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How to Use a Soil Sampler to Prevent Watering Problems in Mirlitons

by | Feb 28, 2024 | How To, Mirliton

If you felt feverish and wanted to check your temperature, you wouldn’t guess; you would get a thermometer and take your temperature. Your garden soil is no different, and we now have a way to determine exactly how much soil moisture your mirliton has available: the soil sampler.

The soil sampler is the simplest way to see how much moisture your mirliton roots are getting. It’s the quickest and most inexpensive way to determine if you have overwatered or underwatered your vine.  Knowing what is happening several inches below the surface is even more important during droughts — many growers lost their vines during the heatwaves in 2023 and 2024 because the soil was starved of moisture.

The “knuckle” method of sticking your finger into the soil only tells you what the soil moisture is near the surface; that method does not work with mirlitons because the roots extend downward 8″.  Electric meters are also ineffective because they measure electrical conductivity–not soil moisture.  The only way to know the available soil moisture beneath your mirliton is to see and touch it, and that’s exactly what a soil sampler allows you to do. Mirliton growers in Brazil have used this method for years.  

James Leblanc demonstrates how to take a sample and check moisture levels at all root zone levels. First, pull a core sample and then examine the soil by pressing down on it in the sampler at intervals of about every inch. Feel for moisture and how it compresses.  That will indicate the amount of moisture present at each level. If it’s bone dry and crumbly, it needs more watering.  If it’s muddy–it has too much.  After a while, you will be able to easily take a reading by touch and sight. The soil will generally be moist at the surface level, and should even out as you go down about 8 inches.

See how James does it here 

Buy a soil sampler here.. 

Mirliton rootzone:

Preventing Cross-Pollination in Mirliton Varieties

by | Feb 18, 2024 | How To, Mirliton

There are no scientific studies on cross-pollination in mirlliton varieties, so we can’t speak with any certainty about the chances of cross-pollination. Mirlitons are self-pollinating plants and are primarily pollinated by bees.  Honey bees are systematic foragers; they will focus on one plant until they have collected all the nectar.  That means they are less likely to carry pollen from another plant, thus reducing the risk of cross-pollination. 

Because of this, generally, you can grow two different varieties with little risk of cross-pollination. If you grow only one variety at a time, you will have even less risk. But if you want to ensure that the offspring of a plant will be true-to-type, there is a simple way to do that: controlled pollination.

Using controlled pollination will guarantee that the specific fruit you picked from your vine will grow the same variety. Click here to see how to do it.