Date: 23 Mar 2020
Garden Sustainability Tips: Live your Life. Dig your Garden.
You can grow herbs and vegetables that can be easy incorporated into your home landscape. You don't need a raised bed for a few little things that will come really handy for your kitchen.
1. Parsley. Get a small 4"pot parsley plant from a local garden
center. It grows super fast and just one plant can provide great healthy
addition for your cooking for a few months. Plant in in full sun, under a tree or
shrub, where it gets hit by a sprinkler.
2. Dill. This one grows from seeds quickly and easily. It also needs
full sun and regular water.
3. Chives, or Green Onion. Don't through away"bulbs"from chives
you got from the store. Stick them in the ground, pretty much anywhere in your
garden. You will have supply of fresh chives loaded with vitamins right away
(withing a few days!) and for many months. You can also plant an onion bulb
(root-end down... duh) - this one will produce greens even faster!
4. Bay Leaf. If you live in a mild climate, plant a Bay Leaf in your yard (closer to the door - closer to the kitchen!). It
is a wonderful healthy spice for soups and stews that makes them super
flavorful. If your winters are cold, keep the plant in a pot. Bay Leaf makes a
great undemanding houseplant that needs bright light, but very little water.
5. Cherry tomatoes are easy to grow, heat tolerant and even grow in
lower light, so they are easy to incorporate into any existing landscape. Get
Sunshine Boosters to double your crop: see how it works.
6. More herbs and spices. Check out our large selection of herbs and spices - they are on sale today!
7. Garden work is a great exercise. While the gym is closed - get to
gardening. Read about Fun workout and Calories Burning Gardening.
8. Lemons. Vitamin C is your best friend for boosting immune system,
and Lemons have tons of it! In areas where citrus can grow outside, Lemon
tree is a must-have for your garden, or at least find a friend who has one!
Citrus also makes a great house plant, so you can keep it in a pot, too. Just
make sure to have a grafted tree that will produce right away.
Lemon Juice Health Booster Recipe
1. Squeeze juice from 1 lemon and mix it with 1 cup of water.
2. Add ice cubes and 1-2 tbsp of any flavored syrup (optional). You may add
some fresh mint for Mojito flavor.
3. Enjoy this drink at least once a day.
4. Get a bunch of lemons, squeeze fresh juice into ice cube trays and
freeze. 1 lemon = makes 1 ice cube. Store in freezer and use 1-2 cubes to make the
above drink, daily.
Besides being rich in vitamin C that will boost your immune system,
Lemon juice is a Natural medicine that helps to treat:
- cold and flu
- headaches and high blood pressure
- stomach problems
- insomnia
- and much more
Drinking lemon juice on regular basis will make your body stronger and more
resistant to infections and many illnesses.
Please take good care of yourself and your loved ones. Stay healthy.
Date: 13 Aug 2019
Caring of Soursop in container
Q: I have ordered dozens of trees from you and have a question about Soursop. I have a Soursop in a container and ants and aphids are under new leaves. Do Soursop like little water? I water almost everyday living in southern Los Angeles it's been around 76-80F. I spray the aphids and ants off with a mist setting on my hose. They come back every day. They're only on new leaves...
A: First of all, you don't have to remove the ants iа they
don't bother you. Ants are good insects, they do not harm plants; most likely
they are attracted by a sweet sap - aphid by-product. Ants clean up a plant,
and they may even take care of some bad insects.
It is not difficult to get rid of aphids. Use a safe treatment: in a
small spray bottle, mix 1 cup of warm water, 1 teaspoon of dish soap and 2
tablespoons of any cooking oil (if you have Neem oil or Horticultural oil - even
better, but prepare, they are pretty stinky). Spray the leaves with this
solution to a dripping point. Repeat in a few days if needed. This simple remedy
will take care of the aphids.
Daily water may be ok for the plant during hot weather, as long as the
soil is not constantly moist. Let the surface of the soil get a little dry
between waterings.
Recommended fertilizers for fruit trees:
Fruit Festival Plant Food - Super Crop Booster
Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
SUNSHINE-Honey - for sweeter fruit
SUNSHINE SuperFood - microelement supplement
Date: 3 Aug 2019
Grafted or seedling?
Photo: Mr Barcy meditating before planting Nutmeg seeds
Q: I planted an avocado seed and it sprouted quickly, it has been only a couple months and I already have a small plant. How soon will it produce fruit? Can I grow other tropical fruit from seed?
A: Unfortunately, some fruit trees, including varieties of
avocado, mango, lychee, as well as apples and peaches - must be either grafted or
air-layered in order to produce, for 2 main reasons:
- seedlings may take a very long time until fruiting, up to 10-15 years
- seedling gives no guarantee on the quality of the fruit or variety
These fruit trees should be propagated as "clones" - both grafted
material or cuttings are actually copies of the mother plant and will keep the
same fruit qualities. Grafted trees usually start producing immediately.
However there is a number of fruit trees that come true from seed, and
take a very short time to start flowering. Jackfruit, Annonas (Sugar Apple, Guanabana, etc), Papaya, Icecream Bean, Eugenias start producing at a young age (3-4 years from seed).
Recommended fertilizers for fruit trees:
Fruit Festival Plant Food - Super Crop Booster
Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
SUNSHINE-Honey - for sweeter fruit
SUNSHINE SuperFood - microelement supplement
Date: 29 Jul 2019
When to fertilize and prune tropical fruit trees?
Q: Can tropical fruit trees (Soursop, Mango, Star fruit, etc) be given plant food any time of year? Also can they be trimmed this time of year/summer?
A: True tropical plants (including fruit trees) need plant food most of the year in real Tropics, where temperatures have very little fluctuations, and active growth season is close to 12 months a year. In subtropical areas when temperatures in winter drop below 65F, plant metabolism slows down, so it is recommended to fertilize only during the warmest period (March through November). So yes, Summer is the perfect time for fertilizing your trees; their metabolism is at the highest point and they can use more food!
Trim your fruit trees right after harvesting. Obviously, you don't want to prune branches before or during flowering or fruiting. The specific time of the year for pruning depends on the plant - every tree has its own flowering/fruiting season. However, avoid pruning right before winter: young shoots promoted by pruning are tender and can be cold damaged.
Recommended fertilizers for fruit trees:
Fruit Festival Plant Food - Super Crop Booster
Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
SUNSHINE-Honey - for sweeter fruit
SUNSHINE SuperFood - microelement supplement
Date: 22 Oct 2024
How
to grow Jackfruit in a pot:
the biggest fruit in the world
Q: Can I grow Jackfruit in a pot?
A: Yes, you can! Jackfruit trees, despite producing the largest tree-borne fruit in the world - up to 80 pounds and 36 inches long - can thrive and fruit in containers. The tree has a clever feature: it grows fruit only at the base of the trunk, allowing you to manage its height and size. With regular pruning, the tree can stay compact at just 6-7 feet tall, making it perfect for pot culture.
1. Getting started: pot sizes and growth tips
Start with: A 3-7 gallon container.
As it grows: Gradually increase to a 15-25 gallon pot by the time it
reaches fruiting size (2-4 years).
Pruning is key: Keep the tree topped at 6-7 feet to focus its energy
on fruit production.
Fertilize regularly: Use high-quality plant food like Sunshine Boosters C-Cibus to promote healthy growth and fruit
development. C-Cibus is the best natural plant food for fruit and edibles.
2. Fun facts about Jackfruit - Artocarpus heterophyllus
A mature Jackfruit tree can produce 200 pounds of fruit per year.
The fruit consists of large, sweet, yellow bulbs with a banana-like
aroma.
Seedlings start fruiting within 3-4 years, with fruits ripening in just 4-6
months after flowering.
3. Cold tolerance of Jackfruit trees
Though often thought of as ultra-tropical, mature trees can withstand light frost for short periods without major damage. Keeping Jackfruit in pots also offers an easy way to move them indoors during cold spells if you're in a cooler climate.
4. Secrets for successful Jackfruit production
- Frost-free temperatures are essential.
- Use rich, organic soil with compost, manure, or peat moss.
- Maintain moist soil with regular watering.
- Constant pruning to keep the tree under 7 feet promotes healthy
fruiting.
- Apply fertilizer and microelements regularly for better fruit quality.
By following these tips, you'll be able to enjoy the world's biggest fruit right from your patio!
Learn more:
About Jackfruit
How to grow the
biggest fruit on Earth
Cheena - Jackedack
Videos:
Jackfruit
Fruit
