Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 2 Aug 2020

Sunshine Boosters: Healthy Plant Food

Q&A from Mr Booster

This year we introduced many new items to Sunshine Boosters selection - for all your plant needs in the garden. We receive lots of feedback and questions, so it is time now to share this information with all our customers and open this new section in our Newsletter -

From Mr Booster: Q&A

We promise that we will keep up with your favorite Cat of The Month blog as well!

Dry, liquid, or both?

Q: I have bought different plant boosters, and I am so exited to use them on my plants! I understand that Sunshine Boosters are better than traditional fertilizers, should I give up dry fertilizers all together, or can I continue using them? They are so easy, don't require any mixing...

A: We are all busy and it seems at first like a little bit of work with all the mixing, but it saves your time in a long run! And money too.
When we used dry fertilizers, every now and then a plant got killed, some looked undernourished (or over-fertilized) and unhappy. It was always a challenge to figure out which plant needs more and which needs less, and how often. It made us use more and more chemicals trying to adjust the feeding balance, and we had to worry about why a plant doesn't look happy. Sometimes we lost rare, valuable, collectible plants since we couldn't find a cure for their illnesses.

With Sunshine Boosters, those problems are gone now! See examples.

Compare using Sunshine Boosters with eating healthy, well-balanced food. You can still survive on junk food and won't die from starvation, but eventually eating junk food will take its toll and create health problems. So you will end up trying to fix them with more and more medicine... which in turn will create more side effects.
By using Sunshine Boosters, you provide all necessary elements and vitamins to plants without a risk of side effects or building up unnecessary junk/toxins in their system. No more leftovers!

According to tests, Sunshine Boosters are used up completely through plant metabolism, making them healthy, strong, and disease resistant. Sunshine Boosters are based on organic amino-acids which is the foundation of life on Earth. This helps to eliminate nutrients lock up in soil. See why Sunshine liquid fertilizers are better than dry fertilizers.

To answer your question, we recommend to switch to liquid Sunshine Boosters. It is possible to additionally use dry granulated "smart-release" fertilizers for in-ground plants, no more than once a month and only during hot season (Sunshine Boosters can be used year-round). However, some customers ran independent tests and admit that using Sunshine Boosters alone is more effective than in combination with dry fertilizers. See review from Karma Nursery.

Garden Series, or Combo Total Feed Collection - all nutrients in just one bottle, for different plant types. See booster in this collection, for different types of pants.

Date: 12 Sep 2019

Helping Citrus and other fruit trees with Nutritional Supplements

Q: Can you recommended a product to help with my citrus? Combating greening and chlorosis.

A: Citrus greening is spread by an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid. The psyllid feeds on the stems and leaves of the trees, infecting the trees with the bacteria that causes citrus greening. Florida Citrus growers dedicated the last decade to researching citrus greening. Officially, currently there is still no cure, however, some Nutritional solutions have shown promising results. To slow the progression of citrus greening in infected trees, nutrients are applied to the leaves and to the roots. Providing better nutrition helps trees fight against citrus greening and enables them to continue to produce quality fruit.

We recommend the following products for use on regular basis:

SUNSHINE Epi is a natural Brassinosteroid plant hormone and a bio-stimulant that may be very effective as citrus greening treatment. It works through plant's immune system and shows amazing results of recovery of weak and sick plants.

SUNSHINE Superfood, a complex micro-element supplement, maintains plant's health and provides vigorous growth.

SUNSHINE-Honey is a basic nutritional complement, it contains essential plant micronutrients Boron (B) and Molybdenum (Mo). These elements are essential to vegetative and reproductive growth, cell expansion, tissue growth, and fertility. A very common problem for most unimproved garden soils is lack of Molybdenum and Boron as soil micro-component. This results in underdeveloped / low quality fruit and/or premature fruit drop. Applying SUNSHINE Honey on your fruit trees will fill that gap and help a fruit tree to form a healthy fruit.

Macro-nutrients should be applied in combination with micro-nutrients on regular basis:

Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster (works great for all tropical fruit trees)
Fruit Festival Plant Food - Ideal blend designed to improve fruit trees health and vigor, and increase crop yield.

See SUNSHINE Boosters page for the complete list of plant boosters.

Date: 4 Jun 2024

Iguana attacking!

Iguana attacking! Iguana attacking! Iguana attacking! Iguana attacking!

Iguana attacking! your plants...



Q: I am having a hard time keeping iguanas eating everything! Any solution to keep them out?

Iguanas may become quite a problem in the garden. Our first suggestion would be - get a Duck as we have (Duck Dobi), she is so dominant and keeps any wild animals away from the property, including gators... and cats! They are scared of her! Dobi thinks she owns the place.

Here are a few other ways to control iguana problem in your backyard:
  • Rid your lawn of dropped fruits. Iguanas love fruit. And they love low-hanging fruit or fruit that's easy to get to. If you have fruit trees, take the time to pick up your yard and dispose of any dropped fruit.
  • Keep a lid on a garbage can. Put your garbage cans in a place they can't get to, or put a cinder block on your can lid.
  • Do not leave pet food out. If you're putting a bowl of dog food or a plate of cat food out for your pets, you're inviting iguanas into your yard.
  • Fill iguana holes. Iguanas like to dig. Wherever you see a hole, fill it. Stuff rocks into the hole first, then fill it with dirt and top it with sod. The iguana may return to dig again, but he won't dig through large rocks.
  • Do NOT feed the iguanas. Don't be friendly with them, so they won't come back.
  • Wire netting around plants. You can use wire netting or screens to prevent iguanas from entering plants and shrubs.
  • Spray them with a hose. When you see an iguana in the yard, spray them with the hose. They also hate loud noises. Constant "harassment" can keep them from returning.
  • Keep your yard clean. Excessive overgrowth or yard storage are great places for iguanas to hide.
  • Do not leave food out, unattended. Iguanas are mainly herbivores but that doesn't mean they won't smell something good and want to eat it. They will TRY anything.


Hopefully these tips help keep your iguana problems to a minimum!

#How_to

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 16 Jul 2024

How to make healthy food taste delicious? Longevity Spinach Super-food Recipes

Longevity Spinach recipe

Longevity Spinach recipe

Gynura procubens (Longevity Spinach, Okinawa Spinach)

Gynura procubens (Longevity Spinach, Okinawa Spinach)

How to make healthy food taste delicious? Longevity Spinach Super-food Recipes.



☘️ Gynura procubens (Longevity Spinach, Okinawa Spinach) is one of the Superfoods, known for its longevity-promoting properties in traditional medicine.

☘️ Native to Indonesia, commercially grown in China. It is a relatively hardy perennial that once planted, you will have these healthy greens for many years!

☘️ Both the stems and the leaves are edible and nutritious, can be eaten raw or cooked. They have a unique flavor with a faint hint of pine, and will add a beautiful aesthetic element to cuisine.

☘️ This green is also known as cholesterol spinach, and there are many claims that it lowers can cholesterol.

☘️ Perfect for hot and humid climates unlike traditional Spinach that only grown in cooler areas. It will thrive in any type of soil, any type of light other than dark shade, and is pest-free.

☘️ Very adaptable to container gardening and even grows well on a windowsill.

☘️ The leaves and young shoot tips can be steamed, used in stir fry, tempura, stews, and soups. Just add them at the very end.

Check out the recipes⬇️⬇️⬇️

📚 Gynura: Longevity Spinach Superfood Recipes

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🛒 Plant Longevity Spinach and live long

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Remedies

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 24 Jul 2024

How to grow your own Pepper plants

Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot leaves wraps

Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot leaves wraps

Piper nigrum - Black Pepper

Piper nigrum - Black Pepper

Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, False Kava-Kava

Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, False Kava-Kava

Piper betle - Betel leaf

Piper betle - Betel leaf

Piper longum - Indian Long Pepper, Pippali, Bengal Peppe

Piper longum - Indian Long Pepper, Pippali, Bengal Peppe

🔥 How to grow your own Pepper plants. Five most valuable 'Pipers'.

ℹ️ Leafy Pepper plants - Pipers - are a source of black pepper and many other "peppery" flavors. These plants come from the Piperaceae family and are used as a spice for their pungent, peppery flavor. Don't confuse them with with Capsicum peppers, such as bell and chili peppers.

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Piper sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot: it is eaten raw in salads or cooked with other greens or dishes, or wrap meats and cook in oven or on stove or grill. It is used medicinally in India and SE Asia. The root is also chewed with Betel Nut as a tonic and medicine. The leaves are used as food (food wraps) in Vietnam.

🔻 Piper nigrum - Black Pepper: While black and white pepper were already known in antiquity, but green pepper (and even more, red pepper) is a recent invention. Pungent and aromatic. The pungency is strongest in white pepper and weakest in green pepper, while black and green pepper are more aromatic than the white one. Moderate growing vine that can be grown on a trellis. Prefers shade to semi-shade.

🔻 Piper auritum
- Root Beer Plant, False Kava-Kava: close relative of Piper methysticum (Kava-Kava) and probably has some similar tonic effects. It is used for its spicy aromatic scent and flavor, liken to root beer, or to anise-clove. Huge leaves can grow over a foot long. The leaves are used for flavoring, as wrappings for meats and tamales.

🔻 Piper betle - Betel leaf: very popular Indian spice with medicinal properties. Chewed with Betel Nut as a tonic and medicine. Great for wrapping food (similar to grape leaves).

🔻 Piper longum - Indian Long Pepper, Pippali, Bengal Pepper: edible and medicinal plant used as spice and in traditional Chinese medicine. Fruit used as a spice and seasoning. It has sweeter and less pungent taste than Black pepper. Highly valued medicinal plant used to treat respiratory infections, stomachache, bronchitis, cough, and much more.

Learn more:
📚 Vietnamese Pepper - Lalot food wraps BBQ recipe
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🛒 Shop pepper plants: Pipers

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Container_Garden #How_to


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