Unusual fruit and veg

[Phone]

All,

 

Appropriate thread. I have been out and about today - weather in the 60's. Stopped by my old stomping grounds and watched a fellow planting 38.000 Honey Crisp apple trees (semi dwarf). Be next year he told me??

 

Phone

[Bobj]

To be honest, I'm aware of medlars but have never tried them.

 

I know people have ripened persimmons in a standard garden in Kent and I have mine in in a near perfect microclimate with 14 hours of sun and shelter from both easterly and westerly winds - we'll see. The tree is only about 2m high at the moment but put on masses of growth last year.

The loquat is an outlier but it's fully hardy and looks most impressive when it has its summer leaves.

Be aware that the loquat is a fruit fly haven. 50 years ago, in NSW, loquats were very common, until CSIRO woke up to the fact that loquats were 'harbours' for the fly. Have not seen a loquat tree since.

[Bobj]

The beauty of living in the tropics, plenty of delicious fruit, from bananas to custard apples, fruit salad plant (monstera deliciosa) to mangoes to soursop (acid custard apples). Paw Paw is easy to grow, sow seeds after they dry out. Pineapples are easy, but slow to grow using the old tops. Oranges and mandarins, etc.etc.

[Ken L]

I have just cut down a quince tree. Lat year it was loaded, to the point of breaking branches. Problem was, I can't stand them, wife and daughter weren't fussed and we couldn't give them away. I would like to replace it with a good cooking apple, something you have difficulty finding in France.

Shame you've already cut down the quince. You could have got someone to send you some cooking apple scions and grafted them. There's a technique that is commonly used in commercial fruit farming that lets you graft several scions to the stump of a much thicker tree.

[Ken L]

The beauty of living in the tropics, plenty of delicious fruit, from bananas to custard apples, fruit salad plant (monstera deliciosa) to mangoes to soursop (acid custard apples). Paw Paw is easy to grow, sow seeds after they dry out. Pineapples are easy, but slow to grow using the old tops. Oranges and mandarins, etc.etc.

For anyone that doesn't already know, Aussies use the name paw-paw to describe the papaya. The papaw hat I'm trying to grow is Asimina triloba, a North American native related to Bob's sour sop abs custard apple.

 

Do you grow the Black Sapote Bob? Australia was the only place I've eaten one.

[Bobj]

For anyone that doesn't already know, Aussies use the name paw-paw to describe the papaya. The papaw hat I'm trying to grow is Asimina triloba, a North American native related to Bob's sour sop abs custard apple.

 

Do you grow the Black Sapote Bob? Australia was the only place I've eaten one.

No, Ken, black sapote is not very popular in the Mackay region, although a couple of people around Sarina grow it (40 km S of Mackay) It is fairly common up around Cairns.

Persimmons are occasionally in the vegie dept at the supermarket but people get put off by the 'almost' ripe look and get an astringent taste...

Forgot to add the macadamia nut tree. I have 2 but neither is fruiting due to anthracnose. As soon as they and the mango start to bud, I will be spraying mancozeb to kill the fungus.

[Ken L]

Look out for the non-astringent persimmon varieties - usually sold as Sharon fruit or Fuyu persimmons.

[Bobj]

Forgot about the 'Swiss cheese plant', monstera deliciosa. The fruit is very slow to mature, anything up to a year. The fruit looks like a green ear of maize and the segments only come off when slightly over ripe, but so yummy! Have 2 in my garden.

[Ken L]

Never tried that one - although a few friends in India grow it.

They obviously also grow a lot of mangoes and jackfruit.

Chickus (sapodilla) are also incredibly popular.

Weirdly, I've never seen mangosteens, or any of the soapberries (lychees etc) in India though.

[Ken L]

Too late for this year but Groundnut (Apios Americana) looks interesting. I may have to try that one in the future.