 |
| How to grow star fruit |
Star fruit can be grown at home. The plant reproduces well by seeds. For planting, you need to choose a ripe fruit of the variety you like in the supermarket. The plant is easy to care for, even for a beginner. Look at the photo, what an unusual beautiful shape the fruit has. Tropical stars decorate dishes and are widely used in cooking.
Varieties and varieties of star fruit
Asia is considered the birthplace of the fruit. At home, he is as popular as our cucumbers or apples. In the heat, the fruit can quench your thirst, since the pulp is very juicy and has a sweet and sour taste.
Carambola was acclimatized in Brazil, Israel, Thailand, and the Hawaiian Islands. As soon as they do not call carambola: tropical star, camrak, illicium, carambol, etc. On the territory of Russia, a relative of this plant grows - oxalis.
star fruit is an evergreen tree up to 12 m. Fruit is eaten with the skin. Moreover, different varieties differ in taste and resemble our plums , an apple with grapes, a gooseberry with a plum aroma.
Locals value varieties with sour fruits. Unripe fruits are used as vegetables, and ripe fruits are used as a dessert. The leaves of the tree taste like spinach and are widely used in Indian cuisine. Flowers are used as a spice, added to salads.
Interesting facts about Kamrak
- ◑Fruits contain a large amount of vitamins and acids,
- ◑ macronutrients. Fruits, flowers and leaves are used as a medicinal plant.
- ◑Fruit juice can be used as bleach to remove stains from clothing.
- ◑The pulp can be used to polish copper or brass products.
- ◑Kamraka juice can relieve hangover and thirst.
- ◑If the fruits are boiled in sugar syrup, they become very fragrant.
- ◑The fruits are pickled, salted, added to meat dishes and stews, and decorated with cocktails.
When to sow and suitable climate?
Star fruit Soil structure
How to sow star fruit step by step
Star fruit sow in pots
Star fruit landing
It doesn't matter where you got the carambola fruit - in a local store or brought from a trip abroad. The most important thing is to choose a ripe fruit without damage and carefully remove the ripe seeds from the pulp. Ripe carambola has a bright yellow color. Pay attention to the edges of the fruit.
Fleshy ones indicate a sweet fruit, while narrow ones are usually sour. Smell the fruit, the more pronounced its aroma, the more ripe it is. There is no fully ripe star fruit on Russian counters, since the fruit is imported from afar and it is simply impossible to bring ripe fruit of a marketable form. star fruit ripens for several weeks on the shelves or in the refrigerator.
The seeds lose their germination very quickly, so they need to be planted without delay. The seeds are washed with warm water and soaked for 10 hours. After soaking, the seeds are sown in individual pots with universal potting soil and vermiculite. Expanded clay must be laid at the bottom - it will provide drainage. The seeding depth is 1 cm.
The pots are placed in a small greenhouse. The germination time for each seed is individual, it usually takes from one week to a month. Young borings are provided with illumination so that the daylight hours are 13 hours.
If you have planted seeds in a common box, then when the third leaf appears, the seedlings must be planted in individual containers. Later planting injures the root system and reduces the percentage of plant survival.
Young plants need to be sprayed with heated water to ensure high humidity.
Advertising
Advice. The fruits of star fruit contain oxalic acid. Therefore, people with gastrointestinal problems should eat star fruit in small quantities so as not to exacerbate the disease. Excessive consumption of fruits can disrupt salt metabolism in the body and lead to renal pathologies.
Star fruit ground transplant
The day before transplanting the shrub, it must be watered abundantly with water so that it resists the change of soil and does not wilt.
Care, fertilization and feeding
star fruit needs minimal maintenance. Since the plant is able to bloom and set fruits all year round, it needs a lot of nutrients. Top dressing is carried out once a quarter. Complex fertilizers are used for plants. With a lack of iron, the plant may develop chlorosis.
The plant practically does not need pruning. Basically, pruning is done in order to form the crown.
star fruit needs to be transplanted into a larger pot annually. The soil mixture should have a slightly acidic reaction, in no case alkaline. A drainage layer is required at the bottom of the tank to drain excess water.
The plant loves the sun, but direct sunlight from the southern windows can burn the leaves. Carom feels bad in dry climates: it is necessary to maintain air humidity, spray the plant, especially on hot days.
The plant has one feature - its leaves curl up at night, but if this happens during the day, you need to sound the alarm. The seedling needs an ambulance, something is going wrong.
With a lack of moisture in the soil, the seedling can completely discard the entire leaf apparatus. When watering, it is important to maintain a balance, since excess moisture impairs the respiration of the roots and contributes to the formation of putrefactive diseases. The plant may die.
The optimum growing temperature for a tree in the summer is from 20 ° C. In winter, it should not fall below 15 ° C.
Star fruit irrigation
Star fruit reproduction
The plant is propagated in several ways:
- vaccination;
- seeds.
Vaccination allows you to get a tree with fruits that have certain flavor characteristics. In our conditions, this is practically unrealistic. For our climatic zone, only seed reproduction is available.
Growing star fruit from seeds, it is impossible to predict what taste the seedling will have. Sweet or sour. The skin color can also vary from yellow-green to apricot and brown.
Therefore, several seedlings are grown at once, and when the plant begins to bear fruit, a specimen with sweet fruits is left.
Diseases and pests of star fruit
Since star fruit is new to our latitudes, it has not yet gained "popularity" among pests and diseases. The plant can be harmed by a kidney nematode, cases of damage by a fruit fly have been noted. Excessive watering or stagnation of water in the sump contributes to the development of fungal diseases: anthracnose or phyllosticosis. The alkaline reaction of the soil can cause chlorosis in the seedling.
Star fruit Storage
Star fruit does not increase in sugar content after harvesting and therefore, for optimal sweetness and flavor, it should be selected when the fruit turns from green to a yellow color in the groove between the ribs, while the tips of the ribs remain green. The fruit can be stored in plastic bags for up to 21 days in the refrigerator.
how to grow the carambola tree
In short, we can consider this fruit as a natural laxative.
Benefits and properties
A small fruit with a lot to offer:
The star fruit is one of the lowest calorie exotic fruits available. 100g of fruit provides only 31 calories, which is much lower than any other popular tropical fruit. Nonetheless, it has an impressive list of essential nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins necessary for well-being.
The fruit, along with its waxy rind, provides a good amount of dietary fiber, which helps prevent the absorption of LDL cholesterol from the diet in the intestine. Dietary fibers also help protect the mucous membrane of the colon from exposure to toxic substances by binding to cancer-causing chemicals.
It contains good amounts of vitamin C, which is a powerful natural antioxidant. 100g of fresh fruit provides 57 percent of the vitamin C levels required daily for just the 31 calories mentioned above!
Star fruit risks
Starfruits contain caramboxin and oxalic acid. Both substances are harmful to people suffering from kidney failure, kidney stones, or kidney dialysis treatment. Consumption by people with kidney failure can cause hiccups, vomiting, nausea, mental confusion, and sometimes death.
Recent research has identified caramboxin as a neurotoxin that is structurally similar to phenylalanine, and is a glutamatergic agonist. While the levels of oxalic acid and caramboxin in star fruit are low enough to be processed safely by most of the general population, some researchers warn that the fruit and juice sometimes cause kidney damage or, rarely, failure. kidney in people with normal kidney function.
.jpeg)
0 Comments
Post a Comment