Growing Fruit Trees on Fuerteventura

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Apparently so GMT, this Majorero has no finesse in his garden, bungs stuff in rough ground, drenched with water once a week, no feed, and great fruit! I sometimes think I try too hard 🤔🤣

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Flowers and fruit appearing on my biggest papaya tree 

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

My first and biggest banana gave fruit in February last year. When it had finished fruiting I cut out that stem and let a new one (pup) grow. The pup is now mature and despite being virtually denuded of leaves during the calima it is just starting a fruit spike - hooray! Probably 5-6 months before the fruit will be ready for eating, so July/August time. I find it strange that the pup is fruiting at a totally different time of year than when the parent did. This is not a Canarian banana but a standard Cavendish None of my Canarian plants are quite big enough to fruit yet and my Red bananas plants are growing very slowly.

My Mano de Buda and my Persimmon look pretty lifeless - I'll give them a couple of months - if they haven't shown signs of life by then, out they come.

My other citrus trees all got completely shredded by the calima but have lots of new young growth and the lime has quite a few tiny baby fruits. 

The nectarine, apricots, blackberry, mulberry are all bare but have new buds waiting to swell and open.

The cherries have one or two flowers - they haven't done as well as I had hoped yet.

The passion fruit, Maracuya, has produced a few fruit over the winter but is a bit disappointing. I've planted another in a different aspect to see if it will do better.

The guavas have lost all leaves in the calima.

The pomegranate also lost all leaves but new growths are just appearing.

The coconut palms, still only 1m high, took a real battering and are looking very sorry for themselves but I think they'll recover fine.

Bought two mangoes today. The holes are ready but I need to acclimatise the young trees a bit first before I plant them. I've sprayed the leaves with a kaolin solution to help protect them from the sun and got them in half/half shade and sun for the moment.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Update on my Cavendish banana. The fruit develop very quickly!

 

The citrus trees have lost all their baby fruits but have lots of new leaves.

The nectarine is just starting to break out some new leaves/growth.

Lots of figs forming, they're quite big so not long until I'll be able to pick them.

I can see just a hint of life on the apricot trees.

Hoping to get the 2 mangoes planted tomorrow, need to put good wind protection up for them in case the possible strong winds hit us next week.

[Johnrgby]

Hi Tamara two questions please

1.1 Can in your opinion Blueberries grow on The Island?

.2. If so have you sen them for sale anywhere?
TIA

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Hi John
Sorry, meant to reply yesterday.
I've tried blueberries, in pots and in the garden beds, all failed spectacularly! I bought them in Lidl, only place I'd seen them, which may in itself be the problem - their plants aren't attuned to our environment. I'd love to be able to grow them - one of my favourite fruits!
Of course, others may have had a different experience ....

[Johnrgby]

Hi John
Sorry, meant to reply yesterday.
I've tried blueberries, in pots and in the garden beds, all failed spectacularly! I bought them in Lidl, only place I'd seen them, which may in itself be the problem - their plants aren't attuned to our environment. I'd love to be able to grow them - one of my favourite fruits!
Of course, others may have had a different experience ....

Thanks Tamara, I do not have a sweet tooth at all and never eat chocolate etc, gooseberries and rhubarb yes, but I love blueberries for some weird reason???I take your point about Lidl, we have had almost 100% failure with anything from there  I have seen blueberry seeds am Amazon ES, so might consider that as an option.
Once again may thanks.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Your query prompted me to look at the requirements for growing blueberries, something I'm sure I would have done normally when trying myself but perhaps I forgot and that was some of the problem!

They need an acidic soil and are best watered with rainwater! I know I didn't test my soil and they would have got water out of the mains/hose like everything else - hmmm.

Perhaps I'll try again if I see them for sale and try better to meet their needs! (Vinegar in water to lower pH to make soil more acidic. Use AC discharge water or buy distilled water for watering.) or perhaps I won't bother   and I'll carry on buying them from the supermarket, expensive as they are!

[Can the Man]

Hi All I grow blueberries at home in Ireland and they need an ericaceous compost which as Tamara says is an acid based soil, i mix peat and coffee grinds in with my ericaceous compost to help and I feed with a seaweed based plant feed. I water with normal mains water when dry if there I still no rainfall. My opinion is the unfortunately Fuerteventura is not suitable unless you can get a goo day supply of ericaceous compost. I also have decided to grow cranberries this year. That is one in the littleblack pot.