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I was surprised by the amount of rain in Kona at least where I am. Because when the hurricane hits the big mountain blocks everything except some rain nothing like what they get in Hilo but enough to grow weeds! Also lot of elevation in Kona much more vertical than Hilo. The higher areas like where my lot is above Kealakehe High greener than the touristy part down below.
Mostly I dig up these trees from the countryside. The only trees I bought are the little decoration trees they sell at Christmas time. None of them survived transporting. I wish I could find a cypress tree I could dig up so too bad can't go cruising for it since I sold my car.
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Ah tada.
I see now. Good idea growing trees as a way to minimize weeds.
I suggest you grow the avocado and whatever else seedlings in large pots in an area that you can water every day. Maybe right by the house in the yard. Just a short ritual. Then take to the farm and transplant one day when ready. That way the plants you put into the ground are way more that a foot high. Were talking four or five feet at planting because the will be really healthy. Big healthy root ball to soak up moisture and nutrients easier. A better head start.
Use a tractor if you have one with a back hoe attachment and dig monster sized holes for each tree. Fill with green waste compost and dirt. Plant.
Ice-cream-bean trees get big really fast and will shade. Date palms do well in dry climates. Yum.
Dragon fruit do well there too. Wonder if they can get big enough to block out weeds? (they usually need to be propped up somehow.)
toodloo
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The way I planted avocado seeds since I'm not there so often was dig a shallow hole lay down a layer of newspaper. Cover the paper with the dirt I dug up and stick the seed fat side down. So hopefully for water retention and the paper decay eventually. As an absentee owner that's my plan.
Too late this year but next year sweep up the mess under the monkeypod trees on Ane K Highway and scatter around the perimeter to help break up the rock.
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quote:
Originally posted by eigoya
What is 2-4d?
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid = main ingredient in Agent Orange
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main ingredient in Agent Orange
Crossbow is a cocktail of 2,4-d and 3,5,6-t. I'm sure one/both of these also appear in other brands.
How I use it: mix half-half with diesel, spot apply to fresh-cut stumps (no spray), wear gloves, stand upwind.
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Crossbow does work for albizia
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Actually growing trees in pots is maybe the best way to stunt their growth. The best practice would be to sow the seed in the ground directly and then graft on compatible germplasm of desired maturity once the seedling has matured to an appropriate size. In this way the plant develops a ‘tap root’ instead of becoming ‘root-bound’.
Your best option is probably to pay someone to manage the weeds in your absence or just ‘broadcast’ seeds in the meantime if you can’t afford to hire someone. Most of the fast growing trees are invasive and problematic for your long term plans on the property.
Also, fwiw, agent orange and it’s adverse health effects were caused by a contaminated batch of chemicals (2,37,8-TCDD) that wasn’t 2,4-D.
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Actually growing trees in pots is maybe the best way to stunt their growth.
You missed the point entirely Jim. Obviously the bigger the space for the rootball to fill, the bigger the plant. However in this circumstance it seemed as though the poster I was commenting to didn't have time to properly care for them (fruit trees) which in this case included watering them. Kona = dry environment.
Therefore I suggested putting them in pots and the following sentence talked about putting them near the house and watering them every day. As opposed to just sitting in a hole in the ground for days without water. He mentioned his plants were small and taking forever to grow. (probably lack of water)
