Cocos nucifera (Coconut) in Malta

[Maltese coconut project]

It's more the sun vs shade that makes a difference. If the sun just goes away yes there might be some inaccuracies but then I have another North facing thermometer which only sees sun early morning between 21st March and 21st September

Edited November 14, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[Maltese coconut project]

It's more the sun vs shade that makes a difference. If the sun just goes away yes there might be some inaccuracies but then I have another North facing thermometer which only sees sun early morning between 21st March and 21st September

[Aleitalyyy]

well my coconut is getting the temperature almost outside despite being inside the house ... I have central heating with the condominium and this year they do not light up because of the expensive speculative life that exists in Italy ... I put some LEDs to warm up a minimum even if I think they are useless. I think if the plant was a young shoot it was already dead....

Edited November 15, 2022 by Aleitalyyy

[Maltese coconut project]

How cold does it get inside the house without the heating? Avoiding the chilled winds is still better than outside 

[Aleitalyyy]

this morning it was about 15 degrees celsius,, outside we are 12 degrees celsius

Edited November 15, 2022 by Aleitalyyy

[Maltese coconut project]

I would use an aquarium thermometer to be more precise.  The narrower the thermometer the better 

[Aleitalyyy]

Do you recommend using a potassium fertilizer mixed with hot water as soon as I water?

[Maltese coconut project]

Warm not hot.. Warm in the the 21-29 degrees celsius range (70-85 degrees Fahrenheit). In the non growing season it's best to reduce slightly Nitrogen and increase potassium fertiliser. By end of September I put aside npk 22 12 12 completely and started potassium nitrate, calcium nitrate,  npk 3-11-38 and npk 12-7-19 but the npk 12-7-19 in tiny dose. I was using micronutrients, magnesium sulfate, calcium nitrate from end of September till today.  Then mid week I use the acid preferring micronutrients such as manganese with zinc (seaweed extract), silicon together with liquid which keeps slightly acidic. During the weekend I will use alkaline preferring micronutrients such as molybdenum. From today I will stop the NPK 12-7-19, stop calcium nitrate and I will keep using the potassium nitrate, npk 3-11-38, micronutrients, and change to Calcium gel (calcium gel has calcium oxide instead of calcium nitrate) . The reason for change is that now new leaf growth is slowing down and therefore I will reduce the nitrates where possible (except for the little there is in the npk 3-11-38 and the potassium nitrate since potassium wins regarding hardening leaves vs Nitrogen (of which some might soften leaves especially urea based nitrogen). I also added some good soil microbes and supplement to keep the soil good microorganisms well fed to help nutrient absorption and better soil temperature in cooler season. I am using some foliar fertilizer too. I am trying to tackle every possible factor to increase my chances to the maximum I can 

[Aleitalyyy]

my friend good evening I have read a lot in recent days and the same methods are also applied to cold greenhouse cultures in northern Italy... such as for tomatoes, strawberries, etc. I have seen many videos of fertilizing with high doses of potassium to induce resistance of the leaves against cold damage. as you said, cocos certainly acquire strength with the right fertilizer at the right times... the coconut plant is like a tomato plant they need certain temperatures to grow... so I found a liquid fertilizer with high potassium cheap. my coconut is now at a temperature of 15/18 degrees and continues to grow ....

[Maltese coconut project]

These are the basic fertigation products that I use very close and during the cooler risky months. The second one is Potassium nitrate. Note that I emphasise potassium and magnesium more pre winter 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[Maltese coconut project]

These two products (Molybdenum and Calcium oxide) I use on alkaline only compatible application days. These two products are also helpful pre winter. Earlier in September and October I used Calcium nitrate before switching to calcium oxide gel 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[Maltese coconut project]

These I use on the acidic compatible days separate from the alkaline days (Chelated Iron, Seaweed extract with Manganese and Zinc, Silicon and acidifying product) all helpful pre winter 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[Maltese coconut project]

These are the pre winter foliar fertilizers I use 

[Maltese coconut project]

This is the foliar fertilizer I start using in May when warm season starts again instead of the lower Nitrogen product 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[Maltese coconut project]

These two products are beneficial bacteria and food for them. I applied those in October to prepare the soil biome 

[Maltese coconut project]

These are the slow release fertiliser combination I use two times per year in May and October (I use half doses but combination of two of them) 

[Maltese coconut project]

These I use for fertigation in the warmer months only starting in May. I start using them pre and through summer in view of there higher Nitrogen levels during the growing season 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[Aleitalyyy]

you have an arsenal of fertilizers like a professional ... in this way you make a difference those fertilizers are top of the range ... they always remain of my opinion that as soon as you plant the palm trees in the ground the difference will be enormous and obviously regardless of the fertilizer the palm will become more resistant with the roots sinking into the warmer underlying soil...

we all know how it works in pots... if the temperatures drop too much the roots suffer in the same way as the leaves... potted plants are always weaker than those in the ground...

my cocos is inside the house so it never sees too cold temperatures or cold wind or rain... yesterday I fertilized and watered it with warm/hot water and it seems to do it good....

[Maltese coconut project]

I will have to find a suitable spot to plant. The garden is very well protected but sees much less sun.  Lowest temperature in the garden is just 14 degrees celcius (57 degrees Fahrenheit) when outside is 8-9 degrees. But sees only 11am to 2 pm sun.  The rooftop now has a big building shielding North Western and western winds. I have yet to know the coldest temperatures that will be there. On the front of the house we have a small patch of soil and sees morning till 1pm sun. But it can get windy there 

[Aleitalyyy]

understand... then I would try to do so if I were there in your place...

I would put a part of the plants in the ground trying with 2/3 in the point where the sun is from 11 to 14, then I would put a part where there is sun until 13 (it seems to me the best point) another 4/5 plants. ...

I would do this by now in April... if you want to try now put 2 of them in the ground and cover them with cloths as a hood... because it seems useless to me to keep them all in the pot with the risk that they all die... unfortunately potted plants are very vulnerable to the weather...

I had a beautiful lemon and with the first winter on my terrace inside the vase it died immediately ... while the lemons in the ground of houses, villas, condominiums grow like giants without losing a leaf ... this makes it clear that in the vase their roots get frostbite and suffer easily... in the gardens of the city of alassio avocado bananas grow, mangoes protected by the wall, tomatoes too in a cold greenhouse but I'm inside the glass house so it's different... for me in the vase it surpasses the 'winter only the pineapple .... everything dies every year ... in the vase is a sentence ...

[Aleitalyyy]

I saw that some fresh air has arrived in Malta

[Maltese coconut project]

Yes it cooled down suddenly, northern wind and rain. Top celcius, bottom Fahrenheit 

Edited November 21, 2022 by Maltese coconut project

[sabicut2]

Hi,  How is your coconut plant going in Malta?  Dawk sabieha..  Ghem isjed minhom jiggu lesti?? Grazzi!  Mikiel Cutajar.

[Aleitalyyy]

if you have a chance, build or buy one of those mountable greenhouses and put the largest plant inside and other more beautiful ones inside so as to ensure 4/5 plants alive for the 2023 season...

where I come from, a greenhouse costs on average 30-40 euros for those 2 meters × 2 meters, if you have the opportunity, even put some plants in the house behind a window like I do! mine grows at an average temperature of 17° degrees... they have no problem living inside the house....

[Aleitalyyy]

then in spring with the bigger plants you transfer them into the ground so that they start growing with all that professional fertilization! it is the only solution in your island to have big coconut trees....

now if you leave them all to the elements there is a big 50% chance that you will lose them all again... also because a large number are children...

[Aleitalyyy]

january and february are bad...those cold winds kill everything...

I try to leave out the banana but I cover it with TNT sheets and see what happens! I can't take it inside the house because the coconut is too big now...🤭

[Maltese coconut project]

But the point is trying to adapt them for our climate. I am hoping the different fertilizing technique, the big building and the removal of under plate in November (the first time I am removing underplate) plus using a well draining bio substrate instead of our local 45% clay, 45%sand 10% humus loam soil 

[Aleitalyyy]

the underlay is harmful in winter in fact I also removed it from the coconut ... the banana tree has been covered but I will probably cover it again... while for the coconut he uses a cart with wheels so the vase does not touch the cold floor and the water flows immediately ...

[Maltese coconut project]

When night time low temperatures go below 21 degrees celcius /70 degrees Fahrenheit it's best to remove the underplate for tropical species 

[Aleitalyyy]

I found these very strange photos of a young palm tree wanting to flower

[Maltese coconut project]

It's a coconut.. Look at the base and the paper sign.. It's amazing how it did so in a pot 

[Maltese coconut project]

Ma kontx naf li hawn membri Maltin fuq dan il Forum. Grazzi talli kellimtni, dejjem tieghek Jonathan Abela 

[Maltese coconut project]

The colder months are approaching.  Trying my best to harden them. I am in doubt whether eventually I will decide to put the smaller ones inside at night 

[Aleitalyyy]

my god how many rainy days ahead... yes you have to fix the little ones! here in Liguria it rained only 2 days..

[Maltese coconut project]

Here autumn/fall is the rainy season. Other seasons are mostly dry 

[Aleitalyyy]

20 hours ago, Maltese coconut project said:

It's a coconut.. Look at the base and the paper sign.. It's amazing how it did so in a pot 

Yes quality  dwarf red spicata coconut ...

from what I have read it is a dwarf cultivar

[Maltese coconut project]

Hail just made a disaster out of our plants. Surprisingly the least affected were the coconut palms where the juvenile leaves became separated like adult leaves. All the rest it's simply horrible. Haven't seen a hail storm like this since January 1998

[GottmitAlex]

😔

[Aleitalyyy]

coconut and ice

[GottmitAlex]

Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt.

 

The difference is mine are in the ground. That helps a lot.