Hey buddy I need some advice on growing fruits, I'm tired of throwing seeds out and I wanna grow my own stuff, is it as simple as putting seeds in the ground in the spring and waiting or is there some more science to it?

I'm currently exprimenting with a couple of patches in the garden too.

I had a patch going last year but I started in the late summer and everthing was gone by the winter.

So I'm not bugging you about this is there a good simple website that I can learn from?

It's not bugging from YOU FO. Heh..heh. I'm still learning a bit myself. I DO know some stuff:

1) Most fruit trees are going to grow slowly in the ground....and more quickly in a large container (but be smaller overall).
2) Trees are vulnerable to adverse cold/wind - especially when young....especially Papaya and Banana.
3) Young seedlings hate to be overly dry......and will wilt if given TOO much sun/heat too soon in their life. Wait till they grow their second set of leaves before trying to give them too big a dose of sun.
4) Some trees will grow and produce fruit more quickly......like Papaya and Banana (which are actually not real trees anyway!....heh..heh...more like big grasses!). Those guys will often produce fruit the second year.
5) Many fruit trees and smaller shrubs will fruit much quicker....in the first season (but be much smaller) in large containers. Try growing figs in a nice huge pot.
6) Fruit trees need a LOT of good sun - but generally hate lots of wind or exposure.
7) Use mulch to retain moisture at the tree.

-Growing melons or tomatoes or something is pretty easy....cause you might see a harvest in 90 days (1st season). Small berries can also give you a harvest in one season. As I noted, Papaya and Banana might also give you fruit the first (but more likely second season).

-Mulberries have been the best/best tasting/fastest/biggest fruit producers I have seen - and they are my definite favorite! They have berries on them right away, and produce year-round. Most fruits do not....and only produce during a certain season.

-Of course, you can always sprout just about any seed....the only question is making sure it gets enough care/water/sunlight and growing room to grow large enough to fruit. Sprouting an avocado seed.....and then planting it...and letting it grow......in the ground.....it might be 5 years before its big enough for you to see any fruit. That's a conservative estimate. Of course, that is just what I hear! Ha! ha! Frankly, I'm doing it anyway....so I'll have some practical experience. I'll keep you informed.

-My advice at this point: If you want to grow anything other than melons, tomatoes, peppers (single-season fruits) from seeds......or Papaya from seeds (2-season tree) , then you should bite the bullet and just buy small pre-grown trees/shrubs from your local nursery. At $10-$50 a pop, You're going to save at LEAST a couple of years. Any seeds from regular fruit/nut trees will probably take a couple of years to grow into a small tree....and a couple of more to fruit reliably (of course...this is just hearsay until I test it.....which I'm doing now).

-I hope that answers a few questions anyway FO! Oh hey....I got my website up at www.RawFoodFarm.com....and I'm on Chat every night at 8:00 EST. Check out the latest pics of the house/farm and let me know what you think man!

PS: For you greens-eaters....Swiss Chard is a real winner.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2007 01:33AM by davidzanemason.

Yeah I'm in the same boat as you, I'm just doing it anyway...I didn't realise it took so long to grow trees...

What I might try is growing stuff in containers, that sounds like too much fun...any advice on how I setting that up would be great!!!

Also buying pre grown trees sounds like a plan too I'm going to look into that!

We have banana trees that grow like clock work in the spring that never bare fruit, no one knows how they got there they just started growing....

anyway keep me posted on the farm....and I'll check out the site!

Thanks buddy!

F1

davidzanemason Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
Any seeds from regular fruit/nut trees will
> probably take a couple of years to grow into a
> small tree....and a couple of more to fruit
> reliably (of course...this is just hearsay until I
> test it.....which I'm doing now).


the problem with growing fruits/nuts from seeds obtained from sayyyy .. the grocer is that the end result is rarely gonna be true to the parent(s) plant (s)

often one type is grafted onto a strong root stock ..its not true cloning.. more like piggybacking.

although possibly if you are getting your seeds from plants from an organic supplier that may not be the case ..

BUT .. its possible that organic grower started off with hybrid'd stock.

more reliable source would be do a search for what your looking for and include the words HEIRLOOM seeds..you will find all sorts of avid seed bank individuals trying to preserve old world stock

another problem with seeds is that they may be genitically modified to just not reproduce so you could technically spend 5-20 years waiting for something not to fruit period. bummmmmerrrrrrr.

look for open pollination stuff too meaning its not been produced to produce from itself only itself and nothing else..open pollinated strains of plants need other plants to produce

but please toss yer seeds in the ground anyways at worse you will end up with a beautifull tree/plant that just helps the world regardless of what it does or doesnt do

btw if you have ever had the opportunity to eat an HEIRLOOM seed tomato grown in organic conditions ... omg .. words escape me hehe

Sure. First make sure that you are getting a plant that normally will bear fruit in your area...and works well with the local temperatures. That way you won't have to 'over-winter' it......or try to constantly keep it alive. The local nursery will easily recommend fruit trees/berry shrubs. Make sure to transplant them into good-sized containers. I use at least 20 gallon....because I don't want to have to re-pot. Just buy a good huge bag of garden soil. That should work fine. Keep them well sheltered.....like next to your house where they can get plenty of reflected sunlight.....but still be well-sheltered from wind. Most fruit trees hate wind and freezing exposure - and love good moisture and sun.

-My personal recommendation is for Mulberries and Figs.......as these will produce multiple crops. Depending on where you live, look for other berries that will grow in your area (growing a couple of strawberries is always a good way to start)...and grow these in smaller containers (gallon jugs work fine!)

-Just some tips.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

when the fda starts arresting us for eating cherries I am gonna move in with Dave!

Ha! How are you Suvi? How was your trip? I'll be down Miami way for my baby brother's B-day on the 29-30. Did you say there is a raw food potluck coming up? Just let me know. I think I'm gonna hit Fruit and Spice Park and your welcome to come with! Or just let me know and I'll zip down Miami way and would be happy to treat for an Avocado lunch.....and on a good day I can also be convinced to spring for fresh squeezed OJ!

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

The Fruitarian One Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I had a patch going last year but I started in the
> late summer and everthing was gone by the winter.

Have you looked into the timing of when you plant your seeds based on when it will reach its peak fruit production season?

You could try a local bookstore for a publication such as a Farmer's almanac or check out their website, [www.farmersalmanac.com]. This is an excerpt in it for the first half of May:

Quote

May 2007

1 Excellent time for planting corn, beans, peppers and other aboveground crops. Favorable time for sowing hay, fodder crops and grains. Plant flowers.

2-3 Plant carrots, beets, onions, turnips and other root crops at this time. Cabbage, lettuce and other leafy vegetables will do well. Plant seedbeds.

4-5 Do no planting.

6-7 Plant late beets, potatoes, onions, carrots and other root crops.

8-9 Kill plant pests on these barren days.

10-11 Favorable time for planting late root crops. Also good for vine crops that can be planted now. Set strawberry plants.

12-13-14 Poor planting. Fine for cultivating or spraying.

Wishing you vibrant health

ok david, for sure, Fruit and spice park and my camera. please send your email PM here and delete your messages.

A cornucopia of seeds for tropical (and many cool climate) fruit trees:

[www.tradewindsfruit.com]

Try out the PawPaw, a northern native of the tropical Custard Apple family.

All the fruits the California Rare Fruit Growers talk about should do even better in Texas. Click on 'Fruit Facts':

[www.crfg.org]

I'm trying to make use of all the wasted sunlight on the roof. Planting some grape vines to trail over the roof seems excellent for fruit production and for preserving the roof. The real killer of composite shingles is the hot summer sun that heats them to high temperatures and bakes the living daylights out of them. The grapes will keep the roof and house cool. My plan is to not only plant standard varieties but to explore the wildlands to find a variety of tasty native grapes to mix in (seeds).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2007 06:31PM by brome.

whata "cool" idea Brome =)

i love this house in vancouver island somewhere it has sodgrass all over the room and these little pygmy goats graze up there all day hehe... they just hop up different levels then hop on down for the night

Good luck growing fruit trees from seeds! People at nurseries will look at you like you are crazy, that sort of growing is just not done. It's all about grafting. as far as buying more mature trees, like in 15 gallon pots and beyond, know that know matter how big the tree is (or even if it has fruit on it when you buy it) after transplanting it will take a few years for it to really start bearing. THey expend all their energy establishing a root structure before they even think about fruiting (so to speak). When first learned that it dampened my enthusiasm somewhat. I too got the fruit tree bug recently.

2 fig trees-one with yellow fruit, one with purplish
2 mulberry trees-one white, one dark
5 dwarf citruses...es-looooove navels above all.

that's the plan for my newly barren yard. I just dug a huge hole for a fig tree, it's going in when it stops raining. I just know I'm going to plant all this great stuff and end up moving to hawaii before any of it fruits.

aha i finally found the link lol .. ta daaaaa GOATS ON THE ROOF

[www.oldcountrymarket.com]

i guess its a market not a house but i think it was a home when i was a kid i dont recall it being a store

MMMMUUUUULLLLLBBBBEEEERRRRIIIIIEEEESSSSSSS

FFFFFFFIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGSSSSSSSSSSSS


need i say more?

hey tiff

ya purty much said it all
but i wanna chime in


MUUUULLLBERRRRIESSSS Meeeheh meeeeeeh mulberries for ME!!

hey dave, give us some mulberries from your tree

u know, it ain't right to deprive us of such things

there are LAWs u know ( hooohhoooeeeeeeehooooo)

The Fruitarian One Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey buddy I need some advice on growing fruits,
> I'm tired of throwing seeds out and I wanna grow
> my own stuff,

I always feel bad throwing seeds out as well . . . I just save them up and then take a day off to plant them in some secret place out in nature that I think they might grow (on their own).

-Ryan
radicalvitality.com

Hi Dave,

I have a small papaya tree that I repotted into my yard about 2 months ago. At first it was doing ok, but now it's not thriving so much, as it's looking more and more bare. Any ideas as to what could be wrong?

I also have a banana tree that I repotted at the same time. I keep looking at it, expecting at least height growth ... but it looks about the same as when I first bought it. I'm happy that it's looking alive and healthy. I'll take your word for it in that I can expect to see fruit the 2nd year. I Gosh that 2nd year is taking a long time to get here...

xoxo,
Lita

[paintedrenderings.blogspot.com]

Hey Lita! How are you doing? Papaya trees like shelter from the wind....but plenty of sun and water. Make sure there are no other plants or roots too close to your tree. If trees do poorly, the most likely culprits are exposure (usually too much wind)......or lack of regular watering. Papaya trees can take a bit of shade...and might even do better. The corner or side of a house is a good place for a papaya tree!

-Same thing goes for Banana...only more so! LOL. Banana trees HATE wind or exposure. Grow them someplace where they get good sun and water...but excellent protection from the wind.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Hi David,

I'm well, thank you. Hopefully, your farm is thriving. I can't wait until I can see it first hand.

Uh oh, I think I planted them both in the wrong area then ... They're both exposed to lots of wind. Will it hurt them at this stage in their growth to transplant them to another location?

xoxo,
Lita

[paintedrenderings.blogspot.com]

It shouldn't......just dig a good distance around the tree....to disturb the roots as little as possible.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

TFO, you can contact your local county extension office to see which varieties are best for your area. They should have a website and lots of free pamphlets, with planting guides, too.

Hi David,

Okey dokey -- so good to know. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience.

xoxo,
Lita

[paintedrenderings.blogspot.com]