|
Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 16, 2020 14:33:16 GMT -5
This time, I have a couple curry trees started from seeds, which ripened very late this season, for some reason. Usually, they are black before July 4th, but they didn't even begin to grow this year until mid August. Here they are almost full size, and just starting to ripen in mid September: Seeds of the curry tree, from the spring, just now starting to ripen. 9-15 by pepperhead212, on Flickr Here is the first ripe seed This time, I have a couple curry trees started from seeds, which ripened very late this season, for some reason. Usually, they are black before July 4th, but they didn't even begin to grow this year until mid August. Here they are almost full size, and just starting to ripen in mid September: Seeds of the curry tree, from the spring, just now starting to ripen. 9-15 by pepperhead212, on Flickr Here is the first ripe seed that I planted - the seeds are actually fruits, with one seed in them, and you can see I squished it open, to get to the large seed inside. Seed, squeezed out of a curry tree fruit, showing the root already started! 9-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr And here is the plant, about 2 weeks after starting: Curry tree seedling, growing from a seed. 10-15 by pepperhead212, on Flickr I have a couple more popping up, and I tested GA-3 on a couple, to see if it would speed them up (though it wasn't really necessary), or improve their growth, but it doesn't seem to do anything.
|
|
|
Post by davidjp on Oct 16, 2020 19:18:42 GMT -5
What sort of temperature can they take before you bring them in. I assume any frost and they would be toast, although it seemed they would survive a light frost in SoCal
|
|
|
Post by desertwoman on Oct 16, 2020 19:42:03 GMT -5
pepperhead212, Are the fruits edible? if so what do they taste like?
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 16, 2020 20:58:41 GMT -5
What sort of temperature can they take before you bring them in. I assume any frost and they would be toast, although it seemed they would survive a light frost in SoCal Curry trees are the most sensitive to cold of the plants that I bring inside. They do not like it much below 50°, while the kaffir lime and bay laurel can get down into the 30s, and may be able to take a very brief frost, though I don't risk it, since I don't have to! And when I hear that the lows will be getting into the 40s, I trim the curry tree, and if I only have a couple of those nights, I put it on my back porch, then back out. But when the lows will be consistently in the 40s, it is the first one inside. pepperhead212, Are the fruits edible? if so what do they taste like? They do eat them in India, but I have never tried it.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 11, 2021 19:33:46 GMT -5
Here are those curry tree seedlings almost more than 3 months after planting! I had a couple more than the 5 germinate, and two of these were actually came up late, in the pots with 2 of the others, and I left them, since they were an inch or so apart. I had them under a blue LED light, and they seemed to grow well, though slowly (probably the norm), not getting leggy. I re-potted them today, wetting the mix with some dilute hydroponics nutrients, also adding a few drops of Bt israelensis, for the fungus gnats. I transferred them to sit under a stronger LED 5,000k bulb - I'll see if they grow faster. All 5 of the curry tree plants, started from seed, re-potted 1-11-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr Largest of 5 curry tree plants, started from seed. 1-11-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by desertwoman on Jan 11, 2021 20:15:43 GMT -5
They're looking great! pepperhead212, What are you going to do with all those babies?
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 11, 2021 21:34:04 GMT -5
desertwoman The larger one I'm giving to the owner of the Indian market that I take my excess curry leaves to. He says he knows more people in the market for them, once I get them.
|
|
|
Post by breezygardener on Jan 12, 2021 12:23:06 GMT -5
I am envious!
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 30, 2021 19:00:52 GMT -5
Those smaller ones all died, and the larger one stopped growing, and started dropping leaves. I finally removed it from the pot, with little root growth, so I put it in my hydroponics. Still no growth, but it stopped dropping. If no growth soon, I'll give up on it.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 16, 2021 21:34:04 GMT -5
Didn't do well last year, but this time I'm trying again, and I had a lot more ripe berries this year. I even sprouted 2 of them in just 2 days in that Instant Pot, and they came up today, but so did one of the 6 that I planted without sprouting them early! Took just over 2 weeks to come up - about what was normal when not started early. Here's a photo - I have it under my new LED, but since it is dimmable, I turned it down, but put it up close. Here are the 3 seedlings, so far: Curry tree seedlings, finally, on 10-16, planted on 09-29 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 19, 2021 20:42:44 GMT -5
I'm trying the seeds again, as you can see, despite not having any luck with them, but I'm now going to try another method - rooting thick, woody stems, that everything is stripped from! I found a few videos about doing this - just taking an 8" or so stem, 1/4-1/2" in diameter, whittling some of the bark off about 1 1/2" of the thick end, and one guy in India just dunked it in turmeric, as the "rooting compound", and putting it about 3" into the soil mix. I have quite a few stems I am going to try this with, using different diameters, as well as the turmeric, and a couple of rooting compounds I have. We'll see if this works! Stems from the curry tree, which I will attempt to root. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 14, 2022 17:49:31 GMT -5
I finally gave up on trying to root those cuttings - even those ones with minute growths never developed any more leaves, and nothing had any roots on them. Maybe I'll try again, if there's a market for them! Amazingly, all but one of the seeds sprouted, the last 2 much later than the rest. So I got 7 of 8, but two were much smaller, and very few roots, so those I threw out. Those two that I sprouted before putting them in the soil were 2 of the largest, but one of the soil planted ones got the largest mass of roots of any. I transplanted 5 of them - I added a bit of worm castings to the mix, and wetted it down with some hydroponics mix, plus some Bt israelensis, to prevent fungus gnats. I'll see if they grow faster now. Curry tree seedlings, started from seed. Ready to be transplanted. by pepperhead212, on Flickr One of the larger curry tree seedlings, showing the roots on it, before transplanting. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Curry tree seedlings, transplanted, 1-14-22 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by thriftystitcher on Jan 28, 2022 19:26:03 GMT -5
Those are really doing well. I am enjoying your journey with these, thank you for sharing.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 28, 2022 22:43:40 GMT -5
|
|