Watering frequency for Avocado in pot in Perth (forum)

Mikey Mike starts with ...
I have just purchased an advanced Avocado tree(Wurtz) and put it into a new wine barrel with about 7 holes drilled into the bottom, I have used premium potting mix. How often should I water it in Perth especially during summer in those hot 40c plus days.
The reason I ask is because last year my TWO 6 year old Avocado trees(Hass and Fuerte) and my 5 year old Mango tree Both died last summer after a really hot spell. These trees were in the ground, sandy soil, full sun, well a bit of shade from a large tree for a couple of hours, plus hot winds (I think the hot afternoon sun helped finish them off). I was only able to water them every 2nd day due to my long working hours (I even lost some Grevillias, Lavender and Rosemary) Nectarine trees shaded by my house from 2pm onwards only just survived)
This time I'm growing in a pot so I can move it around and contained Potting mix is better than my dry garden sand.
The lady I bought it from said every 2nd day even over the hot days. Every 2nd day didn't work for the ones I had in the ground last year!


Time: 8th October 2010 5:45pm

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Jimmy says...
I water up to 4 times daily in Summer.

My pots hold 50L of mix at 5% water holding thats not much water.

I use a tap timer from Bunnings to run the drip tube with 15cm apart inline drippers.

Time: 8th October 2010 6:40pm

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About the Author Jimmy
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Lorraine says...
You badly need to improve your soil with lots of animal manures. I garden in Perth's sandy soils but water my fruit trees in ground or pots at the most two times a week. They have heaps of manures plus mulch on top.

Time: 8th October 2010 7:22pm

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About the Author ibis
Mandurah W.A.
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Mikey Mike says...
Thanks Jimmy and Loraine 4x a day! Is that for your Avocado tree's in pots as well? I was concerned about over watering my Avocado as I read ?somewhere? that constant water around Avocado's roots would kill them.


Time: 9th October 2010 11:44pm

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Jason says...
My Avocados do fine in 100% saturated wet soil for 4 months of the year but here I think it's the cold weather while it's wet that saves them from any root problems

Time: 10th October 2010 12:25pm

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About the Author Jason10
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Brendan says...
What's your soil like there Jason? Is it sand, loam or clay? Or something else?

Time: 12th October 2010 9:26am

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About the Author Brendan
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Jason says...
Brendan it's Iron based loam on top of clay. Like if you drag a magnet across the soil you get a magnet full or iron gravel, that's mixed up with red stained loam (from the iron) and about 20-60cm depending if you are digging on a slope or an area water and frost pools there is clay (again red clay). There's a few bits of charcoal in the loam layers from past fires etc but mostly there's no organic matter in it.

The areas that get frost and water collecting have by far the best soil but where ever you plant the ground is wet and soft all winter

Time: 12th October 2010 11:01am

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Brendan says...
Maybe you should start harvesting all that iron Jason :-) (just kiddin).

Can you grow citrus there, as they seem to like iron? I even throw my stubbie bottle tops under my meyer lemon tree to 'help' supply iron :-)

Time: 13th October 2010 8:48am

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Jason says...
Brendan yeah Citrus do ok, all I need to add to citrus is nitrogen and they look fine with good coloured leaves etc.

I have a few cactus they are ok also but everything needs HEAPS of food to actually grow. Something odd happens with phosphorus and iron in soil and it becomes locked. I only recently realised this and still haven't been able to read much about it. But when ever I put general chemical 3-2-1 fertiliser down the phosphorus just sits on the soil for years and everything else dissolves straight away. All my plants seem to be able to take 5 times as much fertiliser as you would normally think you need without any harm and seems to need that much to actually grow well so that's the main problem I have. The p.H is 5.5 too which is great for some things but seems to slow up some plants. I could literally find 1000 bottle tops worth of iron just on the surface of the soil in a few feet diameter let alone under the soil in the gravel layer that sits above the clay. The drainage in that layer above the clay is pretty good I guess. If you leave a hose turned on in the orchard up on the hill overnight the following morning the swamp down the hill about 80 meters away will be full of water but anywhere past about 2 meters from the hose will still be bone dry. In Winter the soil does fill up with water but there's always a fairly heavy stream of water running out and down the side of the road and it dries out pretty fast. By early Summer or even late spring the grass is usually dead and crunchy dry.

They mention the iron theory here a little bit

http://anpsa.org.au/APOL1/mar96-2.html

Time: 13th October 2010 9:53am

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Original Post was last edited: 13th October 2010 9:59am

About the Author Jason10
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amanda says...
Great link Jason - and I can highly recommend Handreck's book "Gardening Down Under" (as listed in the references). Your library will be able to source u a copy.

He also talks about how phosphate gets locked up by clay soils.

Iron and Phos are mutually antagonistic. Phos fert's do tend to sit on the soil for ages (even in my sandy soil) There doesn't seem to be a big problem with phos deficiency with fruit trees in general (from what I have googled and observed) but you may need to either "unlock" the iron in your soil or use iron chelates?

Have you thought of investing in a soil test maybe? You can choose which elements etc you would like to have tested - in order to reduce the costs.

Time: 14th October 2010 10:01pm

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About the Author amanda19
Geraldton Mid West WA
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Jimmy says...
Each watering is only a couple of minutes, otherwise the water just flows out the bottom.

I use a tensiometer with guage attached at 15cm deep. I try not to get the tension over 20 KPa.

Time: 15th October 2010 3:49pm

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About the Author Jimmy
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amanda says...
Hey Jimmy - do you think/feel that the system you have got there saves u water, in the long run at all? (or - is more efficient use of water..etc)
Is is adaptable to in ground use?
Thanks!

Time: 15th October 2010 5:32pm

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About the Author amanda19
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Jimmy says...
Its essentially "pulse" irrigation.

You can google that if you like.

www.perthregionnrm.com/ is a great resource. look for waterwise on the farm section.

It has lots of tips on watering and actually measuring the flows from systems. You would be suprised what they put out bs the water holding capacity of the soil.

Time: 15th October 2010 6:32pm

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Original Post was last edited: 15th October 2010 6:33pm

About the Author Jimmy
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amanda says...
Thanks Jimmy - looks interesting!

I am pretty bad for leaving the tap going and forgetting about it...next house I would like to put in a better system.

Time: 16th October 2010 11:33am

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About the Author amanda19
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Mikey Mike says...
I'm going to get a tap timer from bunnings like Jimmy as I too forget to turn them off. I usually put the oven timer on to remind me but sometimes Im out in the garden and I cant here it.

Time: 16th October 2010 12:22pm

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amanda says...
I have them too Mikey Mike - but they all blow up/die with my water pressure! :(

The one's with the simple "dial up" time have lasted the longest here. Some of the battery operated one's are very poor quality. You should be all right there though - they still dropping the water pressure down during the day in Perth?

Time: 16th October 2010 12:41pm

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Mikey Mike says...
I've never noticed a change in water pressure. Hopefully I'll be heading up to Gero in the coming weeks, for my annual windsurfing trip. Woo Hoo

Time: 20th October 2010 11:03pm

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amanda says...
Ah Mikey Mike - yes the season is on! My neighbours mad keen and he makes the boards also (Ken Mitsuda?) Only the windand kite surfers love the wind here!

Time: 21st October 2010 12:04pm

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Mikey Mike says...
Yep I'd hate to be growing trees up there with that consistent drying wind. I've seen some of his boards, I too make my own boards "RIDERS"

Time: 22nd October 2010 12:34pm

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amanda says...
Damn Mikey Mike - I guess that means you are not looking to buy 30 lovely acres looking out over the ocean huh??
;)

Time: 23rd October 2010 1:04pm

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Mikey Mike says...
Ha tempting but no.

Time: 24th October 2010 5:35pm

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joanne says...
hey mike was the new avocado a advanced one, just i am looking for a an advanced one

Time: 27th December 2010 6:50pm

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About the Author joanne
perth
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Jim says...
I would imagine there a few places where you can get advanced avo's in perth but i do know that Tass 1 usually has them at least a couple of years old, and out the back he normally stocks more advanced trees you just need to ask, probably worth giving him a call beforehand.

Time: 27th December 2010 8:49pm

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About the Author electra
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Mikey Mike says...
Joanne yes it is advanced the trunk at soil level is about 7cm in diameter and from the ground up the tree is about 1.2m It set about 15 fruit but they gradually all dropped of when they got to about between 17 to 20mm long I have recently had new stem and leaf growth of about 22cm .
I'm watering every 2nd day when the temp is between 26 and 34c once a day when it is between 34 and 38c tomorrow when it hits 40 degrees I'll probably water it twice a day.

Time: 2nd January 2011 2:35am

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Mikey Mike says...
Aditt I got it from an advanced tree nursery in wanneroo

Time: 2nd January 2011 2:39am

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