Calcium

[drtreelove]

I hope you can read my scan of this great article. If not I'll try to get a PDF.

[turnpike]

just wondering where to purchase calcium. i just need some for my tomatoes, prevents bloosom end rot. might toss some on my trees, too.

dr., while i might have your ear. any good sites that show how to prune fruit trees, particularly mango? try and keep it simple, i'm a bit thick.....

thnx in advance.

[krauti]

just wondering where to purchase calcium. i just need some for my tomatoes, prevents bloosom end rot. might toss some on my trees, too.

dr., while i might have your ear. any good sites that show how to prune fruit trees, particularly mango? try and keep it simple, i'm a bit thick.....

thnx in advance.

hi there,

we sell a brandnew calcium product as foliar fertilizer in Thailand called SUERGREEN. I am sending more information attached. Tests show, that SUPERGREEN increase the yield significantly as well as strengthen the immun system of plants. Feel free to contact us: [email protected]

Best regards

Werner Kraeutler

Megagrow Co. Ltd., Nonthaburi

[KarenBravo]

just wondering where to purchase calcium. i just need some for my tomatoes, prevents bloosom end rot. might toss some on my trees, too.

dr., while i might have your ear. any good sites that show how to prune fruit trees, particularly mango? try and keep it simple, i'm a bit thick.....

thnx in advance.

Crushed egg shells has been used for centuries in England for roses.

[WatersEdge]

I buy Crusher Fines from the Aggregate Quarry Crushing Plant.

Thai name is Hin Fun, Stone Tiny

B3.000 for a 15,000 kg, 10 m3, ten wheel truck load

B0.20 / kg for Limestone CaCO3

Ca 40% by weight

This is fresh off the crusher, no further refinement,

dust, sand, chips, not uniformly ground fine,

so it is not as fast acting as finely ground dust would be.

But for the price, I don't care that a chip will remain in the soil ten years or 100

Applying the idea to other locations,

It is assumed that the crushed rock raw material is limestone.

Not just any Hin Fun Stone Tiny will serve the purpose.

My local quarry also has perhaps 10% Anhydrite Gypsum, CaSO4

so I get a bit of Sulfur with Calcium as well

Limestone typically has a variable percentage of Magnesium MgCO3 as well

=> Dolomite is a curious mixture CaMg(CO3)2

Calcium and Magnesium are very similar in their chemical characteristics,

and are both a beneficial second tier nutrient.

In few cases is a Limestone deposit pure CaCO3

Limestone CaCO3 dissolves in water to pH 8.3.

while you want to only bring soil up to 6.5 to 7.0

so it is possible to increase pH more than desired.

It works great for gently raising the pH of fish pond water.

I had a pond acidic so that algae would not grow.

While it was very clear and pretty with a few pond weeds,

it wasn't a good situation for fish.

Dumped 50 buckets of CaCO3 in it, and after a few weeks to steadily dissolve

the entire plant life situation of the pond brightened up.

Note that if you are pumping from a pond,

you can dump the limestone into the water,

so that all the water you pump from that pond has a healthy amount of calcium dissolved.

I had another pond where fish refused to grow even though they ate heartily

Finally figured out that it was Calcium deficiency.

The ground that pond is excavated into is Bentonite clay mixed with Oil Shale

Dumped several hundred pails Limestone in, and all was well,

except that the fish were already skeletally stunted.

I had made the problem even worse by feeding the fish high Phosphorous rice bran.

Not today's topic.

I lost a whole crop of Daikon Radish by putting on too much.

A field that had grown nicely the crop before went into stall no growth mode just a few months later.

I was mistakenly under the notion that it was pH neutral.

It is gentle, not neutral.

Daikon will not grow in pH 8.3

Good news is that grasses like a higher pH, so now those idle fields are full of cow feed.

It enters the root zone only as water carries it down,

so if you want results in terms of weeks rather than years

you must plow it down into the soil.

[ableguy]

just wondering where to purchase calcium. i just need some for my tomatoes, prevents bloosom end rot. might toss some on my trees, too.

dr., while i might have your ear. any good sites that show how to prune fruit trees, particularly mango? try and keep it simple, i'm a bit thick.....

thnx in advance.

Crushed egg shells has been used for centuries in England for roses.

Also any crustation shell crushed, clams etc.

[drtreelove]

just wondering where to purchase calcium. i just need some for my tomatoes, prevents bloosom end rot. might toss some on my trees, too.

dr., while i might have your ear. any good sites that show how to prune fruit trees, particularly mango? try and keep it simple, i'm a bit thick.....

thnx in advance.

WE's suggestion is great if you have a similar source. But ag lime, oyster shell lime and dolomite are common in Thai farm supply, chemical fertilizer stores. In Chiang Mai the biggest supplier is Lemasakul Chemsakate Co (spelling?) on Charoen Muang Rd. near Bumrungrat Rd (a few doors west from Krung Thai Bank. Khun Vipaporn is the nice lady and knowledgeable English speaking owner. Don't use dolomite unless you are sure (from a soil test) that your soil is not high in Magnesium. A high Mg to Ca % will make the soil tight and not drain well. See Michael Astera's ebook 'The Ideal Soil' www.soilminerals.com

As far as tropical fruit tree pruning, I don't know of a website. But one of these days I'll get around to finishing putting my basic pruning class into an ebook format. Until then, if you have the resources and inclination, you might search the web or purchase An Illustrated Guide to Pruning by Dr Ed Gilman of U Florida. This book is the standard for International Society of Arboriculture www.isa-arbor.com which has other publications available like Best Management Practices and ANSI standards. The best guide for the inexperienced is not to cut anything that you are not sure of what you are doing. Radical heading (topping) is detrimental, although widely practiced. Best to clean and thin and only moderate heading cuts. 'Clean' is removing dead, broken and crossing brances, thinning is dropping down to remove an entire branch to the parent branch or to a suitable lateral. Don't take out more than 25% in one year. Hard to explain without illustrations, demo and practice.

Edited June 7, 2011 by drtreelove

[turnpike]

just wondering where to purchase calcium. i just need some for my tomatoes, prevents bloosom end rot. might toss some on my trees, too.

dr., while i might have your ear. any good sites that show how to prune fruit trees, particularly mango? try and keep it simple, i'm a bit thick.....

thnx in advance.

WE's suggestion is great if you have a similar source. But ag lime, oyster shell lime and dolomite are common in Thai farm supply, chemical fertilizer stores. In Chiang Mai the biggest supplier is Lemasakul Chemsakate Co (spelling?) on Charoen Muang Rd. near Bumrungrat Rd (a few doors west from Krung Thai Bank. Khun Vipaporn is the nice lady and knowledgeable English speaking owner. Don't use dolomite unless you are sure (from a soil test) that your soil is not high in Magnesium. A high Mg to Ca % will make the soil tight and not drain well. See Michael Astera's ebook 'The Ideal Soil' www.soilminerals.com

As far as tropical fruit tree pruning, I don't know of a website. But one of these days I'll get around to finishing putting my basic pruning class into an ebook format. Until then, if you have the resources and inclination, you might search the web or purchase An Illustrated Guide to Pruning by Dr Ed Gilman of U Florida. This book is the standard for International Society of Arboriculture www.isa-arbor.com which has other publications available like Best Management Practices and ANSI standards. The best guide for the inexperienced is not to cut anything that you are not sure of what you are doing. Radical heading (topping) is detrimental, although widely practiced. Best to clean and thin and only moderate heading cuts. 'Clean' is removing dead, broken and crossing brances, thinning is dropping down to remove an entire branch to the parent branch or to a suitable lateral. Don't take out more than 25% in one year. Hard to explain without illustrations, demo and practice.

thanks, doc.

[turnpike]

don't suppose you make housecalls, doc?

[drtreelove]

don't suppose you make housecalls, doc?

Well, there's a bumper sticker that I used to have on my pickup: "Tree Doctors Still Make House Calls".

But I'm back in California. I have been able to offer some tips on tree maintenance, pruning, risk assessment etc through email descriptions and photos; Don't count on me for Thai tree ID. For that go to the Plants, Pets and Vets forum. username at gmail.

[soidog2]

just wondering where to purchase calcium. i just need some for my tomatoes, prevents bloosom end rot. might toss some on my trees, too.

dr., while i might have your ear. any good sites that show how to prune fruit trees, particularly mango? try and keep it simple, i'm a bit thick.....

thnx in advance.

Calcium/Boron sprays in various concentrations are available at just about any serious fertilizer store.

I use them for flowering fruit trees with good results, especially mangoes.

For mango pruning read attached,

Most other, work on similar principles for easy management and good yields.

Insure proper sunlight inside the canopy (by removing excessive growth), trim all branches where fruit will hang close to the ground, don't let the tree get too tall, remove previous fruiting growth ( after the harvest let the tree rest, than prepare for the next season.)

regards

Mango pruning.pdf

[turnpike]

thanks for that soidog.

[Foreverford]

Hey dogger of the lane

Great attachment and very informative. No wonder your "personal" orrchard look so symmetrical. It got me stimulated to want to get the chain saw out and go after a monster we have at the house that should get everybody freaked out pretty good. I dropped a 40cm diameter branch going right through the center of it last year and everybody just sat gaping. of course all the bleeding, and oozing and infestation disappeared as it could start to breath (couldn't get nybody to go up and fine tune the center to get rid off all the other cross branching and muddle in the middle and got a good rash since I'm allergic to the buggers. Yep same toxin in poison oak as in mangoes especially in the skin) Amazingly, to them, we got a great crop of mangoes this year.

People used to say that you want to prune a tree so it appears to look like a nice big wine glass. I think that is what you and Doc are talking about. Don't let any branches cross thru the center of your glass. Keep all branches moving outward and upwards and make sure that the center of the tree is open with no growth on the inside so the air can move through to prevent disease and infestation.

That was a great attachment Doc don't you think? I also here they are going to close down San Quentin (I was supposed to go there, well just to play football but they offed somebody just before and so the 70's started without me in the pen. Now I've got a story abou....... nah not this time) so I would think that if they do it soon there could be some great business opportunities there for massive landscape projects can we somehow get them to try to do entirely organically?? Finding Foliar Fitness on a Ford Forever

just wondering where to purchase calcium. i just need some for my tomatoes, prevents bloosom end rot. might toss some on my trees, too.

dr., while i might have your ear. any good sites that show how to prune fruit trees, particularly mango? try and keep it simple, i'm a bit thick.....

thnx in advance.

Calcium/Boron sprays in various concentrations are available at just about any serious fertilizer store.

I use them for flowering fruit trees with good results, especially mangoes.

For mango pruning read attached,

Most other, work on similar principles for easy management and good yields.

Insure proper sunlight inside the canopy (by removing excessive growth), trim all branches where fruit will hang close to the ground, don't let the tree get too tall, remove previous fruiting growth ( after the harvest let the tree rest, than prepare for the next season.)

regards

[soidog2]

Hey dogger of the lane

Great attachment and very informative. No wonder your "personal" orrchard look so symmetrical. It got me stimulated to want to get the chain saw out and go after a monster we have at the house that should get everybody freaked out pretty good. I dropped a 40cm diameter branch going right through the center of it last year and everybody just sat gaping. of course all the bleeding, and oozing and infestation disappeared as it could start to breath (couldn't get nybody to go up and fine tune the center to get rid off all the other cross branching and muddle in the middle and got a good rash since I'm allergic to the buggers. Yep same toxin in poison oak as in mangoes especially in the skin) Amazingly, to them, we got a great crop of mangoes this year.

People used to say that you want to prune a tree so it appears to look like a nice big wine glass. I think that is what you and Doc are talking about. Don't let any branches cross thru the center of your glass. Keep all branches moving outward and upwards and make sure that the center of the tree is open with no growth on the inside so the air can move through to prevent disease and infestation.

That was a great attachment Doc don't you think? I also here they are going to close down San Quentin (I was supposed to go there, well just to play football but they offed somebody just before and so the 70's started without me in the pen. Now I've got a story abou....... nah not this time) so I would think that if they do it soon there could be some great business opportunities there for massive landscape projects can we somehow get them to try to do entirely organically?? Finding Foliar Fitness on a Ford Forever

just wondering where to purchase calcium. i just need some for my tomatoes, prevents bloosom end rot. might toss some on my trees, too.

dr., while i might have your ear. any good sites that show how to prune fruit trees, particularly mango? try and keep it simple, i'm a bit thick.....

thnx in advance.

Calcium/Boron sprays in various concentrations are available at just about any serious fertilizer store.

I use them for flowering fruit trees with good results, especially mangoes.

For mango pruning read attached,

Most other, work on similar principles for easy management and good yields.

Insure proper sunlight inside the canopy (by removing excessive growth), trim all branches where fruit will hang close to the ground, don't let the tree get too tall, remove previous fruiting growth ( after the harvest let the tree rest, than prepare for the next season.)

regards

If you want to get technical.... what you need in a properly pruned tree; to fruit in a shape of an open umbrella.(upside down wine glass)

Keep the top of the canopy & most inside, not cluttered and not too many fruiting branches.

As the fruit matures, the tree keeps growing and it will cover most inside fruit.

At maturity, it will become difficult to pick with a lot of waste.

Fruit flies and other bugs go for the sheltered fruit first.

In the rainy season, a cluttered canopy is a breeding ground for fungus and other diseases.

Where I am, the "ALB"(Asian long horned beetle) is a major destroyer of mango trees. Too much foliage, by the time you notice the signs it will be too late.

And so on, don't want to bore anybody !!!

[drtreelove]

FF, since you ask: I think the article that SD2 has kindly offered has some good points. And the Dog has obviously put some major thought and care into his plants and property and I value his observations. I just think the mango pruning paper is very over-intellectualized and more technical than it needs to be for the everyday guy like you and me. But that's the nature of scientist-speak. (No I'm not a PhD, far from it, just an old tree doctor with a nickname from friends) I don't say it's wrong, but I'm sure that many people who read it will have a hard time going out into the field and putting it into practice. Some will love to dig in and try to understand, because they love that technical stuff. I couldn't even read the whole thing. But then I've been practicing and teaching pruning for a long time and have developed a simplified approach.

As a climber, and owner of long handled pruning and harvesting tools, I will never agree that it is necessary to head back a tree heavily in order to make the fruit more accessible, and I believe that crown reduction is best achieved by "drop crotching" (thinning cuts that take out the tallest leaders back into the crown, leaving the shorter ones) rather than heading. But then I'm not a commercial grower looking at only the product; and I understand that sometimes the economics and practical issues of production agriculture prevail. I work mostly with landscape fruit trees and small home orchards and I value the natural form and beauty of trees along with the productivity, and I believe you can have both.

I don't have the final word and I don't want to hog the open discussion on pruning. But I do have more practical experience than most and I am happy to share my experience, for what it's worth. There have been several discussions on this subject so maybe it's time to have a thread on pruning of it's own, it's such an important aspect of PHC (plant health care), home garden, landscape and orchard maintenance. I don't have lot of time because I'm back in the US and bustin butt trying to meet the high cost of living. But I'll start a new thread in continuation of this discussion and contribute as time permits. Please help with your input and to find and consolodate previous discussions. don