Reminds me so much of my childhood. Want to enjoy those trees even more? Put a hammock between 2 of them during the spring when they are blooming and bask in their fragrance. So many rural campsites have these citrus trees where campers have spit the seeds during fun times of old. It’s truly one of the magic things I love about Florida. Thank you for sharing this footage.
I've done that many times, mostly as a kid, from the 'special trees' in the woods here in coastal central Florida, until the developers dozed them down. So sweet the juice; can almost taste it now. Nice video on an almost forgotten time. Thank you.
Not only did they breed away from seeds, they bred the plants natural defenses away. A Plants defense mechanisms are closely connected to its reproduction.
Who knew that Florida is having a problem with citrus. I don't think that their announcing it to the world. Thanks, very informative. Plant those seeds ♥
Amazing. Save those seeds and spread them everywhere freely so the earth can heal herself. Thanks for sharing. I’m moving down to Fl in a few years and can’t wait to start my own food forest. U guys give so much inspiration. 👏🌱🌴🌳🌞
Jennifer Calderon That would be an awesome thing to witness after all the seeds are spread everywhere. Great idea! Pay it forward is a wonderful thing.
Jennifer C, indeed the good Lord has provided the Earth with Abundant of food. May they provide a source of sustainance in the Difficult Times ahead that is to affect the Earth in the End Days. Shalom to all n Godspeed
Monsanto sold out to Bayer: another company who doesn't mind poisoning people. I found out that Miracle Gro is owned by Monsanto. I won't use their products anymore.
@@ES-mc3cc Poisoning people? Do you got sources on that? Cuz all I hear is "GMO KILLS PEOPLE", but I never get anything to prove that claim. Sometimes it feels like this is the modern version of the church hating science back in the time.
@@MrFasho123 do you think all of these new allergies people have can be traced back TO GMF? People have allergys now, that if they had them 75 years ago they would not have lived long enough to reproduce. People have wheat allergies and wheat has been one of the staple foods for hundreds of years. I agree, i have not seen definitive evidence that GM Foods cause these things, but it wasn't that long ago that smoking wasn't considered deadly and a little before that, cocaine, heroin and morphine was sold as a treat all at most any general store and a safe cure all for children. They were all considered safe alternatives. Even cigarettes were believed to have health benifits right along with drinking radioactive water. I will do my best to avoid Genetically Altered/Modified Foods and let the sheeple be the Guineapigs.
Robert Grays what do they say to each other? Not being sarcastic but I think so too. When a plant Start to bear fruit, I noticed that the nearby plant stats to have flowers
jokes aside, plants secrete hormones from their roots which tell the beneficial microbes in the soil what to do, and can also positively or negatively affect other plants.
Monoculture is unnatural and unhealthy---out of balance. The grower has to try to compensate, and eventually loses. Because those citrus in the forest are supplied healthy nutrients, the trees are in better health. I would bet that those fruits have more trace minerals and are probably better for whoever eats them, maybe making them more disease resistant---similarly to how the trees are healthier from what they are eating.
@@aj-qn7nm The lemon tree I had planted near some of my oaks, and under their canopy somewhat, appears to be pretty happy about it. I am going to cast about my seeds from citrus in my wooded area to the back, and see if some become trees on their own back there. I'm in Texas. If I grow a pineapple, it will have to be in a greenhouse. I have been wondering what I could plant low under the oaks and lemon. I may just plant a few more well-placed citrus around that area for now.
To find a really good example of what this topic is heading towards you simply need to meet a Mexican farmer that specializes in what's called three uhhh something. (Queens?) Sorry I forget the name but it's basically growing corn, beans, and squash in the same field because of the way each plant benefits the others. Beans supply nitrogen for the corn which shades the squash. This type of agriculture needs to be studied more but...it's sort of labor intense.
@@mikeries8549 I tried that 'three sisters' old Native American planting, a while back and it didn't do so well. I have improved my soil a lot since then, so it might fare better now. I plant peanuts and purple hull peas. Corn does okay alone as well. Winter squashes have done well for me, but summer squashes have not done well yet. I'm going to try zucchini again this year. I plant all of that in full sun, with a little shade in late afternoon on some of it. Nothing is really 'alone' since they are close proximity and rotated, in my gardens.
Yes! My hubby and I just bought land in FL and were stunned to find dozens and dozens of citrus trees, packed in absolutely gorgeous fruit, all thriving inside our forest. We've identified 3 different types of mandarins. Nature will find way!
Perhaps citrus originally was an understory tree. And thats why their leaves are darker that other trees, to absorb more of the sun's energy in slightly shady conditions.
could be why trunks are so susceptible to sun scalding (developed somewhat as an understory) as well even though they might have evolved with some skirt
Those are old groves. I live in the area and it's no secret to us locals to plant citrus under live-oak trees to protect them from frost. This guy must be from up north....
@@blackbway there isnt any waste. My aunt had a coconut tree in her yard and people would raid her tree at night. She hasnt gotten any off her own trees because of raiders. She cant even plant more because NONE LEFT. Stop raiding and let some go to seed!
If I saw you on my land, I'd immediately think "poacher" too. Matt was recently talking about his wild understory oranges thriving too. It seems like there is something the greening researchers are missing. Great video. Thanks.
Allan Turpin hahah right! Yeah me and Matt loaded up here a few weeks back while doing some consultation work. I was itching for more citrus so figured I’d film it too :)
I used to work at a bee farm and we would put bees in forested places I would see the amount of fruit trees in some of these places in Brooksville and other areas and so sweet and juicy also recall the amount of spiders as well different species doing what spiders do maybe because of the pesticides they use at groves kill off the bad insects but also the good maybe that's part of the problem as well
Great video. I bought a small Tangerine tree and made a point of planting it in the understory of an oak tree in my yard in Miami because of this video. I hope it works its magic. Thanks for posting this video!
Thats called a hammock where those trees are located , probably an old Fl homestead . Protects trees from becoming bitter or sour fruit except under extreme frost conditions .7th generation Floridian here .
The beauty of Forest Gardening. It's not thriving on neglect, it's thriving on the love of the natural process of nature!! A food forest nurtures itself. We are the ones who neglect and don't work with nature a lot of the time. Amazing video!
@Blue collar Gold pockets We got that vaiety down here in Tobago. And in the sister isle also Trinidad.. yep they are normally loaded farmers load pickup trucks with these all the time..We have also a yellow variety and one thats green dark green when fully ripe..
Hey Stefan! I’ve head alligators will eat citrus and spread the seeds along the rivers. I’m actually thinking this was an old abandoned citrus land from the 50’s now. I’ve had lots of old timers reach out with all kinds of great info. The variety is a “Dancy” it was introduced in 1870 and never took off as a commercial variety because its a soft fruit and didn’t have a long shelf life.
Florida is very hot in the summertime. I believe that a lots of plants including citrus, need a little shade. The leaves will be greener. Also the plant won't need as much water to. The strong sun light + high temperatures can really bleach out the leaves, and Scorch the plant. I see a lot of growers in Fl, grow in straight sunlight, with no shade cloth!. Shade cloth can be expensive and it doesn't last forever. You end up throwing it away in the garbage after just 3 years. These days shade cloth is mainly made of plastic. That's why you don't see a lot of growers using it! Healthy plants have a better chance of fighting off insects and diseases with no pesticides then one that are stressed from their environment. A weak plant is more susceptible to disease and insect! You should think about taking soil samples from the soil around the trees to see if there's any beneficial microbes fungi! This can be a way to feed a tree without using fertilizers! Oak trees could possibly be the answer too. Oak trees typically have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixed fungi.
The neighborhood i grew up in the palm harbor area had wild citrus trees of so many different varieties growing all through the woods. It’s was so cool. The trees are so big and make hundreds of citrus. Some so sweet some not so much. So cool
Growing up my family had orange groves in Lakeland and plant city. The old tangerine variety that was planted widely in Florida was called Dancy Tangerine. Maybe they are seedlings from that old variety. They had more seeds than the new tangerine varieties but delicious. Thanks for the video it’s super cool to see these citrus trees thriving. It’s funny because we still have a few seedlings trying to grow under our oak trees and I keep cutting them down. I figured they would be just sour rootstock but they look great so maybe I will let them grow and see.
That last tree shot gave me chills. Amazing! I need to plant my lime tree in the ground with mycorrhiza and dappled light. I grafted lemon to it, but the tree is just struggling so much with leaf miners, and possibly Greening.
The oaks really help with fighting off the greening. I just went to a talk with UF and they’re having success with oak oils to prevent and reverse greening. It was a really interesting talk.
Hey! We have found several places like this in the Ocala National Forest too! We also observed that every location that these wild citrus tree patches were also had large oak canopies. My brother in law is one of the guys in our group and he’s pretty familiar with the Greening problem. He believes the Oaks are somehow tied with these wild citrus groves. He’s currently working with David The Good on a project. You might reach out to him to see if he knows anything about these wild citrus groves in oak hammocks.
it really looks magical that bright orange dappled in the dark green. to me that is also a very inspiring thing, the fact that it doesn't need the full sun you typically would imagine needed.
Pete, I got the same thing here on my property in Gilchrist County, Fl. I have 17 citrus trees on my property that I planted myself with so far no greening. Also some volunteer orange trees came up in my woods with sweet fruit, kinda seedy and lots of oranges. Pretty cool. We squeeze them along with the others I planted. Most of my citrus I give away to family, friends and the Food Pantry. I'm guessing because I am isolated from other citrus that greening hasn't made it here yet. We got down to 20 degrees here about 3 weeks back. So far so good. Interesting video. Thanks.
That is an amazing find! I think it would be so cool to propagate that variety and try it against the psyllids. We discovered a similar grove of oranges that are almost exactly like Valencias growing in a cypress and live oak river bottom in Pasco County Florida. I plan to give those a try... Nice meeting you at the Loquat Festival last weekend - thanks for the educational info you're putting out, it's much appreciated.
I had three young trees which my mom had planted. She brought one with her when we moved from our old house. She planted it and she multiplied it... two were older than me..and one younger... she passed away in 2005. But the trees were growing beautifully. It had started producing fruits too... unfortunately someone trespassed and ha chopped them down... when I saw those trees with fruits lying on the ground... I could not react... I couldn’t cry, I couldn’t shout at those people... still when I think about those trees... I am always blank..it was a heartbreak I can never get over....:((( I miss my mom I miss those trees...
I remember before all of these alternative methods to farming came out on RUclips, back in the early 2000's, there were a bunch of videos about Layering your food forest. That you need a "Canopy" layer, then you had your "Wood" layer, then you had your "Fruit" layer, then you had your "Bush" layer, then you had your "flowers", "Weeds" and "grass/covers". I'm paraphrasing here because I can't really remember how it goes. But the important part of course was the canopy layer. Certain trees, like fruit tress, are not meant to be in direct sunlight all the time. Canopy layers are best suited for that. So fruit trees thrive in the underside of the canopy.
Certain fruit trees probably, yes. I have several varieties of mango, sugar apple, and rose apple trees that had stopped or produced very few fruits for some years after being shaded by teak trees that my dad planted for shade. A few months ago i decided to prune the branches to let some light in and within a month loads of flower had formed on all of the trees. I'm waiting for the fruits to ripen now :D
@@baikia777 Yea they need some light, but not a whole heap of direct sunlight. Like in Pete's video, you can see how the light shines through the canopy sparsely. I think that's pretty ideal.
@@youcanthandlethetruth6976 yes that's true but like i said, only some of them. Most big fruit trees need full direct sunlight since in the wild they're the ones that become the canopy for other plants. Or fruit like fig for example that grows in dry and sunny area. Try growing it in underforest area like that and see what happen.
@@baikia777 Hmm, that's a good idea. I might try that out. I'll grow plants in both direct sunlight and under a canopy and see what the results are. Good idea, thanks for the tip.
Some trees need some shade, some full sun. Some will grow in shade, but not fruit well, and vice versa. The size of the natural grown-from-seed tree is often a giveaway. And yes, most citrus trees are relatively small, compared to say a wild pear or apple, and especially things like oaks, ash, beech, walnut, etc. Robert Hart is probably responsible for the 7 layer food forest model. ruclips.net/video/6zv3JxnjLEg/видео.html The model went top canopy of tall, light loving trees, then short shade tolerant trees, then shrubs, then herbaceous plants, ground covers, rhizomes and roots, and finally vertical climbers than will use trunks of other plants.
I live in Jupiter which is in south FL and whenever I go to the Loxahatchee River (Riverbend Park) I always see wild orange trees growing all over the park in the exact same setup growing in with the wild magnolia trees oaks and maples!
I live in Florida, Don't go into the woods very much. But I do remember finding some Calamondin Orange growing wild once. Most likely the seeds were planted by someone. But they were still very delicious. Quite sour but I do love sour things. They are also perfect for growing indoors due to their small size.
Good videos, I have learned of a lot of fruit varieties to grow and am successfully growing Zone 10 suff in Jefferson county. Thanks again for the inspiration. I had to comment as this is occurs in north Florida, we have two citrus varieties a yellow lemon and mandarin that has loose thick skins, that do this naturalization if the winter is light on heavy crop years. Both types have "revived" from greening once pruned like an aged apple (back to main stem in early spring) in home plantings of the varieties. The issue alot have is the nutrients in the soil farther south, clay rifts and silt banks facilitate the seed based propogation further north. Mixed hardwoods and colder winters allow them to grow without many problems, if the area has some pines (basic water will burn them out of iorn if not balanced by evergreens). The seedlings are most useful at the edge of gardens where tilling occurs as the shallow roots will mitigate errosion without choking the vegetables.
Hey Pete, almost positive you have a Satsuma variety. They’re super common on the MS and Al gulf coast. My parents tree makes more fruit than you can harvest and they do absolutely nothing to it in terms of cultivation. Hardy as hell
Yep, definitely satsuma. My great grandparents had a grove of them in Melrose, Alachua County back in the 1920’s. We had one from a cutting in the back yard when I was growing up. Same easy peel and very few seeds. Our dog would pick them, peel them, and eat them.
I did a lot of hiking in forest like that near Brooksville in the 80's. I never had the fortune of running into wild citrus trees, but never had the misfortune of ticks either. I did pick small wild blackberries along the cattle fence that were sweet and flavorful, unlike the big sour ones in the store.
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFL I don't recall any caves, but it's possible. I remember a time from my childhood that I'll never forget. Walking around Lake Hancock, I see these streams of water disappearing into cracks on the ground. I keep walking (like a fool) and I see this sinkhole with a shallow river of water from the lake flowing into the sinkhole. I get up to the edge of the sinkhole and I see a bathtub size whirlpool of water just gushing into the earth. Now that I look back, the ground was unstable and I was in danger. It could have collapsed and I could have been sucked into the earth, never to be found! I don't think my parents even knew I was there. This is back when kids were free-range. I think that sinkhole drained a good portion of Lake Hancock.
I'm thinking an OLD, 1900s farmstead with a small orange grove which has gone wild and other native trees have come up. In an understory situation the ground stays cooler and MUCH wetter.
The fruit became much more common in the United States starting in the late 19th century, according to wicapida. It's Nick name is old man's fruit. Thank you Donna
bitsnpieces11 Years ago we lived in the Brigadoon complex in Clearwater, FL. Behind the complex was an abandoned grove and other trees had naturally sprouted building a forest there. Plenty oranges for the picking.
Thank you for this video. I am building my food forest and came across this video last night. I live in Port Richey and got up early to go to Brooksville to see if I could find this. I don't think I found the exact place you were, but found the exact fruit, and it is AWESOME. If anyone cares to go. I left some. Its just on the right side of the HWY 98, a little past the Yontz Rd intersection. You will see the tree just across from the blue HWY Patrol sign. I took about 10 seedlings hatched beneath the tree and a couple cutting of small branches to clone. The soil is so perfect, that the seedling just wiggle out with the roots still intact. Also got some fruit for seeds. I can not believe how perfect the soil is, and the fruit has no blemishes. I will be posting a short video tomorrow evening of my potted cuttings. Thanks again for the inspiration!!!
That’s awesome man! I’ve recently hit those trees but it’s not where I made the video. They were pretty sweet too, I’m thinking the same variety. The locals are telling me it’s a “Dancy” tangerine that’s been around sine the 1800’s. It never became a commercial variety because it gets soft quick and doesn’t ship well. Keep me posted! 👊
Hey Pete, nice meeting you at the loquat fest last weekend. Im the one with the “ magical” shirt. I bought one of your sherry’s. Just put it in the ground. Thanks for your knowledge brother!!
Yup. Only a matter of time. They already produce crops that produce sterile seeds (e.g., wheat) so the farmers have to buy new seed every year. Does anyone realize how dangerous that is? If the pollen from that should contaminate other crops, there could be mass crop failure. Might be hard to undo.
@@bonniewood5263 they're called hybrids, like a mule being infertile. Being blended with another similar species changes then enough to be resistant to disease. The issue with modern farming is each variety of fruit are genetically identical. They're all grafts of a prototype tree. That's the reason why when a disease pops up, it wrecks everything. It's the reason why avacados went from $0.50-1.00ea to $3-5ea.
@@krap101 Well, you are certainly knowledgeable! I did know about mules. I recently did some follow-up, and found that the infertility has to do with an uneven number of chromosomes, and the difficulty in lining up pairs that can be split for reproduction. (I'll let you look up the details!) Conception between mules is almost nonexistent (hence the rather indelicate expression, "as useless as tits on a mule!"), but it is occasionally managed. Their progeny, however, are weak. I know that some fruit and nut growers rely on grafting, but of course do so with similar, compatible species. It's bad news if we are limiting genetic diversity, however! Did we learn nothing from the Irish potato famines?
Paul Zink it’s very possible! I’m super excited to grow this seed out. I’ve been told by the locals it’s a Dancy tangerine, it’s been around since the late 1800’s
I have eaten and juiced much central Florida citrus, and save and juice the seeds with a juicer. It is very good for you, even though it tastes terrible.
if anyone is interested, in Tampa at Flatwoods park, on the mountain bike trail that you take from bruce b downs, if you will take the off road trail to section 30 to 32, there is a group of wild citrus trees in the middle of the woods. the oranges are in the very tops which are hard to reach , but very fruitful. the trees look very aged.
Thirteen years ago I planted a kumquat in our Levy County, Florida backyard, it froze back and I ignored the area that is now overgrown with fox grapes and oaks. Three years ago we knew that a citrus had grown from the root stock but had no idea what it was - just really sour. Then two years ago, it tasted a little better and this last year it had giant yellow (we thought grapefruit) that were still sour but seemed better. Still no care or thought to the tree. This early spring it had huge yellow fruit, not so sour, that were so large, the branches were touching the ground with 25 to 30 fruit each branch. They turned deep orange and seemed more tasty. I read about North Florida having a wild sour orange tree that was used to make great 'faux key lime pie' and bingo, I think this is a sour orange since the root stock is so darn hardy. No care, little sun, tons of fruit and can't be happier. The pies are fantastic so now I squeeze the fruit and freeze the juice.
I have seen people who think citrus is not good for agroforest model. It's a lie. My grandma had a lot of different citrus and when she died, the other tropical and big trees like mango, cajá, bread fruit overshadowed all of them and it's doing great with a lot of fruits. It's a mistery for me to, but it happens. Of course in dark places it's not good to, but in a balance shade, it's doing really great.
Camping in protected Florida national preserves, we discovered entire areas of healthy orange trees with absolutely delicious fruit. Many people in our camping area when we told them, took their trucks back there and picked those trees bare! Looks like it's the commercial sold fertilizers, herbicides harming the trees, leaving them weakened for insects to damage. Left natural, unattended these trees were prolific, fruit healthy and tasty. Originally put in for cattle who need the vit C. And ticks will climb up high in trees and fall on you from branches as they sense vibration below. Always check yourself from head to toe. We spayed our hats, clothing, and horses with Tri-Tec 14 and never had a problem with ticks getting on us, or the horses. Blessings
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFLTicks are so gross. Yes, after they've had their first blood meal, and aren't tiny nymphs, they fall off that host, rat, lizard, whatever, and climb up in trees to grow and wait on next meal. Yuck. Double yuck.
This is an epic share! I was under the impression that there had been success with some orchards with various foliar sprays. I 100% agree with the monoculture and lack of diversity as being a huge contributing factor. These trees reseeding themselves makes them stronger and adaptable with each seedling. I would love to put some of that soil under a microscope and check out what is going on with the soil. In an understory like that the soil would have to be rich in humus and have a fungal dominance rather than a bacteria dominance.
Planting from seed is always going to be a stronger defense against pests and disease. If you plant an entire field of citrus that are clones, you have no diversity of genetics to act as a healthy defense and in a mono cultural system this will eventually spell disaster as were now seeing for Florida citrus. We had an orange tree in our yard that came up from seed as a volunteer, in an oak understory and it was very healthy and grew vigorously with no care. Either way, looking forward to Florida emerging as a leader in the hemp industry to replace citrus!
Oof. Try that with apples. Granted, the seedlings that _survive_ will be at least somewhat resistant to the local pests, but the li'l buggers die off in droves when they're not mollycoddled. They won't do as well as a monoculture of a disease-resistant cultivar.
@Muse Verdant While there are some cultivars that do well enough in warm climates, I was talking about the genetics rather than the prospect of cultivating apples in lieu of citrus.
I got a secret location in Sumter county miles inside the woods there's a big citrus patch everywhere the fruit is so sweet and delicious, every time I go hunting I take a few fruit with me and I split the seeds in different locations I hunt within that general area.
This makes me happy. I am a FL girl who loves her oranges and I miss my dad's old orange tree he had. FL lost many citrus trees from the state removing them if there was canker near by and that program stopped right before or right around the time that HLB was first found. Basically the last 20 years has sucked for FL citrus trees. I'm trying to grow some orange tree seedlings right now and if they get to a point where they're ready to get planted in the ground, I might have a few spots they can go that are under some oak trees.
i found 2 trees similar to that close to me.. been eating them since a kid and they produce heavily... i use the seeds as rootstock for grafting expirements
I found a block like that when I lived in North Port, Fla but it is mostly pink grapefruit.The best ever.No sugar required.As long as you took just the meat out of the grapefruit's,delicious.Free for the taking.
John Sizemore that’s a possibility. I think the biggest difference is living SOIL. Commercial citrus is grown in round up ladened sugar sand and dowsed in chemicals.
From soil to canopy, all layers provide habitat for many species and a diverse ecosystem. This is how nature thrives and why monocultures are more like a machine to pump chemicals in and foods out.
Yeah man, my son lives just north of the Dunnellon area and in the wooded lots next to his house are loaded with citrus trees. His girlfriend's g-paw says they are tangelos, which are a cross between orange trees and tangerines. Super sweet, and yes I have seedlings already started and will be populating the woods on my property. Growing them for my children's, children don't cha know. Great video brother, thanks for sharing, you be da bomb !!! Don't be skeered to grow dem citrus, pound it !!!
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFL My man Pete !!! You're blessing me big time, already jump starting seeds, YES !!! I am wondering why you guys stopped supplying plants on your online store ? Too time consuming ? I know y'all are super busy, which is a good thang, lol, but thought it would be a good avenue of support for your channel. Just curious brother, not trying to get into your business, as always super stocked to see what you guys are up to, thanks again for sharing, you rock dude !!! 👊👊👊 Pete Kanaris for President !!! Make Cirus Great Again !!! LOL !!! Keep rockin in the "Green World" !!!
Reminds me when I was kid going back to Nevis in the caribbean, fruits and vegetables growing wild. Sometimes you could even see wild pumpkins grow on the side of the road.
they look a lot like the satsuma. it is a citrus fruit grown in northwest florida and south alabama. absolutely love it, skin comes right off and is not tough at all. really glad to hear of your discovery, that is terrific to find them like that!
I'm a machine operater and truck driver we're clearing some land in fort pierce florida?Loaded with oak trees, the whole place is loaded with calamondin and mandarin unaffected, by canker citrus greening, nothing wrong with them, super healthy and thankfully they're saving those trees. I dug up some seedlings and there doing great I'm going to plant them under my oak 🌳 s
The abundance of leaf litter fertilizes retains moisture and develops mycrorizia which enlarges the root area and facilitates the absorption of phosphorus and other elements not readily available.
I found a couple of oranges out in the driveway along the side of the street that someone dropped last summer that I have about 7 seedlings from the seeds, they looked like they were in good condition so I juiced them and they were so sweet with no acidity at all, just sweet. Supposedly most citrus is polyembryonic and will grow true from seed and at least part of them will fruit in 2 to 3 years.
A lot of things use to grow wild in old Florida. My grandma had a guava tree in her back yard. I use to climb it, sit on a limb and eat until I was nearly sick. Also we had a wild huckleberry patch on our property, from where my mom made pies on a regular basis. Good memories, but thanks to the developers, most of that has disappeared.
We had a giant wild mulberry tree in our backyard when growing up. We'd climb up and eat until we were sick and come home with stained clothes from sliding down the branches to the ground 😂
Wow. This brings black memories. In the 80s we lived just west of Orlando and we had abandent trees like those not far from our house. We would go for short walks and feast on these heavenly fruits. Also 1000ns of darkpink wildflowers were growing around there.....great memories. Thanks for sharing and reminding me.
We had a couple of what looks exactly like these at our newly purchased ranch. They didn't even get dappled sun. Loaded every year! I have been replicating the forest floor ever since.
That's just awesome! Hope you can get some trees going of your own and perhaps start a trend planting in the understory so that we can get organic citrus back. :)
Okay, this is good information for me. I am homeless and have my 'camp' in a grove of mostly paperbark eucalyptus, mixed with Florida Holly, a few pines (black, white, blackjack and Australian) and a few young mango trees (too young to fruit) and one very large sea grape tree. This means I can probably add a few tangerine trees to the under story and have a decent chance. I was thinking about adding one or two weeping, fruiting mulberry (since it does sometimes flood in here and weeping ones can handle more water than the regular kind) but yeah, I can use this.
My Grandfather had a 60:acre Grove near IndianTown. His name is Leslie Rowell from West Palm Beach. As a teen i went with him to the grove and witness the amount of hard work it took to maintain this grove. He left me with many memories and life lessors (Hard work). Love you Grampa
Citrus have always naturally grown in dappled shade in the understory of forests in their native range. Only farmers grow them in full sun where they then need tons of extra water and fertilizer.
Actually wild original citrus griws undergrowth. In my country the native wild orange r undergrowth... though r sweet in taste they produce smaller fruits. We also have a native wild variety which produces tiny fruits the size of blue berry.
Awesome story and images! I wonder if it's the tannins from the oak keeping the disease at bay, as well as the rotting citrus underneath? Citrus in the understory looks so much prettier than in a monoculture. Makes me feel like my young food forest is on the right track.
I live in Jacksonville FL and had 3 big beautiful citrus trees that all died last year due to greening. So sad! We make orange marmalade and fresh orange juice every year and this year was so sad having to go to the store to buy our oranges! My mom grew up in Citra Florida on a huge citrus and cattle farm when she was a girl. This video makes me happy! Thanks for sharing! :)
Brings to mind the Moody Blues song, "The Balance." If you've never laid down in an orange grove and stared up at the sky, you should put it on your bucket list.
I'm in Central Florida and have a tree with fruit like that, easy peel with seeds. My grandfather planted it like 20 years ago and it's got to be 20 feet tall and 10-15 feet round, and bushy as hell. When it fruits, it looks like a giant berry bush or something. Only problem is, recently it seems only the upper fruit is sweet. So I'm thinking it must have to do with sun exposure or something. It is also under some oaks, but gets sun in the mid day. I have another tree that produces excellent, large, very juicy oranges. But that one hasn't been doing very well. I think bugs have certainly been a problem, I'm not sure what is wrong with it. But this year it grew all new leaves, which is a good sign. As soon as the bloom is done, this year I'll probably be spraying it to see if it helps keep it healty. It's been neglected till now. Would love to see it survive since it was also planted by my grandfather.
I'm a little late on the draw here but this is so cool. I love the fact that these tree relationships can cause unknown effects, like what seems to be a higher resistance to citrus greening. It's amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Everything you're saying here is important! I went WFPB about 2 years ago and it has really pushed me to understand how we get our food, how we grow it, and how nature provides for us. It's scary how much monoculturing weve done what means for our future.
Thanks for sharing, Pete!! My father has a couple of citrus trees in Marion county palnted in a similar manner that are doing quite well. I'm hoping to try this theory out here in Palm beach county soon but, with a Mango/ Palm overstory
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFL He planted out seedlings and a grafted Meyer lemon years ago on the eastside of the house, right on the edge of an old growth forrest. it wasn't planned that way but, it's actually a nice microclimate! They really do thrive on neglect. He doesn't water or fertilize regularly and the trees are pretty healthy, besides mild damage from miners. He always has an abundance of sweet fruit to share in the winter
Birds and coyotes are going to eat those fallen fruits and spread the seeds all over the place and will make new trees. Pretty cool
Yes! I even noticed a raccoon eating them while in the woods. Someone else mentioned alligators also like citrus.
I saw a squirrel one time with orange in its mouth.
Hogs are more likely the reason for the spread of these fruit trees.
Coyotes eating fruit?
My dog use to disappear for weeks sometimes, and he'd usually be found in the citrus groves just chilling and chowing down.
Reminds me so much of my childhood. Want to enjoy those trees even more?
Put a hammock between 2 of them during the spring when they are blooming and bask in their fragrance.
So many rural campsites have these citrus trees where campers have spit the seeds during fun times of old.
It’s truly one of the magic things I love about Florida. Thank you for sharing this footage.
I've done that many times, mostly as a kid, from the 'special trees' in the woods here in coastal central Florida, until the developers dozed them down. So sweet the juice; can almost taste it now. Nice video on an almost forgotten time. Thank you.
Two ounces of gold. if i could own just one Temple orange tree.
Not only did they breed away from seeds, they bred the plants natural defenses away. A Plants defense mechanisms are closely connected to its reproduction.
Stop guessing, then proclaiming your guess is true. Ridiculous!
Who knew that Florida is having a problem with citrus. I don't think that their announcing it to the world. Thanks, very informative. Plant those seeds ♥
Thank you Vonda! 🙌
I wondered why citrus had gotten expensive, compared to what it used to be.
Actually it's been front page national news for YEARS.
Amazing. Save those seeds and spread them everywhere freely so the earth can heal herself. Thanks for sharing. I’m moving down to Fl in a few years and can’t wait to start my own food forest. U guys give so much inspiration. 👏🌱🌴🌳🌞
Jennifer Calderon for sure! Thank you 😊
Jennifer Calderon That would be an awesome thing to witness after all the seeds are spread everywhere. Great idea! Pay it forward is a wonderful thing.
Jennifer C, indeed the good Lord has provided the Earth with Abundant of food. May they provide a source of sustainance in the Difficult Times ahead that is to affect the Earth in the End Days.
Shalom to all n Godspeed
My dad bought land and during his snowbirds trips planted trees. He ended up selling it but the food forest was there by the time a house was built.
Smart suggestion! Wishin You and Yours all Good Things...
Monsanto can't make a dollar off those beautiful trees
Unless their patented genes cross pollinate
Monsanto sold out to Bayer: another company who doesn't mind poisoning people. I found out that Miracle Gro is owned by Monsanto. I won't use their products anymore.
@@ES-mc3cc Poisoning people? Do you got sources on that? Cuz all I hear is "GMO KILLS PEOPLE", but I never get anything to prove that claim. Sometimes it feels like this is the modern version of the church hating science back in the time.
@@MrFasho123 glyphosate aka round up causes cancer and reduces fertility in those that eat it. This includes cattle as well as people.
@@MrFasho123 do you think all of these new allergies people have can be traced back TO GMF? People have allergys now, that if they had them 75 years ago they would not have lived long enough to reproduce. People have wheat allergies and wheat has been one of the staple foods for hundreds of years. I agree, i have not seen definitive evidence that GM Foods cause these things, but it wasn't that long ago that smoking wasn't considered deadly and a little before that, cocaine, heroin and morphine was sold as a treat all at most any general store and a safe cure all for children. They were all considered safe alternatives. Even cigarettes were believed to have health benifits right along with drinking radioactive water. I will do my best to avoid Genetically Altered/Modified Foods and let the sheeple be the Guineapigs.
Trees talk to each other.
Variety is the spice of life.
Robert Grays what do they say to each other? Not being sarcastic but I think so too. When a plant Start to bear fruit, I noticed that the nearby plant stats to have flowers
Yes they do. They sing too. I love our forests.
It's chemical language. Some plants also use chemical to kill competitive plants.
jokes aside, plants secrete hormones from their roots which tell the beneficial microbes in the soil what to do, and can also positively or negatively affect other plants.
Is that why bananas are so boring?
Monoculture is unnatural and unhealthy---out of balance. The grower has to try to compensate, and eventually loses. Because those citrus in the forest are supplied healthy nutrients, the trees are in better health.
I would bet that those fruits have more trace minerals and are probably better for whoever eats them, maybe making them more disease resistant---similarly to how the trees are healthier from what they are eating.
Andi Amador 🙌
Exactly, farming should be horticultural based for example have a oak tree then avocado then orange then pinapple
@@aj-qn7nm The lemon tree I had planted near some of my oaks, and under their canopy somewhat, appears to be pretty happy about it.
I am going to cast about my seeds from citrus in my wooded area to the back, and see if some become trees on their own back there.
I'm in Texas. If I grow a pineapple, it will have to be in a greenhouse. I have been wondering what I could plant low under the oaks and lemon. I may just plant a few more well-placed citrus around that area for now.
To find a really good example of what this topic is heading towards you simply need to meet a Mexican farmer that specializes in what's called three uhhh something. (Queens?) Sorry I forget the name but it's basically growing corn, beans, and squash in the same field because of the way each plant benefits the others. Beans supply nitrogen for the corn which shades the squash.
This type of agriculture needs to be studied more but...it's sort of labor intense.
@@mikeries8549 I tried that 'three sisters' old Native American planting, a while back and it didn't do so well. I have improved my soil a lot since then, so it might fare better now.
I plant peanuts and purple hull peas. Corn does okay alone as well. Winter squashes have done well for me, but summer squashes have not done well yet. I'm going to try zucchini again this year.
I plant all of that in full sun, with a little shade in late afternoon on some of it. Nothing is really 'alone' since they are close proximity and rotated, in my gardens.
Yes! My hubby and I just bought land in FL and were stunned to find dozens and dozens of citrus trees, packed in absolutely gorgeous fruit, all thriving inside our forest. We've identified 3 different types of mandarins. Nature will find way!
How cool is that! Welcome to Florida y’all
Want to trade seeds or something? I'm in the Tampa Bay Area and would love to get my hands on some wild citrus seeds for when I earn some property.
Whoa! That's awesome to walk into a forest & find a loaded citrus tree like that.
Robby Mata right! Free food excites me 😬
In Canada 🇨🇦 you walk into a forest and find Apple 🍎 trees.
Yes
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFL looks like an imperial mandarin tangy and sweet
@@g..n.4700 And blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants, choke cherries, plus a million other delicious ebibles
Perhaps citrus originally was an understory tree.
And thats why their leaves are darker that other trees, to absorb more of the sun's energy in slightly shady conditions.
could be why trunks are so susceptible to sun scalding (developed somewhat as an understory) as well even though they might have evolved with some skirt
wilecatrexy that’s very possible!
Jeff interesting observation!
In the 🇩🇴 my family grows theirs under other bigger trees. And always have a massive harvest.
da1stamericus thanks for sharing!!
I drive past those all the time. I assumed it was old groves. Good to know they taste good.
Heidi W most are sooo sweet!
in Jamaica we would stop and raid the $#!+ out of them! none would have gone wasted.
Those are old groves. I live in the area and it's no secret to us locals to plant citrus under live-oak trees to protect them from frost. This guy must be from up north....
@@blackbway there isnt any waste. My aunt had a coconut tree in her yard and people would raid her tree at night. She hasnt gotten any off her own trees because of raiders. She cant even plant more because NONE LEFT. Stop raiding and let some go to seed!
@@deemueller6470 I understand and feel for your aunt, but dem tangerines couldn't be in my country and not be raided
They look so much yummier under the canopy. So natural! Amazing.
Anna Ezra they really do glow 🙌
reminds me of when i was a kid growing up on the island, stealing fruits from neighbor's trees....
If I saw you on my land, I'd immediately think "poacher" too.
Matt was recently talking about his wild understory oranges thriving too. It seems like there is something the greening researchers are missing.
Great video. Thanks.
Allan Turpin hahah right! Yeah me and Matt loaded up here a few weeks back while doing some consultation work. I was itching for more citrus so figured I’d film it too :)
I used to work at a bee farm and we would put bees in forested places I would see the amount of fruit trees in some of these places in Brooksville and other areas and so sweet and juicy also recall the amount of spiders as well different species doing what spiders do maybe because of the pesticides they use at groves kill off the bad insects but also the good maybe that's part of the problem as well
Great video. I bought a small Tangerine tree and made a point of planting it in the understory of an oak tree in my yard in Miami because of this video. I hope it works its magic. Thanks for posting this video!
Thats called a hammock where those trees are located , probably an old Fl homestead . Protects trees from becoming bitter or sour fruit except under extreme frost conditions .7th generation Floridian here .
The beauty of Forest Gardening. It's not thriving on neglect, it's thriving on the love of the natural process of nature!! A food forest nurtures itself. We are the ones who neglect and don't work with nature a lot of the time. Amazing video!
Man I would pay to get my hands on some of those naturalized seeds !
@Blue collar Gold pockets We got that vaiety down here in Tobago. And in the sister isle also Trinidad.. yep they are normally loaded farmers load pickup trucks with these all the time..We have also a yellow variety and one thats green dark green when fully ripe..
How are you so sure? Can you predict the future?
Fantastic job Pete. What bird or mammal is a primary seed disperser for citrus?
Hey Stefan! I’ve head alligators will eat citrus and spread the seeds along the rivers. I’m actually thinking this was an old abandoned citrus land from the 50’s now. I’ve had lots of old timers reach out with all kinds of great info. The variety is a “Dancy” it was introduced in 1870 and never took off as a commercial variety because its a soft fruit and didn’t have a long shelf life.
Be sure that you sterilize the hand pruners between each tree that it's used on or you could transmit pathogens from one tree to another.
This truly an amazing video which proofs that the oak tree/ citrus tree blend works !!!!
Thanks bro! 🙌
Florida is very hot in the summertime. I believe that a lots of plants including citrus, need a little shade. The leaves will be greener. Also the plant won't need as much water to. The strong sun light + high temperatures can really bleach out the leaves, and Scorch the plant. I see a lot of growers in Fl, grow in straight sunlight, with no shade cloth!. Shade cloth can be expensive and it doesn't last forever. You end up throwing it away in the garbage after just 3 years. These days shade cloth is mainly made of plastic.
That's why you don't see a lot of growers using it!
Healthy plants have a better chance of fighting off insects and diseases with no pesticides then one that are stressed from their environment.
A weak plant is more susceptible to disease and insect!
You should think about taking soil samples from the soil around the trees to see if there's any beneficial microbes fungi! This can be a way to feed a tree without using fertilizers!
Oak trees could possibly be the answer too. Oak trees typically have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixed fungi.
I’ve been sick the past few days, I have been binge watching your videos. Very relaxing. I love your channel
Thanks Michelle! I appreciate the support
The editing in this photo was insane. Always knowledgeable content. Love this.
The neighborhood i grew up in the palm harbor area had wild citrus trees of so many different varieties growing all through the woods. It’s was so cool. The trees are so big and make hundreds of citrus. Some so sweet some not so much. So cool
Growing up my family had orange groves in Lakeland and plant city. The old tangerine variety that was planted widely
in Florida was called Dancy Tangerine. Maybe they are seedlings from that old variety. They had more seeds than the new tangerine varieties but delicious. Thanks for the video it’s super cool to see these citrus trees thriving. It’s funny because we still have a few seedlings trying to grow under our oak trees and I keep cutting them down. I figured they would be just sour rootstock but they look great so maybe I will let them grow and see.
Hey Jan! Yes, we’re thinking this is a Dancy. I’ve had lots of locals reach out telling me the same .
That last tree shot gave me chills. Amazing! I need to plant my lime tree in the ground with mycorrhiza and dappled light. I grafted lemon to it, but the tree is just struggling so much with leaf miners, and possibly Greening.
The oaks really help with fighting off the greening. I just went to a talk with UF and they’re having success with oak oils to prevent and reverse greening. It was a really interesting talk.
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFL That's amazing! I sure hope that does the trick!
Hey! We have found several places like this in the Ocala National Forest too! We also observed that every location that these wild citrus tree patches were also had large oak canopies. My brother in law is one of the guys in our group and he’s pretty familiar with the Greening problem. He believes the Oaks are somehow tied with these wild citrus groves. He’s currently working with David The Good on a project. You might reach out to him to see if he knows anything about these wild citrus groves in oak hammocks.
it really looks magical that bright orange dappled in the dark green. to me that is also a very inspiring thing, the fact that it doesn't need the full sun you typically would imagine needed.
As a 3rd gen Floridian, thanks for the memories. This used to be 'normal' when I was growing up as a kid.
Good times! I also grew up enjoying home grown citrus.
Pete, I got the same thing here on my property in Gilchrist County, Fl. I have 17 citrus trees on my property that I planted myself with so far no greening. Also some volunteer orange trees came up in my woods with sweet fruit, kinda seedy and lots of oranges. Pretty cool. We squeeze them along with the others I planted. Most of my citrus I give away to family, friends and the Food Pantry. I'm guessing because I am isolated from other citrus that greening hasn't made it here yet. We got down to 20 degrees here about 3 weeks back. So far so good. Interesting video. Thanks.
Very cool! Glad you enjoyed 😊
That is an amazing find! I think it would be so cool to propagate that variety and try it against the psyllids. We discovered a similar grove of oranges that are almost exactly like Valencias growing in a cypress and live oak river bottom in Pasco County Florida. I plan to give those a try... Nice meeting you at the Loquat Festival last weekend - thanks for the educational info you're putting out, it's much appreciated.
Hey Tyson! Nice to meet you too. Great find with the citrus now we need to preserve these genetics.
I had three young trees which my mom had planted. She brought one with her when we moved from our old house. She planted it and she multiplied it... two were older than me..and one younger... she passed away in 2005. But the trees were growing beautifully. It had started producing fruits too... unfortunately someone trespassed and ha chopped them down... when I saw those trees with fruits lying on the ground... I could not react... I couldn’t cry, I couldn’t shout at those people... still when I think about those trees... I am always blank..it was a heartbreak I can never get over....:((( I miss my mom I miss those trees...
I remember before all of these alternative methods to farming came out on RUclips, back in the early 2000's, there were a bunch of videos about Layering your food forest. That you need a "Canopy" layer, then you had your "Wood" layer, then you had your "Fruit" layer, then you had your "Bush" layer, then you had your "flowers", "Weeds" and "grass/covers". I'm paraphrasing here because I can't really remember how it goes. But the important part of course was the canopy layer. Certain trees, like fruit tress, are not meant to be in direct sunlight all the time. Canopy layers are best suited for that. So fruit trees thrive in the underside of the canopy.
Certain fruit trees probably, yes. I have several varieties of mango, sugar apple, and rose apple trees that had stopped or produced very few fruits for some years after being shaded by teak trees that my dad planted for shade. A few months ago i decided to prune the branches to let some light in and within a month loads of flower had formed on all of the trees. I'm waiting for the fruits to ripen now :D
@@baikia777 Yea they need some light, but not a whole heap of direct sunlight. Like in Pete's video, you can see how the light shines through the canopy sparsely. I think that's pretty ideal.
@@youcanthandlethetruth6976 yes that's true but like i said, only some of them. Most big fruit trees need full direct sunlight since in the wild they're the ones that become the canopy for other plants. Or fruit like fig for example that grows in dry and sunny area. Try growing it in underforest area like that and see what happen.
@@baikia777 Hmm, that's a good idea. I might try that out. I'll grow plants in both direct sunlight and under a canopy and see what the results are. Good idea, thanks for the tip.
Some trees need some shade, some full sun. Some will grow in shade, but not fruit well, and vice versa. The size of the natural grown-from-seed tree is often a giveaway. And yes, most citrus trees are relatively small, compared to say a wild pear or apple, and especially things like oaks, ash, beech, walnut, etc.
Robert Hart is probably responsible for the 7 layer food forest model. ruclips.net/video/6zv3JxnjLEg/видео.html
The model went top canopy of tall, light loving trees, then short shade tolerant trees, then shrubs, then herbaceous plants, ground covers, rhizomes and roots, and finally vertical climbers than will use trunks of other plants.
I live in Jupiter which is in south FL and whenever I go to the Loxahatchee River (Riverbend Park) I always see wild orange trees growing all over the park in the exact same setup growing in with the wild magnolia trees oaks and maples!
Nice! I’ve had so many reports since this video. So cool, thanks for sharing
I live in Florida, Don't go into the woods very much. But I do remember finding some Calamondin Orange growing wild once. Most likely the seeds were planted by someone. But they were still very delicious. Quite sour but I do love sour things. They are also perfect for growing indoors due to their small size.
Good videos, I have learned of a lot of fruit varieties to grow and am successfully growing Zone 10 suff in Jefferson county. Thanks again for the inspiration.
I had to comment as this is occurs in north Florida, we have two citrus varieties a yellow lemon and mandarin that has loose thick skins, that do this naturalization if the winter is light on heavy crop years. Both types have "revived" from greening once pruned like an aged apple (back to main stem in early spring) in home plantings of the varieties. The issue alot have is the nutrients in the soil farther south, clay rifts and silt banks facilitate the seed based propogation further north. Mixed hardwoods and colder winters allow them to grow without many problems, if the area has some pines (basic water will burn them out of iorn if not balanced by evergreens). The seedlings are most useful at the edge of gardens where tilling occurs as the shallow roots will mitigate errosion without choking the vegetables.
Great info
Hey Pete, almost positive you have a Satsuma variety. They’re super common on the MS and Al gulf coast. My parents tree makes more fruit than you can harvest and they do absolutely nothing to it in terms of cultivation. Hardy as hell
i have a satsuma too
Yep, definitely satsuma. My great grandparents had a grove of them in Melrose, Alachua County back in the 1920’s. We had one from a cutting in the back yard when I was growing up. Same easy peel and very few seeds. Our dog would pick them, peel them, and eat them.
Dancy Tangerine definitely
I did a lot of hiking in forest like that near Brooksville in the 80's. I never had the fortune of running into wild citrus trees, but never had the misfortune of ticks either. I did pick small wild blackberries along the cattle fence that were sweet and flavorful, unlike the big sour ones in the store.
Nice! That area is really beautiful. Have you been to the Danes cave system or ran into any other caves?
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFL I don't recall any caves, but it's possible. I remember a time from my childhood that I'll never forget. Walking around Lake Hancock, I see these streams of water disappearing into cracks on the ground. I keep walking (like a fool) and I see this sinkhole with a shallow river of water from the lake flowing into the sinkhole. I get up to the edge of the sinkhole and I see a bathtub size whirlpool of water just gushing into the earth. Now that I look back, the ground was unstable and I was in danger. It could have collapsed and I could have been sucked into the earth, never to be found! I don't think my parents even knew I was there. This is back when kids were free-range. I think that sinkhole drained a good portion of Lake Hancock.
I'm thinking an OLD, 1900s farmstead with a small orange grove which has gone wild and other native trees have come up. In an understory situation the ground stays cooler and MUCH wetter.
Could be an old hiking trail or a bird or turtle dropping start too. I know of a couple of wild groves in a few forests around Tampa.
The fruit became much more common in the United States starting in the late 19th century, according to wicapida. It's Nick name is old man's fruit.
Thank you
Donna
Zzz Zzz wikipedia*
bitsnpieces11 Years ago we lived in the Brigadoon complex in Clearwater, FL. Behind the complex was an abandoned grove and other trees had naturally sprouted building a forest there. Plenty oranges for the picking.
Thank you for this video. I am building my food forest and came across this video last night. I live in Port Richey and got up early to go to Brooksville to see if I could find this. I don't think I found the exact place you were, but found the exact fruit, and it is AWESOME. If anyone cares to go. I left some. Its just on the right side of the HWY 98, a little past the Yontz Rd intersection. You will see the tree just across from the blue HWY Patrol sign. I took about 10 seedlings hatched beneath the tree and a couple cutting of small branches to clone. The soil is so perfect, that the seedling just wiggle out with the roots still intact. Also got some fruit for seeds. I can not believe how perfect the soil is, and the fruit has no blemishes. I will be posting a short video tomorrow evening of my potted cuttings. Thanks again for the inspiration!!!
That’s awesome man! I’ve recently hit those trees but it’s not where I made the video. They were pretty sweet too, I’m thinking the same variety. The locals are telling me it’s a “Dancy” tangerine that’s been around sine the 1800’s. It never became a commercial variety because it gets soft quick and doesn’t ship well. Keep me posted! 👊
What a surprise, nature is incredibly abundant. Who would have guessed 😂
...and the fruit is beautiful when it's just left alone. Amazing how that works.
To answer your question, almost everybody who does not suffer from some sort of brain damage would guess.
Pete that was so exciting to watch. I’m pleased to have found you and able to also be part of the joy of finding this hidden treasure.
Thanks Gina!
Okay, I don't know wtf is going on here...
But what I do know is I have mad respect for this guy!
Hey Pete, nice meeting you at the loquat fest last weekend. Im the one with the “ magical” shirt. I bought one of your sherry’s. Just put it in the ground. Thanks for your knowledge brother!!
Nice meeting you too! Very cool. Enjoy the new addition:)
Please be careful, big ag is dangerous! spread the cuttings and seeds anywhere you can, but keep it a secret.
Yup. Only a matter of time. They already produce crops that produce sterile seeds (e.g., wheat) so the farmers have to buy new seed every year. Does anyone realize how dangerous that is? If the pollen from that should contaminate other crops, there could be mass crop failure. Might be hard to undo.
Well that's awesome...help it along when you can
@@bonniewood5263 they're called hybrids, like a mule being infertile. Being blended with another similar species changes then enough to be resistant to disease. The issue with modern farming is each variety of fruit are genetically identical. They're all grafts of a prototype tree. That's the reason why when a disease pops up, it wrecks everything. It's the reason why avacados went from $0.50-1.00ea to $3-5ea.
@@krap101 Well, you are certainly knowledgeable!
I did know about mules. I recently did some follow-up, and found that the infertility has to do with an uneven number of chromosomes, and the difficulty in lining up pairs that can be split for reproduction. (I'll let you look up the details!) Conception between mules is almost nonexistent (hence the rather indelicate expression, "as useless as tits on a mule!"), but it is occasionally managed. Their progeny, however, are weak.
I know that some fruit and nut growers rely on grafting, but of course do so with similar, compatible species. It's bad news if we are limiting genetic diversity, however! Did we learn nothing from the Irish potato famines?
@@bonniewood5263 it's the only way to get the consistency. Imagine buying gala apples and them tasting like granny smith
Wow nice Pete! Maybe the oak shade allows the citrus leaves to grow thicker too. Direct sun makes leaves thin and thus easier to penetrate.
Paul Zink it’s very possible! I’m super excited to grow this seed out. I’ve been told by the locals it’s a Dancy tangerine, it’s been around since the late 1800’s
I have eaten and juiced much central Florida citrus, and save and juice the seeds with a juicer. It is very good for you, even though it tastes terrible.
if anyone is interested, in Tampa at Flatwoods park, on the mountain bike trail that you take from bruce b downs, if you will take the off road trail to section 30 to 32, there is a group of wild citrus trees in the middle of the woods. the oranges are in the very tops which are hard to reach , but very fruitful. the trees look very aged.
I live in Brooksville. Loved the video! Wild orange trees down a main road I live off of!!
Lauren D'Azzo haha nice! These are the best this time of year :)
Lauren D'Azzo You are so lucky!
Spring Lake here!
Aspen Dukes awesome! One of my favorite areas around here. I’ve found wild guavas that naturalized off Old Spring Lake Rd 😉
@Lauren D'Azzo
Do they look like the ones in the video? If so, can I have the location to get some clippings?
Thirteen years ago I planted a kumquat in our Levy County, Florida backyard, it froze back and I ignored the area that is now overgrown with fox grapes and oaks. Three years ago we knew that a citrus had grown from the root stock but had no idea what it was - just really sour. Then two years ago, it tasted a little better and this last year it had giant yellow (we thought grapefruit) that were still sour but seemed better. Still no care or thought to the tree. This early spring it had huge yellow fruit, not so sour, that were so large, the branches were touching the ground with 25 to 30 fruit each branch. They turned deep orange and seemed more tasty. I read about North Florida having a wild sour orange tree that was used to make great 'faux key lime pie' and bingo, I think this is a sour orange since the root stock is so darn hardy. No care, little sun, tons of fruit and can't be happier. The pies are fantastic so now I squeeze the fruit and freeze the juice.
That pie sounds great Mary! Let me know where to pick one up 😋
I have seen people who think citrus is not good for agroforest model. It's a lie. My grandma had a lot of different citrus and when she died, the other tropical and big trees like mango, cajá, bread fruit overshadowed all of them and it's doing great with a lot of fruits. It's a mistery for me to, but it happens. Of course in dark places it's not good to, but in a balance shade, it's doing really great.
Agreed! It was a common agroforestry tree Costa Rica too.
Camping in protected Florida national preserves, we discovered entire areas of healthy orange trees with absolutely delicious fruit. Many people in our camping area when we told them, took their trucks back there and picked those trees bare! Looks like it's the commercial sold fertilizers, herbicides harming the trees, leaving them weakened for insects to damage. Left natural, unattended these trees were prolific, fruit healthy and tasty. Originally put in for cattle who need the vit C. And ticks will climb up high in trees and fall on you from branches as they sense vibration below. Always check yourself from head to toe. We spayed our hats, clothing, and horses with Tri-Tec 14 and never had a problem with ticks getting on us, or the horses. Blessings
That’s awesome! You just blew my mind with the tics falling from the trees 😳
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFLTicks are so gross. Yes, after they've had their first blood meal, and aren't tiny nymphs, they fall off that host, rat, lizard, whatever, and climb up in trees to grow and wait on next meal. Yuck. Double yuck.
This is an epic share! I was under the impression that there had been success with some orchards with various foliar sprays. I 100% agree with the monoculture and lack of diversity as being a huge contributing factor. These trees reseeding themselves makes them stronger and adaptable with each seedling. I would love to put some of that soil under a microscope and check out what is going on with the soil. In an understory like that the soil would have to be rich in humus and have a fungal dominance rather than a bacteria dominance.
Thanks! Something else interesting I heard from a local was they were spraying citrus with oak oil and showing good results with citrus greening.
I have no idea how I missed this video! Brings a tear to my, life always finds a way, whether it is benefiting us or not.
Sounds like the natural eden technique
Amazing. Thanks for sharing. Just goes to show it's not all about giving plants 'full sun' or what not.
Thanks! I’m now seeing studies about understory citrus here in Florida. UF has been doing a lot of research with oak oil’s.
Planting from seed is always going to be a stronger defense against pests and disease. If you plant an entire field of citrus that are clones, you have no diversity of genetics to act as a healthy defense and in a mono cultural system this will eventually spell disaster as were now seeing for Florida citrus. We had an orange tree in our yard that came up from seed as a volunteer, in an oak understory and it was very healthy and grew vigorously with no care. Either way, looking forward to Florida emerging as a leader in the hemp industry to replace citrus!
Oof. Try that with apples.
Granted, the seedlings that _survive_ will be at least somewhat resistant to the local pests, but the li'l buggers die off in droves when they're not mollycoddled. They won't do as well as a monoculture of a disease-resistant cultivar.
@Muse Verdant While there are some cultivars that do well enough in warm climates, I was talking about the genetics rather than the prospect of cultivating apples in lieu of citrus.
I got a secret location in Sumter county miles inside the woods there's a big citrus patch everywhere the fruit is so sweet and delicious, every time I go hunting I take a few fruit with me and I split the seeds in different locations I hunt within that general area.
Nice! I’ve been getting lots of reports.
This makes me happy. I am a FL girl who loves her oranges and I miss my dad's old orange tree he had. FL lost many citrus trees from the state removing them if there was canker near by and that program stopped right before or right around the time that HLB was first found. Basically the last 20 years has sucked for FL citrus trees. I'm trying to grow some orange tree seedlings right now and if they get to a point where they're ready to get planted in the ground, I might have a few spots they can go that are under some oak trees.
Velvet Frogg I feel your pain! I also growing loving and enjoying citrus. It’s so sad to see what’s happened to the industry.
That looks just like my wooded area in my yard. I have hundreds of those oranges that look amazing! Super sweet this year.
Gems!!
i found 2 trees similar to that close to me.. been eating them since a kid and they produce heavily... i use the seeds as rootstock for grafting expirements
I found a block like that when I lived in North Port, Fla but it is mostly pink grapefruit.The best ever.No sugar required.As long as you took just the meat out of the grapefruit's,delicious.Free for the taking.
Pete could the understory stress the insects that cause the disease while giving habitat fir predators.
John Sizemore that’s a possibility. I think the biggest difference is living SOIL. Commercial citrus is grown in round up ladened sugar sand and dowsed in chemicals.
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFL you are so right the there. The citrus in the drip line also has humidity more stabilized. So many things.
From soil to canopy, all layers provide habitat for many species and a diverse ecosystem. This is how nature thrives and why monocultures are more like a machine to pump chemicals in and foods out.
Love it when some random video shows up in my recommendations and it is awesome!
Thank you! 🙌
This is so awesome, I wish we had wild citrus here in Norway.
Yeah man, my son lives just north of the Dunnellon area and in the wooded lots next to his house are loaded with citrus trees. His girlfriend's g-paw says they are tangelos, which are a cross between orange trees and tangerines. Super sweet, and yes I have seedlings already started and will be populating the woods on my property. Growing them for my children's, children don't cha know.
Great video brother, thanks for sharing, you be da bomb !!!
Don't be skeered to grow dem citrus, pound it !!!
Gerald Franz that’s awesome! I’m starting lots of seedlings and being told they can fruit in 3-4 years, can’t wait to see. Thanks brother 👊
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFL My man Pete !!! You're blessing me big time, already jump starting seeds, YES !!!
I am wondering why you guys stopped supplying plants on your online store ? Too time consuming ? I know y'all are super busy, which is a good thang, lol, but thought it would be a good avenue of support for your channel. Just curious brother, not trying to get into your business, as always super stocked to see what you guys are up to, thanks again for sharing, you rock dude !!! 👊👊👊
Pete Kanaris for President !!!
Make Cirus Great Again !!!
LOL !!! Keep rockin in the "Green World" !!!
Reminds me when I was kid going back to Nevis in the caribbean, fruits and vegetables growing wild. Sometimes you could even see wild pumpkins grow on the side of the road.
they look a lot like the satsuma. it is a citrus fruit grown in northwest florida and south alabama. absolutely love it, skin comes right off and is not tough at all. really glad to hear of your discovery, that is terrific to find them like that!
Hey William! The wild satsumas from seed in the woods are sweet too?
Thanks for the tips! Mono culture is crazy !
I'm a machine operater and truck driver we're clearing some land in fort pierce florida?Loaded with oak trees, the whole place is loaded with calamondin and mandarin unaffected, by canker citrus greening, nothing wrong with them, super healthy and thankfully they're saving those trees. I dug up some seedlings and there doing great I'm going to plant them under my oak 🌳 s
The abundance of leaf litter fertilizes retains moisture and develops mycrorizia which enlarges the root area and facilitates the absorption of phosphorus and other elements not readily available.
I found a couple of oranges out in the driveway along the side of the street that someone dropped last summer that I have about 7 seedlings from the seeds, they looked like they were in good condition so I juiced them and they were so sweet with no acidity at all, just sweet. Supposedly most citrus is polyembryonic and will grow true from seed and at least part of them will fruit in 2 to 3 years.
These are understory trees in their native habitat in tropical and subtropical Asia.
People say citrus should be planted in full sun, but whenever I see them in full/partial shade they do amazing
A lot of things use to grow wild in old Florida. My grandma had a guava tree in her back yard. I use to climb it, sit on a limb and eat until I was nearly sick. Also we had a wild huckleberry patch on our property, from where my mom made pies on a regular basis. Good memories, but thanks to the developers, most of that has disappeared.
We had a giant wild mulberry tree in our backyard when growing up. We'd climb up and eat until we were sick and come home with stained clothes from sliding down the branches to the ground 😂
Oh wow! Huckleberry grows wild in Florida? Would love to grow that here!
Wow. This brings black memories. In the 80s we lived just west of Orlando and we had abandent trees like those not far from our house. We would go for short walks and feast on these heavenly fruits.
Also 1000ns of darkpink wildflowers were growing around there.....great memories.
Thanks for sharing and reminding me.
Pete you should share that tree with University of FL Agricultural dept. Maybe they can use it to help find a solution to the problem
We had a couple of what looks exactly like these at our newly purchased ranch. They didn't even get dappled sun. Loaded every year! I have been replicating the forest floor ever since.
That's just awesome! Hope you can get some trees going of your own and perhaps start a trend planting in the understory so that we can get organic citrus back. :)
Definitely! I’m starting lots of seedlings. I’ve already been promoting understory plantings with citrus now we just need more of this wild variety.
That would be great.
Okay, this is good information for me. I am homeless and have my 'camp' in a grove of mostly paperbark eucalyptus, mixed with Florida Holly, a few pines (black, white, blackjack and Australian) and a few young mango trees (too young to fruit) and one very large sea grape tree. This means I can probably add a few tangerine trees to the under story and have a decent chance. I was thinking about adding one or two weeping, fruiting mulberry (since it does sometimes flood in here and weeping ones can handle more water than the regular kind) but yeah, I can use this.
Cool
Just walk in the forest and found some yummy fruits, I love those so much.
Khmer Guiding Life life is good 😊
My Grandfather had a 60:acre Grove near IndianTown. His name is Leslie Rowell from West Palm Beach. As a teen i went with him to the grove and witness the amount of hard work it took to maintain this grove. He left me with many memories and life lessors (Hard work).
Love you Grampa
How are they producing sweet fruit in the understory? I thought citrus needed a lot of sunlight?
sugar Perhaps these trees learned how to adapt with little sunlight, part of the naturalized process. A very good thing.
Citrus have always naturally grown in dappled shade in the understory of forests in their native range. Only farmers grow them in full sun where they then need tons of extra water and fertilizer.
Actually wild original citrus griws undergrowth.
In my country the native wild orange r undergrowth... though r sweet in taste they produce smaller fruits. We also have a native wild variety which produces tiny fruits the size of blue berry.
Wow. That was just so packed with citrus. So awesome
Awesome story and images! I wonder if it's the tannins from the oak keeping the disease at bay, as well as the rotting citrus underneath? Citrus in the understory looks so much prettier than in a monoculture. Makes me feel like my young food forest is on the right track.
I’m not sure but we need to start paying attention to nature, she has all the answers:)
Keep up the good work!
I live in Jacksonville FL and had 3 big beautiful citrus trees that all died last year due to greening. So sad! We make orange marmalade and fresh orange juice every year and this year was so sad having to go to the store to buy our oranges! My mom grew up in Citra Florida on a huge citrus and cattle farm when she was a girl. This video makes me happy! Thanks for sharing! :)
Brings to mind the Moody Blues song, "The Balance." If you've never laid down in an orange grove and stared up at the sky, you should put it on your bucket list.
I'm in Central Florida and have a tree with fruit like that, easy peel with seeds. My grandfather planted it like 20 years ago and it's got to be 20 feet tall and 10-15 feet round, and bushy as hell. When it fruits, it looks like a giant berry bush or something. Only problem is, recently it seems only the upper fruit is sweet. So I'm thinking it must have to do with sun exposure or something. It is also under some oaks, but gets sun in the mid day. I have another tree that produces excellent, large, very juicy oranges. But that one hasn't been doing very well. I think bugs have certainly been a problem, I'm not sure what is wrong with it. But this year it grew all new leaves, which is a good sign. As soon as the bloom is done, this year I'll probably be spraying it to see if it helps keep it healty. It's been neglected till now. Would love to see it survive since it was also planted by my grandfather.
It looks like a satsuma excellent variety.
That was my guess its a mandarin for sure with the "zipper skin". I just ordered my owari satsuma
The oak and citrus relationship is one that should be explored more those look amazing!
Agreed!
When I was a kid that's how we got oranges. thin skins juicy fruit wonderful smell. florida has been poisoned in every way it can be.
Blutkind They are working on it real hard here in Michigan.
It's so sad.
I'm a little late on the draw here but this is so cool. I love the fact that these tree relationships can cause unknown effects, like what seems to be a higher resistance to citrus greening. It's amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks man! You should check out the information the state has put out since I made this video.
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFL I definitely will. Thank you!
Had no idea this was a problem. Sounds like a fairytale finding an orange tree to pick from.
Everything you're saying here is important! I went WFPB about 2 years ago and it has really pushed me to understand how we get our food, how we grow it, and how nature provides for us. It's scary how much monoculturing weve done what means for our future.
Thank you! Real foods are so important. You are what you eat. I hope we can fix things before it’s too late.
Incredible! That’s like haven.
The most mouthwatering video I have ever watched.
🙌🙌🙌
Thanks for sharing, Pete!! My father has a couple of citrus trees in Marion county palnted in a similar manner that are doing quite well.
I'm hoping to try this theory out here in Palm beach county soon but, with a Mango/ Palm overstory
Christopher Palme very cool! Did he plant them? Sounds like a cool experiment.
@@PeteKanarisGreenDreamsFL He planted out seedlings and a grafted Meyer lemon years ago on the eastside of the house, right on the edge of an old growth forrest. it wasn't planned that way but, it's actually a nice microclimate!
They really do thrive on neglect. He doesn't water or fertilize regularly and the trees are pretty healthy, besides mild damage from miners. He always has an abundance of sweet fruit to share in the winter
Brought tears to my eyes 😂 beautiful vid Pete!