Question How many edible plants do you grow?

[stevo]

I am starting a Permicculture corner this weekend coming for the purpose of inviting beneficial insects and.........

Sounds you need a Bee garden! (I can't believe we don't have a Bee smiley! )

 

[Mark]

(I can't believe we don't have a Bee smiley!

I'll work on it

 

[stevo]

here's one....

 

[Mark]

Great! If I don't add it by the next few days please remind me!

 

[Letsgokate]

Wow some people have some great edible plants in their garden well done. Good to see your list Mark so I can get an idea of what does well in our area.

My list is small as we are just starting out. Veggie garden will soon be built, we just have some many other things to do. So I've been playing around with existing beds, so things have come and gone, nothing it at the moment. So I'm small time compared to all the rest listed on here but you have to start somewhere and it's not cheap to get the trees etc.

I have
2 Orange trees
2 Lemons
2 Mandarin's
1 Avo
Several Passionfruit
5 Blueberry plants
1 Lychee that was here when we came
2 Massive Mango trees that we also here when we came
Mulberry Tree but we enclosed that in the chook pen for the chooks

Plan on several other fruit trees as they become available and of course our big veggie patch when it's done. Then my list can match you guys

You are all such wonderful inspiration, thanks

 

[Mark]

Nice list of fruit trees Kate - citrus is probably our best performers here at our place.

5 Blueberry plants

How are your blueberry plants going? I've never had much luck growing them - maybe I should try pots?

 

[Letsgokate]

They have struggled here. I've grown blueberry very successfully in the past in this area. They were in well drain soil, planted in Azalea potting mix and did great. I've just recently given mine a good prune and moved them as in summer they got the afternoon sun and it was knocking them back. So far they have lots of new shoots on them so fingers crossed.

I'm sure you know they like acidic soil 5 - 5.5, plant them in Azalea mix, I also mixed some peat moss in with them and going to get some elementary sulphur to keep the soil more acid. Which seems to be an issue here.

They do well in pots, I had one in a pot for a while and it did well, until it went into the ground. Maybe I should have kept them all in pots. I did get some blueberries off them last year still. Least in a pot you can move it, in the summer heat.

Just been reading that you are better to keep them in pots as it's easier to control the pH. Also one thing I didn't know is they need extra potassium to help with fruiting.

 

[OskarDoLittle]

Letsgo, I'm curious about your lychee...mine is only about 18months in the ground, but really struggles. I've discovered they don't like wind, so with the Ekka winds, the worst affected leaves turn brown and die back. They also don't like competition around their roots...but other than that I have NO IDEA! I thought because it was fruiting when I bought it that it was at least a few years old...then I read that because they're usually grafts of mature branches onto root stock, in their first year the branch will fruit because it kinda misunderstands that it's no longer on its original tree...then your back to square one! Do you do anything special with yours? Does it fruit ok?
I top my blueberries up with acid loving compost on a regular basis, and this year (second season) they're developing a lot more flower buds. Wouldn't say they look brilliant though! The only one I tried growing in a pot died, so I gave up on that...but might revisit it in future based on the comments here.
Thanks for the advice guys!

 

[ClissAT]

Letsgo, I'm curious about your lychee...mine is only about 18months in the ground, but really struggles. I've discovered they don't like wind, so with the Ekka winds, the worst affected leaves turn brown and die back. They also don't like competition around their roots...but other than that I have NO IDEA! I thought because it was fruiting when I bought it that it was at least a few years old...then I read that because they're usually grafts of mature branches onto root stock, in their first year the branch will fruit because it kinda misunderstands that it's no longer on its original tree...then your back to square one! Do you do anything special with yours? Does it fruit ok?
I top my blueberries up with acid loving compost on a regular basis, and this year (second season) they're developing a lot more flower buds. Wouldn't say they look brilliant though! The only one I tried growing in a pot died, so I gave up on that...but might revisit it in future based on the comments here.
Thanks for the advice guys!

Your lychee either needs more water & fertilizer OR less!! Now that's a lot of help isn't it?!!

It's probably not the wind fully to blame for the browning & drop of leaves. It depends how the leaves went brown. Did the tip go brown & crisp followed by a slow progression back to the stem or did the leaf curl or did the leaf change colour in the margins or up it's midrib & how did the balance of the leaf turn brown?

A simple bit of shade cloth hung over the tree's windward side or wrapped around a couple of tomato stakes should be enough to protect it from strong winds. They'll tolerate grey water & slightly soggy ground & don't mind quite a lot of fertilizer although if it is mostly nitrogenous, then you will get much branch & leaf growth to the determent of fruit development. However in it's first few years it needs to develop nice strong leafy branches & get a bit of size so you can give it a good dose of pelleted chicken manure or actual chicken manure if you have it along with a good dose of trace elements & balanced minerals. They are gluttons if given the chance & love a heap of organic matter or compost around the drip line & a little under the tree. However once established, they will do ok on fairly poor conditions as mine does. The downside is that the fruit will not be very hardy against disease. So a big strong tree gives big strong quality fruit.

 

[OskarDoLittle]

Thanks ClissAT...I've attached a few pics to show the extent of the damage. It's a dwarf variety, but is still very young.

The top tuft of leaves was initially staked, and was the main part not protected from an unusual Westerly that came round the side of the house. All the leaves just dried out from their tips increasingly toward the stem...within 1-2 days. There's also a little damage on some the lower branches...close up follows.

Since the wind stopped, there's been no further progression. I'm wondering if I'm "over mothering" it! It's been composted and fertilised (then I read they don't like too much, so I stopped doing that...but maybe will restart now!) I'm a little resigned to just waiting a few years for it to mature...if I can keep it alive that long!
While I'm writing an essay...does anyone know what's happening to my mango? I'm originally from Tas, so tropical fruit is somewhat of a mystery to me!

Sorry crappy res! It looks like white sap weeping from the new growth bud. This is on two of the apicals...

 

[ClissAT]

Lychees are prone to killing off unwanted branches much like you see in the first photo where the top section just died off. That will be branch memory like when it fruited. Scratch the bark with your fingernail to see if the wood is still alive. If not find the point where it died & cut it off there.
The lower leaf damage looks more like soil conditions to me. Leaves are a reflection of what is going on below. So if the soil is not healthy it doesn't take much for them to die.
In this case the leaves are suffering a little from something happening below ground so the wind finished them off.
If I saw a pot plant with that leaf death style it would be a sign of overwatering or lack of drainage.
However, when the plant is in the ground it is more likely to be waterlogged soil.
What type of soil do you have DoLittle?
If it is clayish & you dug a big hole & back filled with good soil for your tree, maybe the big hole is not draining well & so has filled with water.
I would have a dig around anyway to see what condition the soil around it is in.
Having said that, mine & many others I've seen get leaf damage like that too. Too wet, then too dry. Not a lot you can do when we get winter rains if your soil is not free draining sandy which is their preferred type.
The newest leaf growth down low looks fine. Those paler fresh leaves are what you want to see for new growth.
Also you can prune lychees back by more than half every year to keep them small. In a few years that one will overtake the whole area in the photo even with it being a dwarf. I see you've got citrus & then the mango must be in there somewhere too. Probably too many so close together for each to give a satisfactory crop & to have good air flow around them. Some like less water & fertilizer while others want more at differing times of year & when all in together with intertwining roots some trees might send off kill signals to their neighbouring trees. Mangoes will do that as they out compete everything else under or around them.
If you have a front yard that might be the place for mango, lychee & 1 citrus. Each don't mind a bit of grass growing under them but dislike heavy plantings of hungry veg. The lychee will develop low branches that cascade to the ground & it will have a rounded top so no grass will eventually grow under it but you can prune it into a half ball shape on the lawn. The mango & citrus can be pruned to be 2m wide lollypop shaped with grass up to a mowing strip around the trunks so the bark is not damaged. But even so the mango will still reach 4m high in a few years while the citrus & lychee will get to 2m with good pruning.

re The mango, that is just grubs or grasshoppers. They do that up here. As soon as a few warm days arrive there will be a new shoot appear & it will be away again. You could spray it with stuff to kill whatever lands there so nothing will eat the tips again but for this year the growing tip is gone now. It happens to all mangoes that aren't sprayed to within an inch of their lives!

 

[Letsgokate]

@OskarDoLittle you seem to be in good hands with your lychee issues Mine was here when we came, very healthy looking tree had some fruit form last year but nothing held. Not a fan of lychee personally, good luck.

 

[Letsgokate]

Just on the growing blueberries found this link which I think is pretty good info to follow. https://theveggielady.com/growing-blueberries/

 

[Mark]

I'm sure you know they like acidic soil 5 - 5.5, p

Well... I knew they liked more acidity but the best I did was mulch with pine needles that's probably why I failed because I was lazy!

 

[OskarDoLittle]

Hey ClissAT - thanks so much for all the info! I'll do some fiddling with the soil on the weekend and see what comes from that
I'm not so good with knowing how to "quote" and reply to each question, so have no idea how this will look when I post it, but have tried to reply as best I can...

What type of soil do you have DoLittle?

It's river loam...but that particular bed has a retaining wall behind and in theory, was back filled with "premium garden soil" from the landscaping place. (I say "in theory" because it never seems that great to me!)
I've removed any plants from under the foliage line and that helped initially. It gets most of the worm tea, and was doing really well till just now...(considering it seemed to die right back when first planted!) I've a also been mulching with compost around the foliage line, but not digging it in so as to not disturb the roots (see...probably over-mothering) The pH was fairly neutral but I've not checked for a little while now so will check that too.

Having said that, mine & many others I've seen get leaf damage like that too. Too wet, then too dry.
This is a possibility...I turned the irrigation system off when we went on holiday and haven't turned it back on yet because we've had good rain lately, but it could be too variable. (Got our water bill today...2450litres DAILY they claim...that's with no irrigation and only 2 people in the house. Surely HAS to be a BIG leak somewhere, but no obvious wet spots anywhere...maybe under the lychee?!!)

I see you've got citrus & then the mango must be in there somewhere too. Probably too many so close together for each to give a satisfactory crop & to have good air flow around them.

The mango is in it's own little bed....the plan with the citrus is to espalier them into a dense wall of green - they run down a fence that's about 6-7m long (about 2 m per plant) - I suspect I'll have to rest the raised veggie patches over winter as the tomatoes blocked the sun to the citrus over the winter peak because of their height.

Some like less water & fertilizer while others want more at differing times of year & when all in together with intertwining roots some trees might send off kill signals to their neighbouring trees. Mangoes will do that as they out compete everything else under or around them.

That's very interesting! Pure luck on my behalf that I put it away from the other stuff...The mango is under planted with Italian parsley at the moment, which I don't mind losing once the mango's a bit bigger - mango beats parsley any day of the week!

If you have a front yard that might be the place for mango, lychee & 1 citrus. Each don't mind a bit of grass growing under them but dislike heavy plantings of hungry veg.
!

 

[Letsgokate]

Well... I knew they liked more acidity but the best I did was mulch with pine needles that's probably why I failed because I was lazy!

Lazy???? don't think so, you look like you work very hard, maybe it's more of a case they weren't a priority I east blueberries all the time, so I just really want mine to work as long as the grandkids stop getting to them before me.

 

[Letsgokate]

Ok my list has grown substantially in the last few months, been a busy little bee.

Veggies and herbs: Lettuce, bok choy, baby spinach, spring onion, leeks, celery, Chinese cabbage, tatsoi, parsley, chives, oregano, marjoram, sage, rosemary, basil, zucchini, sweet potato, beans, tomatoes, capsicum, carrot, cucumber, beetroot, potato, comfrey, pumpkin. 26 of these currently which of course would change with the season.

Fruit, all of these are growing in pots and doing well: Many I have several different varieties of, passionfruit, blueberry, lemon, mandarin, orange, banana, avocado, coffee, fig, grumicharma, guava, mango, mulberry, nectarine, peach, raspberry, persimmon, rockmelon, pineapple and tamarillo. 20 different fruits, I currently have.

On the list to still get when they are available or in season: Nashi, apple, Ceylon hill gooseberry, miracle fruit, plum, black sapote, strawberries, cedar bay cherry.

But the question is how many now, so a total of 46 at present with many more on the wish list

 

[Mark]

That's a rapid growing list of food plants there @letsgo excellent stuff! Soon you'll be skipping through the fruit and veg sections at the shops (if you aren't already)

I also have a miracle fruit but never seen any fruit on it so when I finally do get some it'll be a miracle!

 

[Letsgokate]

Well I certainly don't have to buy lettuce or Chinese greens at the moment or eggs for that matter All this is something we have wanted to do for many many years so it's so exciting and great for us that we are finally able to do it, lots of fun, and rewarding to see all the hard work bear fruit.

I've said this before but I really do appreciate all your websites and videos, all the wealth of information and knowledge you freely share, willingness to help others. You have certainly inspired and motivated me and I'm also growing things I had never even heard of before thanks to you.

So keep up the great work and I hope that you will be sharing and still doing your posts and videos for a long time yet

 

[Mark]

So keep up the great work and I hope that you will be sharing and still doing your posts and videos for a long time yet

Thanks! I've been working on SSC and SSM for 4 years now and whilst I have struggled occasionally to find the time to create content about what I do, I have no intention of stopping, in fact, I'm trying to do even more if I can find a way to make content creation more viable.