Coconuts

[canopy]

I wish to plant a 200 meter line of coconut trees spaced 20 meters apart in Phetchabun. The primary function is to serve as a land boundary perimeter, but also I would like to select a variety of coconut good for drinking. Is there a type best used for this or will just any old type do? Is there a good time to plant or other tips for helping them get going?

[soidog2]

I wish to plant a 200 meter line of coconut trees spaced 20 meters apart in Phetchabun. The primary function is to serve as a land boundary perimeter, but also I would like to select a variety of coconut good for drinking. Is there a type best used for this or will just any old type do? Is there a good time to plant or other tips for helping them get going?

You want “ma prah hom” , it’s the type you see sold in markets already shelled.

Rainy season would be the time to plant ( right now )

Best

[Pond Life]

Canopy,

My wife (from the south) is the Coconut expert in the family, but I'll pass on what she's told me.

As Soi Dog says, the ones best for drinking are Ma Prao Hom (Nam Hom).

These also have the advantage of being shorter & producing nuts earlier.

Normal Ma Prao are also ok for drinking to my taste.

You can put them as close together as 5m but more would be preferable.

They like water, best to plant at the start of rainy season

so they have established themselves before dry season.

Water them well during the dry season for the first couple of years.

If you have a cold season in your area this will slow down their growth greatly.

When planting, do not bury the nut, leave the top half (horizontal) above ground.

Ants like to eat the nut, so a sprinkling of some poisonous shit under it when planting is advised (by my wife).

Chok Dee

[Pond Life]

The Wife tells me the ant poison is <deleted> Ra Dan (Thai pronounciation).

[Lickey]

Furidan, quite effective on ants ect, pelletised small blue/purple colour,

Another way is you could try is grow the seeds at home, once they are establised, with foilage ect, plant out where you want,

I only plant garlic/oinion bulbs on the farm salad beds, if i put melon/cucumber ect seeds in, the ants have run off with these within 2 days,

Sometimes after nearly 3 years of battling with all different kinds of ants, im coming round to thinking that these little buggers keep off other natural worse predators, so i suppose im getting used to farming alongside the first ever farmers,They can be a real pest when fruit picking, but not life threatning,

Cheers Lickey..

[IsaanAussie]

Hi Guys,

I heard recently that a 1:1,000 EM solution sprayed around the beds will deter insects, wouldnt harm any of the plants either I suppose.

Isaanaussie

[Pond Life]

Lickey,

Yes, we plant pre-sprouted nuts only.

we buy the Nam Hom for about 20 B & sprout our own standard nuts in a damp shady corner.

But the ants still eat the nuts of the pre sprouted tree's.

They are small black ants.

I'd guess we still loose about 25% of seedlings for various reasons.

Our mango trees are alive with large red ants, I think they control other pests.