Canistel

I planted four Canistel seeds in early 2020 and have four trees. Two are in pots and two I planted in the ground. It generally takes 3-6 years to bear fruit when grown from seed. This tree is in a pot and now has buds, but the other three trees do not. 

Canistel generally produces buds between May and July and ready to eat between December and March. This tree has lots of buds on all the branches. Canistel are bisexual and pollinate with the assistance of pollinators. I will spray some honey water on the flowers to help them out, because I really love Canistel. 

Guava

It's Guava season!

I'm getting both red Guava and some Strawberry Guava. 

I picked a few green Guava due to their size. We have a typhoon coming and these will most certainly be damaged.

 

Dragon Fruit

My Dragon Fruit plant has many flowers and this one will blossom tonight; however, I do not have any pollen to pollinate it with so will lose this one. There are more that will blossom them day after nd the next day; unfortunately, we will be hit by a typhoon tomorrow, so not sure I will be able to pollinate them either. Bad timing!

Acerola

My Acerola tree is full of flowers and the cherries are so large and unblemished. 

Every Acerola cherry is perfect and sweet, plus Guava are starting to ripen. This season the Guava are so sweet. 
 

Dragon Fruit

There are so many Dragon Fruit flowers. I have thinned them out and have to remove a few more. As previously mentioned, I do not want more than two flowers per branch. One is best, but no more than two.

Shikuwasa

This is the first year I actually got fruit. There are not too many, so will probably make juice or use them for cooking. This tree is constantly being attacked by Citrus Bark Beetles and has significant damage. I have been battling them and thought I had them licked 2-3 weeks ago, but found two adults this week alone. More importantly is to kill the larva in the soil around the roots or inside the trunk. They are the most destructive. I have a special chemical with a tube that goes into the ground and can reach inside the trunk were the larva bury. I cannot see any new damage, but the adult beetles continue to show up. What a pain.

Dragon Fruit

I decided to pick all the fruit on the plant two days ago. I thought there were 13 fruit, but actually there were 14. Though they do not look large in this picture, they are all a pretty decent size.

The largest fruit weighed 510 grams (1.1 lbs).

I selected this one to try.

Absolutely beautiful.

The skin is thick and pliable, so very easy to remove.

Just slice and enjoy. This fruit was sweet and very juicy.

Dragon Fruit

Well, it has been 30 days exactly since I pollinated these Dragon Fruit and they are ready to pick.

The fruit can be left on the plant a few extra days, but there is the possibility that pests, like bats or birds, will damage them, but more likely they will start to slit open.

There are 13 fruit on the plant. I lost all six when the plant first blossomed, because I could not find pollen. I lost another three during this blossom due to rain. In the end I got these 13 and should get another 10-20 in August.

I thought I was going to have and wait until the end of August or September for the next batch of fruit, but the plant is already starting to bud. There are buds all over. I might get two more harvests this year. 

Dragon Fruit

I pollinated these Dragon Fruit on June 21 and 22 and some are starting to turn red. It typically takes 30 days from the time of pollination to harvest. 

Pineapple

My first ever Pineapple. It is tiny, but still a Pineapple :)

 

Guava (Red)

I continue to wrap Guava.

Passion Fruit

 

There are only a few Passion Fruit left on the vine and they are falling off little by little. I have not trimmed this vine ever and it is around 80 ft (25 m) long, so it needs a trim badly. Fruit only grows from new growth, so all the old vines are messy and unhealthy for the plant. The longer the vine gets the more difficult it is to transport water and nutrients, so it's best to trim the plant every year.

Guava (Red)

I started wrapping the Guava about two weeks ago and estimate I wrapped nearly 300 based on the number of bags I used. There are still some small fruit on the tree I did not wrap and plan to wrap them with the bags of fruit that drop sooner.

A few Guava dropped early. They are not quite rip, so not sure why they dropped. Perhaps I did not water enough or the wind blew them off. I hope they are sweet.

Goya (Bitter Melon)

These Goya are doing well. There are six on the vine and a few will be ready to pick in a week or so.

Green Pepper (Piman)

This Green Pepper plant is doing much better after I transplanted it. I left this Pepper on the plant to turn red. It is looking beautiful and I will pick it soon.

Acerola Jam

I had a handful of Acerola Cherries and decided to make jam. I did not add as much sugar as I normally do, but it is still sweet. The cherries I had made two 4 once jars of jam.

Goya (Bitter Melon)

These Mikaji Goya are self seeded and look wonderful. As I mentioned in a previous post, I prefer the Mikaji veritity, because they less often ripen early and and grow much larger. There are 5-6 fruit on the plant and all are looking healthy.