Davewastech's Edible Backyard

Wampee - Yeem Pay ^9/10

Comments: -

Wonderful, rather complex taste. Fruited after 2 years. All the fruit ripened at the same time (February). Attractive shrub, looks healthy thru the whole year (I'm in Sydney).  But in second season I got no flowers or fruit. Third season got about 70 fruit.

Seedling purchased from Daleys. I planted a few seeds from my first crop and most of them are growing (slowly - 1 year old, just 20cm high), so I suppose that's an easy way to grow them if you're not in a hurry.

Fruiting Months February

Height 1.4 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

First Fruited: 2 Years from purchase in pot

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Citrus fertilizer 3 / year

Pest Control:

First crop had no pests, but third season about half had Qld fruit fly. (I'll net next season!)  If it didn't get fruit fly I'd rate it 11 out of 10. Up there with the yummiest! (although not quite up there with good durians...)

Organic Status:Partially Organic

Little Evodia (Seedling) ^8/10

Comments: -

Not really edible, but the flowers are so beautiful. Starts flowering around Christmas. Native to rain forests around Cairns. Grows and flowers ok in Sydney. Fruit have a citrus smell but aren't edible. Likes damp part of garden. Bought as tube stock from Daleys.

Fruiting Months January and December

Planted: 2014

Height 3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 3

First Fruited: 3 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Low Sun

Pest Control: Not required

Dwarf Persimmon - Fuyu (NA) ^10/10

Comments: -

Pretty tree. Fruit quality is good. Had 2 fruits in 2015, 35 in 2016, 80 in 2017 and about 160 in 2018. I always thin the fruit by about 50% to improve fruit size and avoid branches snapping under the weight. Also I prune when dormant each winter to avoid too many long straggly branches - consult a reference. Grows reasonably fast. I find it is susceptible to Qld fruit fly so I bag the fruit in organza bags. Definitely recommend though for Sydney climate. (I tried growing one once in Perth, but the salty bore water quickly killed that one - needs decent water).

Fruits from beginning April till mid May, much the same every year.

Fruiting Months April and May

Planted: 2012

Height 3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 30 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 3 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Pruned By: 30% in Autumn and Winter

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: manure

When I Fertilise: Winter

Pest Control:

Organza bags to stop Qld fruit fly

Cape Gooseberry ^7/10

Comments: - Easy grow and quick to get fruit. Old fashioned fruit; my grandma had them growing next to her outdoor toilet 50 years ago! I grew mine from seed I bought online. Some of the plants produced poor tasting fruits and others had good tasting fruits, so I just left one or two good ones. Self-seeds a lot. Tasty to add a few into a fruit salad. Usually the ones that have fallen off and laid on the ground for a few days are the tastiest.  But all cape gooseberry plants I've sampled have a rather acid taste, so I don't think you can eat a cup full without getting a belly ache. I've grown it in Perth and Sydney. I find the plant to be short-lived, at least in Sydney's clay and humid weather, where it grows a lot of foliage but fruit seldom seem to get adequately ripe. Mine did better in Perth's hot, arid summers and sandy soil where there was less foliage but better fruit - ie a bit of watering and mainly neglect seemed to work well. In Sydney after a year or two it looks sick so I pull it out. Always more self seeds coming up though, so just let a new one grow. Never had one damaged by Med fly or Qld fruitfly.

Fruiting Months January, July, August, September, October, November, December

Planted: 2012

Height 0.6 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 2

Fruit Harvest: 2 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 1 Years from Seed

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Pollination: No

When I Fertilise: Never

Pest Control:

None. Pests don't seem to bother it.

Organic Status:Partially Organic

Midyim Berry ^1/10

Comments: - Very slow growing. Planted two in semi-shade. Flowered, but Still no fruit after 6.5 years.

Planted: 2012

Height 0.4 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 2

Sun/Shade: Low Sun

Pollination: No

Pest Control: None required since they don't fruit

Cherry of Rio Grande

Comments: -

Planted two small trees (Sydney, frost-free area). Look healthy but very slow growing - still just 80cm high at 5.5 years old. Had one single fruit so far - it tasted very good, looking forward to my second one! (next year perhaps...)

I thought they were moderately tough, but we had one day 38degC in Sydney when they were 3 years old, and the photo shows the amount of leaf burn.

Planted: 2013

Height 25 Centimetres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 2

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

When I Fertilise: Spring

Question:

Growth rate very slow.

Ceylon Hill Gooseberry

Comments: -

Pretty small shrub. Almost finished flowering Jan 2017 for first time. Pretty when flowering. Hopefully will soon have fruit!

Yep -  fruited in June, a few over-wintered. Fruit a bit small and taste ho-hum.

Fruiting Months April, May, September

Planted: 2013

Height 0.4 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: NPK

Pest Control:

None

Grapefruit - Ruby Red (Grafted)

Comments: -

Pretty. Growing moderately fast. A few flowers spring 2017 delivering my first fruit (one) in September 2018 which was quite red inside and tasted very good, although skin was more dark yellow rather than pink.

Has a leaf yellowing problem for which I tried using Epsom salts foliar spray. Not sure if it helped (placebo effect...)

Fruiting Months September

Planted: 2014

Height 2 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

When I Fertilise: Spring

Pest Control:

White oil for leaf miner

Guava - Strawberry ^7/10

Comments: -

Strawberry Guava aka Cherry Guava aka Cattley Guava (Psidium cattleyanum)

A good "grazing" shrub when fruit are ripening. Quite ornamental, suited as a screen. Planted one of the red and one of the yellow fruited Strawberry Guavas. The yellow (photo) suffers from Qld fruit fly, but so far the red is less affected. So I'd say the red is a better shrub. ( I'll eventually get rid of the yellow)

Taste of reds vary a bit - I know of a red in somebody's yard with bigger and much yummier fruits than others I've tried, but the Qld ff think it's yummier too.

So I would give the yellow a Satisfaction rating of 3. The red I'd give 6. And if I could find one of the big yummy kind then that would be a 9.

It is classed as a weed in wet sub-tropics and wet tropics.

Update Sept 2018 - the yellow one is gradually becoming sicker looking - probably time to dig it out shortly. The red one looks fine. 

Fruiting Months February and March

Planted: 2012

Height 1.5 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 2

Fruit Harvest: 1 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 2 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Summer

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: NPK

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control:

The yellow suffers from fruit fly, so I use a big mosi net over it.

But so far the red doesn't need anything.

Organic Status:Organic

Curry Tree

Comments: -

Murraya koenigii. Growing happily in summer. Dies off a little in winter while young (Sydney). But quite robust thru second winter. Mine seem to do better in the ground than in pots.

Tastes great.

Planted: 2016

Height 0.4 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 2

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Pollination: No

Grumichama - Black (Seedling)

Comments: -

Looks good.

Update - Oct 2013

I increased the shade  because leaves had become rather yellow. (increased shade by planting a papaya to the north of it). Looking a bit better now, and finally starting to grow.

In 2012 I planted a total of 3 grumichamas, all in medium to full sun. This seems to have made the folliage rather yellow. Growth rate - very slow.

Update - Apr2016

I finally got a few flowers on one of my grumis last year, (but no fruit)

Update - Aug 2017 - One finally fruited, somewhat out of season in April 2017. About 15 little fruit, very pretty and quite tasty. The other two are still a bit yellow-leaved though.

Planted: 2012

Height 1 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 3

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

When I Fertilise: Spring

Pepino (Cutting) ^9/10

Comments: -

Crops most of the year. Quite productive. The young fruits take quite a long time to ripen on the bush - have to wait until they are quite yellow. If they are at all greenish the taste is not sweet, rather like cucumber. (I believe the word "pepino" also means cucumber in Spanish). The fruit will keep quite well once harvested, but they won't ripen once picked. Very easy to propagate - the runners just grow roots where they contact soil, dig a bit off and plant. Can also easily strike tip cuttings during warmer weather. I have heard that some varieties of pepino taste uninteresting, well I was lucky, mine tastes delicious! Unfortunately the neighbourhood rats think it's delicious too. Attractive ground cover, but better to let it scramble on a low trellis..

Update 2016 - I find the taste can vary quite a lot during the year, sometimes has bit of an off flavour, usually delicious.

After about 3 years the plant was looking a bit sad, so I keep propagating it into a new spot, and dig out anything looking sad, using the old ground for veggies for a while (crop rotation)

Fruiting Months January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Planted: 2012

Height 0.3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 20 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 1 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: No

When I Fertilise: Spring

Pest Control:

Qld Fruit fly will destroy most of the pepinos unless you stop them, so I put an organza bag around each fruit. Also some animal here sometimes eats some of them right thru the organza bag, probably rats, although ringtail possums might be to blame. Lo

Organic Status:Partially Organic

Question:

About 20% of the fruit have a problem. Patches of ugly greyish coloured flesh, and the affected fruit don't taste good. Appears more at some times of the year, and then I don't see any affected fruit for months. Anybody know the cause?

Pawpaw (Seedling) ^6/10

Comments: -

Pawpaw Southern Red Bisexual - from Daleys. Tastes yummy, but less yummy during cold weather. I've recently figured out that the best thing to do with those green fruit that are showing a bit of skin damage from the winter is to use them up about August thru October as a vege (my favorite is Thai green pawpaw salad), because if I let them get ripe they won't taste good. Any green fruit that still look ok by October can be left to ripen on the tree. Tree looks nice from about November to June (then it looks very shabby due to the winter weather). Planted next to a north facing brick wall (NNE actually), with moderate wind exposure. Water in warmer weather. I'll give it 6/10 for Sydney climate, although I'd give almost any pawpaw 9/10 in the tropics.

I've grown a few pawpaws (mostly Southern Red bisexual or their prodigy) here in Sydney, and they usually die after 2 to 4 years. I suppose the cool winters and damp clay soils aren't kind to them. I planted some pawpaws in Perth's sandy soil once that lasted longer, and I got more fruit to the fully ripe stage (the aspect of that spot in Perth was as good as it gets though, so that may explain its better performance)

Fruiting Months January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August

Planted: 2012

Height 2.5 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 2

First Fruited: 1 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: during warm season

Pest Control:

None. No major problem with pests. Some black spots on fruit mainly during cool season.

Organic Status:Partially Organic

Panama Berry ^7/10

Comments: -

Extraordinary fast growing (3m/year in Sydney), attractive tree. Fruit are pleasant, very sweet and juicy. The leaves are soft and easily damaged by wind, so the tree can look a bit scruffy towards the end of winter until the new growth starts with warmer weather. It got sick looking and died after two years - in spring. (Clay soil?)

Planted a second one - it's first fruit were this summer 2019. Similar to the first one - hope I can keep this one alive!

Fruiting Months February, March, April, May

Planted: 2013

Height 4 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 2 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 1 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Pruned By: 50% in Autumn and Winter

Pollination: Self Pollination

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control:

None. No fruit fly (yet)

Organic Status:Partially Organic

Acerola - unknown variety ^1/10

Comments: -

I might like it if it survived. Grew rapidly to about a meter, then suddenly died (early October) about 11 months from planting. I think the soil was too damp.

Planted a second one Nov 2016, growing vigorously (about 2m high by Sep 2018). This one is Florida Sweet.  Mounded the soil up this time. Fruited off and on throughout the warmer months of 2018/2019. Taste is ok, kind of different, interesting, slightly sweet - given its speed and easyness to grow I'd give the successful one about 7 out of 10

Pollination: Self Pollination

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