Kiwithrottlejockey
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« on: June 29, 2009, 12:42:13 am » |
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Feijoas fruitful and easy to growBy LYNDA PAPESCH - The Marlborough Express | Friday, 19 June 2009USEFUL: Feijoa trees can also be used to make a pretty and productive hedge.Feijoas, also known as pineapple guavas, are a popular and relatively easy-to-grow fruiting tree.
Originally from southern Brazil and northern Argentina, feijoas are evergreen shrubs or small trees which grow from one to seven metres in height. Widely found in New Zealand gardens and orchards, they can also be used to make a pretty and productive hedge.
Members of the myrtaceae family, they have bluish-green leaves and striking crimson flowers in early summer.
Named after Brazilian botanist Joao da Silva Feijo, feijoas were introduced to New Zealand in the 1920s and are available in variety of cultivars.
Try planting a mix of cultivar such as early-season varieties Apollo and Pounamu, mid-season fruiting Kakapo and late-season producers Opal Star and Triumph, or the dwarf variety Wiki tu. Some grafted cultivars are self-pollinating, but most are not, requiring pollination by birds such as silvereyes. Plant two different cultivars for cross-pollination.
The New Zealand season runs from late March through until June, with some cultivars still producing well. The green, egg-shaped fruit are known for their strong perfumed scent and sweet, gritty flesh.
Feijoas prefer full sun and well-drained soil, with plenty of compost.
GROWING TIPS- Avoid heavier clay soils.
- Fertilise in early spring and again in early summer.
- In dry summers, keep watered to ensure heavy crops of large fruit.
- Prune annually after fruiting to keep trees small.
- Gather fruit as soon as it falls.
- Freeze surplus feijoa pulp.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/lifestyle/home-and-garden/2516484/Feijoas-fruitful-and-easy-to-grow
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dragontamer
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« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2009, 09:57:02 pm » |
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On the recommendation of a gardener with feijoa fruit bigger than my hand, I have pruned my feijoa back to stumps.
The theory is that the fruit was beyond useless as the tree stood, being as there was masses of them, but none grew larger than a marble. So I've lost nothing if it dies right off.
If it doesn't grow back and fruit better, I'm never listening to her again and will be investing in a new plant. Right along with a Black Doris plum, which we had access to via a huge branch from the neighbours. But they cut it down - apparently I had the only healthy branch.
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Justic
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« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2009, 07:31:36 pm » |
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On the recommendation of a gardener with feijoa fruit bigger than my hand, I have pruned my feijoa back to stumps.
The theory is that the fruit was beyond useless as the tree stood, being as there was masses of them, but none grew larger than a marble. So I've lost nothing if it dies right off.
If it doesn't grow back and fruit better, I'm never listening to her again and will be investing in a new plant. Right along with a Black Doris plum, which we had access to via a huge branch from the neighbours. But they cut it down - apparently I had the only healthy branch.
Yes my brother had a feijoa hedge and the harder he pruned the bigger the fruit got so that's what we have done with ours.
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"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."
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ssweetpea
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« Reply #3 on: July 05, 2009, 10:31:46 pm » |
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My mother swears that sheep pellets are just the thing for feeding feijoa trees and raspberries and just about anything else that needs feeding up. BTW her feijoas were so big and tasty this year that I didn't bother picking up mine Mine were average plum sized - hers were large kiwi fruit sized.
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dragontamer
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« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2009, 09:01:03 am » |
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Mr DT is on a mission to bring back sheep pellets from the farm in Waikuku. He just doesn't know it yet.
Fish guts (and paua guts) have gone under the lemon tree.
I seriously need to look at moving my raspberry canes. They just aren't developing well. But I have no idea where to move them too.
The feijoa tree is sending out new shoots slowly. It didn't die, but at this rate I won't be seeing fruit for about 10 years lol.
Maybe I should plant peanuts. Our section used to be the sandpit at a racing stables. Very sandy soil. Perfect for peanuts apparently.
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