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Messages - Gambit

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Anyone growing Juliette mango?
« on: August 13, 2023, 11:37:43 AM »
We have a 5+ year old Juliette that was bought as a 7-gal tree. Its been a productive tree since 2020, disease-free, and delicious. Taste is very similar to Julies that we have tasted through the years. Gave us about 70 fruits this and last season.

Pic snapped late May 2023


2
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Lemon Zest Mango in Melbourne, FL?
« on: June 27, 2023, 09:57:12 AM »
Have yet to try Chino and Carioca. Tried a few of Campbell's varieties like King Lion, US Langra, Wango 023-3 and 023-13 (both of which supposedly have durian flavors).
Sunburst is the renamed Fruit Cocktail, and it's very good...
Really can't say the same about the others.



3
That's it !!

Thanks, Nate.

4
Pic taken near San Francisco by a friend. Thanks.



5
Tree approx. 7 ft, from base of pot.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: No mango in Florida this year. bummer.
« on: March 29, 2021, 10:45:23 AM »

Could be thirsty, we haven't had any rain this year yet. My trees also on slanted ground.
I have few questions hopefully you guys can help:
How many time we need to spray fungicide?
Do still need to water a 4-5 year old tree? (4-5 inch trunk).
What nutrient that you feed your mango trees? When to apply?

- Joe 
[/quote]

Your Maha does not appear to be dehydrated... I don't see any dried leaf tips. I've been watering my trees at least 2X weekly these past few months (it's been very dry these past few weeks), before they started flowering, and also started spraying Plant Doctor and Daconil every 2 weeks. You should spray before flowers open, but NOT during open blooms. One of my Mahas will often not fruit much if it produced a lot the previous season, while the other will consistently pump out 100 mangos every season. I use Har's Fruitilizer (0-3-16) for all my older trees (>4 yrs in ground), and 8-3-9 or 8-4-8 on the smaller trees that needed to grow.

Maha from 10 days ago. Your tree looks like it's a Maha, at least to my untrained eye.


7
Yeah, inland Tampa always seems to get a few degrees colder than south St. Pete. I feed my small potted Taymour with "Osmocote 6-month smart release" fertilizer. I would highly recommend Osmocote for potted plants as there's very little chance of problems from overfeeding. Watering-wise, you would have to stay on top cos in-pots will dry out much faster than in-ground. I usually scratched the to top 1-2 inches of the soil, and if the soil is dry, water. Generally a 7-gal pot in full sun will require 3x weekly waterings. I have the same soil conditions, beach sand with absolutely no organic matter.
Good luck with your mangos. Hope you have some to harvest this season !!

Gim

8
Paul,
I'm across the bay in St. Pete. The 7-gal trees should be in the ground, except the Irwin. Well, the Irwin too, since you can always top-work. I've got a few trees in my yard (most were 7-gals when planted), and they all handle the cold spells pretty well each season. 3-gal trees, on the other hand, will succumb to the occasional frost (eg. Jan 2018) that hits our area unless they're protected. Majority of my tree are holding fruitlets now, and I'm fairly optimistic that we'll have a good season. So far, my only disappointment this year is the Phoenix, which started blooming profusely late Jan and subsequently dropped all blooms, with absolutely no takes for one reason or another...

Early February.


Same tree in March.

9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Not enough Durian Discussion
« on: March 23, 2021, 03:25:26 AM »
Oscar,
You may be mistaken... Most, if not all, Musang Kings that you come across in the US originate in Malaysia. More importantly, these durians are NOT harvested like you would a mature mango, i.e., picked/cut from the tree. Instead the durians are allowed to ripen on the tree and dropped (without human intervention). They are then collected and processed (flash frozen in liquid nitrogen) and shipped. Thai's do NOT like smelly durians--Malaysians, on the other hand, love the pungent aromatics of their cultivars. It's a dramatically different harvesting practice between Thais and Malaysians.
When ripe, the sections of ripe durians also tend split open fairly easily, especially at nose, which will desiccate the arils. The exporters circumvent the splitting tendency by rubber-banding the nose end of each fruit. Of course there's always going to be some loss in quality when you ship frozen fresh fruit to faraway places. But the eating experience of a thawed Musang King exceeds all expectations when compared to a Monthong. For some (like my wife), it justifies the price difference between $4.50/lb Monthong and $13/lb for Musang King in St. Pete. Mind you, I've had very good Monthongs in Thailand (per my tastebuds) when i can find tree-dropped (ripe) fruits, but these are extremely difficult to come by.

ps. Note the green rubber bands keeping the sections intact. The smaller vacuum-packed and frozen box is relatively cheaper at $24.00 per box.




10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Not enough Durian Discussion
« on: March 22, 2021, 02:38:59 AM »
If all that you can get to form an opinion are tree-cut frozen Monthongs that are not even ripe and will never ripen properly, then you're guaranteed to hate it. Monthongs can be quite good, IF they're not cut from the tree BUT collected after they ripened and dropped from the tree. That's how it should be done IMO. I grew up enjoying durians in Penang, and even in Malaysia, some folks cannot tolerate the smell and flavor of durian. Superior culltivars like Musang King were not available in the US until 3 or 4 years go, and is still difficult to find. Other top-tiers like Black Thorn, Red Prawn, and Sultan have yet to make an appearance here... and these boys are expansive !!
In 2018-2019 Malaysia, the Black Thorn durian goes for Rm$70/kg, which works out to US$8/lb, which is well beyond the means of most people.
I will buy frozen Musang King ocassionally in Florida, at the low low price of US$13.00/lb. An averaged sized Musang King is about 5-6 lbs. Not only is it difficult to hunt down, not many folks here (my "sober" self included) will shell out at least 65 bucks for a fruit that I've never tried and may end up not liking. At these prices, i can't blame anybody for not trying the true "King of Fruits"


11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: No mango in Florida this year. bummer.
« on: March 22, 2021, 01:42:43 AM »
I'm in south St. Pete. My Mahas bloomed heavily in mid-Jan, and the Lemon Zests followed at January's end. All of them are holding fruitlets now and looking good. Other than 1 or 2 nights where temps go down to 38 deg F early January, we've had great weather to trigger blooms. The Phoenix tree was the first to bloom in my yard (late November), and even though it was covered with flowers, not a single fruit formed... most likely all male flowers due to the the cold spell. Not sure what may be going on with your Maha and Lemon Zest trees... too young perhaps, or thirsty ?? Would help if you post some pics of the trees. For sure you gotta spray for powdery mildew and anthracnose if you want a decent crop each season.

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Source for large fruit trees in Florida?
« on: September 20, 2020, 10:05:52 PM »
Call Green's nursery in Apopka FL. They can also get you large trees. Prices are very reasonable too (i.e. cheaper than most nurseries in C. Florida)

13
Simon,

I'm pretty sure that's a Phoenix, and a big one. The white spots on the fruit is typical of Phoenix (and Mallika). Here's a pic of the last two Phoenix mangos still hanging in St. Pete (3rd bloom).



14
Looks like aphid damage and/or scab... BUT you really should post this to the "Mango Pests, Diseases, and Nutritional Problems" thread where the bona fide experts hang out. You'll get a much more accurate response there.

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2020 Mango Season (Florida)
« on: January 27, 2020, 01:46:12 AM »
How long the wait? my tree about 8-10ft, trunk about 4-5inch diameter. I'm thinking to chop it down if it not blooming soon.

Post a pic of your Maha tree. I'm in St. Pete and we got a hard freeze on Jan 18, 2018 and it wiped out all blooms. Of the 2 Mahas in my yard, only 1 tree reflowered and fruited that year.
My Mahas were planted in 2013 (first fruited 2015) and 2014 (first fruited 2017) as 7 gals. Your tree may just be taking a little longer (as Alex suggested above). However, with a 4-5 in diameter trunk, that tree should be fruiting. Curious.

16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Durian
« on: January 20, 2020, 07:30:33 PM »
There wasn’t a label on them that I can remember. My wife says they are around $3 a pound. They are around 5 pounds with 5 or more sections. They are good, usually these frozen ones are bland and weird frozen texture but these taste as close to fresh considering it’s  imported. Seeds should be unviable but planted some anyways.

It's most likely a Monthong or a another cultivar from Thailand. Similar pricing ($3-$4 per lb) for frozen Thai durians in St. Pete. Every once in a while, I'll see fresh Monthongs (not previously frozen) at the ethnic grocery stores for $10.00/lb. Tried a couple of times and although better (i.e. more ripe) than the readily available frozen ones, they were not impressive. Glad you liked it. Now look out for the Musang Kings !! The taste difference is like night vs. day.

17
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Durian
« on: January 20, 2020, 05:08:05 PM »
Monthong or Musang King ? Price per lb ?

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Phoenix mango
« on: July 19, 2019, 11:18:33 AM »

"Heresy" or "hearsay?"  I don't think it's heresy that it would be a great mango!
[/quote]

Hahaha... you're right on "heresy". Should be "hearsay". One of the many baggages of growing up religious... :-[ but that's another thread. This mango is now solidly entrenched in my top 20.

Gim

19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Phoenix mango
« on: July 19, 2019, 10:02:45 AM »
Gambit that is some serious protection!Yours is very well blushed getting very close.i'm drooling

Haha... agree that it is that good. The exceptional taste surprised us, as we've never tried it before, but stuck one in the ground based on "heresy"... Detected a tiny hint of resin, much less than Bombay or Jakarta. Very much like an Indian Alphonso in flavor depth. Last season's freeze in St. Pete hit the tree pretty hard and took out the blooms, but it bounced back nicely and fast.

Gim

20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Phoenix mango
« on: July 19, 2019, 09:18:16 AM »
So I had my first Phoenix mango off a small tree ,the only one on that tree.It had started to change color so picked it let set 3 days and.... I think it is in the top 5 for me flavor was like a mix of bombay or white pari crossed with dot.Also no anthracnose so very clean,now waiting for the other tree to ripen with 5 on it. Nice complex flavor very sweet not to much acid good balance.

Right on point, John.
This is also the first crop from my backyard. I let it ripen until it's ready to drop at the slightest touch. Definitely a top-tier mango. Only have one tree to observe, but this tree is a fast grower and looks like it wants to be big.


21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Stop Hori bat damage
« on: July 03, 2019, 02:55:21 AM »
A  cam is a good idea.
Nope they also eat foliage & a picture would show that only easy accessed parts are bothered.
I have heard ( no pun) that ultrasound may work.
I  need get more info on this .

Carolyn is correct. The Hoary bat is strictly an insectivore. It is something else that is stripping the leaves and eating fruits. You definitely need to document this with hard evidence. Who knows, you might have just discovered an up-to-now unknown frugivorous species of bats in Hawaii. For your sake, I really hope that there are no frugivorous bats in Hawaii.

Nobody yet knows what the Hoary bat hearing range is. Although you can get a decent estimation of what the animal hears based on its echolocation frequencies (which is available), the use of an ultrasonic repellant is not a good idea, since pollinating insects and other good bugs may also hear ultrasound and stay away from your blooms. Ultrasonic repellant has never been an effective deterrent, simply because high-frequency sounds are very directional, easily blocked by obstacles, and does not propagate far.

So your best bet is to first prove that the Hoary bat is raiding your fruits, and is indeed a frugivore or omnivorous in its food preference. There are such bats, but not in Hawaii, unless they were "accidentally" introduced to the islands. It would certainly be BIG news to the scientific community.



22
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: mangifera aquaea
« on: June 30, 2019, 04:16:17 PM »
is there more to that article for jstor subscribers?

I'm wondering about the taste, like is it worth collecting seeds and planting.

Not worth much of anything, IMO. It grows wild in Malaysia. Extremely sour when green and unripe; extremely sour, juicy, and fibrous when ripened. The unripe fruits are usually harvested and included in salads (mostly "rujak") with other fruits. They're also commonly pickled. Also called "mempelam" by locals.

23
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2019 Indian Mango Season
« on: June 11, 2019, 05:13:55 PM »
Have anyone bought any Indian Mango recently?  My first batch from the store was very bad, kesar and alphonso.  I had to compost about half of the mango due to taste.  They were bland flavor wise.

I bought a box of Alphonsos and Banganpalli from my favorite Indian grocer about 10 days ago. It's always a coin toss whether you're gonna get something very good or bad. I got lucky this year though. The Banganpallis were as good as you can get and the Alphonsos were fantastic, with only a couple with small spots of spongy tissue and no internal breakdown, which is pretty common in Alphonsos. Generally I will encounter jelly seed and internal breakdowns in imported Indian/Pakistani mangos, but not this season (so far). The Kesars the wife got on June 8 were spectacular, much better than previous years. Some internal breakdown, but in only a few. It may all boil down to just how stringent the export companies and their farmers maintain their standards...

The pics were taken within the first day of purchase.
Alphonso, Banganpalli, Kesar, Kesar








24
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Are these maha chanok ripe?
« on: June 06, 2019, 03:18:44 PM »
Not sure if it is coincidence or not, but I haven't had any more fruit drop prematurely since I started giving extra water. So fingers crossed I get a couple to ripen this year=)

Both our Maha trees tend to shed a lot of fruit when they're approx. 3 in or less. After that there are very few drops. Through the years, we've also been regularly watering them throughout the season, 2 to 3 times a week. My soil, if you can call it that in south St. Pete is all bleached beach sand, drains and dries fast. With temps in the high 80s and low 90s, which is unseasonably high for this time of the year, we water religiously. We adopted this watering schedule especially for the Nam Dok Mai #4, which is prone to splitting with uneven watering.

25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Is E4 Top Tier Mango ?
« on: June 05, 2019, 09:26:45 AM »
I noticed in Gambit's picture, the E-4 was picked green,  is this one of those varieties that stay green when they ripen,  or do they ripen well picked green like that,  to me that is a desired feature for a tree that might be an easy access to passerby's.

Every one of the E4's turned out excellent, and stayed green when ripe. One fruit did did not even lightened up when we cut into it 3-4 days later. I don't prefer tart mangos, but the E4's had just a slight tartness to balance out the sweet. I have a sweet tooth and IMO the Sweet Tarts in my yard are too sour for me, albeit it's in its first year of fruiting.

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