Growing Feijoa In An Apartment

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Fruit and vegetable salads are especially popular in our family. And the most delicious are salads with the addition of feijoa. The berries taste like a combination of strawberries and pineapple. For the convenience of transportation, feijoa fruits are brought to us unripe. And for dessert we select only the ripe ones. But the rest can be perfectly used for salads.

Feijoa salads

Here are two simple recipes. First: one medium-sized carrot, grated, 3-4 pieces of feijoa are added to it, also grated. The mixture is filled with 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar and add 1 teaspoon of olive or sunflower oil. Mix everything and after 10 minutes the fruit and vegetable salad can be served. The second recipe: Two cabbage stumps, three grated. Add one not very ripe pear, which we cut into small cubes or three on a coarse grater, and 3-4 pieces of feijoa, which we either finely chop, or three on a grater. Add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar so that the mixture starts up the juice, and 1 teaspoon of olive or sunflower oil. Some people like to add a little salt to fruit and vegetable salads. In the second recipe, this is perfectly acceptable. According to scientists,feijoa fruits are rich in substances useful to humans. In addition to organic acids, vitamins and sugars, feijoa contains biologically active substances such as pectins, folic acid and coumarin. But, most interestingly, feijoa fruits have an increased content of water-soluble iodine compounds. Doctors have found that 1 kg of feijoa contains from 50 to 80 mg of easily digestible iodine. Therefore, feijoa fruits are useful for thyroid disease, for the prevention of hypertension and atherosclerosis.that 1 kg of feijoa contains from 50 to 80 mg of easily digestible iodine. Therefore, feijoa fruits are useful for thyroid disease, for the prevention of hypertension and atherosclerosis.that 1 kg of feijoa contains from 50 to 80 mg of easily digestible iodine. Therefore, feijoa fruits are useful for thyroid disease, for the prevention of hypertension and atherosclerosis.

Features of culture

The feijoa plant belongs to the Myrtle family, and in addition to its aesthetic qualities, it has significant antiviral and antibacterial properties. Feijoa is home to South America. The name was given to her in honor of the Brazilian botanist de Silva Feijo, who discovered this plant in the tropical forests of Brazil. Feijoa (or akka) is a shrub that reaches a height of 2 to 6 meters outdoors. Its leaves contain essential oils in numerous glands and, when rubbed, emit a peculiar smell of myrtle. This property is used to revitalize long-stored tea: 1-2 leaves of feijoa are added to the brew - and the tea acquires a wonderful aroma. Feijoa bushes are great in bloom. Flowers are axillary, up to 4 cm in diameter, collected in inflorescences of 2-5 pieces, form elegant inflorescences hanging on long pedicels. Numerous stamens are decorated with yellow anthers. The flower petals have a sweetish taste and are edible. Children love to feast on them. Feijoa bloom lasts from one to one and a half months. After fertilization, the flowers turn reddish purple in color. Feijoa fruits are plum-shaped, 4-5 cm long, the peel is greenish-brown in color with a waxy bloom. Ripe fruits have a whitish-creamy flesh that contains many seeds. Feijoa is a fairly cold-resistant plant. It tolerates short-term frosts down to -10 … -12 ° С and turns out to be more frost-resistant than citrus fruits. Feijoa fruits are plum-shaped, 4-5 cm long, the peel is greenish-brown in color with a waxy bloom. Ripe fruits have a whitish-creamy flesh that contains many seeds. Feijoa is a fairly cold-resistant plant. It tolerates short-term frosts down to -10 … -12 ° С and turns out to be more frost-resistant than citrus fruits. Feijoa fruits are plum-shaped, 4-5 cm long, the peel is greenish-brown in color with a waxy bloom. Ripe fruits have a whitish-creamy flesh that contains many seeds. Feijoa is a fairly cold-resistant plant. It tolerates short-term frosts down to -10 … -12 ° С and turns out to be more frost-resistant than citrus fruits.

Growing feijoa in the room

We are used to thinking that feijoa is a shrub from the subtropics that grows in our Black Sea region. But it turns out that in addition to the perfectly pollinated varieties of feijoa grown in the open field, self-pollinating parthenocarpic varieties have been developed, suitable for indoor gardening. The most popular of them are

Nikitsky aromatic, Crimean early, Kulindzh … Feijoa grows well and bears fruit indoors. In the flower shops of St. Petersburg, you can find its young plants for sale. Feijoa can be propagated by cuttings, seeds and grafting on seedlings. For seeds, it is better to take the largest ripe fruits of known self-pollinated varieties. Until the moment of sowing, they should be stored at a temperature not higher than + 8 ° C. Sowing is carried out from January to March. The seeds are sown in the soil, consisting in equal proportions of peat, sand, turf and leafy soil. The sown seeds are watered from a spray bottle. The required temperature for germination is + 22 … + 25 ° С. Seedlings appear in 20-30 days. A box with seedlings is placed on a light windowsill, shading from direct sunlight. Feijoa plants grown from seeds bloom for 5-6 years. The formation of the bush is carried out in the first 2-3 years. This plant is difficult to propagate by cuttings. Rooting of cuttings is carried out in October - November. When using heteroauxin, the percentage of rooting increases significantly. In industrial conditions, feijoa is propagated by the method of "air layering" or by grafting on grown seedlings. Then it blooms for 3-4 years. In the flower shops of our city, such specimens can be found. Up to three years, the root system of feijoa grows very intensively, and it is transplanted every year. And then - in 3-4 years. Since the root system grows mostly superficially, the pot should be wide. The potting soil should be free of lime. Feijoa likes to grow on the south side of the house, on a sunny windowsill. During flowering and fruit setting, it is advisable to apply alternately mineral and organic fertilizers every two weeks. Once a month, the crown can be sprayed with a weak solution of mineral fertilizers. From organic fertilizers used infusions of quail manure, mullein, chicken manure or "green fertilizer" - fermented infusion of chopped grass. The concentration of "green fertilizers" - 1: 5, mullein - 1:10, chicken droppings - 1:15, quail droppings - 1:20. Of mineral fertilizers, Raduga and Vita give a good effect. Feijoa is a thermophilic plant. The optimum temperature for growth is + 18 … + 20 ° С, with flowering + 20 … +25 ° С. In winter, a temperature of +12 ° C is sufficient for him on the windowsill. But additional lighting is desirable so that daylight hours are close to 12 o'clock. In summer, feijoa can be displayed on the balcony or taken out into the garden (but not transplanted). On hot days in the evenings, feijoa should be sprayed with water. He is returned to the room before the cold snap. Of the pests, feijoa is most often pestered by the scale insect. It has to be removed by hand, then sprayed with a decoction of hot peppers.

Canning

Feijoa retains its taste and nutritional properties well if the berries are chopped or ground in a meat grinder and rubbed with sugar. For 1 kg of slightly unripe fruit, 1.5 kg of sugar is consumed.