Author Topic: I need help in the signs of ripening in Sweet Tart and when to pick them  (Read 1960 times)

weiss613

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This is the first year that I have a Sweet Tart crop and I’d love to know exactly what to look for as a starting sign that the ripening process is beginning and what I should see at the proper picking time. Right now I see 1 or 2 with yellow coming out at the very bottom. I don’t know if that the first sign or a diseased sign. And if it is the beginning of the ripening process do I wait till the entire Sweet Tart turns yellow or what percentage yellow to get picked. Also I mail a lot of boxes to friends and relatives so I need them to hold up in a box for about 5 days more after picking at the most so please advise me as I’d hate to screw up after all the work. Thanking you in advance.
« Last Edit: June 02, 2021, 07:05:57 PM by weiss613 »

bovine421

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Me to. This is my first crop and it's a good size crop. a I'm several weeks to a month behind you but I've been
Tossing and turning at night over the same question.
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bsbullie

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You want to see a color change to golden, not a yellow hue which could be from sun coloring and not ripening.   Some will say to pick green but will not truly ripen up properly.  Too green and you get chalk and not the sweetness it should have.

Post pictures of your fruit in question.
- Rob

achetadomestica

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I had 6 last year on my tree. This year the cold got my flowers and
the tree didn't produce. The fruit wasn't huge but I noticed the shoulders
filled out and they turned a little yellow. I watch the stems and they turned
brown and I like to gently lift the fruit sideways. If it's ready they pop off
the stem. I was real worried also but the first fruit came off easy and I let
it sit a couple days and it was ready. It was the best mango I have ever eaten.
I envy both of you waiting on your fruit to ripen. I didn't share those 6 mangos. 

weiss613

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You want to see a color change to golden, not a yellow hue which could be from sun coloring and not ripening.   Some will say to pick green but will not truly ripen up properly.  Too green and you get chalk and not the sweetness it should have.

Post pictures of your fruit in question.
Ok Thank you I will get some photos in daylight. I went out tonight and found 4 with some yellow on them. But I was most impressed that for hundreds of other Sweet Tarts they remain solid green. I took photos in the dark that weren’t too bad and upon a close look at the photos I suspect that pathologies led to premature yellowing/ripening. And the fact that you said “Golden not Yellow will stick with me now. Additionally I think a lot of us are freaked by the ear lines last year of so many varieties and were blowing this whole thing up in our heads. Maybe we can announce when we have started to seriously harvest each specific variety and the county that variety was grown? Of course we’d have to be suspicious of that first announcement but as many announcements start coming in for the same variety one will get confidence to start picking their own. If one lives in Boynton/Delray and PBC the best signal is what is in Zills bins. Too bad they don’t send out announcements.
Thanks again bsbullie

roblack

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These 2 Sweet Tarts are starting to show some color change on the top. Not as evident in pics. Any thoughts Rob and others?


bovine421

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East side of tree

West side








« Last Edit: June 03, 2021, 05:00:39 PM by bovine421 »
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bsbullie

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Those look like coloring from sun (my fruit look similar).  Dont pick yet.
- Rob

cbss_daviefl

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When you see the color change extending down toward the nose as the pictured fruit in the foreground, it will ripen sweet. I have already had a few this year.  Some have been too sweet with no tart at all.

Brandon

weiss613

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My photos. Expert comments please. Some are changing from the top or bottom and some generally diffusely. Which is a healthy normal spreading of the yellow? And at what % of yellow to pick?












« Last Edit: June 03, 2021, 07:07:03 PM by weiss613 »

roblack

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Some of those look almost ready to me.

bsbullie

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My photos. Expert comments please. Some are changing from the top or bottom and some generally diffusely. Which is a healthy normal spreading of the yellow? And at what % of yellow to pick?













A couple few of those are close.  I know its hard to resist but the more color, the crazier the flavor.  Picked too soon, you get rubbery transitioning to wrinkling which is compost material.
- Rob

cbss_daviefl

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Color is variable based on soil and location. At my location, that is as much color as I want. I also like a fair amount of sour blended in to the sweet.  Grown at a coastal location, they might need more color. I would give them a squeeze. If they have a good amount of give, they are ready. Wait too long and they will be bird or racoon food. Blue jays love sweet tart and woodpeckers have been seen punching holes in them also.
Brandon

palmcity

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LOL.... You guys & gals definitely don't stick your beak into enough dropped early mangos... lol....

If you had, you would know without a doubt that sweet tart mango has been delicious for the past month on even even even the Drops.... This fruit is that sweet.... The pictures of Weiss partially yellow are great to eat at that stage (sweet and tart)... They are also great to eat if all yellow (primarily sweet).... They are also great to eat if you let them go too far and get really really gross looking and you need to eat around the black areas and just eat the bright orange delicious flesh (pure sweet and no tart usually).... Oh yea, they are that good.... Put the tongue in and enjoy.... lol...

P.S. send all the drops to me as I enjoy eating even those itsy bitsy ones that most all throw away as long as yellow as it will not be super sweet usually if itsy bitsy but will still taste like sweet tang... Just kidding on sending to me as I'm  pretty full.... lol...

I figured Squam (Alex) would answer shipping but don't see a reply yet... My guess, I would pick as soon as any yellow or orange begins appearing and ship when mostly green... If it was going to my family or friends, I would tell them if it gets lost in mail and arrives after 10 days... Throw away all the mangos except sweet tarts... Regardless of how gross they look with black spots etc.... There is a good chance any remaining orange areas within the black mess will be delicious... lol....
« Last Edit: June 03, 2021, 10:50:20 PM by palmcity »

achetadomestica

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99bv-KJ8wkE


Look at the stems

roblack  The front mango's stem is turning brown and is ready now or in 1-2 days

bovine421   The stems are green turning yellow, they haven't filled out either  yours need a couple weeks

Weiss613  Many of yours are ready. You have hundreds on your trees Pick one and
let it soften a couple days. You need an expert to tell you that? You won't be sorry
and you won't be dissappointed.


palmcity

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Looking in the trash can for mangos eaten a few hours ago... Too many as a sugar high now and a few were other varieties... I did find 3 sweet tarts with 2 very small and I usually prefer them yellow to insure sweetness is intense enough for my satisfaction on the small drops due to short water or just too many on tree. I find no problem in eating the small drops and even if they start to dehydrate I still like them but usually less sweet with a tang taste.

Also a pic of 2 more small sweet tart drops. I will let the green one ripen toward yellow and the other I will eat tomorrow. I have no problem eating even smaller drops. i just make sure they are yellow with enough sugars.

People that have thousands of mangos probably don't eat these drops & I understand. If a large normal sweet tart then it would retain the sweet and tart a little longer. I doubt if they would ever try to eat a sweet tart with black spots to find out what the orange tastes like at that point as my taste buds detect no tart when way over ripe... But, If you had thousands, no need to ever try it at this over ripe stage & I understand...

I often eat withered small sweet tarts dropped early and as long as all yellow on the skin, mine have tasted like tang IMO when  very very very small size drops.



weiss613

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Bsbullie on my calendar for June 5, 2022 I put your quote you just made and I put repeat every year to remind me how important your line was that said about Sweet Tart’
“””  the more color, the crazier the flavor.”””
I always will want to use this as the guideline at this time of the year.
Thanks again

weiss613

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PS just found this old Truly Tropical video where the boss lady actually takes us Sweet Tart picking in the video and gives us all the signs of ready to pick Sweet Tarts and closeups. Plus a short interview with Gary Zill on Sweet Tart.
https://youtu.be/99bv-KJ8wkE

bovine421

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Thanks guys in a couple of weeks I'll start paying attention to the stems and any signs of yellow I would like to harvest over a the longest duration possible. I remember Alex saying that is the beauty of sweet tart early or late there great. As soon as I get this figure it out I will school my wife. We have a division of labor. I'll do the thinking and the drinking and she does the Pickin and the process.Lol
She has a gift that by feeling and touching mangoes
she can tell the ripeness. I know it doesn't always work with some of these newer varieties but it's a skill that she learned as a child. She also told me that as a child she learned to take a rock and threw it at the highest mango in the tree and hit it at the stem and then catch it as it falls to not bruise. My advice  is do not get in a rock fight with a West Indian LOL
« Last Edit: June 04, 2021, 06:43:40 AM by bovine421 »
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palmcity

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Information for those wanting to sample sweet tart mango early by trying Drops etc.

Sweet tart early drops due to lack of water or too many per tree. Many are wrinkled and dehydrating. All of these had good sections except for 1 which was bland and light yellow. The darker the orange = more sweetness and great chance you will like it.  I don't like to waste and I use risk to benefits analysis on choosing what I eat and cleaning it.

Sweet tart is one of the few normal drops that I have that will usually ripen sweet if you wait long enough. But often you have to cut off the black areas

Of course none of these are as good as fully half colored to full yellowish orange sweet tart... depending on your choice of primarily sweet or sweet and tart...



Anytime you cut open a sweet tart and you see Bright Orange.... You can Bet It's Very Sweet.... Yellow = less sweet usually...
« Last Edit: June 04, 2021, 01:52:33 PM by palmcity »

pineislander

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I like how my Sweet Tart trees are loading up in year 3! Have picked a couple for test but not quiite ready yet.















zands

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My sweet tart tree is looking good.
It borders my neighbor and he was nice enough to pour a bag of Home Depot red colored mulch on it. Maybe a bag and a half. Partly because it improves the look of his property. This tree is the only one that got fresh mulch this year.

While my other mango trees have had fruit drops. This mulched sweet tart has had zero as in zero fruit drops. I give the fresh mulch credit for this.

skhan

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My sweet tart tree is looking good.
It borders my neighbor and he was nice enough to pour a bag of Home Depot red colored mulch on it. Maybe a bag and a half. Partly because it improves the look of his property. This tree is the only one that got fresh mulch this year.

While my other mango trees have had fruit drops. This mulched sweet tart has had zero as in zero fruit drops. I give the fresh mulch credit for this.

Glad to hear your tree is still doing well.
I got to bring by some Cac, your tree lives on

roblack

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What's your watering/irrigation regimen like Zands? Thinking it has to be more than mulch, but believe you that mulch is part of the equation to potentially lessening fruit drop.

Many times trees with less fruit produce tastier fruit, and trees with too much fruit might not be as flavorful. Please keep us posted on the fruit quality of your ST. Guessing they are mostly going to be very good to awesome.

zands

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My sweet tart tree is looking good.
It borders my neighbor and he was nice enough to pour a bag of Home Depot red colored mulch on it. Maybe a bag and a half. Partly because it improves the look of his property. This tree is the only one that got fresh mulch this year.

While my other mango trees have had fruit drops. This mulched sweet tart has had zero as in zero fruit drops. I give the fresh mulch credit for this.

Glad to hear your tree is still doing well.
I got to bring by some Cac, your tree lives on

Ain't that amazing! I bought my Cac in 2012 at Excalibur. I think it was the first year they grafted a lot of them. I have to think you have some early Cac and they might be getting depleted. If you you get an over abundance I can take some off your hands. Alex dug up my Cac tree when my HOA was pressuring me. But I hear it did not thrive at his place.