The long term plan - Avocado/Citrus farm

[ourmanflint]

We are looking to take over 9 rai of land around Phrae in a few years, it already belongs to the family but at present is rented out for pennies & just used for cassava. We will be moving back to Thailand in about 4-5 years so would be great to get some trees in now so they might be ready to go when we get there. Brother in law is an agro specialist for Thai bank so he will look after everything for the time being. Land is at 300m or so and never really floods so thought it would be ideal for Citrus & Avocados.

 

Have read quite a lot of threads on here and am hopeful this could work. For now though I would like to source a few avocado trees, but am a bit confused about best options. 

 

Where should we source trees? Pak chong institute? Chatuchak? Can we plant them in one farm for a year or two then move them later on to final position? One family plot is irrigated but the other is not as yet, and this is the one we will be taking over

Cheers

 

 

[soidog2]

Forget about planting and moving, will not work, you will kill the trees.

You can safely keep grafted seedlings for a year or more in large plastic bags (for planting) 

 

Avocado needs careful homework.

Sourcing trees is not a real problem. You need to decide on what types will successfully bear fruit in your climate/soil.

Best you try to get a mix of "A" types & "B" types that flower simultaneously; to increase pollination

 

Citrus flowers roughly at the same time as avocado, the pollinators will ignore the avocado flowers and head straight for the citrus flowers.

 

 

In Pak Chong, you will need to reserve trees for at least a year in advance, Chatuchack is not really a good place to buy because of the unknown scion quality.

Around Pak Chong there are people specializing in grafted Avocado that sell to real growers.

You will have a shorter wait at a higher price per tree.

 

Good Luck

[Lungstib]

I am not an expert, just ate enough avocado to have seeds which I then grew in pots.Got them to grow easy enough, planted them out in my sons garden in Doi Saket and our home garden and plantation here in Tha Ton. 8 of these trees are at least 6 - 8 years old and we haven't seen a fruit yet. Trees are big and healthy. We have not bothered to look into why. About 90kms out of Chiang Mai on the highway107 to Fang there is a royal project named Huai Luek where many different avocados are on sale in the roadside market. They obviously have it cracked but I don't know if they would share their info. They do sell plants sometimes but it's easy to see they are grown from seed just like mine are.  We grow lemons which need less care than the many different oranges that are grown in the Fang district. After 2 years old they didn't need regular watering but stop fruiting about Feb, just when the prices rise due to the shortage. I'm sure this can be managed. The orange farms near us water and spray a lot.  Good luck.

I dont think avocado would take to being moved, maybe grow in big tubs and then plant out when already tall. 

 

[Lungstib]

22 minutes ago, soidog2 said:

Citrus flowers roughly at the same time as avocado, the pollinators will ignore the avocado flowers and head straight for the citrus flowers.

Which could explain why my trees get flowers and no fruit, we have lemons nearby in all locations.

[ourmanflint]

1 hour ago, soidog2 said:

Forget about planting and moving, will not work, you will kill the trees.

You can safely keep grafted seedlings for a year or more in large plastic bags (for planting) 

 

Avocado needs careful homework.

Sourcing trees is not a real problem. You need to decide on what types will successfully bear fruit in your climate/soil.

Best you try to get a mix of "A" types & "B" types that flower simultaneously; to increase pollination

 

Citrus flowers roughly at the same time as avocado, the pollinators will ignore the avocado flowers and head straight for the citrus flowers.

 

 

In Pak Chong, you will need to reserve trees for at least a year in advance, Chatuchack is not really a good place to buy because of the unknown scion quality.

Around Pak Chong there are people specializing in grafted Avocado that sell to real growers.

You will have a shorter wait at a higher price per tree.

 

Good Luck

Thanks for the tip on mixing Types A & B. Will ask some friends in Pak Chong to see if they can source some trees for me

[ourmanflint]

56 minutes ago, Lungstib said:

Which could explain why my trees get flowers and no fruit, we have lemons nearby in all locations.

Yes, this does bother me. How far away would Lemon trees need to be do you think to ensure both fertilized?

[soidog2]

To a degree, the trees are self pollinating because of the midday change to male/female or opposite depending on type.

However, the process is aversely affected by high temperatures.

To increase your chances of successful fruit set you need as many pollinators as possible. Citrus flowers are aromatic, avocado, very bland.

 

If you plan on growing citrus and avocado on the same piece, plant some non flowering trees in between them to establish a physical barrier.

Bees are very smart, will not work 100% but it will help. At least 20 meters or so.

[ourmanflint]

Thanks Soidog

 

I can easily keep them a fair distance apart, so the plan is still looking OK. I'm guessing the waiting list is so long at Pak Chong because the price is good? There's always someone with stock selling at a premium, or is it that they do varieties no one else does?

 

 

[soidog2]

Grafting can only be done a couple of times a year, demand heavily outstrips supply. A bearing tree can only supply a limited number of scions.

Unless you plan on buying hundreds of trees, the price should not be relevant. For cutting-edge new brands, be prepared to pay around 500 baht per.

Peterson, Booth 7/8 will sell for about 250 baht in a reasonable size. Small grafts are available cheaper

 

If you are serious, decide carefully, you will be making a multi-year investment, you do not want to find out you're growing useless greenery.