Sweet Tart Mango

[FlMikey]

I'd love to plant a Sweet Tart tree in my backyard, as it's one of my favorite mangos, but I don't have room for a huge tree (no Valencia Pride).  It seems like it's an upright vigorous grower based on others comments here.  Can it be kept around 15 feet with annual pruning and be productive?  Can anyone post pics of their Sweet Tart tree?

I would say plant it. I have been keeping mine at 15ft or less and it produces. Lemon Zest is the vigorous upright grower. ST is a steady grower but not as vigorous as LZ. At least this is what I see on my property.
My ST branches out very nicely with tip pruning. Over the last 6 years

I will post try to post a photo. Summary is my ST looks kinda bushy.

That certainly does sound encouraging.  Yes please do post a pic of the tree when you can.  Sweet Tart & Edward have been the 2 varieties I've tried this year from different growers with consistent top quality despite the rainy season and in different locations.  However, I believe Sweet Tart is the better producer of the 2.  If I can keep it around 15 feet, I'm getting one this weekend

[zands]

That certainly does sound encouraging.  Yes please do post a pic of the tree when you can.  Sweet Tart & Edward have been the 2 varieties I've tried this year from different growers with consistent top quality despite the rainy season and in different locations.  However, I believe Sweet Tart is the better producer of the 2.  If I can keep it around 15 feet, I'm getting one this weekend

Check your PMs for a few photos just sent. I have never eaten an Edward fruit. I often read here here it is very good. But tree is a quirky producer. So I hear and read.

[FlMikey]

That certainly does sound encouraging.  Yes please do post a pic of the tree when you can.  Sweet Tart & Edward have been the 2 varieties I've tried this year from different growers with consistent top quality despite the rainy season and in different locations.  However, I believe Sweet Tart is the better producer of the 2.  If I can keep it around 15 feet, I'm getting one this weekend

Check your PMs for a few photos just sent. I have never eaten an Edward fruit. I often read here here it is very good. But tree is a quirky producer. So I hear and read.

Thanks for the photos.  Looks like I'll be purchasing one this weekend!  Edward is definitely one you should try if you can find someone willing to either share or sell.  Squam may have some, but last I heard, he was winding down on Edwards.  To me, it has a classic mango flavor, and sometimes has coconut undertones.  Everyone I've let sample Edwards has loved them.    They're great !

[bigalxx15]

Thanks Mark, this was my first fruit on this tree and I'm pretty happy with the size and taste of the fruit.

[palmcity]

This was my first fruit on this tree and I'm pretty happy with the size and taste of the fruit.

1. As mentioned, animals get my sweet tarts quicker than any other fruit.
2. Mine do not get even 1/2  yellow orange without internal break down & diminished taste.

How did yours taste and how many days inside room temp. to ripen etc. and did they ever start turning yellow orange and if so to what degree before eating? I have not tried picking mine at the greener stage and have waited to pick till seeing a yellow orange burst on the bottom of the fruit.

So far I will continue picking at my location as soon as I see any orange yellow as it has been successful and more productive than leaving the fruit for the birds and raccoons as I have not seen any improvement in taste with the further ripening but have seen a decrease in produce by delaying picking the fruit.

I also try to eat them after sitting about 24 hours and within 2-3 days of bringing them inside as once again, taste seems to decrease with time, especially the tart component.

[Zafra]

This is the first I've heard of ST and internal breakdown. Is this a known phenomenon of the variety, or maybe caused by the heavy rains this year? Can it be avoided by earlier picking w/o sacrificing flavor?

[palmcity]

By internal breakdown, I refer to a normal ripening process and sometimes the interior of the fruit near the seed ripens before the areas closer to the skin. The taste is not bad but is less than the firmer areas. The bottom shows a softer less desirable area. The fruit was picked 3 days ago and eaten a few minutes ago. I consider this Sweet Tart to have been over ripe for my taste. I probably would have enjoyed it more on the 28th or 27th or 26th but was awaiting another to taste it today. It was good... Just not very good or great as some others I enjoyed more...

[Zafra]

Right, also known as jelly seed. I hate jelly seed 

[bsbullie]

Sweet Tart is not known for having jelly seed.  When fully ripe it is softer textured but even at that stage, no jelly seed.

My guess is the issue is with a combination of watering, nutrient, harvest time and ripening after picking.

Overall, something is not right.  I have not seen them to have issues with coloring up no matter where they are grown.  I highly doubt your area is "distinct" or special (in a bad way).  They are also not supposed to be primarily tart when ripe, they should be exceedingly sweet with a zing component but the sweet should definitely dominate.  When picked primarily green, I have never seen them been ready to eat in less than 3 days. 

[fisherking73]

Had a sweet tart from Zills yesterday,,,,,,delish

[mangomongo]

Had two from our tree today. First one very sweet, second one was a little less ripe than the first but wow it really had the Sweet and tart components.  I'm not personally a big fan of the so called "Indo Chinese" Flavor profile but out of the ones I have tried this is hands down the family favorite. My wife said it reminded her of an early picked carrie in the tartness and I detected that indo flavor that a well picked and ripened florigon has.  Defiantly a keeper but I think It will be my only tree in that flavor profile. 

[FruitFreak]

Just pulled, or should I say it fell off with the lightest touch.  New Cotton Candy graft next to it is pushing, in fact they are all.

ST is my first Zill and am damn proud the grafts are taking!!!!!!!!

Beautiful ST fruit!  So happy the Cotton Candy is pushing looks like a take, you have a knack for grafting.  Good work!

[Fruitsy]

Beautiful looking fruit and best flavor I've had so far.

[CapeCoralGuy]

The more i keep hearing about these new great mangos varieties the more im inclined to top work my Glenn tree with a few of these Zill creations. I wish i had more room in my yard, but after planting 25 fruit trees in my back yard, im all out of room for new trees. So the only option is to top work my Glenn, which is my least favorite mango variety.

[simon_grow]

Here's a new video of Sweet Tart. Sweet Tart is Polyembryonic and not mono. I believe Gary was referring to ZIC/ZINC as one of the few Indochinese varieties that he knew of that was mono.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=99bv-KJ8wkE

Simon

[behlgarden]

The more i keep hearing about these new great mangos varieties the more im inclined to top work my Glenn tree with a few of these Zill creations. I wish i had more room in my yard, but after planting 25 fruit trees in my back yard, im all out of room for new trees. So the only option is to top work my Glenn, which is my least favorite mango variety.

do cocktail. you may not get 100 mangoes of one variety, but surely can get 20-25 of each variety as these mature. I have 23 in ground mango trees with over 90 varieties. my favorite ones are on at least 10 trees.

[Mark in Texas]

My new cocktail tree's grafts took, all 7.  Amazing that in 3 weeks I got complete callousing on both sides of the cleft grafts.



Took a peek at one graft.

[zands]

Here's a new video of Sweet Tart. Sweet Tart is Polyembryonic and not mono. I believe Gary was referring to ZIC/ZINC as one of the few Indochinese varieties that he knew of that was mono.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=99bv-KJ8wkE

Simon

Pure theory but I think some of the new Zills are flaky as far as the poly-mono seed divide. That it is possible for them to go either way. Saying a new Zill will go poly 80% of the time and 20% mono or the reverse. I think this is why we get varying reports.

[WGphil]

The sweet tart is a fast grower as well

Three gallon in ground one year tipped  at six feet




one thing for sure the next time I find some for sale I'm buying them all

[Mark in Texas]

Never thought of peeling a mango.  Do you use a paring knife or potato peeler?  I'll have more ST and some Lemon Zest to play with soon and as a newbie am still struggling as to how best to get the meat as whole, as one big cheek, as possible.

[simon_grow]

Here's a new video of Sweet Tart. Sweet Tart is Polyembryonic and not mono. I believe Gary was referring to ZIC/ZINC as one of the few Indochinese varieties that he knew of that was mono.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=99bv-KJ8wkE

Simon

Pure theory but I think some of the new Zills are flaky as far as the poly-mono seed divide. That it is possible for them to go either way. Saying a new Zill will go poly 80% of the time and 20% mono or the reverse. I think this is why we get varying reports.

Zands, I absolutely agree. I've had several Lemon Zest seeds that did not appear to have the segments in the embryo, it looked like a mono seed and only one seedling popped up. For Sweet Tart however, all the seeds I planted so far have been segmented and I got multiple Sprouts.

Simon

[simon_grow]

Never thought of peeling a mango.  Do you use a paring knife or potato peeler?  I'll have more ST and some Lemon Zest to play with soon and as a newbie am still struggling as to how best to get the meat as whole, as one big cheek, as possible.

Mark, the flesh next to the skin of most mangos is absolutely delicious and peeling the mango makes it much more difficult to gnaw off the bits of flesh. Duncan is one mango that I do not like the flesh close to the skin because it tastes very bitter to me. Lemon Zest on the other hand has some of the strongest Citrus flavor concentrated around the flesh close to the skin.

When cutting up mangos for guests or kids, I usually peel my mangos to make it easier and less messy to eat.

Simon

[bsbullie]

Never thought of peeling a mango.  Do you use a paring knife or potato peeler?  I'll have more ST and some Lemon Zest to play with soon and as a newbie am still struggling as to how best to get the meat as whole, as one big cheek, as possible.

Mark, the flesh next to the skin of most mangos is absolutely delicious and peeling the mango makes it much more difficult to gnaw off the bits of flesh. Duncan is one mango that I do not like the flesh close to the skin because it tastes very bitter to me. Lemon Zest on the other hand has some of the strongest Citrus flavor concentrated around the flesh close to the skin.

When cutting up mangos for guests or kids, I usually peel my mangos to make it easier and less messy to eat.

Simon

Depends on what you like out of the mango.  Some despise the flavor if scraping the skin.  I just find it would be difficult to handle the fruit if peeled like this, versus cutting and "filleting" the flesh off the skin.

[WGphil]

Paring knife

Some types it's better to toss the peeling and some I cut a little deeper as some have  a lot of flavor and I will scrape it good to get all of if

Mostly I cut this one to show color contrast between peeling and fruit

[JoeP450]

Here is link to presentation posted before, but drives home the benefit of calcium in mango trees: https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/AustralianMangoes/food-for-fruit-nutrition-management-in-mangoes









The jelly seed is likely a calcium deficiency.

-joep450