as the Sweet Tart...after the fruit is harvested. After that...leave them alone to do as they will. Drop the temps during winter and hope for a flowery spring.
My long-awaited achachairu and madrono have finally fruited! Didn't get many, but they were certainly a milestone achieved after a long time in the making. The taste was very good and satisfying. Only got around 5 fruits from the madronos and 2 from the achchairu. Pretty pathetic eh? Definitely disappointing.
Related to the mangosteen, just not nearly as good or popular. Although the achachairu is beginning to become quite popular thanks to good Australian marketing. I obtained these trees from Bryan Brunner at Montoso Gardens in Puerto Rico...a long time ago. They are twelve years old at the least. Folks in Florida are fruiting these in sometimes 5-6 years. So while my trees certainly grew like crazy and all were very healthy, the greenhouse still cannot compete with Florida warmth, sunshine, and humidity. Our Ohio winters are mostly overcast. But hey! It's a win and I'll take it.
Related to the mangosteen, just not nearly as good or popular. Although the achachairu is beginning to become quite popular thanks to good Australian marketing. I obtained these trees from Bryan Brunner at Montoso Gardens in Puerto Rico...a long time ago. They are twelve years old at the least. Folks in Florida are fruiting these in sometimes 5-6 years. So while my trees certainly grew like crazy and all were very healthy, the greenhouse still cannot compete with Florida warmth, sunshine, and humidity. Our Ohio winters are mostly overcast. But hey! It's a win and I'll take it.
Myrciaria vexator, or blue grape. A jaboticaba relative. My buddy Adam from Flying Fox Fruits in Florida sent me this tree as a tiny seedling. I think it's a beautiful tree and it has been trouble free.
Unfortunately, this first fruit was disappointing. Was not impressed with the flavor at all. The skin is terribly thick and not a good idea to eat. Hopefully the next fruiting will be better and more productive.
Unfortunately, this first fruit was disappointing. Was not impressed with the flavor at all. The skin is terribly thick and not a good idea to eat. Hopefully the next fruiting will be better and more productive.
The peanut butter fruit tree was finally holding onto fruit. It is unique and interesting for sure. The fruit is a tasty little snack and does resemble the taste and texture of peanut butter.
Not A Good Ending To The Year
2021 was ending as bad as 2020. We lost our final dog in November. Almost a year since we lost his sister. So doing much in the greenhouse leading up to this and for a while afterwards was far from a concern and frankly couldn't give a shit what was going on out there. This event would also be the catalyst for the next chapter in our lives. It was always our plan that once our dogs were gone, to move to Thailand so that my wife could be with her folks. This event has come upon us much sooner than planned and hoped, but here we are.
2022
The chores/projects never end or slow down. I removed the two, big circulation fans that were mounted on the ceiling beams. They've been going non-stop, 24-7 since 2006. The motor on one finally seized a year or two ago and the final one was retired for fear of it falling apart and crushing me or a plant. Got my money's worth out of them for sure. It's a shame their housings weren't better suited to hold up in such a harsh, humid environment.
I needed some circulation since all of the precious heat from the heaters was not making it back down lower to the ground. So I decided a ceiling fan would be a good, inexpensive option. It should also be a quick and easy project given the electric is still up there near where the previous ceiling fan was mounted. Easy and quick. For those of you who know me or at least have read my previous blogs, there is absolutely no project I undertake that turns out to be easy and quick. Mr. Murphy is always nearby ready to throw a wrench into the smooth-running gears.
In my zeal to clean and straighten up the basement, I had removed and disconnected all of the old electrical lines coming from the greenhouse. Most of these were definitely no longer connected to anything, but shit, the line to the old ceiling fan sure could have come in handy! I had cut that and terminated it into an electrical box as all good electricians should do. Right! So now I had to reconnect it and run it to the breaker box. You've heard of the wise old saying "measure twice, cut once"? For electricity, I check for power 20 times, before touching or cutting anything! But on my list of projects, this went okay. It's just that there is nothing simple. I also replaced the old, non-working spot lights out there with new ones. Let there be light.
I also took the time to prune the hell out of some of the trees. I wanted to get them away from the ceiling glass. This helped circulation as well.
I needed some circulation since all of the precious heat from the heaters was not making it back down lower to the ground. So I decided a ceiling fan would be a good, inexpensive option. It should also be a quick and easy project given the electric is still up there near where the previous ceiling fan was mounted. Easy and quick. For those of you who know me or at least have read my previous blogs, there is absolutely no project I undertake that turns out to be easy and quick. Mr. Murphy is always nearby ready to throw a wrench into the smooth-running gears.
In my zeal to clean and straighten up the basement, I had removed and disconnected all of the old electrical lines coming from the greenhouse. Most of these were definitely no longer connected to anything, but shit, the line to the old ceiling fan sure could have come in handy! I had cut that and terminated it into an electrical box as all good electricians should do. Right! So now I had to reconnect it and run it to the breaker box. You've heard of the wise old saying "measure twice, cut once"? For electricity, I check for power 20 times, before touching or cutting anything! But on my list of projects, this went okay. It's just that there is nothing simple. I also replaced the old, non-working spot lights out there with new ones. Let there be light.
I also took the time to prune the hell out of some of the trees. I wanted to get them away from the ceiling glass. This helped circulation as well.
The last few months have been really difficult for us so I tried to stay busy and keep my mind occupied. I removed 10 Mexican guava airlayers and potted them up. 6 of them had rooted out quite well and should do fine. 4 of them either just nubs for roots or some that just started to push out. I was not very confident that these 4 would survive. I also grafted several Kari starfruit as well as a bunch of Miami soursop trees.
I have been spraying my mangoes with a foliar mix that would hopefully trigger blooms. I had also lowered the temps in the greenhouse to just above 50 degrees and not letting the temp to get above 55. Lots of skylight and window openings during sunny days to keep it cool in there. I thought I had last pruned the mangoes at the proper time but it looked like the Orange Sherbet and Cotton Candy wanted to be a little more aggressive with the new growth than I would have liked. The really cool temps and the foliar sprays also covered my soursop seedlings as well as my lovely Miami soursop that was in the ground. All of this contributed to killing many seedlings as well as the Miami. So I'm glad I did some grafting before it completely failed. Another hard lesson. Not all trees will tolerate the same shit as others will.
I have been spraying my mangoes with a foliar mix that would hopefully trigger blooms. I had also lowered the temps in the greenhouse to just above 50 degrees and not letting the temp to get above 55. Lots of skylight and window openings during sunny days to keep it cool in there. I thought I had last pruned the mangoes at the proper time but it looked like the Orange Sherbet and Cotton Candy wanted to be a little more aggressive with the new growth than I would have liked. The really cool temps and the foliar sprays also covered my soursop seedlings as well as my lovely Miami soursop that was in the ground. All of this contributed to killing many seedlings as well as the Miami. So I'm glad I did some grafting before it completely failed. Another hard lesson. Not all trees will tolerate the same shit as others will.
The madronos and achachairu were blooming for the second year. I thought that they would kick some ass this year, but no. Sadly the achachairu only put out like 4 blooms and the madrono only put out males this year.
The sabara jaboticaba was loaded with blooms and small fruit. The Thai Red pomelo had hundreds of blooms. First time for this. It is grafted on my Kaffir lime. Hog plum in container is blooming, but will set no fruits. The Sweet Tart mango is putting out lots of blooms. I had obtained a bunch of fish guts and other throw away parts. This was to be used for flies to help pollinate all of the mangoes. I was going to order fly pupae for this chore. Unfortunately, the other two mangoes failed to bloom and I basically just figured screw it. The tree remarkably is holding on to several lovely mangoes so far regardless!
The sabara jaboticaba was loaded with blooms and small fruit. The Thai Red pomelo had hundreds of blooms. First time for this. It is grafted on my Kaffir lime. Hog plum in container is blooming, but will set no fruits. The Sweet Tart mango is putting out lots of blooms. I had obtained a bunch of fish guts and other throw away parts. This was to be used for flies to help pollinate all of the mangoes. I was going to order fly pupae for this chore. Unfortunately, the other two mangoes failed to bloom and I basically just figured screw it. The tree remarkably is holding on to several lovely mangoes so far regardless!
Preparing For The Move
It's time to start the normal spring maintenance in the greenhouse. Cleaning and straightening up was going to be a must, but power washing all the winter algae on the glass and structure. I was also going to prune the hell out of the trees getting them away from the walls and glass. This was not only to make it more visually pleasing, but would make power washing easier for me. Only one problem...our damn Ohio weather will not stabilize. It's freaking May already and we are still having overnight temps below freezing! I cannot move the container trees outside until those temps warm up.
Just because it was too cool to start one project didn't mean that other projects were put on hold. The outside block needed power washed and painted. This block is a pain in the ass to paint...especially when you have carpal tunnel. My hands were killing me. I also pulled out the old caulking between the block and patio. What fun that was. The new sealant looks good though...despite the wind blowing everything in the county on top of it while still wet.
In between these projects, there's been non-stop work inside as well. Clearing and cleaning out the basement followed by painting...yippie. Partial remodel of the downstairs bathroom. More fun and adventures that I will not bother with here. Still lots to do but I am just too burned out at the moment to start something new.
In between these projects, there's been non-stop work inside as well. Clearing and cleaning out the basement followed by painting...yippie. Partial remodel of the downstairs bathroom. More fun and adventures that I will not bother with here. Still lots to do but I am just too burned out at the moment to start something new.
The good news is that I was finally able to get all of the container trees the hell out of the greenhouse. So much more room inside there. No side stepping, ducking, or squeezing your way from one door to the next. Everything in the above pics have been sold or are waiting to be picked up. A tree-loving friend from Texas will soon be driving up to pick up all but a few of the above trees.
Here is about all that is left from my citrus grafting project. Several have already been sold prior to these pics and by the time of writing this, all of these have been sold as well. If you haven't caught on by now...yes, all of my container trees are being sold or have been sold.
I even made a delivery! This is my big peanut butter fruit tree loaded up and ready to be transported to an excited customer.
The container trees included a big Kari starfruit, Vexator, peanut butter fruit, various grafted citrus, a big New Zealand Lemonade, grafted Miami soursop and soursop seedlings, hog plum, small grafted Kari starfruit, small rooted peanut butter fruit, grafted Zill Dark Surinam cherry, figs, huge Mexican guava, big lemondrop mangosteen with a superior find grafted on, dwarf Hawaiian mango, guava air layers, mamay sapote seedlings, and some assorted garcinia seedlings. It's no wonder I could barely walk thru the greenhouse!
So...while I'm happy that trying to get rid of these are no longer a concern, it's still saddens me. A lot of time and effort went into these trees. I truly wish every single person complete success with the trees they purchased.
The container trees included a big Kari starfruit, Vexator, peanut butter fruit, various grafted citrus, a big New Zealand Lemonade, grafted Miami soursop and soursop seedlings, hog plum, small grafted Kari starfruit, small rooted peanut butter fruit, grafted Zill Dark Surinam cherry, figs, huge Mexican guava, big lemondrop mangosteen with a superior find grafted on, dwarf Hawaiian mango, guava air layers, mamay sapote seedlings, and some assorted garcinia seedlings. It's no wonder I could barely walk thru the greenhouse!
So...while I'm happy that trying to get rid of these are no longer a concern, it's still saddens me. A lot of time and effort went into these trees. I truly wish every single person complete success with the trees they purchased.
Spring Cleaning
No matter what you are spring cleaning, it's probably gonna suck. Part of this process is pruning the trees. Topping and thinning them not only looks nice, but it also means getting the branches and leaves away from the glass and structure so I have better access with the power washer. Our realtor also suggested pruning to make it look less crowded. Of course she was looking in there when all of my container trees were also crammed in. But she does have a good point. The Luc's garcinia made it difficult to walk on the path.
The above four pics are a sample before pruning. Luc's is first pic followed by rollinia. The outside pic is a good example of how many are pushing against the glass. The last pic is the jaboticaba. Nearly everything in there was either pushing against house, glass sides and/or top, or all the above. Even trying to tie branches back, this all makes it very difficult to clean...and it's already a difficult job.
I spent several morning hours on the ladder accomplishing this task. There is only so much room for the ladder and in many cases, this required me standing on the last rung from the top and stretching and/or bending for all I was worth to reach branches. Every part of my body, especially feet and ankles, was working desperately trying to keep my dumb ass from falling off that ladder. It took a long time and I cut back more than I normally would.
The above four pics are a sample before pruning. Luc's is first pic followed by rollinia. The outside pic is a good example of how many are pushing against the glass. The last pic is the jaboticaba. Nearly everything in there was either pushing against house, glass sides and/or top, or all the above. Even trying to tie branches back, this all makes it very difficult to clean...and it's already a difficult job.
I spent several morning hours on the ladder accomplishing this task. There is only so much room for the ladder and in many cases, this required me standing on the last rung from the top and stretching and/or bending for all I was worth to reach branches. Every part of my body, especially feet and ankles, was working desperately trying to keep my dumb ass from falling off that ladder. It took a long time and I cut back more than I normally would.
View from the top! Here are the trees after being topped. Lots of room between them and top of the structure. This will improve light and circulation...as well as giving me space to clean. You can see that the structure is really dirty. Probably areas I didn't get to last year. Regardless, it still gets a lot of algae build up from winter moisture.
Power washing sucks. Doing your sidewalk or driveway is a piece of cake. Balancing on the last rung of the ladder and reaching across or thru a tree fully extended using one arm/hand for the power washer is uncomfortable at best. Even with the trees cut way back, it is still a lot of work. The side with all of the garcinias and jaboticaba is the most crowded and therefore takes the most effort.
Power washing sucks. Doing your sidewalk or driveway is a piece of cake. Balancing on the last rung of the ladder and reaching across or thru a tree fully extended using one arm/hand for the power washer is uncomfortable at best. Even with the trees cut way back, it is still a lot of work. The side with all of the garcinias and jaboticaba is the most crowded and therefore takes the most effort.
The end result is nice to behold. Crisp and clean! I was only able to complete three sections today. I not only was running out of day, I was running out of me! I was freaking beat. I felt like I did a freefall from a plane without a chute! Will try and finish up the rest the following day. That should be much easier and go a little faster. The trees are not as dense on that side so more room for the ladder and hopefully a lot less stretching.
Not sure when I will tackle washing the outside. This has its own hazzards...like climbing up top and trying to stand on wet, soapy glass. Tried that last year and the results were no different than me on a ladder and using an extension pole to clean the top glass. Hard on the shoulders, but a lot safer too.
Yeah...all of this is hard work and takes time, but I only do this once a year. People do this for their pools all the time. It's just all a part of the up keep. A necessary evil so to speak. I certainly could hire someone to do this, but how careful around my trees would these people be? They're focus will be on cleaning and probably won't much care about a branch here and there that is in their way. I do care.
Case in point. When I had the back side of the house re-sided, I called in the company that initially did our vinyl siding. I took all of the shit off of the house inside there and even labeled each piece. But I was not comfortable putting it all back together again because they were going to have to custom fits some pieces. Now...was taking it off easy? No. I had to squeeze and wiggle behind some trees to get to the siding and still had very little room to maneuver. I still accomplished the removal without loosing a branch.
So what do one of these fucking clowns do? They took a large branch on my jackfruit tree, snapped it at the trunk and then bent it around out of their way. I went absolutely bat shit crazy when I saw that and turned that crazy loose on the foreman. He pretty much finished the job by himself obviously not trusting the dipshits working for him to do so and not break something else.
So yeah...I may be sore and tired, but the job was done correctly.
Not sure when I will tackle washing the outside. This has its own hazzards...like climbing up top and trying to stand on wet, soapy glass. Tried that last year and the results were no different than me on a ladder and using an extension pole to clean the top glass. Hard on the shoulders, but a lot safer too.
Yeah...all of this is hard work and takes time, but I only do this once a year. People do this for their pools all the time. It's just all a part of the up keep. A necessary evil so to speak. I certainly could hire someone to do this, but how careful around my trees would these people be? They're focus will be on cleaning and probably won't much care about a branch here and there that is in their way. I do care.
Case in point. When I had the back side of the house re-sided, I called in the company that initially did our vinyl siding. I took all of the shit off of the house inside there and even labeled each piece. But I was not comfortable putting it all back together again because they were going to have to custom fits some pieces. Now...was taking it off easy? No. I had to squeeze and wiggle behind some trees to get to the siding and still had very little room to maneuver. I still accomplished the removal without loosing a branch.
So what do one of these fucking clowns do? They took a large branch on my jackfruit tree, snapped it at the trunk and then bent it around out of their way. I went absolutely bat shit crazy when I saw that and turned that crazy loose on the foreman. He pretty much finished the job by himself obviously not trusting the dipshits working for him to do so and not break something else.
So yeah...I may be sore and tired, but the job was done correctly.
Not all was doom and gloom. The jaboticaba was absolutely loaded with fruit earlier. Was eating so many, it nearly made me sick. The Thai red pomelo has 3 fruit developing. This is pretty cool. Unfortunately, by the time that this fruit ripens, we will be long gone. Sweet Tart mango has maybe a dozen fruit developing. Really looking forward to these! Just have to be careful when watering trees nearby. Don't want to do anything that might cause them to split.
Summing Up
Nearly all container trees have been sold. Unfortunately, the person from Texas that was supposed to come up and get the remaining trees just bailed on me the other day. Some potential customers get bent out of shape when I tell them I will not hold trees unless they pay in advance...this is why I do not. More often than not, I will get burnt being the nice guy.
This is all on me. There are a few people I've bent my own rules for. I put out the trust and held these trees for many many months. I had people begging me for some of these trees, but held firm. Now who is the idiot? These are all of the largest and most expensive trees left. Despite what you may think...Ohio is not a hotbed for tropical fruit growing. Not by a long shot. Fortunately for me, I found a previous customer just as whacky about plants as I am. She purchased them all and paid in advance on the spot. Awesome for both of us and definitely a huge load of worry off my shoulders.
Facebook Marketplace is a mixed blessing. You can sell a lot of stuff thru here but you first have to weed thru a ton of jackasses. Why is that? Go advertise something and then let me know how many mouth breathers send you a "Hi, is this still available?" request and then never hear from them again! I don't get it. Why in the hell would you take the time to look at and respond to an ad if you had no intention of following up on it?! Assholes. Plain and simple.
But in between all of these window lickers are some really great folks out there. Most come to the house not only eager to take home a new tree, but genuinely want to learn about the greenhouse and growing tropical fruit trees. I have many repeat customers that I interact with often. Good people. But damn! Some folks you encounter are just down right rude and inconsiderate. This is not a business and I do not have standard business hours. I couldn't count the number of times someone has told me they would be at the house at a certain time...and never show up without a courtesy heads up. Some argue over a price or becomes upset that something isn't available. Some want me to dig trees out of the ground in the greenhouse! Thankfully, these folks are few and far between. And for all of those who have purchased my trees, I wish you the very best of growing.
That's it for now. Still lots of work around the house to finish up before we can put it on the market. Hopefully there will be someone out there wanting a greenhouse...with a nice home attached to it.
This is all on me. There are a few people I've bent my own rules for. I put out the trust and held these trees for many many months. I had people begging me for some of these trees, but held firm. Now who is the idiot? These are all of the largest and most expensive trees left. Despite what you may think...Ohio is not a hotbed for tropical fruit growing. Not by a long shot. Fortunately for me, I found a previous customer just as whacky about plants as I am. She purchased them all and paid in advance on the spot. Awesome for both of us and definitely a huge load of worry off my shoulders.
Facebook Marketplace is a mixed blessing. You can sell a lot of stuff thru here but you first have to weed thru a ton of jackasses. Why is that? Go advertise something and then let me know how many mouth breathers send you a "Hi, is this still available?" request and then never hear from them again! I don't get it. Why in the hell would you take the time to look at and respond to an ad if you had no intention of following up on it?! Assholes. Plain and simple.
But in between all of these window lickers are some really great folks out there. Most come to the house not only eager to take home a new tree, but genuinely want to learn about the greenhouse and growing tropical fruit trees. I have many repeat customers that I interact with often. Good people. But damn! Some folks you encounter are just down right rude and inconsiderate. This is not a business and I do not have standard business hours. I couldn't count the number of times someone has told me they would be at the house at a certain time...and never show up without a courtesy heads up. Some argue over a price or becomes upset that something isn't available. Some want me to dig trees out of the ground in the greenhouse! Thankfully, these folks are few and far between. And for all of those who have purchased my trees, I wish you the very best of growing.
That's it for now. Still lots of work around the house to finish up before we can put it on the market. Hopefully there will be someone out there wanting a greenhouse...with a nice home attached to it.
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