Updates: Growing Sweet Cherries & Ground Cherries (Trai Thu Lu) in Texas

Watch my YouTube video to see updates on growing sweet cherries and ground cherries (trai thu lu) in Texas. There was one casualty after 2023 summer heatwave.

Link to YouTube video: https://youtu.be/F0hRehh-QaE

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Why Did My Persimmon Trees Die?

Finally, I succeeded growing a persimmon tree after failing three times in a row. Below is a Giant Fuyu persimmon tree that I recently planted in the winter. I bought it as a bare-root stick from a mail order nursery. Now, it is one of the fasting growing fruit trees in my backyard. Although too young to have fruits, persimmon glossy large leaves make it beautiful to look at and quite ornamental. Before this, I have planted one potted and two bare-root persimmon trees which died after a few months in the ground. Here are the three mistakes that I made. Giant Fuyu persimmon tree after 5 months in the ground Planted It Too Low My backyard has dark rich clay soil that can be hard as rock during drought or turns into a long-standing puddle when it rains. No fruit tree likes constant wet feet. When I pulled the dead persimmon tree out of the ground, there were barely any roots. To help with drainage this time around, I planted the Giant Fuyu tree on a mound with grass cutting and dried leav...

Growing Sungold Cherry Tomatoes in the South

I am growing about half a dozen of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes in my garden this year, but Sungold deserves its own post. From my experience, Sungold is one of the best tomatoes to plant in the South. In areas with mild summer, tomatoes grow like weeds. We struggle to grow tomatoes here and Sungold makes it really easy. Sungold cherry tomatoes on the vine Plant Profile Sungold is an indeterminate hybrid cherry tomato. It is a fast growing plant and early producer. Although I started the seeds after other tomato varieties, Sungold was one of the first that I harvested. It can tolerate the heat and humidity very well. Below is a Sungold tomato plant in my garden during the peak of the summer. After a month long heatwave in Houston, it is the only tomato variety that still flowers and sets fruits. The other tomato plants just look stunted. The Sungold plant in the image is a 4-foot wide bush, growing next to an apple tree. I purposely wanted to give it partial shade. As you ca...

About Bitter Melon: Plant, Fruit & How to Cook

Bitter melon, also known as bitter gourd, is one of the easiest vegetables to grow in the South. This plant loves the heat and is practically disease free. If you have never eaten winter melon, it is a good idea to try it first before starting to grow it. As the name implies, it does taste bitter. You can easily buy fresh bitter melons at a local Asian grocery store. It is a common vegetable in Asian cuisine. Young bitter melons on the vine (bigger leaves belong to a different gourd) How to Grow Bitter Melon? In the spring, I started the seeds in small pots. After 30 days, I planted the young seedlings in the ground, in full sun. I pruned them as single vines for 2 feet above the ground and let them branched out as they climbed along the trellis. Except for kitchen scraps and grass cuttings, I did not use a fertilizer or spray. Growing bitter melon for years, I have never seen it had any pests or diseases. The only thing I did was watering every other day during the heat wave. Wit...

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