Chiang Rai Plants And Nurseries

[pomchop]

One thing i love about Chiang Rai is all the plant nurseries and the chance to buy a wide variety of plants for my yard.

I have had good success with hibiscus, bougainvillea, coleus, pomegrante, croteus, bananas, pappayas, boysun, coffee, pineapple, plumeria, avacado, apple, bamboo, mangoes, and some orchids. I have had no luck with lemon/lime/orange trees which just don't seem to want to grow for me. Not sure what I am doing wrong with these?

I buy most of my plants from the nurseries near the military base and have generally found the Thai ladies there to be helpful, friendly, honest, and fun to banter with. And there are a few of them that are also kinda cute which doesn't hurt.

I have also been to the nurseries out on the airport/mae sai highway on the left returning to town before the bridge.

What other good nurseries has anyone had good experiences with?

Any suggestions for more flowering plants or fruiting trees that grow well in CR?

Edited July 6, 2011 by pomchop

[cmjantje]

We have a lot of lime trees. We have to extract the juice now because we have far too many froots.

We buy our fruittrees on the road from Wiench Chai to the highway. hard to explain... about 1 km before the traffic lights on your left. Very small, you really have to look for it. We bought about 30 different kind of fruittrees there.

How are your apples? And you advocado's? Where did you buy them?

[pomchop]

We have a lot of lime trees. We have to extract the juice now because we have far too many froots.

We buy our fruittrees on the road from Wiench Chai to the highway. hard to explain... about 1 km before the traffic lights on your left. Very small, you really have to look for it. We bought about 30 different kind of fruittrees there.

How are your apples? And you advocado's? Where did you buy them?

I bought the avacado trees at the CR Flower Festival. My first Avacado tree grew from about 3 ft to about 12 feet in one rainy season...amazing. So I bought some more and they are also growing like crazy. With Avacados you need to make sure as you can that you buy grafted ones and not grow from seeds. Also the nursery lady told me that you have to have more than one avacado tree for polination (at least i think that is what she said) Apparently avacados grown from seeds take a lot longer to fruit than from graft. I don't have fruit yet but sure looks like something could happen in another year or so. Very pretty trees with nice leaves.

Is that the nursery near the entrance to Muang Chiang Rai high school over fairly near the intersection with super highway?

I have had several orange trees and lime trees and can't get any of them to do much of anything. Yet when you come down the river from Tha Ton to CR there are hillsides covered with the small orange/tangerine trees so not sure why they don't like my yard.

I have two different kind of apple trees that i also bought at flower festival. One they call something like appon champoon? They are about two years old and are now about 8 ft tall but still no fruit..but they sure look healthy so am hoping for apples soon. I also have a Thai plum tree that seems happy but no fruit yet. As for pappayas I have more pappayas than peter piper has pickeled peppers.

[cmjantje]

We have a lot of lime trees. We have to extract the juice now because we have far too many froots.

We buy our fruittrees on the road from Wiench Chai to the highway. hard to explain... about 1 km before the traffic lights on your left. Very small, you really have to look for it. We bought about 30 different kind of fruittrees there.

How are your apples? And you advocado's? Where did you buy them?

I bought the avacado trees at the CR Flower Festival. My first Avacado tree grew from about 3 ft to about 12 feet in one rainy season...amazing. So I bought some more and they are also growing like crazy. With Avacados you need to make sure as you can that you buy grafted ones and not grow from seeds. Also the nursery lady told me that you have to have more than one avacado tree for polination (at least i think that is what she said) Apparently avacados grown from seeds take a lot longer to fruit than from graft. I don't have fruit yet but sure looks like something could happen in another year or so. Very pretty trees with nice leaves.

Is that the nursery near the entrance to Muang Chiang Rai high school over fairly near the intersection with super highway?

I have had several orange trees and lime trees and can't get any of them to do much of anything. Yet when you come down the river from Tha Ton to CR there are hillsides covered with the small orange/tangerine trees so not sure why they don't like my yard.

I have two different kind of apple trees that i also bought at flower festival. One they call something like appon champoon? They are about two years old and are now about 8 ft tall but still no fruit..but they sure look healthy so am hoping for apples soon. I also have a Thai plum tree that seems happy but no fruit yet. As for pappayas I have more pappayas than peter piper has pickeled peppers.

From the highway turn left to Wiengchai (opposite USUZU). Drive untill you see at your left a small TOTAL sign. It is opposite that sign. We have around 30 different fruit trees now, all growing well.

My wife told me that orang trees need a lot of pesticides and fertilizer if you want the real fruit. Otherwise the fruit keeps small and taste like lemon. Her mother had some.

Any I dea when the next flower festival is?

[pomchop]

We have a lot of lime trees. We have to extract the juice now because we have far too many froots.

We buy our fruittrees on the road from Wiench Chai to the highway. hard to explain... about 1 km before the traffic lights on your left. Very small, you really have to look for it. We bought about 30 different kind of fruittrees there.

How are your apples? And you advocado's? Where did you buy them?

I bought the avacado trees at the CR Flower Festival. My first Avacado tree grew from about 3 ft to about 12 feet in one rainy season...amazing. So I bought some more and they are also growing like crazy. With Avacados you need to make sure as you can that you buy grafted ones and not grow from seeds. Also the nursery lady told me that you have to have more than one avacado tree for polination (at least i think that is what she said) Apparently avacados grown from seeds take a lot longer to fruit than from graft. I don't have fruit yet but sure looks like something could happen in another year or so. Very pretty trees with nice leaves.

Is that the nursery near the entrance to Muang Chiang Rai high school over fairly near the intersection with super highway?

I have had several orange trees and lime trees and can't get any of them to do much of anything. Yet when you come down the river from Tha Ton to CR there are hillsides covered with the small orange/tangerine trees so not sure why they don't like my yard.

I have two different kind of apple trees that i also bought at flower festival. One they call something like appon champoon? They are about two years old and are now about 8 ft tall but still no fruit..but they sure look healthy so am hoping for apples soon. I also have a Thai plum tree that seems happy but no fruit yet. As for pappayas I have more pappayas than peter piper has pickeled peppers.

From the highway turn left to Wiengchai (opposite USUZU). Drive untill you see at your left a small TOTAL sign. It is opposite that sign. We have around 30 different fruit trees now, all growing well.

My wife told me that orang trees need a lot of pesticides and fertilizer if you want the real fruit. Otherwise the fruit keeps small and taste like lemon. Her mother had some.

Any I dea when the next flower festival is?

As far as I know the Flower Festival is always around Dec 26 til about Jan 3 or so. They usually have a bunch of stalls selling a good selection of plants there. Thanks for directions to the nursery. I'll check it out.

[sceadugenga]

We have a lot of lime trees. We have to extract the juice now because we have far too many froots.

We buy our fruittrees on the road from Wiench Chai to the highway. hard to explain... about 1 km before the traffic lights on your left. Very small, you really have to look for it. We bought about 30 different kind of fruittrees there.

How are your apples? And you advocado's? Where did you buy them?

I bought the avacado trees at the CR Flower Festival. My first Avacado tree grew from about 3 ft to about 12 feet in one rainy season...amazing. So I bought some more and they are also growing like crazy. With Avacados you need to make sure as you can that you buy grafted ones and not grow from seeds. Also the nursery lady told me that you have to have more than one avacado tree for polination (at least i think that is what she said) Apparently avacados grown from seeds take a lot longer to fruit than from graft. I don't have fruit yet but sure looks like something could happen in another year or so. Very pretty trees with nice leaves.

Is that the nursery near the entrance to Muang Chiang Rai high school over fairly near the intersection with super highway?

I have had several orange trees and lime trees and can't get any of them to do much of anything. Yet when you come down the river from Tha Ton to CR there are hillsides covered with the small orange/tangerine trees so not sure why they don't like my yard.

I have two different kind of apple trees that i also bought at flower festival. One they call something like appon champoon? They are about two years old and are now about 8 ft tall but still no fruit..but they sure look healthy so am hoping for apples soon. I also have a Thai plum tree that seems happy but no fruit yet. As for pappayas I have more pappayas than peter piper has pickeled peppers.

From the highway turn left to Wiengchai (opposite USUZU). Drive untill you see at your left a small TOTAL sign. It is opposite that sign. We have around 30 different fruit trees now, all growing well.

My wife told me that orang trees need a lot of pesticides and fertilizer if you want the real fruit. Otherwise the fruit keeps small and taste like lemon. Her mother had some.

Any I dea when the next flower festival is?

I'm not a big fan of pesticides and doubt that they would improve fruit flavour. In Australia commercial citrus growers only use white oil spray. Not sure what it would be called here but it is low toxicity.

The best fertiliser, which would improve flavour, is something high in Potassium. I found composted chicken manure the best of the organic fertilisers.

[kandahar]

Where to find chicken manure in the CR area? I don't know where any chicken farms are. But starting to build our own composting pits now. We generate a LOT of greenery that should be put to use.

We use cow manure right now but it is loaded with weed seeds.

Edited July 8, 2011 by kandahar

[sceadugenga]

I suspect it could be bought commercially in pellet form.

Not sure what it would be called... kee gai???

There's a few articles on fertilizing around on the 'net... eg

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting-basics/chicken-manure-fertilizer.htm

If I became a serious gardener again I'd buy a mulcher or shredder. As well as chopping up your garden waste to facilitate composting they can also turn small branches into wood chip for mulching around trees etc to keep weeds down.

[pomchop]

Where to find chicken manure in the CR area? I don't know where any chicken farms are. But starting to build our own composting pits now. We generate a LOT of greenery that should be put to use.

We use cow manure right now but it is loaded with weed seeds.

I have travelled around Thailad a lot over the years but frankly i cannot recall ever seeing a single large chicken farm...obviously there must be a lot of them somewhere but they sure seem to be well hidden from view or maybe they just don't look the same as the ones back in usa.

I used to get cow manure from a thai lady and they would "cook" it to kill the weed seeds off...but then she moved and haven't found a new source like that.

Pig poo would also be a good but smelly fertilizer but i also don't see that for sale anywhere in CR.

[sceadugenga]

POULTRY IN THAILAND

The poultry industry of Thailand comprises broilers, laying hens, ducks and geese. Since 1982, the broiler industry has expanded rapidly because of the major increase in the number of commercial farms. As in the swine industry, the central plains are the main area for broiler production, with more than 35 percent of all broilers being raised here. The largest chicken-raising provinces in this region are Chacheongsao, Nakhon, Pathon, Suphanburi and Ratchaburi (OAE, 1993). Poapongsakorn (1985) has classified Thai chicken farms into three types: i) backyard growers; ii) independent commercial farms; and iii) contract farms.

Cut and paste... http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/frg/feedback/war/W6437t/w6437t02.htm

[pomchop]

POULTRY IN THAILAND

The poultry industry of Thailand comprises broilers, laying hens, ducks and geese. Since 1982, the broiler industry has expanded rapidly because of the major increase in the number of commercial farms. As in the swine industry, the central plains are the main area for broiler production, with more than 35 percent of all broilers being raised here. The largest chicken-raising provinces in this region are Chacheongsao, Nakhon, Pathon, Suphanburi and Ratchaburi (OAE, 1993). Poapongsakorn (1985) has classified Thai chicken farms into three types: i) backyard growers; ii) independent commercial farms; and iii) contract farms.

Cut and paste... http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/frg/feedback/war/W6437t/w6437t02.htm

That is one hell of a report on pigs and poultry. I eat a lot of chicken and a lot of pork and overall have been pretty satisfied with both. I was in Chiang Saen recently and they were loading up the Chinese boats with box after box of chicken feet....wonder if the Thais won't/don't eat the feet so ship them off to china? Or maybe the Chinese grind them up into some kind of fertilizer. I have no idea.

[sceadugenga]

Chicken feet are aloy mak, when deep fried properly even the bones crisp up nicely and you only need to spit out the toenails.

That report appears to be over ten years old but indicates a thriving poultry industry even back then.

I knew they had one here because many widely reported shonkies were pulled when some producers were instructed to destroy their stock during the Bird Flu epidemic a few years back.

I eat mainly locally killed pork but buy my chicken in Big C. I worry a little about it's growth hormone content though. (I check my breasts for lumps regularly).

[kandahar]

Today, we went to our usual supplier of chicken eggs. I had the wife ask the lady seller where the chicken/egg farm is and if can we get chicken manure from that farm. The lady says the family chicken farm is over a fish farm pond and that all of the chicken droppings fall directly into the water as food for the fish.

Edited July 19, 2011 by kandahar

[pomchop]

Today, we went to our usual supplier of chicken eggs. I had the wife ask the lady seller where the chicken/egg farm is and if can we get chicken manure from that farm. The lady says the family chicken farm is over a fish farm pond and that all of the chicken droppings fall directly into the water as food for the fish.

Well that is interesting way to recycle..the next time i eat a fish that "taste like crap" now i know what happened.

[kandahar]

Today, we went to our usual supplier of chicken eggs. I had the wife ask the lady seller where the chicken/egg farm is and if can we get chicken manure from that farm. The lady says the family chicken farm is over a fish farm pond and that all of the chicken droppings fall directly into the water as food for the fish.

Well that is interesting way to recycle..the next time i eat a fish that "taste like crap" now i know what happened.

Yeah, now we're all eating TWO things that come from a chicken's butt. Really, we were pretty brave with the first one. I never thought I would see the day...

[kandahar]

Okay. So, according to a secret message that I have just received, the theory being floated on this one is, the high nitrogen content of the chicken manure helps maintain algae and moss growth in the ponds. The algae and moss is what the fish eat. But the fish report a funny taste in the moss.

Edited July 19, 2011 by kandahar

[ETC]

Just ran across this post and thought I would add my two cents. I know of two large chicken growing operations side by side in Ketchabun.

Where to find chicken manure in the CR area? I don't know where any chicken farms are. But starting to build our own composting pits now. We generate a LOT of greenery that should be put to use.

We use cow manure right now but it is loaded with weed seeds.

I have travelled around Thailad a lot over the years but frankly i cannot recall ever seeing a single large chicken farm...obviously there must be a lot of them somewhere but they sure seem to be well hidden from view or maybe they just don't look the same as the ones back in usa.

I used to get cow manure from a thai lady and they would "cook" it to kill the weed seeds off...but then she moved and haven't found a new source like that.

Pig poo would also be a good but smelly fertilizer but i also don't see that for sale anywhere in CR.