Date: 21 Feb 2020
When plants are ready for a meal?
Q: We have an early Spring here in Florida. All plants in my garden flushing out new leaves and buds opening. Can I start fertilizing? I have Mango, Avocado, Peach trees, many medicinal herbs and flowering shrubs: Angel trumpets, plumerias, bromeliads. I prefer mild organic fertilizers; can you suggest something that is safe for edibles and butterflies?
Q: As a rule of thumb, tropical gardeners start regular fertilizing when the minimum temperatures (at night) go above 65F. Keep in mind that Sunshine Boosters fertilizers can be applied year around because they have mild formulas and used with every watering; during cooler period, you water less frequently, so feeding is reduced accordingly. Another advantage of Sunshine Boosters - they are natural (derived from organic amino acids which is the basics of Life). They are safe for edibles as well as pollinating insects.
Here is the feeding plan for your plants:
1. The most universal solution for all plants (both potted and
in-ground): get a complete set of Sunshine Boosters Pro system: Advantage-Pro for vegetative growth, BloomBoom Pro for flowering stage, and Ca-Support-Pro + Constanta-Pro as necessary daily supplements. You will need all these 4
components for your garden.
2. Start adding these liquid boosters with every watering according
to dozing directions and you will notice amazing growth boost within a
week.
3. Apply Sunshine Epi plant hormone every 2 weeks as a foliar spray to boost
immune system and metabolism of plants and protect them from diseases. Epi
makes plants (especially young plants and those "waking up" from dormancy)
grow twice faster! It also enhances effect of fertilizers by increasing plant
metabolism.
4. After cool winter temperatures, some plants may develop element
deficiencies like chlorosis (yellowing leaves). Additional microelement boost
can be provided with Sunshine Greenleaf (iron supplement) and Sunshine Superfood (micro-elements).
5. For additional boosting of flowering and setting fruit, use the
following individual boosters:
Sunshine Robusta - for foliage plants and when you need rapid vegetative
growth
Sunshine TotalFeed - for Plumerias and other fragrant plants
Sunshine Megaflor - for Brugmansias and other flowering heavy feeders
Sunshine C-Cibus - for improving fruit production and quality
Sunshine Honey - for sweeter fruit (must be applied 4-5 times a year)
6. For young/small plants (seedlings, rooted cuttings) as well as
tender tropicals like bromeliads, and orchids - Sunshine Bombino is a perfect choice due to its mild formula.
7. To save money, order complete sets rather than individual
boosters; you will be able to safe up to 40%! Sunshine Complete Nutrition System
Kits: Combo
Kit, and Pro Kit.
If you are a fan of organic gardening, do not use dry fertilizers. While water-soluble and granulated (smart-realease) fertilizers are popular choice in plant nurseries due to their convenience, they are not as safe as liquid boosters because they create salt build-up in soil and have a high risk of overdosing/burning plant roots, especially potted plants, plants at breaking dormancy, at establishing, and at early stages of plant development. Besides, dry fertilizers may affect the taste of your fruit and herbs. See advantages of liquid boosters over dry fertilizers.
Learn more about Sunshine Nutrition System - a Natural solution for your garden.
Date: 24 Jun 2018
Cold hardy tropical fruit trees for Luisiana
Q: I've just moved to Louisiana and have been wondering whether it would make sense to plant some tropical fruit trees in our garden. Average lows in New Orleans are 41 deg F in January and February, although we did hit 25 once with the Arctic vortex. I'm interested in litchi, longan, rambutans, and persimmons. Do you have varieties that can tolerate Louisiana's temperature range? I'd love mangosteen but I don't suppose they will survive. Do you have any suggestions on tropical fruit trees that I could try?
A:
Average temperatures are for statistics only; it is actual
temperatures that may hurt your cold sensitive plant. This
is what you should keep in mind when starting your
tropical fruit collection:
1) Ultra-tropical plants like Rambutan can not survive
winters below 45-50F. However, they can be successfully
grown in containers in a greenhouse or moved indoors into
a sun room during cold periods.
2) Tropical plants like Litchi and Longan may take some light
frost once established. Still, for areas with freeze our
advice is - keep them in pots and move inside in case of
cold.
3) There is a number of subtropical fruit trees that are
hardy enough to take some freeze. Persimmon, Feijoa, Fig, Cattley Guava, Jujube, Kiwi, some Eugenias and others. Please
refer to our Tropical Fruit Sensitivity Chart.
4) Remember that plant's ability to survive winter depends
on several factors, not only temperature itself. Important
factors are: wind protection (chill wind kills rather than
low temperature itself), exposure, how close the tree is
planted to the house, plant maturity and its overall
strength and health. If a plant had received good
nutrients during summer, has well established root system,
planted in enclosed area protected from winds and has
plenty of bright sunlight - it has better chances to
survive than a weak plant in warmer conditions.
5) Use SUNSHINE plant boosters
Date: 24 Jun 2018
Cleanest fruit?
"Dirty" fruit: According to the Environmental Working Group research, Strawberries are top the list of the 12 "dirtiest" fruits and vegetables grown commercially. Spinach is the second, followed by (in order of contamination) nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes and sweet bell peppers. Each of these foods tested positive for pesticide residues and contained higher concentrations of pesticides than other produce. This causes of course chronic health implications. Children are of special concern as younger bodies have greater susceptibility to pesticides than adult bodies, the report emphasizes. Pesticides may induce chronic health complications in children, including neuro- and behavioral problems, birth defects, allergies, asthma, and even cancer...
"Clean
15": Avocados lead 2018's clean fruits and
veggies list, that also includes: mangoes, papayas, pineapples, kiwi, sweet corn, cabbage,
onions, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, eggplant, honeydew
melon, cantaloupe, cauliflower and broccoli.
Obviously, home grown fruit and vegetables are even
better. Such fruit as Custard Apples, Sapodilla, Sapote, Jackfruit, Dragon Fruit, Passion Fruit and other rare
varieties of tropical fruit, are even better for you
because they are not grown commercially, and the choice
from your own organic garden is the healthiest for
yourself and your family!
Plant them today and get your cleanest fruit tomorrow!
Check out all tropical fruit trees and all tropical spice plants
Date: 26 May 2021
Jasmine for a fence
In the photo: Jasmine Maid of Orleans
Q:We are looking for a jasmine variety without thorns that we can grow on a wire fence...
A: All true jasmines (Jasminum spp.) are thornless. So you are safe to get anyone you like. The most vigorous, fast growing jasmines that grow into a vine, are:
Jasminum dichotomum
Jasminum pubescens
Jasminum nitidum
Jasminum officinale
Jasminum sambac Maid of Orleans - the
most fragrant!
In the photos: Jasminum nitidum (Star Jasmine)
Date: 30 Aug 2020
Healthy Plant Food
Q&A from Mr Booster
How to make Mango tree fruit
Q: Hello, I have a five-year-old Lemon Meringue tree that has only given me fruit one year. It put out about 50 mangoes and has done nothing for the past three years. Do you recommend any vitamins or any of the nutrients that you guys sell to help with this for next season?
A: We've had very similar problem with our Nam Doc Mai Mango tree, fruited once and no more next year. Usually the reason is nutrients deficiency, here in Florida we have poor soils.
We applied Mango-Tango tree booster and it
started flowering within a couple of weeks.
Generally, Mango flowering season is over by now, however, we recommend to
feed the tree starting now, during active growth season. This way it will get
better established before winter and also will store away all elements
necessary for triggering flowering and fruiting. So by late Fall through Winter it
will be ready to flower.
Along with the fertilizer, additional micro-element supplements will be
beneficial. For improving fruit quality and increasing number of flowers, we
also recommend to use
SUNSHINE-Honey - sugar booster
SUNSHINE Mango Tango - Mango Tree Booster, for healthy mango trees and profuse fruit production.
SUNSHINE Honey - a natural supplements that makes fruit sweeter, and increases fruit quantity and quality.