How long to grow "fruit trees" in Thailand

[kungpao]

Wondering how long it takes to grow Mango and banana trees in Thailand or other trees to grow fruit?

My wife and I plan to build a house near Chaiyaphum on land she had and there are mango and banana trees and a pond/lake, but we'd like to be somewhat self-sustaining. If we have enough fruit and veggies, we'll be fine, we hope.

Do mango and banana frees grow pretty fast there? Do we need to buy trees that are already to a certain height?

We will be visiting next week. We've seen houses in Chaiyaphum wiht fruit trees, but prices seem high (4 million baht). If she has land (yes, I will ask her to give 30 year lease...we know about that)...we just grow there.

Thanks,

Patrick

[kungpao]

We love gardens and land and trees. 1/2 Rai fine. We have a garden here in USA and lots of fruit trees and we love it. It is much to our enjoyment to have a house with "farm" so to speak. We live simple.

[Crossy]

Bananas grow like weeds, you'll be giving them away.

Mangos grow quickly too, we have had trees from the plant-man that were already fruiting in their pots. These were small trees only a metre or so high, Wifey doesn't go for expensive mature trees.

Put in some jack fruit, star fruit etc for some variety, they fruit quickly too.

We have a bit more space (1.5 Rai), fruit trees scattered at random (it's a garden not a farm). More fruit than we can eat at times, other times nothing is in fruit so the market gets a visit.

Get some chickens (decent ones not the Thai 'gai baan') for fresh eggs and maybe some geese. Geese will trim the grass and make a good intruder alarm, they lay delicious eggs too. If you also have a few Guinea Fowl you'll never see a creepy crawly again

Got a lake? Stock it with edible fish (pla nin [tilapia]), taste pretty good and grow fast.

[kungpao]

Bananas grow like weeds, you'll be giving them away.

Mangos grow quickly too, we have had trees from the plant-man that were already fruiting in their pots. These were small trees only a metre or so high, Wifey doesn't go for expensive mature trees.

Put in some jack fruit, star fruit etc for some variety, they fruit quickly too.

We have a bit more space (1.5 Rai), fruit trees scattered at random (it's a garden not a farm). More fruit than we can eat at times, other times nothing is in fruit so the market gets a visit.

Get some chickens (decent ones not the Thai 'gai baan') for fresh eggs and maybe some geese. Geese will trim the grass and make a good intruder alarm, they lay delicious eggs too. If you also have a few Guinea Fowl you'll never see a creepy crawly again

Got a lake? Stock it with edible fish (pla nin [tilapia]), taste pretty good and grow fast.

Cool. Yes, our house has a "lake/large pond". We are looking at that, too. As long as it is not too complicated and involves engineering too much. LOL.

They already have chickens and pigs and cows. We like garden, don't need, as you say, farm.

Thanks! We will be there next week to survey. If we can quit the rat race in America, we will ASAP.

[redandyellow]

Mangoes take about 5 years for fruit - except the one where we buried the dog beside it; it took only four to bear fruit.

We call them golden mangoes, because the dog's name was Tong (gold - or pregnant)

Got run over by a car on Phuket, a big, toothless, harmless Boxer that still scared locals up to the last day..

used to lay by the swimming pool - legs akimbo

good dog that one, still bears fruit

[pigeonjake]

wrong,,,,

we put mango,s in this year and they had friut the first year, only one or 2,

the same with pomigranet first year fruit,,

[Crossy]

wrong,,,,

we put mango,s in this year and they had friut the first year, only one or 2,

the same with pomigranet first year fruit,,

Agree, none of our trees have been in more than 3 years (nursery bought trees, planted post-flood), all are fruiting, one is too high to reach even with the mango-picker.

[delgarcon]

Papayas grow extremely fast and provide an abundance of fruit within a year

[parafareno]

that is my dream, being self sustainable have bunch of trees on my property, but first I need a house lol...

I am a predominatly fruit eater with some cooked rice and veggies, and mango is my favourite fruit in the whole world

so you are saying banana grow in abundance, what about mango?

How many trees would you need to grow mangos all year, or are there only in season?

I usually eat like 5 big mangoes per day....

[kungpao]

This is very good to know. Of course, one could google it, but it's good to hear from people in Thailand share. And nice to learn about the different birds used for trimming the grass and keeping the creepy crawlies out!

Very good that stuff grows fast - for cover in case you buy a house and there's not much foliage.

[rapom]

Papayas grow extremely fast and provide an abundance of fruit within a year

In early March, I transplanted a Papaya tree that was about 2-1/2 feet tall and about 1 inch in diameter. Watered it every day and liquid fertilizer, once a week for first month. Went back to the states in early April. Told wife to water at least once a week, if it does not rain. Came back July 18 and tree is at least 8 feet tall and over 3 inches in diameter. Has about a dozen fruit and more flowers. We have 4 Mango's, which had their fruit ripe, in late April and May.

[parafareno]

so I was right, mango is in season only few months? But how thy sell it all year long in markets etc?? Do they refrigirate it?

[khwaibah]

so I was right, mango is in season only few months? But how thy sell it all year long in markets etc?? Do they refrigirate it?

These mango trees were planted 8 years ago. Yes they did have fruit the first year. April this year they started to produce the first time for the year they are still producing as I post.

And some Spanish lemons.

Edited August 4, 2015 by khwaibah

[Stevemercer]

Mangoes fruit January - June, depending upon the variety. There are many varieties available at nurseries. Your wife will want to buy the cheapest at about 30 Baht, but it is worth spending a few hundred Baht to get a better quality tree. You can expect a few fruit within a year and a bumper harvest within a few years.

Think about installing an irrigation system if you are newly planting fruit trees. It is pretty dry November - June and you will need to water new trees especially if you are planting on soil fill. You'll also need to get some spraying gear to keep down the insects in the first few years. After two or three years the roots should be deep enough, and the foliage expansive enough, to be self-sufficient.

I've put in about 200 saplings over our 4 rai. Mangoes are the hardiest and easiest to grow. Other species of fruit trees, especially guavas, can get stripped overnight by insects. Even new growth on the mangoes can sometimes get taken out.

Edited August 4, 2015 by Stevemercer

[parafareno]

beautiful pictures, I lived in brazil in a house that had two mangoes with like 300 mangoes on each or more.

But the bigger mangoes were all rotten and wormy...so do you spray them or you use a special kind of mango?

I mean thai mangos are the best in the world, I just wonder how you protect them against worms etc.

[maderaroja]

You may be disappointed when I tell you that bananas do not grow on trees. So, each banana plant will have only one stalk of bananas, but may have from 6 to 12 "hands" on that one stalk. Bananas are a large tropical flower that blooms once and then dies.

All bananas are female and the seed pods are the fruit that you eat; they do not contain mature seeds because there are no male plants.

The banana plants reproduce by root shoots. These must be removed from the mother plant when they are about 1 meter in height. The shoots can be planted about 2 meters apart to grow into new banana plants.

It may take about 6 months of growing from a new shoot for a banana plant to produce a flower, depending on the type.

Once the banana plant has begun to produce a flower, it will take about one month for the flower to fully ripen and the seed pods to begin to grow. The seed pods (bananas) can take from 2 months to 6 months to fully ripen. It depends on sun, rain, water, drainage, soil nutrition and the individual type of banana plant.

Once your plant has produced a flower and the bananas are ready to pick, cut the plant down at the base and lay it among the other banana plants to provide nutrition to the soil.

Bananas prefer a lot of water, but do not like to stand in water. They must have excellent drainage. Banana plants will drown and die if they are left sitting in water for more than one week.

My bananas seem to grow more quickly during the rainy season, regardless of the fact that I give them the same amount of water during the other times of the year.

There are many delicious varieties different colors and flavors here in Thailand. You should taste each to find your favorite flavor. If you have a neighbor with the type that you like and they may give you the young shoots for free.

[khwaibah]

beautiful pictures, I lived in brazil in a house that had two mangoes with like 300 mangoes on each or more.

But the bigger mangoes were all rotten and wormy...so do you spray them or you use a special kind of mango?

I mean thai mangos are the best in the world, I just wonder how you protect them against worms etc.

If your asking about the photos I posted everything that the wife grows is done organic and thats everything. The mangos are your normal Thai mangos except for 1 R2D2 which is about 6 years old which is her pride and joy and she is grafting 6 more from the orginal. And the Spanish lemon started as 1 8 years ago and has ben frafted into 10 more trees and they all produce.

[parafareno]

I always thought banana is a tree, maybe thai banana is different than other banana trees?

What about coconut? You did not plant those?

What you do with the fruit, do you eat it or sell it?

What about pineapple?

[maderaroja]

I always thought banana is a tree, maybe thai banana is different than other banana trees?

What about coconut? You did not plant those?

What you do with the fruit, do you eat it or sell it?

What about pineapple?

Sorry, bananas everywhere in the world are not trees. They are tropical flowers, as I previously described. You will get only one crop per plant, but you will get many daughter plants.

A fruit tree will produce fruit year after year.

I eat some of the bananas and gift some to my friends. I have so many daughter shoots that I cannot use them all. They become fertilizer for the remaining plants.

[sammygood]

next you will be building a fence around them, to keep the thieves out

[Stevemercer]

I think growing coconuts is on the wish list for us ferangs from temperate climates. and with enough land in Thailand. You can buy 1 - 2 metre saplings for 30 Baht from any nursery, but they are not so easy to grow into a fruiting trees. Plus it takes 8 years or more on average soils. They do best in sandy soils, well drained, but with plenty of water and fertilizer. You can buy a mature fruiting tree for about 2000 Bahts (including planting and replacement if it dies). But they will inevitably die if the conditions are not right and the original vendor will disappear. Pay about 4000 Baht from a reputable nursery might be the best bet.

My Thai wife refused to let me spend that much money and I'm stuck with the 30 Baht trees. I doubt I'll live long enough to see them produce coconuts.

[khwaibah]

I always thought banana is a tree, maybe thai banana is different than other banana trees?

What about coconut? You did not plant those?

What you do with the fruit, do you eat it or sell it?

What about pineapple?

Sorry, bananas everywhere in the world are not trees. They are tropical flowers, as I previously described. You will get only one crop per plant, but you will get many daughter plants.

A fruit tree will produce fruit year after year.

I eat some of the bananas and gift some to my friends. I have so many daughter shoots that I cannot use them all. They become fertilizer for the remaining plants.

Did you say pineapples? Have 500 of those growing also. Planted about 4 months back, takes about 18 months to mature and yes they are also growing organic.

[MaeJoMTB]

Mango tree, 2 years, nothing yet (from 2 year saplings)

Bananas, 2 years, second crop nearly finished.

Papaya, producing after 6-8 months.

[parafareno]

where do you live and how much did you pay for the land and house if I may ask?

[maderaroja]

where do you live and how much did you pay for the land and house if I may ask?

To whom are you speaking?

[parafareno]

kwaibah, he showed the pictures

[uptoyoumyfriend]

there are also dwarf/semi dwarf varieties in the mango and especially the coconut .think about how tall the coconut palms are and that they will fall down and possibly kill you.the shorter varieties are just two three meters high and you can pick the fruit easily.the garden guy from the sunday bkk post always raves about kasert fair where you can get even figues and such.

lychees are nice too.

[parafareno]

do you guys grow strawberrise too if living in CM?

I think I would miss those.......

[Guest]

what about orange trees does anyone have any experience growing oranges?? appreciate any tips

[maderaroja]

I have many strawberries.My wife is nuts about them. In my opinion, you cannot have too many.