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Messages - andrewly

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Transplanting mango seedling from ground.
« on: February 10, 2024, 02:11:39 PM »
My mango tree has a few seedlings/saplings growing from last year's seeds, but they are all under the canopy of the existing tree. We want to move them to pots to grow them a while while we try to figure out where to put them permanently. Anybody know a good guide to doing that without killing the tree? Or just have good advice?

Sorry if this is a "use the search" question. I tried to search here and the internet in general, but I can only find advice for transplanting trees from pots to the ground, not the other way around.

2
Every year a few dozen of the mangos from my tree have these dark fibers running through them. My mangos are very fibrous, but the dark ones are obviously off-putting. Googling suggests this is resin canal discoloration (RCD) and that it is perfectly fine to eat them. But I wanted to get some additional eyes on them to see if people agree. Top picture was with flash that made the orange color look very pale - the bottom picture is more accurate to the color - but the contrast on the top made it much easier to see the fibers. In the bottom picture you can mostly see them along the edges. Thoughts?




3
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango Fertilizing Schedule
« on: April 06, 2021, 05:47:29 PM »
Exact timing is not so important. If you haven't applied yet this year, apply now. Apply again in 3 - 4 months from the first application. Repeat 3 - 4 months later. Next year do Feb, June, and Oct.

Thanks - so there's no problem fertilizing while the tree is fruiting?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Mango Fertilizing Schedule
« on: April 06, 2021, 10:42:18 AM »
I'm drowning in contradictory information on when to fertilize my mango tree. Based on a soil report and some advice from this forum, I should be applying about 1.5lbs of 0-0-22 fertilizer three times a year, but I am very confused about when those three times should be. It seems pretty clear that I should do one right after the harvest is over (for my tree, that's August), but beyond that, every source is giving me different info (or just saying 3-4 times without identifying the times).

Some sources say to fertilize at the beginning of the dry season (for Tampa, that's Oct-Nov timeframe). Then others say before flowering (Dec for my tree), or after flowering, but before fruiting (Jan, maybe Feb), and still others say after the fruit starts growing! I would love some clarification.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fertilizer/Soil Order for Mango Tree
« on: December 15, 2020, 06:48:06 PM »
Excellent, thank you so much!

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fertilizer/Soil Order for Mango Tree
« on: December 15, 2020, 02:29:09 PM »
Sorry, I thought I had all the info I needed, or knew where to get it, but how much 0-0-50 or 0-0-22 should I be putting down?

The UF extension guide that cbss_daviefl posted seems to say, for a tree 8+ yo, it should be 3.5-4 lbs per application, 4 applications for year. But a) that's recommending 6-6-6-2 or 8-3-9-2, and b) elsewhere on these forums people are measuring their fertilizer in ounces, cups, and handfuls - obviously nowhere near 3.5-4 lbs.

Thoughts?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fertilizer/Soil Order for Mango Tree
« on: December 14, 2020, 09:53:32 AM »
Andrew, i wouldn't cut it down.  Can prune the heck out if it next summer.
Thanks for posting soil levels, we need the pro Har to share his knowledge on desirable levels.
No nitrogen according to everything i've read for mature trees.

"Pruning the heck out if it" will cause it not to fruit and to then flush worse than it is now.  Selective pruning is how it should be pruned but as Brandon said, thats not going to elevate the issue or its dangers to the house, sewer or any other underground lines or pipes that may be near.

By its looks, it needs zero nitrogen.  Feed it potassium and calcium when fruiting.

As for an "arborist " pruning it, most would have no clue how to prune a mango.  They are trained for pruning ornamentals and many cannot even do that correctly.

I don't think it is near the sewer line - I could see where that would be a problem. These guys seemed (to me) pretty knowledgeable about the fruit trees in our area and we talked quite a bit about how they'd prune it for as best a chance of fruiting as possible, as well as the different needs of the mango tree versus my orange tree. But I guess I'll find out soon.

Thanks everyone for the guidance! Wish me luck!

8
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fertilizer/Soil Order for Mango Tree
« on: December 11, 2020, 05:47:34 PM »
The picture of the tree tells a story. The tree is too close to your house. It may damage the foundation or your roof. I would remove it and plant another mango tree at least 15 feet away from the house.  The tree does not need fertilizer. I do not see pH on the report but it may be high from the concrete.  If you are going to keep it, add potassium  0-0-50 potash of sulfate or 0-0-22 k mag.

Well, it's clear of the roof now, anyway. We'll almost certainly keep it, particularly given what we just spent to have it professionally pruned.

The pH says 6.8.

Copy on the potassium options - but what about the really low nitrogen?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fertilizer/Soil Order for Mango Tree
« on: December 11, 2020, 03:21:20 PM »
bsbullie - I don't know how old the tree is, but it is at least 13 years old (and not much older) based on Google Street View's history. I posted a picture that the arborist took before they pruned it.

EddieF - I got the results from them and attached them here. I don't know what all of that means, but it looks like Nitrogen and Potassium are very low.

saltyreefer - I don't think the tree bloomed at all this year. It usually blooms in the winter, and I think it was late Jan-early Feb that it occurred to me it hadn't bloomed and there were no buds or anything. In winter 2017-2018, we had a cold snap right when most of the tree was blooming and that killed everything, and we only got a few mangos that summer from places on the tree that bloomed late. But we didn't notice any real cold snaps last winter and never saw buds or flowers.

cbss_daviefl - Thanks for the details. Does the soil report affect your recommendation at all?







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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fertilizer/Soil Order for Mango Tree
« on: December 10, 2020, 01:06:46 PM »
Mangos usually grow fine in sandy Florida soils.  Adding too much soil to a tree that is already planted is generally bad.  UF also has a home growing guide that you may find helpful. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg216. Use slow release fertilizers 3 or 4 times a year. Don't use cheap fertilizer. That typically washes away after a few inches of rain.  The UF guides have charts for fertilization based on tree size. If you want to add organics to your soil, use wood mulch or cow manure as fertilizer.

That makes sense. That UF guide (I said USF, but I misremembered and couldn't be bothered to check my bookmarks, apparently) is the one I read that lead me to not water during the winter last year: "Mature mango trees do not need frequent watering, and overwatering may cause poor quality fruit and/or trees to decline or be unthrifty. Little to no irrigation is generally necessary during the fall and winter."

I had watered and fertilized in the previous three years (my first three years at the house) and had fruit. I did not irrigate this past year, after reading that UF guide. I highly doubt the previous owners fertilized the tree, and there was fruit when I bought it. So I'm just hypothesizing that the lack of watering was a key issue.

Either way, thanks for the advice. I will probably skip the soil and just fertilize with some good stuff - what do you define as "cheap fertilizer?"

11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fertilizer/Soil Order for Mango Tree
« on: December 10, 2020, 12:55:48 PM »
cbss, what's your favorite mulch/tree chips?

andrew, sandy is good.  I have deep thick topsoil & mangos not loving it.
Do yiu have copy of levels?  I'd like to learn.

I don't have a copy of the levels; I should get them, I guess.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Fertilizer/Soil Order for Mango Tree
« on: December 08, 2020, 02:26:57 PM »
Hello,

This is probably a Gardening 101 question, but I am definitely a remedial horticulturalist. Short version of question: I want to put down fertilizer and soil for my mango tree - which do I put down first?

I have a mango tree at my home in Central Florida. I did not get fruit this year, possibly because I had read on the USF Extension website that mango trees shouldn't need to be watered during non-rainy seasons, so I didn't do so last winter. Had to get it pruned this fall and had the arborist do a soil study, as well. Our soil here is extremely sandy, and they said it was very low on nutrients. So I want to put fertilizer and garden soil down for my tree. The question is: do I put down fertilizer on the sandy soil and water it in first, then put down the soil, so the fertilizer has less distance to travel down to the root system? Or do I put the new soil down first?

Also, do I just layer the new soil on top, or should I dig out some of the sandy soil?

Thanks!

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / What is eating my mangoes?
« on: July 16, 2017, 06:26:03 PM »
A lot of the mangoes I am finding on the ground have small to large holes eaten out of them, but I can't tell what is doing it or when (ie before they drop or after).  I put a picture below - my camera is not focusing properly, so it isn't the best.

If it is rodents or birds, I guess that's life, but I'm concerned it could be insects that laid eggs in the fruit, grow, and eat their way out. Obviously, there are bugs in there now.

Anybody have thoughts?




14
Recipes / Uses for unripe mangoes?
« on: June 14, 2017, 08:16:55 PM »
I had a branch fall today in a storm, which resulted in me having about 60-80 unripe mangoes on my hands.  :o

I made some mango powder (amchoor) earlier in the season with some unripe mangoes, but I'm not really looking to peel, slice, and dry 80 mangoes.

I've also seen mango pickles, which I will make, but with that many mangoes, I'll need all the ideas I can get. I'd hate to see them go to waste.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

15
So I should pretty much just guess when they are ready based on softness, rather than color?

16
Also, if it is helpful, they are weighing in from about 4-6 ounces.

17
So here are some additional photos to help. First photo is one I took on Tuesday (30 May) of several mangoes that had fallen that day. I've numbered two of them.




Here are 3 pics of Mango #1 today (Thursday, 1 June), after two days of sitting stem down on my counter:








Here are 4 pics of Mango #2 today, also after two days sitting on the counter.










Here are 2 pics of Mango #3, also after two days on the counter. I didn't cut him open because he looked greener than the other two.





And last, here are 2 pictures of a mango that just fell today, for reference:














18
I moved into a house last August in Tampa, FL that has a mango tree. I don't know what cultivar of mango it is, so I'm not sure how to decide when to pick them, etc. Here is a picture of a few of them that fell off in some heavy wind this week. I put a pen there for scale. Also one on the tree. There are some on the tree that I think are a little larger, and have somewhat larger pink/red area. I also put a picture that I took in August of the last two mangoes from the tree, which were straight up yellow - not green or red. The ones from August were actually about the same size as the larger ones are today, if that means anything. I don't think the previous owner took very good care of it though, so it may have been malnourished and dehydrated last year.

Anybody have an educated guesses based on their current color and size for early May (when these were taken)?




Here's one from last August:

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