A day before the temps are forecasted in the mid 60's....
My thermometer says 26F, the Papaya trees say..."doesn't matter" it's cold and below 30F.
28F Feels like.....................21F
Brugs...they look pretty frozen.
Castor Bean...this guy is very tall...and frozen. Will they recover? I think so.
Okay..in town...we take pictures of frozen water. The only time I usually see it is in my ice tray.
well, the next crop of Papaya trees are in the green house in case these don't pull through...darn, and they were getting pretty tall too.
This is cold penalty tax for having no winter last year!
Rj
This message was edited Feb 16, 2007 7:56 AM
suppose to be this pict
I wish I could grow Papayas they sure are beautiful plants. Are they fast growers?
Yes...You would have tall trees by fall if you planted them in the ground...after the last freeze..haahaaa... It hasn't frozen here for a couple of years. The papayas can stand cold more then they can stand wet feet. This variety I bought at HEB, to eat of course..but saved the seeds. Lucky in the fact that the first type I grew, did not pattern anything I had read about papayas...ie male and female trees to produce fruit. Every tree produces...not knowing much else about them , I'm just pleased they have fruit. They were very tastey this summer..very sweet. I will be happy to send you seeds. I grow them like anuals..Just for the very reason that happened this morning..If I loose them, there are dozens in the green house to replace. Let me know if you want to try it. I have some info in my journal should you want to try.
I know what you are feeling!!!!! I hate to go any further from the house to see the damage......Now, for the good news, how could we ever possibly have another winter like this one for years????????????? To see your giant Brug with blooms just beat down from the freeze is sad!!!!
I love papayas and would love to try growing them....when my son lived in Hawaii, they just picked fruit off of trees to eat!!! Thanks for the offer....
This message was edited Feb 16, 2007 9:42 AM
Will they set fruit in one season?
Well..these guys grow pretty good. Send address if you want seeds as I was blessed with the biggest papaya crop ever this year..
Here is my Papaya 101 for anyone who wants to give it a shot
http://davesgarden.com/journal/ed/index.php?tabid=1993
That is a wonderful tutorial you have there, but I think that with our colder temperatures I would need a greenhouse to grow them successfully and I don't have one.
I thank you for you offer of seeds, it looks like you have a good variety of Papaya, and I can see that you are having a lot of fun experimenting with them, but I am sure someone else will be able to make better use of your wonderful seed.
Keep up the good work, and maybe later on there will be a hardy plant you have, that I will be able to grow in my garden.
Josephine.
Here we got to 20.3 F overnight...ugh! Oh, my friend Sheila raises Papayas in San Antonio, just because she loves to do it. Myself, I wouldn't do it without a fairly decent greenhouse...just too much work! For now, I just have my little mini-greenhouses. I'll be glad when I can move some of the seedlings outside into them.
Exactly.
On the bright side, and there always is...sometimes you have to look, but Big Fern made it through unscathed. Australian Fern. It's getting huge.
Hi - Yes, a wonderful tutorial about something I knew nothing
at all about. Great photos too. Thank you.
Well, unlike Frostweed, who is a very talented gardener and a
wellspring of information, I'm just dumb enough - and a novice to
Texas gardening to boot - that I'd be very excited to try growing
one of your Papaya in this area just to see what happens.
I wouldn't ask for any seeds, except that I see the Papaya has so
very many. If you wouldn't mind taking a chance in the name of
adventure and research, I'd be willing to give it a go. I have a
l/2 acre yard here, with lots of sheltered sunny areas and would
be happy to pay you for a few seeds. While I don't have a greenhouse,
I do have a tall roofed barn-screen room, with a flagstone floor, and
it would be an easy matter to drape one corner off with a heavy duty
plastic. There are also electrical outlets in there and a ceiling fan,
so it would be a simple matter to put a small heater in the enclosed
area for especially cold days. Does that sound reasonable to you
as a make-do greenhouse? The thing is about 20 x 20 feet and
right now is filled with pots of daylilies, hosta, ferns and iris.
Will Spring ever get here???
Anita
I sounds like a great place to shelter a young Papaya tree Manhot, go for it and have fun.
Josephine.
Josephine, my daughter had it built as a place to sit and
be free of mosquitoes, but it's such a hassle carrying everything
out there and then back to the house that it's hardly ever used.
The only time I sit in the darned thing is when I'm working outside
and want to sit out of the sun for a bit. The dogs love to lay on
the cool floor.
No problem..dmail me your address.
I will give you plenty of seeds. After the plant gets about 10 inches tall, plant some of them in the ground. You will be amazed how fast they can grow. You will have plenty of Papaya plants to afford putting some in the ground, and keeping some in the pots..
Yes, there were so many papayas this year that they were falling off the trees, and still are. I save alot of seeds simply because they are the rebel strain that aren't male and female.
I'm thinking this is from Costa Rica or Mexico. I've been to Costa Rica several times, and the Papaya trees there, have the same leaf habit, of quite an extended stem, then the leaf. Ones I've seen in Mexico, West Africa and Hawaii have a shorter stem, and thicker trunks. These don't like the full sun like some other strains do (course here nothing likes full sun). They do very well with half a day. I will send you a little bag of the soluable fertilzer...that makes them produce like crazy. I'll be interested to see how they do there, so keep me posted!
Your very welcome Josephine. Just shout if you change your mind.
Looks like a fun crop.
Where in Houston are you growing these?
The Heights....off of studewood and 10th
Oh my goodness......I lived in Houston 30 years and I know exactly where you are.....I love that little nursery on 11th street I think....can't remember the name but would know it if someone said it.....love the Height's area....
Thank you so much, Rjuddharrison. Wow !
Will send you my address right away. Please let me know
where I can send you the cost of seeds and postage. This is
so exciting.
This summer will be my first gardening in Texas. I'm still not
fully unpacked ! Well, that and Greta Louise, my "free" dog
from the shelter who had to have one hip replaced and we'll
see if we can do the other one in early June or July. Greta is
a Shepherd/Rottie mix, with a heart full of joy and nothing but
adoration for me in her eyes. Hey, it's not every day that
somebody looks at a 66 year old widow like that any more, LOL,
so I'm keeping her ! But no more "free" pets for me, and that's
for darn sure, LOL. I can't afford the "free" ones. Angus Murphy,
the Australian Shepherd is now 13 years old, so if and when he
leaves this earth, I think I'll just go ahead and PAY for a friend
for Greta Louise. It will probably save me lots of dough that way.
Oooh, this is such fun. I can't wait to get started ! I feel a song
coming on !!!!! "We got mangos, papaya, ....."
Got about 27-28 out on the prairie...I don't see any additional damage than the last four frosts provided. I think all this El Nino rain helped when the temps dipped.
Is that Joshua's, bettygail? Or Another Place in Thyme? There are several nurseries right there and they are all fun to shop at!
Probably Buchanons...I nearly live accross the street. I do favor joshuas too.
Sounds like you have quite a family going on with Greta Louise. We definately can learn alot from our "best friends:
I will be cleaning up this weekend, and pop some of those in the mail. Where is NRH TX?
I know Debbie, I'm making much ado about nothing isn't happening a few miles away. I noticed that Mexico city was 76F today, and Tampa 42...strangeness. 76F is summer weather in Mexico City. That must be the warmth headed this way, if indeed the forecast is holding in the 60's for tomorrow.
No, it is Another Place in Time.....I loved it when I wasn't growing from seed......Buchanans never did much for me.....
I would love to go back and visit that little nursery .....