Despite being an ancient agricultural art, the practice of composting seems to be experiencing a renaissance, becoming a huge part of sustainable farming. Rooted deeply in the principle of recycling organic matter, compost technology has evolved into something more than just a means to enrich soil. Farmers committed to sustainable practices have long recognized the value of compost in boosting productivity. However, the benefits of compost-enriched soil extend far beyond this purpose. Recent discoveries point to its remarkable ability to suppress crop diseases and deter pests, presenting an e ..read more

Na dai (Mang cau dai) sugar apple variety is well-known for its awesome taste and good chewy texture. However, one reason why growers would choose other Annona varieties over the Na dai is often because others have more pulp and much less seeds. In some fruiting cases, in just about three Na dai sugar apples, there may be over 300 seeds?! Something which could possibly be a reason why this sugar apple variety is sold at very expensive prices in grocery stores, sometimes as high as $10/lb in places. From seed to full fruiting tree, it could take Na dai about 2 years. There are a few simple tip ..read more

Lisa atemoya is one variety of atemoya. It has pinkish skin, a pink core and white pulp. Originally, the seedling was grown in an experimental field (in row 48 the 26th plant) at Zill High Performance Plants. So for a long time, it was called 48-26. Later, the hybridizers changed its name to Lisa, after the long-time secretary at Zill High Performance Plants. The different varieties of atemoya you can find are: Lisa Geffner Chocolate Lisa African Pride (AP) Priestly Bradley What is Atemoya Fruit Atemoya fruit is a hybrid between sugar apple (Annona squamosa) and cherimoya (Annona cherimola ..read more

Annonas (or sugar apples and their kin) can actually fruit in containers. Often, the pot size where we may see them fruit in is 30, 45 or 50 gallon. Growers have had them set fruits in places like South Florida and Texas. Just a note though, for some varieties, as they are grown in pots the fruit size may be smaller than those let grown in the ground. However, the taste is nothing short of amazing. Hand pollination can also give you more fruits. What to Look Out For Moisture Level When growing an Annona in a pot, you should look out for the moisture or water drainage. Although the top surface ..read more

Although soursop trees are relatively easy to take care of and usually don't require a lot of maintenance, they are quite difficult to get pollinated if left done naturally. This is why many growers hand pollinate the flowers. This is not only to increase the fruit set rate but also to improve the shape of the fruits and their quality. Let us check out how to pollinate the soursop trees now. Choosing A Soursop Flower for Pollen To select a flower for pollen, you should look for those that are near the top of a smaller branch or the flower itself is of a small size. This is because those flowe ..read more

If you'd like a lighter graviola (soursop) leaf tea, you can just steep the leaves in hot water for 10-15 minutes. If you like a stronger-tasting tea, you can boil the leaves on the stove for longer. This is at which point the tea may turn into a darker color and have a slightly bitter aftertaste. Here's how to make it with simple ingredients: First, prepare some hot boiling water and some soursop leaves. Many say just one or two leaves would be enough to make a cup of tea. So that's all we need. Then, we can begin steeping the leaves in water. Let's wait for 10-15 minutes. And... it's done ..read more

You can tell when a custard apple is ripe when the fruit is has slightly changed its color. You can feel that the top of the fruit has gotten softer and quite squishy. The nodules or dimples on the fruit are more flattened down and spaced out apart. When picked early, however, immature custard apple will still ripen and taste very good. It just doesn't develop that richness and deeper flavor like the ones that have been matured on the tree. If animals are a problem in your backyard, you could pick the custard apples early. That is when the color on the skin is still green or has a bit of yell ..read more

One reason why the soursop fruits may not be holding on the tree is because of insect bite. Or more specifically, fruit fly attacking. They may come most in the summer because it's usually their season. Fruit flies may come and take a bite on the young fruits when they're about 3-4 weeks old and are about the size of a small grape. This could thus cause the falling of the fruits. Usually, a soursop tree may bear fruits some 3-4 years after it's grown from seed. And the fruits may develop about 3-4 weeks after a successful pollination. Although soursop or most trees in the Annona family overal ..read more

A grower shares that the less care they give their soursop tree, the better it seems to grow on its own. Soursop, or guanabana trees don't do too well in cold climates. People usually graft them although starting from seeds is possible. You can grow soursop in pots like 3-gallon pots and they can get up to 26ft (8 m) high. How Do I Get My Soursop Tree To Bear Fruit? To get soursop tree to bear fruit, you could try an unusual trick of hitting some nails crossing into the trunk of the tree. Counter-intuitive as it may sound, this puts the tree into sort of an emergency mode. It will fight for i ..read more

Almost everyone enjoys gardening as downtime and a way to relax their nerves. However, you are also supposed to take care of the things dear to your heart if you want to enjoy the best of them in the longer run. Keeping in line with that, we have collected some essential and useful home garden tips that will surely help you keep your green buddies thriving, take care of them regularly, and make sure they are safe from all external attacks. So, without wasting any more time, scroll down further, read till the end, and enjoy all the tips listed below. 1. First, Have Healthy Soil The first and f ..read more