Shaping the lime tree, controling citrus tree pests & a small harvest
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- Опубликовано: 5 июл 2015
- Pruned back the Tahitian lime tree last weekend. Took a bit of footage to show you how & why this was done as well as show some of the common pest & issues we have with citrus trees here.
Part of the permaculture design for the property includes creating a semi espalier citrus fruit salad tree using our lime tree as the parent plant. Am very happy that a start has been made & am looking forward to trying my hand at grafting again.
Brisbane Insects website, a very handy guide for all things creepy crawly in SE QLD.
www.brisbaneinsects.com/pchew_...
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Have a great one everyone. 
Хобби
There is some primal enjoyment I get when you feed your garden pests to you chickens. Thanks for the video.
1975Jdonov I can totally understand that ;-)
Cheers & have a great one mate.
Your Citrus trees look fantastic! I like how you pruned it with a detailed explanation of what you were doing. My Lemon tree is still a baby, but someday I hope to see her grow up to be a beautiful lady just like yours :)
Blake Kirby Hi Blake & thanks mate. Hope it helped some & am sure you'll nurture your lemon into a beautiful lady :-)
Cheers mate & all the best to you all.
I always enjoy your videos. Love the still shots, good running commentary, and packed with information. Thanks for another good video!
faeriegardener84 Hi there & thanks. Am glad you're enjoying the clips.
All the best,
Rob.
You are my inspiration to keep gardening. Thank you. for all the great knowledge and amazing videos. Greetings from Rhode island.
Roy Valdez Hi Roy & glad to meet you.
It's great that you're enjoying the clips mate & let me know if you have any questions.
Cheers & all the best,
Rob.
8:20 Subtitles had it as "the anchor made me." I'm thinking "wife?" Played it back and I'm pretty sure you said "Bianca made me." The anchor, though . . . I got a good laugh. Thank you for all the excellent info. (From SoCal, USA)
🤣🤣 Thanks for that. Will pass it onto B. Think she'll get a good laugh out of it.
Cheers & have a top one.
Great video Rob. I do enjoy citrus trees. They smell so nice, especially when they bloom.
High Desert Garden Hi Philip. The grape fruit next door puts on a spectacular display when all the flowers bloom at once. We can smell it from the other side of the house if the breeze is blowing in the right direction.
Cheers & have a great one.
Enjoyed seeing the update. I'm sure the tree will be perfectly happy :-)
J&J Acres Hi Jared & thanks mate. The fruit & flowers haven't dropped so am fairly sure it will pull through OK.
Have a great one sir.
Thanks for info! It helped immensely. We have lots of insects in Florida, so it's a constant battle.
I all but gave up on a lot of crops the summer just passed because of them Lloyd. Now we're moving into Autumn here with days below 30°C/84°F they don't appear to be as bad.
Hope you have a great bug free season mate.
Cheers.
lovely update thank you for sharing
Linda Penney Thanks Linda.
Hope you & yours are all well & happy.
Thanks for the look mate! Surprisingly we don't get much insect damage on any of our citrus trees here in Costa Rica. Hope your back heals up! Thanks for sharing...
Eco Oasis Thanks mate. Back is feeling a lot better & have been working on the compost heater this morning ;)
Have a great one.
Great videos. Great garden keep up the good work.
Andrew Keenan Hi Andrew & thanks mate.
All the best.
Wonderful video and great information. thank you!
Thanks Deb Debs.
Cheers & have a top one.
Thanks for the video! very informative.
I really liked this video. I have some citrus with the same problems.
It was very interesting to see that other producers have the same problems.
I received the indication of use Bordeaux mixture for fungi leaves. It is highly recommended by organic producers. Insects have no way to treat without using an insecticide. I will try to use some indicated as plant extracts, especially neen. I love to see that carelessly plants can not produce.
farmsidney Hi there.
Anotrher easy home made anti fungal is bicarbonate/baking soda water & a few drops of liquid soap.
1tsp baking soda, 1L/¼ gallon of water & few drops of liquid soap (not anti bacterial) is all I use now.
Not sure where you live there are a few places that sell beneficial insects that work well on a few pests if that method interests you.
Cheers & all the best.
Just what I was looking for - thank you. I am trying to garden 'by the moon' this year. Have just been reading that the shoots below the graft should be cut off in the last 1/4 phase of the moon (slower regrowth) - so will leave them until then - I have some of the most unhealthy citrus trees known!! Gonna concentrate on them!!!! I am near Mackay - have all the problems you've shown - the gall wasp is my major problem. Thanks again :)) Paula
Glad the clip has helped in some way Paula & thanks for the pruning information. The tree is looking a bit sad at the moment. Will be giving it a foliar feed once I find my spray bottle.
All the best,
Rob.
I'm loving the beard! It's coming in really nicely.
:D You should see it now ;) Bit slow in replying to this one ;-)
Cheers Nathan.
Enjoyed it, my friend!
Keyplayr61 Greenhouse Hydroponics And Gardens Thanks Keith.
All the best mate.
Oh to be able to grow citrus ;-)
Good idea with the tree. I have done my apple and pear frees up lots of space.
Southpaw Davey There's always the basement Dave ;-)
The girls want me to try a couple of tropical pears & apples when we plant out the yard. I don't think they produce as well as other varieties though.
Cheers Sir & hope to catch on you clips soon .
From what I have read the horizontal training improves the fruit too. Give the apple and pear a go can but try ;-)
Thanks for posting this. Although I don't have limes I do have 4 citrus trees - 2 orange, 1 lemon and 1 grapefruit so it was useful to see how to prune, I seem to also have most of the problems that you have, including leaf miner. In Cyprus. Cheers
+Neil Avery
Hi Neil. Am glad the clip helped you out some. We are looking at getting at least an orange & mandarin here. Would really like a tangerine but haven't seen any for sale in years.
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you.
Cheers.
we get black sooty mildew in england from sap suckers too :) mainly on lime, beech and sycamore
+Rob Green
Can be a pain in the rear to get under control too Rob :/
The fungi here pop all through the year as it never get below freezing here for more than a few hours at a time though winter.
Cheers mate.
Yeah, I see your suffering immensely with the rough winter weather. Wish I was still suffering like that. I've had enough of the land of ice and snow. I understand well about that sciatic nerve. I've been operated on twice for a bulging disk that messed with the nerve. Both times to a point I couldn't move without morphine. Great vid and good info, Rob. I like to mulch areas with cuttings from plants growing there as well. I figure that they contain the nutrients taken out of the soil and will help replenish.
***** Hi Jay.
Winter has been brutal here. Have started to wear socks during the day & have put the quilt on the bed :-/ ;-)
Have been warned against using leaves & stems from the mother plants as mulch but have had others recommend it. Am fairly sure that it won't cause any problems.
Cheers mate & hope to catch up on your clips this weekend. Haven't visited you & Dave for a while.
RobBobs Backyard Farming I've heard conflicting info about using clipping from the mother plant as well. Other than if it is diseased no one has been able to give me a reason not to that makes any sense.
The yellowing on the leaves is down to Iron diffishent
you can use a iron as a leef spray and water to the roots I use it two times in a year in spring and early sommer as a leef spray also works preventiv against afids
Richard Sydenham Hey Richard. Looking at the different charts iron shows itself a bit differently than what we're seeing on our tree. B & I had a look the other day & found a few leaves that all looked slightly different so am hoping the compost & kelp will do the trick. A horticulturist mate suggested that it could be the cold soil affecting the uptake of magnesium as well.
Cheers mate.
Hey Rob
Tough winters you guys have down there! Would love to grow citrus trees here but I don't have room to drag them in come winter (yet).
Glad the back is better.
"had to take it easy on Monday...well, Bianca made me" ; )
Thanks for pest info and another great video.
Take care
Jeff
Jeff Mitts Thinking we might close a few window today as it getting rather chilly Jeff ;-)
Not sure if you've got the room but we can get a small dwarf lemon here called "Lots of lemons" that doesn't get tall at all & grows very well in pots. I think the variety is actually just a well pruned meyer lemon if that helps any.
Backs feeling a lot better thanks mate & have been working on a compost heater today.
Cheers & all the best mate.
Rob.
Great video thx
Another real good clip robbob!! Over in perth we can find that the trees struggle to bring up magnesium once the first colds come, im not sure if this would effect you in the tropics though... Thanks for all the info
Travis Knox Hi Travis & thanks mate. A hiorti friend posted the same so will be looking at giving the tree a spray with Epsom salts.
Cheers & all the best.
Thanks for sharing that useful video. Do you you mineral oil to spray on the alphids
Patrick Meehan Hi Patrick. For aphids I use a liquid soap spray or just blast them off with a hose. Most the time they don't really get out of hand & we let the ladybugs take care of them .
Hope that helps some.
Here in Texas we also get leaf miner.
This tree is covered in them at the moment Mary. Is looking very sad unfortunately.
Have a great one.
very interesting vid
LCJ farms Thanks Mate.
Cheers.
good info sir thanks
stevencox75 No problem Mr Steven.
Cheers mate.
Hi, thank you for the wonderful video. I am thinking of growing an orange tree in my patio in a container. I would like to grow it organically on my patio facing south but I'm scared of the pests (because it's a patio connected to my bedroom and not a backyard garden). I'm thinking of using Neem oil with soap solution. Would I get a lot of bugs still and how effective is neem oil with soap? In the past I have grown several roses organically in containers, and I never faced issues of pests as I was using organic pesticides and good soils. Please let me know. Thank you so much in advance.
Hi Ellen. If there are no other citrus plants around you may be in luck & not have many of their pest present either. As far as pest control goes I think that the neem is a good all rounder if you have some on hand. It should help to control the bulk of the pests you may get.
A regular feed with compost & or a fertiliser for citrus will also help keep the plant in top condition.
Hope that helps some.
Ok when you say pollinated do you mean by bees or by the flower itself? Right in the middle of the flower looks like what could be a lime possibly. Is that common for the lime to grow from the middle of the flower? Behind the flower I have white bud looking circles
Pollination can happen both ways with a bit of help from the wind moving the branches & the insects as I've been told. The fruit will form behind the central part of the flower behind where the pistil (part that receives the pollen) sits but inside the flower formation itself. Just made up this shot to help explain it.
instagram.com/p/BHgTCPdgqIE/?taken-by=bits_out_the_back
Sorry I didn't explain that better the first time & hope it helps some.
Rob.
thats really cool man. Ive just started, with a little success, some grafting on peppers. I am trying to grow different citrus here in NY USA. have a couple one year old lemons. I did copy one of your Ideas with the wicking air pruning pots. got a couple ideas from you. how have they been doing for you? great vid once again
+James Rowley
Hi James & thanks mate.
The wicking pots are growing well thanks mate. The lemon in the root pouch wicking barrel has just started to take off after being dormant for all of winter. That one had me worried for a few months ;)
Cheers & all the best with the patch mate.
Hey Rob, check out iron deficiency on that tree, I'm no expert, but it might be worth a look. Mix up some chelated iron in a wotering can and splash a bit around.
Peter Astbury Hi Peter. Have had a bit of a look & it's presenting a bit different from iron deficiency.
Will add a bit anyway as it can't hurt.
Thanks & have a great one.
Thanks very helpful 😄
No problem Kathy.
Happy growing.
Hi Rob,
Another very informative session.
Just wondering if you ever use pruning wond repair to keep the rot from setting in?
In the last minute or so over your right shoulder I noticed what seems to be a leaf spinning on the silk of a bag worm.
I'm from Colorado Springs, Co. Do you have those in your part of the world?
Thank you so much.
+T Webster
Hi Mate.
I don't use any wound paint or dressings on the trees but know a few locals that do. I've never had a problem with the trees getting rot where I've pruned them so haven't bothered. I suppose it would be better to play it safe though.
The web behind me is from an orb spider. We have a load of them all through the patch here at the moment. Anything that helps to reduce the grasshopper population is more than welcome at the moment.
Cheers & all the best for 2016 :-)
Thank you so much.
Happy growing...
Yep, I reach ya Brother, picking up a lime. It's like me picking up a towel from the bath floor. I can move 2,200 retaining wall blocks each weighing 65 pounds no problem. Three months latter no labor at all, and when I pick a towel up off the bath floor, then I'm out for four weeks. Makes no sense at all!
PS. beard is looking Great!
+Ron Szegleti
Hey Ron.
Missed this post sorry mate. Has happened a few times to me over the past few years & always by doing the most basic of chores. This time it didn't last too long which was a blessing.
Beard has gone a bit feral & needs a trim I think. Might see if Bianca is interested in pulling the hedge trimmers out tonight ;-)
Look after yourself mate.
Rob.
Funny, beard, hair, eye brows, that's a video in it's self!!!
Cheers friend!
Have you tried Epsom salt for the yellowing leaves? It may be a sign of a magnesium deficiency.
I have a feeling it could be an Iron issue. Thanks for the suggestion.
Cheers.
Hi mate we living is Adelaide I go it Tahitian lime so can I ask one question abaut water and fertiliser can give to me same advice thanks
I use the rooster booster on ours mate. Is that what you were wanting to know>?
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner.
Do you compost your citrus branches? I know some people who say don't do it, but I'm not really sure why, and it seems to me that any organic plant matter ought to be compostable?
justgivemethetruth Hi Mate.
I think it more of a precaution thing as some diseases might be spread through old foliage. Am fairly sure this tree is disease free so it isn't a big issue.
Will be putting the left over branches through the mulcher & adding them to the compost I'm making this afternoon.
Cheers & all the best.
thanks for this video I am about to prune all of my fruit trees here in NZ this weekend =) I did not realise what you were saying about the bark getting sunburnt. I was planning on opening the centre up. I lost two kaffir lime to scale but the most recent one is doing quite well (fingers crossed). I harvested my Tumeric this weekend and I got about three thumbs only =(
Nige NZ Hi Nige.
The bark on citrus sunburns very easily which can ultimately kill the tree from what I've read & been told. Might not be an issue in all climates but was something I was told to be aware of here.
Keep putting my turmeric harvest off as other jobs keep popping up. Hope to do 2 lots this weekend as well as some ginger.
All the best,
Rob.
I can replant the tumeric "bulb" again straight away with the dead/old stalk attached?
Nige NZ It couldn't hurt to try Nige. I have left root sections in the ground all winter to give them a head start for the next season but we don't have very wet winters here. I have also stored root sections of plants in coconut coir in a cool spot until they were ready to go out too in spring if that helps any.
ah k, I might store them in some perlite or something its been a really wet winter in the north of NZ this year, they were actually drowning as my self watering barrell had blocked and the latest downpour had them swimming
Nige NZ We nearly lost our first lot to a poorly draining wicking barrel.
Hope the perlite works out OK mate.
I've seen all of those on my citrus except for the black lady beetles, but I wouldn't have known what I was looking at. Thanks for pointing them out. We don't seem to have a huge gall wasp problem here but the stink bugs can be a problem (I squish em with gloves on). The grass hoppers slaughtered my young citrus last year. Hope your lime bounces back and that mine looks as good as yours soon. Jerry Colby Williams went on about not chop and dropping on the donor plant due to diseases but I think it's nonsense. What happens when a plant naturally drops its leaves? Thanks for sharing mate, you obviously don't prune your beard as enthusiastically.
Ben Jamin Morning Ben.
Grasshoppers & leaf miners did the last kaffir in I think. Just too much strain on the plant. No stink bugs on the lime but do get them on the tomatoes in the aquaponics.
:-D Bianca wants to shape it up a but but I'm all for the wild & woolly look ;-)
Cheers mate & hope all's well.
helpful for the starter like me.......thanks mate.......
Am glad it helped some mate.
Happy growing.
@@RobsAquaponics thanking you............let see...........still cold weather during majority of the day in Melbourne, Victoria here.........
I'm a new grower I just got my first small lime tree I got my first flower how can I tell if it will bare fruit? You mentioned the buds but I'm not sure if your taking about the small things around the flower or not
Hi there.
Limes & all citrus have perfect flower which means both male & female parts. There should also be a small fruit right behind the flower itself. The small fruit will start to swell if it's been pollinated & is going to set a fruit.
Hope that helped some mate.
Hello there Rob, I just had a question, do you ever use "pruning paint" on the larger cuts you've made on your tree? or do you find it's not really necessary in your area.
BTW, we get leaf miner here in the States as well, the dirty lil buggers.
thanks for another great video!
Cheers!
Kemper B Hi there. Have never had anyone recommend it to me so haven't looked into it to tell you the truth. Will have a search & read up on it later tonight.
Glad you liked the clip & have a great one.
Rob.
Rob, yeah I've always used it especially on citrus tress when I was in California, really important to keep the critter out of the wound and it helps promote proper healing of the wound as well. best of luck to ya. :-)
Kemper B Thanks. Haven't found much info on it being used here.
does the fungi in your area spread their spores in autumn?
Hi Rob. Quite possibly mate. We do have quite a lot of fungi of all sort in the area. I really don't know a lot about them to tell you the truth.
Sorry for the slow reply.
Nice looking basket of limes! I can't do citrus outside in my area, but I've been thinking of trying a miniature variety in a wicking barrel and bringing it inside during the winter. Have you tried citrus in a wicking barrel? I'm also not sure I'd get enough light indoors and I'm not sure artificial light would be sufficient. Guess I better do more research... Thanks for the look!
Subedei's Garden Hi there & thanks. This tree has been a great producer for us.
I do have a dwarf lemon in an air pruning wicking barrel at the moment but it's not doing much due to the weather. Haven't really showed it off as I'm waiting to see how it goes.
Cheers & have a great weekend.
What is the name of the mulcher you are using? I need one of those.
Hi mate.
It's a GMC brand but unfortunately they went belly up a few years back. I scored this one dirt cheap at the local markets a few years ago.
Cheers.
I paint the trunks of my citrus so they dont get sunburnt helps alot
Luckily ours is bushy enough to protect most of the trunk Tina. Have had a mate suggest that we paint the branches in the centre if we open up the canopy too much.
Cheers.
"winter"... oh man i laughed and laughed. Try to not freeze your feet off in 20 degrees, cheers:)
MichaelP ForRBE Must be winter, had to put socks on last night ;-)
Cheers Michael.
Thanks for your tips :)
+Benja's Uber 1337 Hobby
Hi there & hope they help you out some.
Sorry I missed another of your comments.
Cheers & have a great one,
Rob.
+RobBobs Backyard Farming :) np with all your followers i'm surprised you don't miss more. I know you are busy and have help me with the info in needed. With 50k subs i don't know how you keep up.
Hi Rob, can you tell the citrus tree from the flower please? We moved into a house a year ago and this citrus tree is stacked with flowers! Would love to know what to expect. Also, it has black powder stuff on the leaves and not sure if i can treat it whilst in bloom. (And with what?)
Cheers!
-Heidi.
You probably could tell some from flowers & leaves but I'm not that experienced sorry. Did it end up setting fruit?
@@RobsAquaponics yes it did. Thank you for your reply. Where is the best place to send pics please?
I'm not too sure, maybe a plant ID page on Facebook. You could post them to my page over there & will have a look when I get some time later.
facebook.com/Bitsouttheback
Hi I just started working on a small lime farm I don't have any idea on Pune the trees my boss said to make them to knee highs or around the trees is that the way ? I'm trying not to stuff it up can U help ? With any ideas than ?
Hi Alan. My pruning method works for those wanting to still see some continuing production from the tree.
I have seen folks cut them back really hard to bare trunk but haven't looked into doing that with our tree.
If it's a commercial farm I'd probably go with what the boss says. 👍
Cheers mate.
@@RobsAquaponics thanks U the boss is all good so far on what I done I'm only cutting them at need Hight and no more he want them lifters up so we can work around them he has 20rows of them and about 30 trees long I got five rows left to do !
Do you use petroleum based horticultural oils for the pests?
Outbound Earthman Hi mate.
I don't use any oil other than neem at the moment. Will make my own white oil from cooking oil if I ever need it in the future. You having a few bug issues ?
RobBobs Backyard Farming I was actually going to recommend neem so nevermind, lol
Outbound Earthman :-D Got a litre of pure neem under the house still ;-)
Thanks mate & all the best.
You know what out of thousand fruits and flowers on my lime trees
Return it in house one fruit survived like magic
On some of my plants there are these bugs you call Red Scale. My Citrus plants are small and I pick them off twice a week but they are also on my Jasmin and Hazelnut. With horticultural oil you mean neem-oil spray? My hazelnut is to big to submerge in oil. How do you apply it? Red Scale is a real pest. Twice I threw away plants because they were covered in them.
Isa Bo Hi Isa Bo. White oil is a horticultural oil many people I know use to combat bugs. White oil concentrate is mixed with water & sprayed onto the bugs effectively suffocating them.
Neem oil is also useful & has the added benefit of having active constituents (Azadirachtin is the main one) that also act against plant eating insects.
Hope that helps some,
Rob.
Yes. Thank you Rob. I will try it. LOL. I should really not keep the phone next to my head when i'm in bed. It's 3am where I live. :)
Isa Bo :D Sorry about that.
A brilliant video on Organic pest control Rob! :) Your Lime tree may be deficient in magesium due to the cold?. A foliar spray of Epsom Salts is a possible remedy..
***** Hey Mr Nathan. Am thinking it could be more than one nutrient as it hasn't been fed much but aquaponic filter water & chook droppings for the past few years.
Will be taking your advice & will see how it goes. Will I see a change straight away in the leaves ?
Cheers mate.
It shouldn't take any longer than a week to improve, being a foliar application
***** Thanks mate.
OY! When are you going to get crackin' on shaping that _beard_, mate? Some epic potential there! :-) Have a great day!
Scott Baker
:-D Bianca was talking about having a crack at it soon. I really don't care how wild & woolly it gets ;-)
Cheers Scott.
Is that a small snake in the tree at 8:41? Maybe it was going to feast on that grass hopper.
+Jevon Allen
😃 I think I see what you mean. Fairly sure it's part of the old luffa vine that was growing through the tree 👍
Cheers Jevon.
Good to see you finally got yourself a rooster.
***** One that won't annoy the neighbours or chase the kids unfortunately ;-)
Cheers Paul.
ph is 8+ in my Orchard of (kinnow) citrus variety . how to decrease ph level
+smagh navinder singh it is not easy to decrease the ph. you shouldnt be planting citrus trees there in the first place. i quess your soil will be white colour so i suggest you add iron fertiliser every year
Flowers of sulphur has been recommended to me to lower soil pH. It's an element so is considered organic if that is a concern. If there are any local citrus farms it might pay to go ask them what they would recommend that is locally available for you to use. It might be a good idea to take a tasty treat to thank them for the help too if you don't know them.
what are chooks? :)
+Rob Green ah ok you meant chickens :)
Chickens
some how I was
Blacky, the feathered t rex.
sidney beach One of the most vicious chooks we've had Sidney ;-)
Cheers & have a great one.
In all the videos I watched you're the only one who said citrus plants need not be pruned to produce fruits. There are so much videos on RUclips for citrus pruning alone which is compelling me to believe that it needs to be pruned.
When in doubt do a search ;)
goo.gl/0B1x7r
Have seen a lot of misinformation on different RUclips gardening channels so it pays to double check everything, even my clips ;)
Cheers & have fun reading.
I think once any plant is established it does not need any real pruning to produce well
Rob Bob's Backyard Farming Thanks señor Bob ;), also for googling it for me. I stand corrected now.
I bet you do more pruning to your beard than your citrus LOL. Just kidding :P
Looking forward to your citrus tree videos
:D Pruned the beard back just the other day but only by a CM or 2 ;)
Cheers
Rob Bob's Backyard Farming
Hey BoB, would you do exclusive videos on your oranges, all the fertilizing and caring you do for the plant. That'd be the stuff I'd love to watch. I'm always crazy about growing oranges and have tons of doubts n confusions, like soil pH, mineral deficiency etc etc.
Great video Rob! We have a Lime tree that got collar rot because i foolishly kept top dressing it. The bed was boarded in and raised from grass/ground level which it was originally planted. Only half the tree has died and have now unburied the trunk and painted it with anti-rot (dilute potassium phosphite).
Thought this website might help with your sciatica stretchtherapy.net/
Thanks for the link. I think I've only had 1 bad attack since this clip that I can think of so it's settled down quite a lot.
How's the tree looking now ?
Cheers.
Using egg infested leaves to mulch around the lime tree is NOT a good idea
I think that would depend on the pest. As the leaves dry out there would be less feed for any bugs (leaf miners, aphids scale) & they'd die off. The galls I dispose of, as I mentioned in the video.
We never see outbreaks after a trim like this so I suppose it works for us but might be different for you.
Cheers.