Trees for my location (forum)

kris starts with ...
I am currently living in a desert town in South Australia. The temperatures in winter can be quite cold overnight and mid twenties during the day. In summer it will be cool at night and hot during the day between 30-45C I am wondering which trees may be able to cope with these conditions, and they can be planted in sandy soil. I can water fairly regularly if needed and can obtain mulch.

Time: 24th July 2010 5:25pm

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Nick says...
Whats the minimum temperature you get?

Time: 24th July 2010 8:44pm

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Brad says...
you can grow lots. just not tropicals that need humidity. try using my edibles to see what other people are growing successfully near you. If you can recognise fruit trees, take a drive too

Time: 24th July 2010 8:49pm

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About the Author Brad2
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Charles cant spell says...
These guys,

http://scarecrowsgarden.blogspot.com/

are based in SA, you can get in touch with them via their blog and have a look a good look around while you do, they are very knowledgeable and helpful.


Time: 24th July 2010 9:02pm

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About the Author Charlesstillcantspell1
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allybanana says...
Kris without knowing minimum temp which could bump off many tropicals i would recommend trees that have evolved around the world for hot arid summers and below zero winters. Firstly pomegranate with those hot summers you could get sugar content the rest of us only dream of. I have heard Jodhpur red is one of the best for arid conditions but wonderful and roseveya have great taste and would probably thrive (Try Daley

Time: 25th July 2010 2:33am

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allybanana says...
Just clariffication that these are ideas to reasearch i have never grown trees in south oz arid zone the cheramoya would probably need protection from midday sun.

Time: 25th July 2010 8:48am

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
Ally I bought two carob trees from Limestone Station (Broken Hill) - a Clifford (hermaphrodite) and a Sfax (female) - a few weeks ago, they arrived in about three days and are beautifully healthy. They're happy to do mail orders for single trees if you're in a hurry to get hold of a good selection.

http://www.carobtrees.com.au/

Time: 25th July 2010 9:00am

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Nick says...
You could also grow feijoa (hardy AND delicious) or almond and if you get enough winter chilling temperate fruits like apple, pear, plum, cherry etc as long as they're protected from frost during flowering. Also here's a page on growing dates: www.krishiworld.com/html/horti_crops4.html

Time: 25th July 2010 9:17am

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allybanana says...
wow thanks phil i had know idea there were so many varieties. Parr's nursury was the go for the pomergranete varieties. Graham Parr is a nice bloke who has thought about his varieties i went out and dug them up with him, he also puts them on ebay. Great little bare rooted trees.

http://www.dlook.com.au/business/1058266/Parrs-Nursery



Time: 25th July 2010 11:26am

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amanda says...
Citrus should do well for u kris. I am in a semi-similar situation and they thrive here. Strawberry guavas, grapes, passionfruit, white sapote and fig are my 'star' performers in the hot/cold, wind, salt and sand.
Access to water and it's affordability is a big factor though. If you can afford to water deeply every other day in the extreme heat of summer - as sand drains so quickly. Is it windy where u are?
You can use bulk organics (soil conditioners, manure, compost, woodchip etc) and clay to help the sand retain more water and improve it's growing capacity.
There are products that can be sprayed on the leaves to help prevent sunburn and frost damage (clay based) until the trees harden off.


Time: 25th July 2010 1:38pm

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allybanana says...
Check this south oz date nursury out, they have a lot of varieties and cape barron geese to top it off http://www.gurradowns.com.au/Nurserystock.php

Time: 25th July 2010 10:46pm

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Jason says...
The only thing stopping you growing most fruit trees is the min low temp (and I guess water). But I'd still give most things a go and try your luck. -6c is going to be a challenge if it gets that low on your property itself (rather than just at the weather station) but it that only happens once in 10 years well maybe everything will get big enough to take it before it happens. For sure give Mango a shot since you have the total heat needed for those and a large tree might handle the cold, Cherimoya don't mind days well over 40c so long as you can keep water up to them and should be able to recover from -5 or so with some smaller branch failure. White sapotes wont like the heat but I doubt the cold will bother them much once they have size. Mexican Avocados will probably be able to deal with it, You could try Feurte or Ettinger Avocados in that kind of climate, they would handle both -6c and +45c

Time: 26th July 2010 4:46am

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About the Author Jason10
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kris says...
It can get quite cold in winter, 0C some nights, but I can protect them with shielding cant I?

Time: 27th July 2010 5:46pm

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kris says...
Thanks so much for all the ideas guys!!!! I had no idea how many things I could grow. Usually I post to forums and get little or no response! This has been most helpful. Hopefully this helps others in a similar situation to me!

Time: 27th July 2010 5:49pm

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BJ says...
You sound like you've got a bit of a "Persian Climate" ... so you might want to consider some of the typical plants of that region: like pistachio, olives, pomegranate, quince, grapes, mulberries, citrus, plums, peaches, nectarines, date-plum (diospyros lotus), jujube, Russian olive ...
Check the actual type of the fruit you select to make sure it is suited to your area. The suggestions made by others above sound great too.
Best of luck ... as someone who started from scratch recently the best advice I can give you is to work on your soil first! It is so much fun watching a bare space become productive!

Time: 27th July 2010 8:40pm

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About the Author BJ11
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allybanana says...
Thats pretty much what i said BJ us virgos think alike.

I agree kris, i have been growing trees for years but only just come on to this forum. Its amazing how keen people are to share knowledge and food varieties. From just the links posted in this topic i have found how to source some things i have wanted to grow for years.

The gurra downs website has stratagies for dealing with deaert winds and frost on young trees. It also might be worth considering windbracks of what grows wild and easy out there if you have the space. Soil conditioning start digging in that roadkill, i bet there is a lot out there.

Time: 28th July 2010 12:12am

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kris says...
hahah yes there is quite a good amount of roadkill haha, the only problem is out here, everything to do with soil conditioning, is so expensive. What can I do to make the soil condition better, I have access to a car and a trailer if need be.

Time: 28th July 2010 6:31pm

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John Mc says...
The best and cheapest soil conditioning material you can get is horse stable manure. It s a mixture of stuff like sawdust, rice hulls, horse manure, lucerne hay etc. My source is already composted, perfect. I pay them $20 to load my trailer up. Most, if not all stables have a problem getting rid of it. It s in an abundant supply.

Time: 28th July 2010 7:16pm

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Brendan says...
Hi John Mc,
Be careful with horse stable manure.
A stable in Townsville had wormed all the horses and the owner of a worm farm collected the manure etc., and fed it to his worms, and killed every one!
As yours is composted would help tho.

Time: 29th July 2010 7:41am

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BJ says...
Brendan,
I've often heard this (that manure from wormed animals will impact upon worms in the soil) ... but it confuses me.
Firstly

Time: 29th July 2010 9:32am

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allybanana says...
Maby it is as simple as dosage, a hoese gets one does in one meal. A worm lives in the manuare/worm mixture eats it seven days a week swimms in it and absorbs it through the skin, you may well kill a horse if you did that.

To my understanding such things are pretty broad spectrum you just develope somthing that kills the parasite before the horse and be carfull of the dosage.

Unfortunatly it is a bit the same with pesticides on human food crops.


Time: 29th July 2010 11:21am

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BJ says...
To paraphrase you're suggesting that the worming goop is pretty broad spectrum. A 500kg horse gets a dose and as it is a big critter the quantum of chemical has not real ill effect on it (particularly if the chemical stays mostly in the gut and isn

Time: 29th July 2010 11:48am

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John Mc says...
Probably all of the above is true, but if it's composted like mine is, it's full of live creatures including worms. I suppose if you're not sure then fork it over and take a peek.
In my opinion, it's gotta be one of the best soil conditioners on the planet.

Time: 29th July 2010 2:47pm

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amanda says...
It's true John Mc - worming treatments can kill your worm farm - if the treatment is fresh. Don't ask me why tho' - I could google but I have blown my 1GB allowance for the month!

I used race horse stable manure too - great stuff - I even ended up with an orchard full of oats!

Many treatments are like sledge hammers - including antibiotics, anti fungals etc.

Time: 29th July 2010 6:52pm

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Allybanana says...
Thats a great idea BJ wack it on your tomatoes to knock off the nematodes that way you dont have to get the guilts for swamping your soil with extra poison.

Hows this for an idea if you dont get it quite as "Cordon Bleu" as John Mc.
Make a big pile to the side of garden Layer with grass clippings, jam perferated hose in it to increase oxygen or nothing. When it is decomposted enough for worms to colonise the soil poo interface put it on the garden. Even if the worms get killed in one place they will move in again pretty quickly if you have organics for them to eat.




Time: 29th July 2010 11:27pm

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Brendan says...
Looks like I've opened up a 'can of worms' with this :-)lol.

Seriously tho, composting the horse manure first would be the answer IMHO.

Time: 30th July 2010 6:32am

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amanda says...
One source I googled recommended leaving it for a month after worming - if that's any help.

I used to get mine for free - too much - so stored it in half rain water tanks and loaded it up with worms from my farm.

I did find it to be weedy tho'. Pulverised cow poo and sheep poo - from feed lots - have very little weed. The pig manure had no weeds.

Time: 30th July 2010 4:08pm

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kris says...
Actually now that I think about it, we have stables up here suprisingly. I'll give them a call and see what they say. Thanks for the suggestions!

Time: 31st July 2010 3:11pm

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kris says...
Hey guys I thought I should let you know that I planted my first olive tree here today and have some pomegranate on the way from graham parr... more orders to come :) and I can get horse manure for free!

Time: 3rd August 2010 4:36pm

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amanda says...
Yay! Go Kris! U have been busy - good luck with the planting.

Time: 3rd August 2010 10:29pm

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allybanana says...
Thats great it should be a fun experiment for you. I would be interested to compare notes one day on how those pomergante varieties grow and taste. This year I planted a selection from the same source as you, in Eden on the coast in southern NSW and in the ACT on family orchard 'pialligo apples'.

Time: 3rd August 2010 10:58pm

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Mr. Urban Orchard says...
i have many tree's ( all grafted ) from Daley's . I want to try my hand at budding or graftiing my own scion wood onto my compatible tree's ... anyone wanna trade budding wood from varieties like mandarin japanese (sutmatra) , kaffir lime , gala apple , apricot , kalamata olive etc... i can get more specific about exact variety later . I have nut and fruit trees ;) to be specific i need these varieties but i have everything else pretty much .

Also I am wanting a pistachio and pine nut grafted preferably :)

Time: 9th February 2011 12:12am

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allybanana says...
Hi Kris is Roxby Downs if you are still out there, i am wordering how your desert food forest is evolving? Any one else know how it went.

Time: 30th July 2013 10:34pm

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