Exotics

Muckyai · May 26, 2018

I love exotic produce because it is out of the norm in what can usually be purchased at the local grocery. When I stumbled upon the "ice cream bean plant" at a plant show.. well really.. who can resist that?

Inga vera affinis grows bean pods where the outer pulp to the bean is reputed to taste like vanilla ice cream.

Reading up on this variety it can fruit in two to three years! Looking forward to seeing what this little plant can do!

Edmick · May 26, 2018

Nice! It's on the list of things to grow for my business. They make alcohol out of it too.

Ghaleon · Jun 17, 2018

I bought a dragon fruit yesterday. Coolest looking non-pepper fruit I've ever seen.

Those might be a good call.

Muckyai · Jun 17, 2018

Visiting my folks in South Florida this weekend. Just harvested some mangos and lychees! (Squirrels didn't get them all). Had to watch out for the honeybees on the ground drinking the juice from fallen fruit. (I sure would love to try that honey)

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ShowMeDaSauce · Jun 17, 2018

Only thing im doing that is sorta exotic is burr gherkins. Ive grown them the last 2 years but this year i got a cool surprise. I have a feeling the seeds i was getting from BakerCreek were a hybrid. This year i also had a volunteer that somehow got into a pot. I planted it in its own raised bed to see how it turns out. Last year i had a slight variety of shapes. Some were WAY more spiked and some were very smooth like the pics on Bakers website.

Baker no longer offers them and my seed stock it running low. I would love to see this plant yield more of the "true to form" spikey gherkins. Then i will be all set on seeds. These things seem to love the heat and sun. Plus you pretty much can not over water them.

Spicy Mushroom · Jun 19, 2018

Ghaleon said:
I bought a dragon fruit yesterday. Coolest looking non-pepper fruit I've ever seen.

I have 4 dragonfruit cacti growing. Is yours red-fleshed? The white-fleshed are more bland in flavor. They're an awesome plant, and grow larger than one would expect in small amount of soil.

**Edit: You know those lil' columnar cactus plants with the brightly colored round cacti grafted on top you see at Home Depot/Lowes and nurseries? Those are grafted onto dragon fruit! Cut the colored ball off and it will start growing new dragonfruit branches and will eventually fruit. Super cheap way to start a dragonfruit plant... unfortunately you won't know what flesh color it is until you harvest.

AndyW · Jun 20, 2018

Spicy Mushroom said:
I have 4 dragonfruit cacti growing. Is yours red-fleshed? The white-fleshed are more bland in flavor. They're an awesome plant, and grow larger than one would expect in small amount of soil.

**Edit: You know those lil' columnar cactus plants with the brightly colored round cacti grafted on top you see at Home Depot/Lowes and nurseries? Those are grafted onto dragon fruit! Cut the colored ball off and it will start growing new dragonfruit branches and will eventually fruit. Super cheap way to start a dragonfruit plant... unfortunately you won't know what flesh color it is until you harvest.

I may have to try that out since I accidentally abandoned the sprouts I got from seed. Seems cheaper to get starts that way too since drsgonfruit here can be $5-6 each

solid7 · Jun 20, 2018

Muckyai said:
Visiting my folks in South Florida this weekend. Just harvested some mangos and lychees! (Squirrels didn't get them all). Had to watch out for the honeybees on the ground drinking the juice from fallen fruit. (I sure would love to try that honey)

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Oh my god, those look amazing... I can't eat any fruit right now. I went away to work at a job, and there were so many good restaurants and breweries. I started to put on a "dad bod". I've been eating like a caveman for 2 months, getting back to my "built for speed" look. But all I want to do, is a eat a damn piece of fruit. And we're right smack in the middle of mango and lychee season... UGH... :tear:

solid7 · Jun 20, 2018

Spicy Mushroom said:
I have 4 dragonfruit cacti growing. Is yours red-fleshed? The white-fleshed are more bland in flavor. They're an awesome plant, and grow larger than one would expect in small amount of soil.

**Edit: You know those lil' columnar cactus plants with the brightly colored round cacti grafted on top you see at Home Depot/Lowes and nurseries? Those are grafted onto dragon fruit! Cut the colored ball off and it will start growing new dragonfruit branches and will eventually fruit. Super cheap way to start a dragonfruit plant... unfortunately you won't know what flesh color it is until you harvest.

I have a dragonfruit growing up a palm tree in my backyard. It's the second year that it's been planted out. When I got it, it was about 18" tall. It's now pretty much all the way up a 15' palm.

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I found this oddity the other day. The plant was blown over last October during hurricane Irma. But it didn't stop the plant from carrying on. It was disrupted during early fruit set - this is a Sugarloaf pineapple, and should have been 1.5 times bigger in girth, and easily twice as long. But you can see by its growth, that it decided to have a lie down.
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Spicy Mushroom · Jun 20, 2018

AndyW said:
I may have to try that out since I accidentally abandoned the sprouts I got from seed. Seems cheaper to get starts that way too since drsgonfruit here can be $5-6 each

Yep, and the plants themselves are usually 20 a pop at a size you can very easily get over the spring/summer from those lil' guys. Even bigger given the right love. The issue is not knowing the flesh color. That is a big factor imo as far as culinary value goes.

Of course you can always grow em out, find out its some lame white-fleshed variety, then buy and graft a red-fleshed variety onto it and get fruit production for the red quickly.

AndyW · Jun 20, 2018

Spicy Mushroom said:
Yep, and the plants themselves are usually 20 a pop at a size you can very easily get over the spring/summer from those lil' guys. Even bigger given the right love. The issue is not knowing the flesh color. That is a big factor imo as far as culinary value goes.

Of course you can always grow em out, find out its some lame white-fleshed variety, then buy and graft a red-fleshed variety onto it and get fruit production for the red quickly.

I've never tried the red, but I actually like the white-fleshed pitaya. It's not the most bold flavor but I like it. I don't really live in a zone where it'd thrive anyway and I'd probably bring it in for winter so I wouldn't expect too much production.

Spicy Mushroom · Jun 20, 2018

AndyW said:
I've never tried the red, but I actually like the white-fleshed pitaya. It's not the most bold flavor but I like it. I don't really live in a zone where it'd thrive anyway and I'd probably bring it in for winter so I wouldn't expect too much production.

White-fleshed varieties are basically just muted versions of red/purple varieties. Granted, even red/purple are less 'in your face' flavor compared to many other fruits.

I think you can get away with growing them to size to produce fruit in a pot that you can bring indoors for winter. 15 gallon should do the trick.

Spicy Mushroom · Jun 20, 2018

solid7 said:
I have a dragonfruit growing up a palm tree in my backyard. It's the second year that it's been planted out. When I got it, it was about 18" tall. It's now pretty much all the way up a 15' palm.

Has it started fruiting yet? Did you need to take any precautions last winter for it (not sure where in FL you are)?

Mine actually do fine with my winters so long as the mix they're in is fast-draining.

AndyW · Jun 20, 2018

Spicy Mushroom said:
White-fleshed varieties are basically just muted versions of red/purple varieties. Granted, even red/purple are less 'in your face' flavor compared to many other fruits.

I think you can get away with growing them to size to produce fruit in a pot that you can bring indoors for winter. 15 gallon should do the trick.

I may have to look into that little Home Depot tip then. Thanks!

solid7 · Jun 20, 2018

Spicy Mushroom said:
Has it started fruiting yet? Did you need to take any precautions last winter for it (not sure where in FL you are)?

Mine actually do fine with my winters so long as the mix they're in is fast-draining.

I wasn't here last winter - I was working a job on the west coast - so the answer is no... I didn't take any precautions. LOL
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I don't really have to do anything. I'm about 2 blocks away from the ocean on one side, and the intercoastal waterway, on the other. As such, I'm pretty well insulated by a giant geothermal mass of water. In the 10 years that I've lived here, I've not experienced a freeze. Whereas, people 2-3 miles from here on the mainland, do get freezes. Mine is a very unique microclimate.
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As far as fast-draining goes, mine are planted in-ground in sand, which I always accept is the epitome of "fast-draining".

ShowMeDaSauce · Jun 20, 2018

My West Indian Burr Gherkins are starting to take off. These are from the Baker Creek seeds. I will get a pic of the volunteer later. These are a must try if you like pickles or cukes and onions. They work well for either. Very good producers and easy to grow also.

solid7 · Jun 20, 2018

ShowMeDaSauce said:
My West Indian Burr Gherkins are starting to take off. These are from the Baker Creek seeds. I will get a pic of the volunteer later. These are a must try if you like pickles or cukes and onions. They work well for either. Very good producers and easy to grow also.

I actually wasn't able to find these at Baker Creek this year.
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As a side note, you may want to cover that sheeting with pine bark or some other mulch, so as not to "solarize" your soil...

Ghaleon · Jun 20, 2018

The dragon fruit was white inside. I would prefer the red but love this one either way.

I saved some seeds. They stayed sticky and balled up. It's 30 seeds or so and it looks like caviar. Lol

Muckyai · Jun 20, 2018

solid7 said:
Oh my god, those look amazing... I can't eat any fruit right now. I went away to work at a job, and there were so many good restaurants and breweries. I started to put on a "dad bod". I've been eating like a caveman for 2 months, getting back to my "built for speed" look. But all I want to do, is a eat a damn piece of fruit. And we're right smack in the middle of mango and lychee season... UGH...

No one ever got a "Dad bod" from eating a lychee! Lol

It's those beers and chips that will get you.

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ShowMeDaSauce · Jun 20, 2018

solid7 said:
I actually wasn't able to find these at Baker Creek this year.
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As a side note, you may want to cover that sheeting with pine bark or some other mulch, so as not to "solarize" your soil...

Baker quit carrying them last year or the year before that. I managed to find a couple packs i had stashed. They are hard to find anywhere. My great grandpa grew these before my time. Dad loved them and turned me on to them. The seeds from the cukes appear to be viable although i wont know for a little while yet. My volunteer is much smaller but very healthy. I have it growing in its own 4x4 raised bed.

I will make sure to save some seeds this time. Last year i had more than i could eat so i will let some mature. Check back with me later in the season and i will hook you up with some seeds.

I grew them the same way last year. They are in a bottomless pot. The weed barrier breaths very well and water drains right through it. Its Pro-Shield commercial grade fabric. Im sure it gets warm but i had tons of gherkins last year in the same spot. The plant completely covered the weed barrier and was growing up the vinyl fencing.