Salak-Salacca zalacca 

The snake fruit

               http://www.etawau.com/Agriculture/Fruits/Salak/Salak_Fruit_small.jpg

The salak palm goes by many names and has numerous varieties but I must say I prefer the moniker of snake fruit most. Who could deny that this fruit really seems to be clad in shimmering snake scales!
This fruit in reptiles clothing just happens to be delicious to boot.

Salak hails from Indonesia. It is borne on a small palm. The palm is ultra tropical enjoying a very hot humid climate and being sensitive of cool temperatures. It requires alot of water and thrives in areas with up to 3100mm rainfall. One would expect a snake to have fangs and salak doesnt disappoint! The palm is completely covered in devilish spikes up to 15cm long and razor sharp.

The actual fruit is +-7cmX5cm rounded at one end and a slight point at the other. It is described as being crunchy and sweet with the closest comparison being a cross between an apple and a Pinapple. Up to three rounded seeds per fruit. Seeds should be planted immediately after removal or put in moist medium for transport as they cannot dry out.

http://www.frutasdelmundo.inriodulce.com/images/snakefruittree.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Salak200507.jpg

Sadly cultivation of this fruit would be difficult in most of S.A and pot culture is limited by the dangerous thorns. I say though if you are the adventurous type why not give it a go even if it spends it's whole life inside it's a magnificent palm specimen that looks like a palm cactus hybrid:)

Here are my Salak seedlings around 4 months old:

You can just see the thorns starting to grow already you can see how sharp they are!

Growing your own pineapple plant from a pineapple

I realise this hobby may seem expensive and inaccessible to many. If I posted what I have paid for seeds that had absolutely no guarantee of even sprouting many would cringe and call me crazy but you don't always have to spend alot of money, time or equipment to grow your very own tropical fruit at home and pineapples are a perfect example!
A home grown pineapple is a beautiful thing. It is delicious and since it's picked at peak ripeness it's way sweeter and juicier than its commercially produced counterparts. It is also a tough attractive plant requiring only a little care.

So to start you just need an ordinary store bought pineapple. Try to get one that's leaves are not all dried out but don't worry too much if the tips are dry.

Firmly grab the base of the leaves and twist them in the oposite direction to the fruit. Then eat the pineapple and yes this is required as you wouldn't want to anger the fruit gods by wasting it;)

Take the bunch of leaves you have and start pulling off  the little leaves at the base until the shape is something like this. Also make sure there is no pineapple flesh attached to the bottom as this will cause it to rot. If there is any residual flesh still attached carefully use a knife to cut/scrape if off.

Next leave it for about a day to calous over.

The next day the pineapple top is ready to root. There are two ways to do this:

The first is to just take the top and put it in an appropriate size glass. Fill with water upto the calous and make sure to change the water often to prevent rot. Then put it in an warm area with bright light like a windowsill. This method definitely works but sometimes the roots have a hard time adapting to soil when you transplant it.

My prefered method though is to take a moist free draining medium or soil(I swear by cocopeat for seeds and cuttings, R13.00 for a block that makes 9l!) and simply plant it in a small pot and water whenever it needs but don't keep it soggy!

Also don't go out an buy a pot rather recycle, just puncture a few holes in a large yogurt tub or bottom of a 2l milk and voila pot:)

After a month or two it should have rooted and you can transplant it to a larger pot if you want mobility or into the ground if you have a good spot. 

Here is two well rooted ones a few months old

Here is a pic from February 2014 of a little pineapple patch iv started. I will post a more recent pic soon

it is a surprisingly resilient plant but can be abit tender to frost so if you grow in pots move it indoors or to a protected area during periods below 0C. If you plant it in the ground mulch well in winter and choose a well protected spot or cover in a frost guard blanket available from most garden centres. Remember especially when it's cold they don't like soggy soil

Expect to get fruit in one to two years. Feed often with a well balanced fertiliser or a slow release if you are less hands on. Remove any side growth as it will use up energy the fruit needs to get nice and big but you can plant these to get another new pineapple plant.

Happy growing and goodluck!

Mangosteen-Garcinia mangostana

Introducing her majesty hailed as the queen of fruit, the mangosteen(no relation to mango).
It is said that queen Victoria coveted it so much that she offered a massive sum to anyone that could obtain this fruit for her and is probably the origin of its nickname.

Mangosteen really is beautiful and I would give my left...well my left anything to taste it!
The part that is eaten is the white arils found inside the bitter purple rind. The taste is said to be indescribable, the perfect balance of tart and sweet with a silky melting texture.

I am so sorry fellow South Africans but I really doubt this one could be grown anywhere in our country outside. If you want this it will mean indoors or a climate controlled greenhouse.
It is an extremely cold sensitive 'ultra tropical' temperatures below 5C can damage even mature plants. It also requires year round high humidity and takes at least 8years to fruit from seed.
Like many tropicals it is intolerant of alkaline soils and likes high temperatures up to 38C.
Remember seeds are recalcitrant so if they dry out they die. To travel they must be packed in a moist mold resistant medium like cocopeat and planted asap.

Of course all this should have scared me off but it's the freaking queen of fruit people! What self respecting fruit collector wouldn't at least try:) casualties have been high with more than half my original seedlings shuffling off this mortal coil but I shall perservere.
Here are some of my own pics:

The seeds.

I don't really think there's such a thing as 'dwarf mangosteen but that's what the seller sent. The root is already out.

Here you can see the sprouts just popping out. It needs to be buried very shallow and kept moist

The sprout and Ahem... I have to admit it's very phallic for a queen!

About a month old.

The new growth always flushes this pretty red. Imagine purple fruit on a green leafed backdrop highlighted by this red flush, who needs flowers:)

Another month later so +-2months old

Top view of the leaves

Jackfruit-Artocarpus heterophyllus

If you are gonna start you may as well start out big and Jackfruit certainly fits the bill!
The Jackfruit is the biggest fruit there is and it's really hard to believe the size of it.
The tree is thought to originate in the tropical rainforests of India. It is a very large tree and possibly a challenge for container culture.
This challenge I gladly except as the fruit is delicious and the closest comparison is something like a banana cross Pineapple.

There is both a crunchy and a soft variety the crunchy being more popular but less sweet. The fruit is very versatile and the seeds can be cooked as tastey food source or it can be picked unripe to be used as a vegetable.
This behemoth of a fruit can weigh up to 40kgs and be up to 90cm long!
Interestingly it fruits from the trunk and can bear very heavily.
This is one of the more cold hardy of the artocarpus species and mature trees can survive brief frosts. I'm sure there are many microclimates especially in northern Gauteng that it will grow happily.
I have seen very large mature bearing trees at Margaret Roberts garden centre nestled in the warm hillsides near hartebeesport dam.

Here are my own young Jackfruit about 2 months old:

Eleven plants in total but in four containers. I graft multiple plants together to increase vigor and save space. This is known as multiple rootstock grafting.

Close up of the leaves

Better picture of a healed graft 

Bringing fruits from the four corners of the globe to South Africa

I am obsessed with plants and when I say obsessed I mean my every waking thought is consumed by them!
My cuboard is a germination chamber, my bedroom has a 2mX2m grow tent in it, and one greenhouse outside is simply not enough for me.

I love all plants but medicinal and edible are definitely tops in my book.
Discovering the mind blowing number of fruit species out there however took me from a humble gardener to a full blown addict:)

There is so much more to the world than the apples and bananas you find in the local supermarket, and why simply be content with sampling this cornacopia of taste sensations while in exotic locations when it is possible to bring the world to your very own doorstep!
So I embarked on a mission to learn about and obtain these incredible plants.
This blog will chronicle the journey from seed to fruit hopefully dispensing usefull information and pictures for others to use.
To the best of my knowledge this blog will be the first of it's kind specific to the South African experience, and believe me I have searched! I also will be sure not to skip over the indigenous bounty we have but hear little about.

My ultimate dream is to make a living through my obsession and provide these unique, tastey and nutritious plants to people all over South Africa.