How long to grow "fruit trees" in Thailand

[Scuba 1st]

As a rule grafted fruit tree's fruit earlier than non grafted tree's plus you can be certain of fruit quality /type. Also new tree's if you can, dont let them fruit in the frirt two or three years, that way all the nutrients go to developing a strong root system, hense a better stronger tree.

[Scuba 1st]

Orange trees as with any citrus have their feeder roots close to the surface, so spray watering is better than drip or deep watering. Mulching is also very good for tree and soil and a must if you have long dry periods. Cool root zone= happy trees.

[maderaroja]

As a rule grafted fruit tree's fruit earlier than non grafted tree's plus you can be certain of fruit quality /type. Also new tree's if you can, dont let them fruit in the frirt two or three years, that way all the nutrients go to developing a strong root system, hense a better stronger tree.

Wise words. Patience is rewarded with fruitfulness.

[khwaibah]

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

To whom are you speaking?

Kap Choeng, Surin Provence. 6 km in a straight line to the Cambodian border but 15 km to the Chong Chom Border Crossing. The land you see is 8.2 rai. The house sets over a pond. The photo is taken from a sunroof of our second home. Land 9 years ago was 500,000 baht, house was 1.2m.

[Guest]

Orange trees as with any citrus have their feeder roots close to the surface, so spray watering is better than drip or deep watering. Mulching is also very good for tree and soil and a must if you have long dry periods. Cool root zone= happy trees.

thank you for the info

[parafareno]

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

To whom are you speaking?

Kap Choeng, Surin Provence. 6 km in a straight line to the Cambodian border but 15 km to the Chong Chom Border Crossing. The land you see is 8.2 rai. The house sets over a pond. The photo is taken from a sunroof of our second home. Land 9 years ago was 500,000 baht, house was 1.2m.

lucky guy, did you buy the land or lease it? It must be very hot up there, not like in CM where you have cooler periods?

[khwaibah]

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

To whom are you speaking?

Kap Choeng, Surin Provence. 6 km in a straight line to the Cambodian border but 15 km to the Chong Chom Border Crossing. The land you see is 8.2 rai. The house sets over a pond. The photo is taken from a sunroof of our second home. Land 9 years ago was 500,000 baht, house was 1.2m.

lucky guy, did you buy the land or lease it? It must be very hot up there, not like in CM where you have cooler periods?

I did not buy the land but SWMBO did. Its no hotter here than it it gets in Chiang Mai and there are times its hotter in Chiang Mai.Its down from Chiang Mai 880 km.

Edited August 4, 2015 by khwaibah

[MyFriend You]

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.

I have geese and can put up with their callings at inruders, but the Guinea Hens!!! Man o Man they can screech.........I had a vet clip their voice boxes because I was only raising them for Sunday Roast. Be careful of the Mango trees, they can get worms that will eventually kill the tree.

[khwaibah]

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.

I have geese and can put up with their callings at inruders, but the Guinea Hens!!! Man o Man they can screech.........I had a vet clip their voice boxes because I was only raising them for Sunday Roast. Be careful of the Mango trees, they can get worms that will eventually kill the tree.

Try this for an organic insect, worm, bug killer etc. Lao khao, Vinegar, Thai tobacco. Mix it together and spray. It works like magic for the wife.

[mercman24]

just saying what an interesting read that was, no bickering, no name calling , thanks guys, enjoy your lives

[pigeonjake]

we dont get a lot of bickering in the farming section,,, its not like the general section

[whaleboneman]

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.

Nice place you have there. I'm envious.

[Crossy]

I have geese and can put up with their callings at inruders, but the Guinea Hens!!! Man o Man they can screech........

The guineas actually serve to wake up the geese (so do the ducks), the geese then do the guard-dog act

[sandyf]

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.

There is about 5 acres of coconut trees next door to me and the guy has lost about 30 percent of them this year to insects.

[Singharh]

Beware of them neighbors helping themselves at will. Can't say anything as the missus will lose face. Don't mind sharing but some people as just blatantly lazy and abuse your kindness.

[mikejphuket]

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.

Some of my bananas do have seeds and they are all the gluay nham wa (sp??) variety. Sometimes from the same plant one "stalk" will have seeds and sometimes no seeds. I have heard different theories including cross pollination from "wild" bananas, but from what you have written above it seems they don't pollinate? I have a new gardener and he says it is more to do with the age of the plant. I have actually started culling the gluay nham wa (sp??) variety but a shame as they taste great and easy to sell.

[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.

Some of my bananas do have seeds and they are all the gluay nham wa (sp??) variety. Sometimes from the same plant one "stalk" will have seeds and sometimes no seeds. I have heard different theories including cross pollination from "wild" bananas, but from what you have written above it seems they don't pollinate? I have a new gardener and he says it is more to do with the age of the plant. I have actually started culling the gluay nham wa (sp??) variety but a shame as they taste great and easy to sell.

There are several varieties of bananas that will develop stones or "seeds", but they are not viable and will not sprout.

In my opinion, gluey nahm wah is the most delicious of all the banana species. I grow them exclusively. They are not only the most delicious, they are easier to sell than the gluey hohm or the gluey khai.

If you are culling your gluey nahm wah variety, why not sell the 1 meter shoots in the market. You could get about ฿100 per, maybe more depending on your location.

What variety do you plan to grow and why do you prefer that variety?

[Latis]

Grafted mangoes may fruit in 3 to 4 years but generally the trees are less robust than trees grown from the mango stone. Trees grown from stone will usually fruit after 7 years. I have bought Mangoes on my travels from Harrods Food Hall in London, a supermarket in Kula Lumpur, Victoria Market in Melbourne and Gourmet Food Gallery at Emporium in Bangkok. Apart from giving a tasty desert, they also spouted and I have a bounty of fruit around April-May in Ubon, 7 to 10 years after planting.

[slapout]

For personel use 2 grafts, a early and a later producing, on same root stock and you have mango for about 3 to 4 months, as that gives the green and ripe, your choice. 2 trees keep us full and we give away 50 kilo to neighbors, (15 year old trees)

If for commercial operation , might not work so well, but for around garden at home it works a treat. produced in 3rd year

Edited February 7, 2016 by slapout

[geuda]

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.

The dwarf coconut is the Nam Hom (perfume) variety which is sold green for its water and soft flesh. Mine is now about six-seven metres high now. I planted it about eleven years ago and got fruit three years after, it was a sprouting coconut, 50cm high. Other varieties, the tall ones are grown for coconut milk or soap production.

[geuda]

Grafted mangoes may fruit in 3 to 4 years but generally the trees are less robust than trees grown from the mango stone. Trees grown from stone will usually fruit after 7 years. I have bought Mangoes on my travels from Harrods Food Hall in London, a supermarket in Kula Lumpur, Victoria Market in Melbourne and Gourmet Food Gallery at Emporium in Bangkok. Apart from giving a tasty desert, they also spouted and I have a bounty of fruit around April-May in Ubon, 7 to 10 years after planting.

We tried to grow a tree from a Keow Savoey stone and got beautiful but tasteless fruits... Only with a variety having polyembryionic stones (e.g. Nam Dok May) you will have one hybrid (zygotic seedling) with unexpected results as explained earlier and several clones (nucellar seedlings) of the original tree (true to type). Keow Savoey is also a polyembryonic variety but we were not aware of this at that time...

I uploaded a video in Youtube to explain this and how mangoes are grafted but it's in French. Grafted mango trees are robust enough, it's not a point. Grafted trees will produce after one or two years, it'll take five years for seedlings.

On the other hand varieties obtained by air layering may be blown down by wind because their root system isn't as strong as a tree produced from a stone. We lost two longan trees three days ago...

Edited April 28, 2016 by geuda

[fruitman]

The most fruitbearing mangotree in thailand is the chokanan. It bears all year round.

I have a collection of fruittree's but some take many years from seed to fruit. Best is to buy grafted or airlayered tree's to get fruit fast.

My avocado still never bloomed in 3 years, it's a grafted big tree now. Also durian mongthong (grafted) takes 4 years allready and no blooms yet, same as grafted jackfruit.phet raa chaa who only bloomed but no fruit.

It's fun to grow your own fruit and there 's so much more which can be grown in thailand but nobody does it.