Thomas writes : For nearly a year now, we have lived in our new house at Jatiluwih / Tabanan, close to Batukaru mountain at 850 m above sea level. Initially planted with aged coffee and other small trees, we have cleared it and now have a piece of exceptional ground, with a number of tall Nangka and Cempaka trees. During construction, the locals ate many locally grown Avocado and Jeruk Bali. To our surprise, all of a sudden many small seedlings sprang up from the discarded pips. This actually started our interest in gardening. So far we have planted about 25 Avocado saplings in a spacing 4 x 4 m.
How lucky you are Thomas. You obviously have a very fertile, well-watered piece of land – and those mature Jackfruit and Cempaka trees as well!
Recently we were in Bedugul, and there for the first time saw an old Avocado tree, about 25 years old. It was very tall and very wide. So question # 1: Is 4 x 4m spacing sufficient?
This depends entirely on your purpose in growing the fruit. Do you intend to grow for (a) maximum fruit production, or (b) simply to have a lush, green property which will produce more than enough fruit for your personal needs? If (a), you should prune annually before flowering, or after harvesting. This will keep the trees compact; low in height for ease of harvesting; and stimulate constant new growth which keeps the trees vigorous.
If (b), I would suggest you simply leave the spacing be. It will take quite some time for the trees to become crowded and for one of two things to occur. Quality of fruit and vigor from any seed-raised tree/shrub is extremely variable. I don’t want to give an involved discourse on the ‘dance of the genes’, but this means the occasional development of a superior fruit/flower, some of a similar quality to the parents, many which are inferior in every way.
Professional hybridists raise thousands of seedlings yearly. Maybe 95% are discarded; remaining 5% propagated and grown on. Of these just one or none may be trialled over a 5 year period. Perhaps every five years one may be released.
Leave avocadoes at 4x4m. Strong trees will overtake the weak which will die (natural selection). If, with good luck, you have good trees too close, remove every second tree if overcrowded.
Q. #2 - The Jeruk Bali trees are still in the plastic pots and not yet planted. How big will these trees grow and what spacing is required?
Everything written above applies equally to Jeruk Bali. Left alone, the tree may reach 15m – more usually 5m. Seed propagated trees usually have wickedly sharp 5cm long spines. Vegetatively propagated trees rarely have spines.
Q. #3 - From your article I am intrigued by the NEEM tree and would like to plant some here. Enquiry to the Botanical Gardens. Bedugul, resulted in the information that they had never even heard of the MINDI tree, let alone where to obtain a sapling. Where can we get such a tree?
If convenient, try there again with the Botanical name Azadarachta indica. If they have never heard of it by this name, then they are unfit for their positions. I have an out-of-date copy of Hortus Bogoriensis obtained some 19 years ago and it is listed therein. Bedugul is a branch of Kebon Raya, Bogor. I will send you an email address which if permitted by the writer, I will later publish.
Q. #3 - I would like to install some ponds and begin farming freshwater prawns and fish. Do you by any chance have a contact, for the necessary advice and assist in the planning of such farming?
This query extends well beyond my expertise and local knowledge. I suggest that you type something like ‘farming freshwater prawns/fish, Indonesia’ into your search engine and follow up from there.
Q. #4 - Along our boundaries we have planted Jako trees, collected from the surrounding jungle. As from December till Feb. we must face strong storms. Do these trees have deep roots or can they toppled by strong storms easily?
How big were these Jako (Portuguese name for Jackfruit) trees when collected? If more than 50cm the answer is yes! If you severed the deep tap root of a well-established tree, it will never grow again. Better to grow from seed – this will be nearly as fast as transplanted trees and the very long taproot will anchor the tree firmly. Beware! The strong root system will easily damage walls. roads, paving, buildings once the tree begins to attain size. An excellent windbreak tree if planted at 3-4m intervals if away from the above. Remember neighbors also if you want to avoid future problems. All cautions in Qs 1 & 2 also apply.
Please send all your gardening questions to
E-mail: gardendoctor08@yahoo.com
