Showing posts with label canada fruit trees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label canada fruit trees. Show all posts

Friday, 21 June 2013

Apple rust ◊ and colloidal silver / gold ◊



We just noticed rust on our apple tree the other day, since we've heard of using colloidal products as a form of disease control we decided to give it a shot, so far it does not look like its working, but sometimes in life, it gets worse before it gets better. The one issue I was not happy with was how a local ant colony seemed to be feeding off these rust lesions, I tried (orange guard) which was suppose to work on ants + the aphids they were hoarding, it did not work. I tried hot pepper spray, they went away and then came back in ten fold. Frustrated, I tried many different ways until I came up with an idea to try a product I had all but given up on ( at least for bug prevention )
Diatomaceous earth - I figured I had enough lying around I would give it a shot, as soon as I dusted the tree I could see the exodus. By the next day it was empty of ants and only a few aphids remained. By the third day, I noticed a few determined ants had somehow made there way to the very top where the Dia earth had mostly dispersed from wind gusts. There determination is impressive to say the least, but necessary intervention is paramount in order to save the health of the tree and the production of its fruit. I grow many other plants for them to gorge on, so they should have plenty of options for dining, just not on the fruit trees.



Tuesday, 28 May 2013

GAC FRUIT VINE + ❍ SEEDS ❍ + Turtle from under the tree ( ,=,e )

Exotic fruit seeds
So We were stumbling around the internet and think We found a few new seed varieties that would be interesting to grow, some are cold hardy and ready for Canadian winters, while others are packed with nutritional /medicinal benefits and could range anywhere from subtropical to Native Canadian in climate. These are not your regular trees, and the fruit does not show up in your local grocer, Infact, you most likely will not even see these at your farmers market.

Our first newbie is the ■ Kaffir plum ■, while it tends to be more on the sour side, it carries many medicinal uses in dermatological ailments. Also, a unique wine cane be made from the berries.

Our second oddity is the » Raisin tree «
while this tree has more of an oriental background it has been proven to grow here in our Canadian climate, with recorded temps of down to -30c. The "raisins" range in taste from bitter to sweet, this all  depends on the lineage/ seed/ source budwood. It has been used as a hangover cure as well as way to reduce blood sugar levels.

Next.... ❚ Blue Sausgae fruit ❚!!, aka dead mans fingers, Another cold hardy fruit tree, this may be used as an ornamental considering the fruit is so vibrant in colour, but being it has deliciously sweet pulp its worth it for the view or the food.

✇Cassabanana✇ was just planted 2 days ago and its already sprouting!!, such a large interesting fruit we thought we would give it a shot, we will post picks of it growing, we're also thinking maybe a hydro bucket?.

Another new one is the ❍ purple apple berry vine ❍ A small Australian vine found in moist areas from south Wales to tasmania. All I can gather from from my research is the berries are edible, sweet, with a texture and shape like apples. I will update on the exact taste when it comes, for now, Im loving these Australian bush foods.

We have a few more we are starting from seed but I will save those for later, our last one of the day is the ▲ elephant apple ▲. While I have heard it can be an acquired taste, it has been said to be everything from sour and sweet to taste, and with the right amount of sugar, a very refreshing dish. As with most other bitter fruit, there tends to be health benefits, go figure right?.

Our new plant we just picked up is a  ☼ Gac fruit vine ☼. It is known as a superfruit in the health industry, well... maybe the tropical/Asian/ ayurvedic health industry. Im not sure its truly made the way over here other then in a few supplements. Gac fruit is so dense in nutrition it rivals most native fruits and vegetables, With over 70 times the lycopene content of tomatoes and beta carotene level's 10 times that of carrots, in fact, the highest levels of beta carotene in any fruit or vegetable, you can see why we should be consuming a little gac once and a while. While being nutritionally dense, they also carry many medicinal benefits. They have been used to boost the immune system, aid in coronary repair/strengthen eyesight, repair dermatological issues such as burns, psoriases and more, along with benefits to prostate and heart health. We are only listing the tip of the iceberg in what this wonder plant/fruit can do, and so we wish to pass this on to you, We will be taking cuttings once it grows out and will have them available as soon as possible

( we also need to nurse this one to health, as it did not arrive well 〈〈 spider mites, scale, and 1 mealy bug, its ok, there's nothing We cant handle organically ✔ 〉〉, but with a little care and good food We are starting to see it bounce back now).



Gac fruit vine

Turtle in Holland Landing

Thursday, 16 May 2013

Dragon fruits from seed ☐☐☐☐°°°°°°❚ ❚ ❚ ❚°°°°°°☐☐☐☐

Purple dragon fruit from seed
Here is a collection of our dragon fruits from seed, they seem to be growing at a reasonable pace, with the white dragon fruit under a fluorescent bulb growing the quickest. While I find the dragon fruit delicious, the white one is not my favorite, very little sweet taste, almost bland ( I'm sure fresh off the plant comes into play but only so far when in comparison to other dragon fruits )  and to be honest,
I haven't even tried the purple/pink ones yet, but I tell ya, it will be hard to beat the yellow dragon fruit.
The yellow pitaya is so sweet, I find the taste similar to a table grape but 10x the punch, the seeds are an interesting addition, they have a little more crunch then kiwi seeds do.

We had to make multiple orders online as only a few varieties sprouted ( there were no specific variety names, just white dragon fruit, purple dragon fruit and the yellow one I bought from the store ).
We went through one supplier in Hawaii and nothing sprouted at all, I found it to be very suspicious as all my other seed packs sprouted quite easily, so after some researching We came across a post where someone said they irradiate most products coming out of Hawaii, We cant confirm this yet but be advised, Hawaii is already known for there GMO invaded island,  most people We know avoid food from there as its the playground for genetically engineered crops,
not to say We here in Canada aren't screwing around with this as well.

With the way this world is headed on GMO's, We figure its just a mater of time before they go after dragon fruits, so we've been in a scramble to collect all the species we can, in the hopes of preserving some original genetic material for future generations.

Yellow dragon fruit from seed
Purple dragon fruit

White dragon fruit from seed

White dragon fruit