Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I want to start some Dwarf Fruit Trees in half barrels cut horizontally. I am thinking of starting with about 6 trees. I have seen threads of others that have already done this. I would like any comments on what types of trees that worked and what did not work, both in plants and watering schemes.

What trees have you used in Ap successfully?

What trees failed and do you know why?

How did you set up the flow to them? Flood and Drain or Constant Flow? or trickle flow?

How much flow to each tree?

Thanks for any advise or suggestions....
Don

Not quite a tree but both my passionfruit are going nuts in a flood and drain bath tub.

This post really caught my attention and I look forward to replies. I would also look to trees that espalier well. Some of the lesser known South American fruits that are adapted to rainforest conditions (wet feet) may be worth a look;
Grumichama (Euginia brasiliensis) is sub tropical but frost hardy
Abiu (Pouteria caimito) Tastes awesome, Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora)decorative and delicious!
These trees are still semi wild and not so 'highly bred' or have an established pest population as more familiar fruit trees. On the net the max heights given are up to 8m but they all respond well to pruning and enjoy nutrient rich conditions. Check out http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/ for some other ideas that you may be able to use over there.
What about some of your cane berry fruits over there? AP would contain them nicely and stop them rampaging around.
I plan to include a passionfruit and Granadilla in my system too.

I too can't wait read the successful possibilities. Have already read in different posts people growing bananas, papaya, lemon trees etc ......

OooooYeah! Dwarf banana would go hard in aquaponics! I've got bananas dealing with my grey water and they can't get enough water. They would love Arkanasas summers I'm sure. Check out Blue Java (Icecream) varieties.
Jeez, now I'm all excited for AP bananas...

Dwarf Peach - Trixzie® ‘Pixzee’ Miniature Peach

Put it in last year - I think September (checked my third system thread if you are really interested). See photos below.

Wife putting the final touches after it is planted...


It grew bigger and had fruit... If you want to see the ripening fruit, see my thread...


This year, it started having foliage again about 2-3 weeks ago. No clearly visible fruit yet.


During winter, I did not turn off flow to the barrel. It was constantly fed AP nutrient water during its dormant months. I know nurseries advised people not to feed deciduous trees in winter, not sure because it was a waste of nutrient or whether it is bad for the tree, but I figured I am a lazy person, and the AP nutrient rich water will not be wasted anyways, so I will firstly try not turning off flow to the tree last winter and see what happens. So far, the tree came back to life... Just waiting to see the fruit and whether the tree actually grows bigger again at the end of this season... Stay tuned.

Thanks for the update Ivan, good to see that it's grown quite a lot over 12 months.. The barrel is a good measure to see the growth,

Way cool Ivan..... Now where can i find some dwarf fruit trees.... umm trip to adelaide here we come!

Mandarin orange.
I needed to give it better care than I could in a pot. It was starting to stress out, so since I can't tell the difference between over-watering and under-watering, I shook off the potting mix and checked it in to Aquaponic Intensive Care:
(and didn't lose a single fruit!)

You can see the green globes of the mandarin here:


And here it's the dark stem rising up right at the edge, the bright fruits hanging down:


Trees do fine; give the roots lots of support though. And watch out for the fast-growing ones as they will get into your drain and it won't drain so good no more.

Rick

Darn.. dropped up to Wallaby Hill this arvo... but didn't take the camera...

Their necterines are now blushing with colour... I'll grab a shot tomorrow if I go back past...

Just added a dwarf mango to my third system. Will take photos when I find some time. Also add a grape vine a few weeks ago. Not really a tree but it's fruit.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

How long do you think before a dwarf Mango can provide some fruit? Sounds awesome really. Fresh AP Mangoes with ice cream.

Unfortunately what I read is, a few years, but I figured that we need to start somewhere. So maybe wait for a few years before I post the fruit.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

Anybody growing Babaco in AP? Sort of like papaya but shorter.

Necterines at Wallaby Hill...