2020

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Lenzie and Ailsa Duffy wanted to grow many of the sub-tropicals we all want to produce on their new farm.  However, after purchasing the acreage near the ocean at Hervey Bay in Queensland, they received the bad news from their Department of Agriculture.  Their soil (called Wallum Country – The term ‘Wallum’ is commonly used to describe coastal vegetation types growing on sand dunes or flat, undulating country with acid soils and a high water table) is a pasty grey fine powder that blows away in the wind. The soil itself is very high in aluminum with a pH of 3.7.

They soon realized that they couldn’t grow in the conventional way so Lenzie had to work around the problems that his land presented.

First, he brought in a tractor to push up what topsoil he did have to create two-foot high  banks.  He then made charcoal for the banks by piling up heaps of the shrub and native trees to burn. Once the burning pile began to collapse on itself, he had the tractor cover the embers with soil and he sprayed with water to stop the final combustion—thus creating charcoal.  After cooling, the ash and charcoal was spread two inches deep on the banks.

He brought in trailer loads of compost made by the local council recycling centre from shredded trees and landscape prunings.  This was piled onto the banks he had created by his own soil and charcoal to become five foot wide and two plus foot deep.

His trees are planted just eight foot apart at the top of the banked mounds.  Between the trees he plants papaya. In tropical climates, papaya grows rapidly and produces a first crop just one year after planting.  Once the first crop of papaya is harvest, he cuts the plants off at ground level.  The dying papaya roots are thus available to rot and feed his nearby young trees.

Natural insects, worms and bacteria now work on the mulch to produce nutrients for the growing trees.  Each year he adds a new layer of fresh mulch on top, and, with the leaves that have fallen in the last year, his raised banks are renewed.  Lenzie never uses any type of fertilizer; not chemical nor manures.  He relies solely on the worms and the other soil critters to breakdown the mulch to produce the needed nutrients.

Note from Sheryl – We took Roger and Shirley, and Roger’s Mum up to visit Lenzie & Ailsa and they very kindly home hosted all of us for the weekend.  Roger wrote this article and I spent much time on the phone with Lenzie getting it ready for publication.  It first appeared in Tropical Fruit News (http://tropicalfruitnews.org) in Florida before we were allowed to reprint it.

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Having the proper tools is the most essential thing in most everything we do.  The same holds true for air layering.  Although it is true a knife will work, having a few simple tools speeds up the process and makes it safer with better results.  The questions of when to air layer comes up and the best answer is after the tree has fruited and before you prune for shape and size.  Since having a healthy tree includes proper size and shape management for cold protection and fruit production, why not use those branches that don’t fit to propagate your trees for our plant raffle or booth at our annual tree sale? 

First, pick a branch about the thickness of a magic marker.  A branch that gets sun will air layer better. Pick only upright branches and stay away from side branches that hang as they will tend to always act as side branches even when off the tree and attempting to grow out.  Pick a spot on the branch that will allow you to cut below the future root ball so the new feeder roots will be at the top of the container to be potted in. Just clamp on the branch (not too hard; they are very sharp), and one quick twist makes a clean straight cut through the bark to the wood.  Make a second cut about one inch from the first.  Next, a simple pair of pliers work to grab the bark between the cuts.  Twist off the bark between the cuts.  Scrape the wood with the pliers to cut cambium layer. This usually makes a difficult process of cutting with a knife safer and a lot faster and cleaner for much better results. 

Next, prepare a rooting medium.  Use sphagnum moss with water and I like to use a small amount of rooting hormone.  Soak the moss and then ring it out so it is moist, not wet.  Tear off a foot long piece of aluminum foil and lay the moss out in a 4″ long by 2″ wide layer on the foil held in your hand.  Next, simply wrap the area of removed bark completely with the moss using the foil to hold it in place.  Twist and squeeze the foil to make it as tight as possible around the branch and the moss.  This helps keep ants out and a tight ball on the moss increases success of root ball.  If your foil rips, simply put another piece or foil over the other and squeeze tight.  A tight, moist, not wet ball of moss will give faster and better results.  Now be patient and wait for roots to grow inside the foil. 

You can usually tell after 4 to 6 weeks how it is doing by simply gently squeezing the foil and feeling for roots.  If roots are present, it feels hard, not squishy.  Once the roots have formed, cut off the branch 4″ to 6″ below the root ball.  This allows some support for the air layer in the container it is growing in.  Place your cut branches in a bucket of water.  Do not remove the foil yet.  This process keeps the roots wet and helps to chase out any bugs inside the root ball.  Trim off some branches and shape the new tree a little. 

To plant, remove foil carefully, these young roots are very brittle and tender, and place in a container; 1 gallon or 1 ½ gallon container is usually big enough.  If it is too big of a container, the soil stays too wet.  Water in the soil around the root ball.  Do not push down the soil or pack it in, this will damage the roots.  Remember you are working with feeder roots; they need to be near the surface of the soil; that’s the reason for the long tag end that goes to the bottom of the pot as well as providing support. 

Now place your new plant to be in a shady area or a mist house and keep moist the leaves, wood, and soil on at least a daily basis.  You want well drained soil, not mud.  If you do everything right, in a short time new growth will appear.  Now start introducing your plant to sun and continue to water frequently until it takes full sun and is rooted out.  Now you can plant your new tree in the ground or in a larger container to grow off.  Good luck!

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Many of you would have an Acerola Cherry tree (Malpighia glabra) in your garden, and perhaps you know that the fruit contains a lot of Vitamin C, which some people are keen to ensure is  included in their diet. In addition to very high levels of Vitamin C, the fruit contains other vitamins and minerals, including Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, Carotene, Thiamine, Riboflavin and Niacin. Acerola Cherry was once grown commercially purely as away of producing Vitamin C. Acerola syrup used to be given to babies and children for this purpose. It was only when new ways of producing synthetic Vitamin C were invented, that the economics of natural production was no longer viable. 

Not everyone agrees on the health benefits of taking vitamins artificially, as supplements. But if you are keen to have a natural source of Vitamin C in your diet, you may be interested that Acerola is purported to be one of the richest natural sources, rivalled perhaps only by Rose Hips. 12 to 25 of the fruits supply about 2000 mg. of Vitamin C, which is well over the average daily requirement. To get an idea how much this is, consider this. Whereas a glass of fresh orange juice contains about 100 mg of Vitamin C, a glass of Acerola cherry juice contains about 2600 mg – 26 times as much. Note that there are several varieties of Acerola, and the varieties with highest content Vitamin C have 3 seeds per ‘cherry’, whilst other varieties have more seeds.

It is surprising that Acerola is not more commonly grown or seen in gardens in South East Queensland. It seems very well suited to our subtropical climate. In other parts of the world, such as South America, it is widespread as food source, and is cultivated commercially, and one wonders why that is not the case in Australia. Here’s some of Acerola’s qualities:

• suffers few pest problems (ours only occasionally get a bit of aphid, and are little affected by fruit fly. There is sometimes a problem with bush rats)
• bears prolifically, and can produce a number or crops each year
• can tolerate long periods of drought, and has some frost tolerance
• small attractive, evergreen tree or bush
• tastes great

What more could you want in a fruit tree?

Acerola fruits can be eaten raw, stewed with a little sugar and then eaten as a dessert (spitting out the pips), or strained and used as puree. The addition of pectin makes a delicious jam or jelly. The Vitamin C is not totally destroyed by heat, for the jelly may contain 500-2000 mg/100 g. Refrigeration reduces the deterioration of the Vitamin C content. To help maintain the high vitamin level, juice and puree should only be kept about a week.

You can propagate your own Acerola tree from cuttings, using semi hardwood. They can be a little touchy to get going, taking up to 1 – 2 months. I find it is best to take a good number of cuttings, so as only a certain percentage will be successful. Keep the humidity up by covering with plastic bags.

With its bright red fruits, an Acerola tree in the garden is a great talking point for visitors. It is also a really tree for ‘grazing’, as the fruits ripen a few each day. You can easily have your day’s quota of Vitamin C by browsing on a handful of fruits whilst taking a stroll around your garden. It’s one of my favourite fruit trees.

Sheryl:  Some Council’s classify it as a weed so net the bush before the birds arrive!

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• Damping off  in seedlings This can happen if you try to grow certain seedlings too late in the summer and they are not mature enough in the autumn to fight off the fungals.  Fungicides labelled for damping off will help but air circulation around the plants and refraining from overhead watering later in the day, are very important in preventing it.
   
• Having a problem with black spots on Pawpaw?  Small black spots = cold Large black spots = anthracnose
• Several custard apple orchards have recently reported cases of branch and tree dieback. Disease isolations carried out by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries have identified two different pathogens with a possible third pathogen currently being identified. The pathogen Lasiodiplodia was identified to be causing branch dieback and trunk cankers in one orchard in Queensland in 2015. More recently Neofusicoccum parvum was identified in the Northern Rivers causing branch dieback in one orchard. Dark necrotic lesions were found under the bark surface. A clear definition of the lesion and healthy tissue can be seen.  Neofusicoccum parvum is a fungi in the Botryosphaeriaceae family. It has a wide host range that affects a range of horticultural crops and native vegetation. Neofusicoccum parvum is described as an opportunistic pathogen that often infects stressed or damaged trees. It also has the potential to spread through pruning cuts. Neofusicoccum parvum is a relatively weak pathogen that generally only becomes a problem when trees are under environmental stress. Fungicide sprays used to control other diseases in custard apple orchards will usually keep this disease under control. The spread of Neofusicoccum parvum can be limited by sterilising pruners that have come in contact with the diseased limbs while pruning and removing affected prunings from the orchard. In severe cases of Neofusicoccum parvum, or any other pathogens causing dieback, remove affected branches by cutting back the branch until clean wood can be seen. This is sometimes called “eradicative pruning” and can greatly reduce the potential spread of pathogens causing branch dieback. Healthy shoots should develop behind the pruning cut.
   
• An effective solution for fungal problems is to change the pH on the surface of the leaf. This is done by spraying one day with bi carb soda and the next with apple cider vinegar – diluted of course. This has the effect of changing the pH rapidly and fungus finds it hard to handle.
      
• Powdery Mildew in Mangoes  Signs to look for are when they completely lose their first flowering but put out a second flowering. You’ll usually see a white residue and the panicle flowers are brown and brittle. Some people spray neutral copper and a wetting agent when the panicles are almost ready to open and others swear by wettable sulphur and a wetting agent. Sulphur will give a good set. Copper seems to be best after the small fruit have formed and will avoid the black spots from anthracnose.
• Powdery Mildew… Prior to spraying, the plant should have been watered for 2 days! Mix 1 full teaspoon of baking soda, 1 tablespoon of mineral oil, half a teaspoon of dishwashing soap or insecticidal soap, 4 litres of water.
• Milk Spray Recipe for Mildew 12 cups full cream milk to 1 cup water. You could add 1tsp bi-carb also to it.
• Yates Pest Oil:  Do not use if shade temperatures exceed 32°C (35°C for citrus) or when soil is dry and plants are suffering from moisture stress. Do not pick edible fruits for 1 day after spraying. Do not spray on Glen Retreat mandarins. Do not apply for at least one month after spraying with Lime Sulphur or Sulphur.
   
• White Oil recipe   Cup of oil, cup of water, a few lux flakes – mix in a vitamiser then dilute it 10:1 when you go to use it.
   
• Using the Leaves of the Horseradish Tree as a fungicide – Moringa oleifera  Choose leaves that are free from disease. Wash and clean the leaves, chop up finely and mix in water, 1kg leaf to 3 ltrs water; let it stand overnight, strain then spray early morning on infested plant parts. For Anthracnose, Early blight, Fruit rot, Leaf spot. Always test the plant extract formulation on a few infested plants first before going into large scale spraying. When adding soap as an emulsifier, use a potash-based one.  Wear protective clothing while applying the extract. Wash your hands after handling the plant extract. References  * Sangatan, P.; Sangatanan, R. (2000): Organic fungicide. How to process/prepare organic fungicides. Practical guide to organic pesticides.  Technology and Livelihood Series. Busy Book Distributors, Quezon City.

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That’s right, this site is now the top ranked sub-tropical fruit web site according to Google when searched from the Brisbane QLD area. Using the search term “sub-tropical fruit” reveals http://stfc.org.au as the number one ranking. This site also appears on the first page when the search term “tropical fruit” is used. When the same search term is used from Canada, this site is still able to achieve a number 5 ranking, which is significant given the location based preference for search results. This is quite an achievement considering that at the start of the year, Google barely knew that we existed.

This is a testament to the large amount of information which has been place on the web site. Thanks goes to George Allen, Sheryl Backhouse, Judy Foster, Russell Reinhardt, Jenny Scods, and Jason Spotswood for making this possible.

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4th Qld Bushfoods Conference – Saturday 21st September. Griffith University – Nathan Campus  –  Brisbane Fee: $30.00 includes meals or $40.00 includes meals plus membership of the Qld Bushfoods Association.

See the attached conference brochure for all the information about the day.

Contact: Sheryl Backhouse for additional information if required. Email:  sheryl.backhouse@bigpond.com

File Attachments: 

Bushfoods Conference Brochure 2013.pdf

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Check out the speakers’ program on the web & mark out the talks you want to go to as they are excellent. I find I need 3 days to cover all the talks. They don’t tend to finalise the speaker list until nearer the time. This is your only opportunity to buy plants from Birdwood Nursery as they are a wholesale nursery – they bring along what they can spare but unfortunately they don’t take orders beforehand. Hear Peter Young’s talks.  Annette McFarlane will also be giving talks. Chester Dott from Forbidden Fruit Nursery is also exhibiting.

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Dick Copeman will give a talk on Fruit Salad Rotation; Sheryl will discuss the new CSIRO book out “Interpreting Soil Test Results”; Shelley Gage will introduce members to two books which have impressed her recently. The first is in our library and is called, “Pruning for Flowers and Fruit” & “A Garden of Marvels”. George will give a talk and perhaps Bruce McLean might too!  It’s the Christmas Party – Bring something for the raffle table or supper & receive a complimentary raffle ticket.