Like the illusion of Wall Street, with its vast and powerful investment banks, now shuttered, China too is an illusion perpetuated by the Globalists that gave us the 15,000 mile Caesar salad, poisoned cat food and lead based paint on babies' pacifiers. Like the illusion that money would come from thin air to always push housing prices higher, China has spent a generation pursuing its illusion. Pursuing an unattainable dream to be like the West, while 6000 years of its carefully shepherded top soil blows into the sea.
Joined: Dec 27, 2004 Posts: 13191 Location: naive idiot fantasy world
Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:50 am Post subject: Re: Fruit Trees and Time until First Harvest?
Johnson Nursery sells fruit trees specifically for the South, and lists the zones appropriate for each tree. North Florida is mostly Zone 9, isn't it?
Stokes Tropicals sells hardy bananas and other tropical fruits which might grow for you. _________________ "...powerdown so soft and fluffy you'll think you're living in a pillow." - jboogy
Joined: Oct 16, 2004 Posts: 1497 Location: Appalachian Foothills of Virginia
Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 9:03 pm Post subject: Re: Pears
frankthetank wrote:
On what rootstock and what variety would you most expect a quick fruiting tree? Most people on here and on other boards seem to have to wait 10 years+ to get fruit.
Joined: Sep 16, 2004 Posts: 4933 Location: Southwest WI
Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 4:52 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Trees
You lucky b a s t a r d!
My wife would kill for them cherries (really..i think she would.) Good going! I've got ... get this... 2 sweet cherries on my brand new Lapins i put in about a month ago. They are growing nicely. I told my wife we each get one
Awesome! _________________ Clothing should be optional.
Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:36 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Trees
I came home to my parents this weekend for a family function. They live in town and own around an acre of land. Immediately adjacent to it is a field about two acres in size which is owned by people that live in the Bahamas or some such nonsense. It hasn't been mowed in well over a decade. They have no problem with this, their cats love it. Now some trees that have taken hold are getting larger. Yesterday I went out and looked and to my surprised realized there were about 6 black walnut trees growing! Hopefully in a few more years they will start bearing fruit. Talk about good luck.
Joined: Oct 16, 2004 Posts: 1497 Location: Appalachian Foothills of Virginia
Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:22 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Trees
I had a black walnut tree on my property, and the first year we lived their, gathered a slew of the nuts. They are covered in a heavy green hull, that is very difficult to remove and stains everything it comes in contact green. Then they have to be washed, to remove the juices of the hull, which could make the nut even more astringent. Then the hulls are one of the hardest nuts to crack. They are not eaten fresh but are cooked into cookies, brownies, etc. Wild walnuts tend to have little actual nut meat; grafted cultivars help with the amount of nut meat and thickness of the shell.
The old Black Walnut tree blew over in a storm, so I switched to English (sometimes called Persian or Carpathian) Walnuts, which fall out of the hull when ripe, are relatively easy to crack, have plentiful nut meat, bear much faster than wild black walnuts, and are a joy to eat right out of hand. I'm also growing Heartnut (Japanese Walnut), Filberts, Northern Pecans, and Chestnuts. _________________ http://www.carfree.com http://ecoplan.org/carshare/cs_index.htm http://www.velomobile.de/GB/Advantages/advantages.html
Chance favors the prepared mind. -- Louis Pasteur
He that lives upon hope will die fasting. --Benjamin Franklin
Joined: Jan 03, 2005 Posts: 1212 Location: western Wisconsin
Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 7:40 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Trees
I have been planting black walnuts when I remember to get nuts from friends in town, and a few are about 12 years old or more, and hopefully might produce nuts soon. Others are knee high to shoulder high. Black walnuts have a flavor somewhat different from other walnuts, and shelling them is a good task for a winter evening in front of the fire (or in front of the TV, I suppose), a nice almost mindless task that keeps your hands occupied while you can still think and talk. Hickory nuts are another nut that can be hard to shell--although not as bad as walnuts--but reward you with small tasty morsels that are great in baked goods.
And of course most nut trees make great timber, although growing them for timber you would use different spacing and pruning than if you were maximizing nut production. My solution is to plant more trees. Still have acres to fill.
Ooooh, for some walnut/dried cherry/oatmeal cookies to go with my coffee!!
Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 4:00 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Trees
Hmmm, did not realize native black walnuts produced lower quality nuts for eating. I know the timber that comes out of such things is extremely valuable, under existing economic conditions at least.
Butternuts are related to black walnuts and are pretty hard to crack too. I know this because my late grandfather loved them. His solution was to stick them in a vice (vise?) and crush them that way. Sadly those trees are getting harder to find thanks to butternut canker (disease caused by pathogenic fungi).
Joined: Jan 03, 2005 Posts: 1212 Location: western Wisconsin
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:50 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Trees
I would say that black walnuts are different than English walnuts, not necessarily inferior or of lower quality. They fetch a higher price, and make English walnuts seem bland to many people.
Joined: Sep 16, 2004 Posts: 4933 Location: Southwest WI
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:24 pm Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Trees
My neighborhood has quite a few black walnut trees. I get sprouts every single year in my yard. Last year i think had over 10 little trees growing. This year i've found 4 so far.
To me it seems like they are pretty fast growing? Maybe when they are young? They are are very pretty tree, but don't park your car under one when the nuts start dropping. The husks stink so bad and will stain your fingers for a week...i know i had it happen once. _________________ Clothing should be optional.
The English walnut is sweet flavored and a favorite for snacking or garnishing both sweet and savory dishes, including vegetables, breads, and pastries. The English walnut is also known as the Persian walnut.
The black walnut is strong flavored often on the tannic or bitter side.
Clearly, different people have different tastes. I encourage anyone considering walnut trees to buy a small bag of each kind (Black and English/Persian) to judge for themselves. If Black walnuts pass that test, then I would suggest harvesting, de-hulling, and cracking a large bagful this fall (see link above) to see if the level of effort involved meets with one's expectations of nut growing and harvesting for food consumption. Expect a grafted English/Carpathian walnut to begin bearing in 5-6 years and a black walnut planted from seed in 15-20 years. Timber harvesting age is 50 years.
UPDATE: Found the grafted Stark Bros Kwik Krop Black Walnut, which, if we can believe their claims, tastes great, cracks easily, has big crops, and starts producing in 2-3 years.
Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 510 Location: Northern US
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:30 am Post subject: Re: [Food] Production - Trees
Frank -- Never heard of fireblight on plums, only apples. Is it all over the tree? Wild guess department says munching insects.
Is any of the damage on the shoot ends, as oriental fruit moth would do?
Starting picking our first variety of apricots today. Got seven peck.
Finished thinning peaches yesterday, started thinning apples. _________________ "...the problem is today we have unknown unknowns."
Dominique Strauss-Kahn; IMF chief
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