Ron Finley: This guy is inspirational. "Come to the garden with your shovel"

This clip will captivate you. Yes it is American but the passion applies here in Australia.

Some great sayings in there like:
"Growing your Own Food is like Printing your own Money"

"Food is the problem and food is the solution"

"..So what I did I planted a food forest in-front of my house"

"If you want to meet with me. Come to the garden with your shovel so we can plant some sh#$*"

Mount Warning forest Hideaway

This is me at the entrance where I got some honey 

Which went perfect with lots of lemons

To make lemonade.

Such a great part of the world where everybody wants to grow their own food without pesticides.

http://www.foresthideaway.com.au

Monsterio Tree or fruit salad tree

This fruit tree has such lush large leaves.

The fruit salad tree looks like it belongs in a rainforest.

The fruit can be picked before the possums or bats would want it and allowed to ripen in your house where it will fill it with a sweet perfumed smell.

The outer green layered skin falls off of its own accord leaving the sweet white flesh which is eaten and enjoyed in tiny amounts because unlike a banana which can be eaten entirely when ready only a small portion of the monsterio can be eaten.

Yes the taste is a mixture of lots of fruits or a fruit salad.

Great plant to grow purely on its rainforest look but the tasty fruit is fantastic too.

Guava Tree

Guavas I believe need to be eaten in full. The three different textures of the firm skin, soft pink juicy inside and very crunchy and hard seeds

Covered in guavas.

They fruit turns yellow when ready and when you pick it they almost fall into your hand.

Muscadine Noble Grape Vine

Harvesting Muscadine Grape Vines

An American Grape that has small bunches and very resistant to many diseases that are a problem for many Australians who live in hotter humid climate environments.

Visit Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery in Kyogle

Come and Visit us At Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery in Kyogle


Come and Visit us at Daleys Nursery we specialise in Fruit & Nut Trees and we sell everything from Avocado Trees to Yacons we also do a really wide range of nut trees if you would prefer something like a Chestnut or a Pecan Nut Tree.

We have beautiful bush foods like the finger lime or if you would prefer something ornamental like these wonderful Magnolias.

If you would like a headstart in your orchard then how about an advanced fruit tree.

Carambola Trees with Pictures

Carambola Inside and Out What my carambola tree or Star Fruit Tree looks like from the outside. It has beautiful weeping foliage that hangs to the ground.

 

When I crawl in under the tree the bounty of fruit becomes visible, it is loaded with fruit.

 

 Carambolas are delicious eaten straight off the tree.

 

 or they can be sliced to reveal their beautiful star shape

The flowers are also beautiful they are small, pink and prolific

I love my carambola tree

Buying Fruit Trees VS Most Things

Most Things I buy eg DVD Player

When I buy a DVD player I am almost guaranteed that the first year I have my new purchase it is going to work well. The man sells it to me in a flash box and it is shiny when I use it and works perfectly for me. I then get some DVD's to go with it and they give me that same feeling of owning something new, shiny and I can invite my friends around to enjoy it straight away.

Fast Forward 3 Years

My DVD player is no longer my prized possession, I rarely use it now because my friends have  blue ray and sometimes it doesn't even play them. Also I paid $299 and in even in the grocery store they are selling one better than mine for only $99.

Buying Fruit Trees

I buy a Vietnam Dragon Fruit Tree it came to me in a basic black pot and to be frank looked small, hard to handle and cost $17.90. I then spent some time setting up a stump for it to grow over and gave it a place that I thought would get some sun and a bit of shade. Nothing happened for months and over the whole winter it stayed the same. I though what a waist of time, and that I paid too. Spring came and I got some growth and the same as in summer but still it looked bad & nothing to tell my friends about.

Fast Forward 3 Years

My Dragon Fruit has flowered ( I had to stay up till midnight to experience this with a torch ) and the fruit turned from Green to an amazing Red. I also have been studying them and found out they have great health benefits. My local grocery store were chargin $7 just for one of these fruit and my 3 year old Vine has given me 10.  My mind is fresh with ideas of how to grow them up poles and train them better so I think if I get some other varieties like the Yellow or Red Dragon fruit. Since it is fruiting now my friends always go to it first and comment on it, and when I shared one by putting a bit of lime on it and the joy they got from eating something different was noticeable on their faces but really it was my sense of accomplishment that I really noticed.

3 Mistakes You Make When Choosing Fruit Trees

Mistake 1: You lack Imagination 

Just about every household has a Lemons and Oranges or whats popular but the problem with this is that when your oranges start fruiting the cost in the supermarket for the same orange is often super cheap and fresh. Because they are so popular  the pests of this tree are popular. eg. Gall wasps are often controlled by industrial methods but the home gardeners tree gets attacked and they don't have the resources to out power these pests. Basically if the fruit in your backyard is the same as the one you easily buy every day of the year anyway you are only exposing yourself to 1% of what fruit has to offer you.

So why not choose something like a Mulberry Tree, Black Sapote, Pecan, Sapodilla, Miracle Fruit, Peanut Butter Fruit, Lychee, Soursop, Custard Apple. And when you do choose a variety choose a variety that isn't common to your supermarket. Eg. If you are going to get an Orange tree then grow the Navelina. After you eat this variety you will wonder if they really are selling oranges in the supermarket the taste is so different.

Mistake 2: You are a Cheapskate

A seedling tree might cost $10 but the same tree as a grafted variety can cost upwards of $35. So people choose the seedling and then get disappointed why it doesn't fruit. A grafted tree can fruit often 3 years before a seedling even thinks about bearing fruit plus the fruit being produced is a proven quality and taste. Obvious example is that you eat an orange, love it and then plant the seed. 8 years later that seed produces its first "oranges" and instead of tasting sweet and having orange skin, it has a very light yellow skin and is almost un-edible. Same goes for Lychees, Apples, Pecans, Macadamias etc etc.

Mistake 3: You Plant it "Wherever"

Fruit trees love the sun and they love good drainage. Pay attention to the way the sun falls on your backyard throughout the year, especially in Spring and then make sure you use that space for your fruit trees. Your shady spots are perfect for rainforest trees, so don't let them go to waist.