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Post by Tucson Grower on Jun 12, 2023 9:40:20 GMT -6
Here are a few updated pics-->
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Post by amyinowasso on Jun 12, 2023 10:25:23 GMT -6
The leaves are edible, though I found them tough. They have a lemony flavor.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Jun 14, 2023 5:05:55 GMT -6
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Post by Tucson Grower on Jul 5, 2023 18:42:26 GMT -6
Of the couple of dozen plants I now have growing, several in individual pots, some in the ground. Only one of them, has just now, produced a few flower buds. It is planted in a ridgid 7 gallon nursery pot. I wonder what factor is affecting the flowering. Maybe my high temps or the lack of humidity.
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Post by macmex on Jul 5, 2023 19:14:42 GMT -6
We'll see what others say but I suspect there's a day length issue with the flowering. I rarely see a flower until sometime in July. Just seems they won't flower and then, all of the sudden they do.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 5, 2023 21:00:39 GMT -6
Roselle is definitely day-length sensitive. I remember reading that when I was first interested in growing it. I did a quick search now and pulled up a paragraph that said most varieties won’t flower when there is more than thirteen hours of sunlight. www.smartgardener.com/plant/134-roselle
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 7, 2023 20:14:03 GMT -6
I found a really cool U.S. Naval website that lists a full year of day lengths for any location by entering your latitude. Here's a link: aa.usno.navy.mil/data/Dur_OneYear
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Post by Tucson Grower on Aug 17, 2023 1:54:48 GMT -6
My day lengths appear to be similar to Tahlequah's day length, but, other than 2 flowers on one plant and one flower on another, back in late May. I have very large roselle plants, but not even any flower buds. Help. It's now past the middle of August.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 17, 2023 5:26:12 GMT -6
I went back and checked my records from a couple of years ago, and I didn’t have my first Roselle bloom until August thirtieth, so even later in the year than now. I was south of your location at that time by latitude. I’d say that you’re probably still dealing with a daylight issue since your latitude is south of Tahlequah, but you could perhaps give your grow bags a dose of those “bloom booster” type fertilizers. That’s great that you have large, healthy plants. I bet more time will bring plenty of blooms.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Aug 17, 2023 8:41:20 GMT -6
Thanks for the encouragement, chrysanthemum. I think the fertilizer to inspire blooming is a great idea, I've been thinking of doing that, but now I have a most excellent reason to do it.
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Post by amyinowasso on Aug 17, 2023 11:36:42 GMT -6
There may be some variation in DTM depending upon seed source and, possibly varieties, but my memory was it didn't bloom til September and was still blooming when I picked before frost. Well, I lied, have a pic of a roselle bloom Aug 8, 2017. But only one, on a plant in a bucket. One year I grew 3, one in a bucket, one in a flower bed and one in a raised bed. I picked a lot and I remember the late blooms, but I have no proof, lol. I remember reading about northerners having trouble getting it to produce for them, because of short seasons and maybe day length but I've slept since then. So, I'm no help at all.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 17, 2023 11:50:43 GMT -6
We planted some Roselle seeds on the first day of Spring (March 21, 2023). If memory serves, I think I have about 34 of them set out. I didn't make note of the day I first started picking calyces this season, but I'm on my 3rd, 5-gallon bucketful so far.
Up until now, I've just been giving them away to friends, but this morning, I picked some to dehydrate for myself this winter. I figure the next few days of 99°+ weather ought to be good for that. I just core the calyces out and lay them on a wire rack, covered with a sheet to keep bugs and birds at bay. Once the calyces are dried, I just gather the edges of the sheet and pour them into a gallon jar to store for winter.
It was a tedious task to pick that many of them, but it's not a bad task if I just pick a few at a time, day in, day out, usually, I average a paper grocery bag halfway to two-thirds full each time I pick. Then, I come inside where it's cool and use my homemade coring tool to remove the seed pod and set them out on the rack to dry a few calyces at a time.
I'll keep going a few dozen at a time until I fill this sheet up with calyces to be dried. I added a couple hundred more today, after I took this photo yesterday at sunset. So I've got about twice twice many out there now.
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Post by amyinowasso on Aug 19, 2023 10:20:32 GMT -6
Picture of homemade coring tool please?
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 10, 2023 18:09:47 GMT -6
Amyinowasso,
I apologize. I didn't see your post unit just now. The homemade coring tools are made of cheap, Chinese, thin wall, 13 mm pipe from a cheap, Chinese hot house that I bought from Atwood's some years ago. The hothouse was made of junk and degraded in sunlight the first season I used it.
Things like that should be against the law. Even if China has no ethics or quality control, the morons who buy that stuff here in America and pawn it off on unsuspecting citizens ought to have ethics of their own and definitely ought to have their own quality control.
After the hot house turned to dust and a pile of strings the first season, I had a pile of 13 mm pipe bones lying around for a few years more, needing to be disassembled and discarded. (More Chinese junk for the landfill). One day, as I was taking the frame apart, it occurred to me that they might be useful as Roselle coring tools, so I cut them in half and used a rattail file to sharpen them on the inside. They indeed do make excellent coring tools. I've made about a dozen of them over the years.
Here is a photo of a few of the coring tools with a tube of Chapstick as a size reference. The tube of Chapstick is the exact same diameter of the thin wall pipe. The pipes are just over a foot long by about 1/2" inch in diameter.
Here is a close up of the sharpened ends. I just used a rattail file inside to bevel the edges. I wrapped tape on each one to designate the handle end of each tool for easy reference when picking one up to use on the Roselle calyces.
This bowl is 10" inches in diameter. The coring tools are about 13' inches long. The length of the tool allows a person to be able to core several calyces, pushing each one farther along the tube until there are 10 calyces for easier counting when selling them at the farmer's Market. I sell the processed calyces for $4.00 per quart size berry basket. Each basket will hold about 30 calyces before they start to fall over the edge of the baskets.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 11, 2023 20:28:48 GMT -6
I used the last of my dried Roselle calyces today for a pot of tea. I’ll definitely need to grow some next summer. It’s good stuff.
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