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Topics - BrettBorders

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Zill's "Juicy Peach" - Mango Review
« on: August 16, 2016, 06:50:36 PM »
Zill's "Juicy Peach" - Mango Review by Brett Borders





Seeing the late season Kents and the Keitts for sale always makes me a little bit sad, because it means that mango season is winding down. But this Juicy Peach mango from Tropical Acres Farms kept my interest kindled over the weekend.

It had a sharp beak and a nice, inviting fragrance.  Some mangos taste best when firmer so I cut a slice out before it got soft to investigate. The lemony yellow flesh beheld a pronounced, not classically mango-like flavor that was surprisingly similar to Starburst candy. It was bold and unique... yet very smooth & agreeable!

I let it ripen further, overnight, in my outdoor hanging basket and I was surprised to find a few ants on the edges of it. They very rarely make the effort. I washed it off and tried again. The flesh was pleasingly soft and I wondered if the "Juicy Peach" name might have been inspired from the texture. But the flavor registered in my brain on the citrus spectrum: Sunny Delight, Starburst candy and sometimes like a real deal honey tangerine. I got a few scattered hits of mango-y flavor notes but not much.  There was no resin, nothing funky or astringent... and as you eat closer to the peel it gets sweeter and more intensely citrusy, like icing on a cake.  The tart notes were faint and in the background only.

It's hard to compare this to another mango. The closest flavor I can think of is the Seacrest, but this was different and better. I can see many people enjoying the well-rounded, mellow Citrus-Fruity flavors, and there's nothing extreme or complex to dislike.  I consider the Juicy Peach to be a solid selection that lives up to Zill's reputation for next-gen mango breeding, and I'd rate this particular one as "Excellent."

(scale: Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent, Outstanding.)






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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Juliette mango reviews
« on: July 29, 2016, 04:49:23 PM »
Juliette Mango - review by Brett Borders




Juliette is said to be a seedling of the Caribbean St. Julian ("Julie") mango that is better adapted to humid Florida conditions.  This specimen from Tropical Acres Farms was looking ripe and it was still fairly firm but just starting to give to thumb pressure. It was a pretty peach color, speckled with little black dots ringed in hot neon pink. I put it in my bag and set off to meet a friend at the beach. "I've got a surprise," I told her, "close your eyes and see if you can guess what it is by the smell?" She closed her eyes and said it smelled like coconut. I cut into the mango and handed her a brilliant orange slice, as juice dribbled onto our beach towels. I asked if it was any good: she said it was.  I was impressed at how soft and succulent the texture was - almost melting in my mouth like gelato.  It was sweet, it had a faint touch of acidity and a resinous taste near the peel that seemed somewhat medicinal. While the look & texture were great I would rate the flavor of this particular fruit as "good." The Juliette I tasted last season from an older, more established tree was more superlative & tropical tasting. The J-12  (another Julie seedling) I tried this year had bolder, more exciting tart & spicy flavors. For me, the verdict is not in yet on Juliette... I need to try more fruits.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Piņa colada - mango review
« on: July 27, 2016, 08:37:25 AM »
Piņa colada - Mango Review by Brett Borders

I picked up this Pina Colada mango from Tropical Acres Farms in West Palm Beach, FL on Monday. The fruit I got was small but the taste was huge. First thing I noticed was a rather sharp acidity for a mango. But this was good acid: on some bites it tasted exactly like I was eating a perfectly ripe pineapple, other bites I got more of a Springfiels mango-pineapple-y flavor, and on others... Sweet Tarts candy.



There is also creamy flavor component that is on par with the suave tropicalness of mangos such as Coconut Cream, ValCarrie, Orange Sherbet & E-4. I found the flavors to be satisfyingly intense and long lasting: it filled my palette with richness that developed & unfolded for a several seconds after consuming each slice, and a pleasant aftertaste lingered for minutes.  The pleasing tartness, stunning sweetness and the smooth creamy finish were all perfectly balanced - making the Pina Colada mango a triumph of flavor that lives up to its name. I consider it to be an "outstanding" mango - one of the very best from Zill's.


4
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Jumbo Kesar - mango review
« on: July 22, 2016, 08:07:04 AM »
Here is a Jumbo Kesar (bottom right) in my recent haul from from Tropical Acres Farms in West Palm Beach. I've picked up some nice, clean fruit there this season: Maha Chanok, Venus, Sweet Tart, Dot, Spirit of '76, Cac, Dupris Saigon, Bombay, J-12, Juliette, Graham, etc. 



The Jumbo Kesar mango was a complex sensory experience, almost "flavor tripping." It gave me flashbacks to the summer fruit markets of India that I visited 15 years ago:



This small, ~12oz mango ripened up to have unremarkable yellow skin and no distinct smell. Cutting it open revealed a deep orange flesh with lighter yellow, translucent - almost "white grapefruit" colored areas around the pit.  After biting into it, there was a intense jackfruit / JuicyFruit gum-like taste.  I suspect this mango is sweet (high brix) but I do not taste the sweetness shining at forefront like I do in a Maha Chanok or Sweet Tart - here the tropical fruity flavors are very dominant, almost overpowering.  After the tropical fruitiness there was a lingering "funky," fetid element. Then a delicious resinous taste that's clean, kind of like spearmint... and also a subtle fruity sourness that reminded me of candy.

I ate half the Jumbo Kesar mango and it confused me and shook me up emotionally. It tasted nothing like the new Zill-style mangos or the Old Florida classics.  Was it weird? Kinda. Was it delicious?  uhh, yeah. Did I want to eat the other half? Hell yes, right now!!!  ;D

I raked my teeth over the light yellow, translucent flesh around the seed. It was subacid & tasted more like I was eating an orange or pineapple... than a mango. It was really interesting.



Eating in the area closer to the stem I tasted an soapy / sandalwood taste taking over the resin element. It tasted like what Indian incense smells like. Very close to the stem I got an astringent, palette-ruining taste that I call the "taste of death" that is found in some mangos.

For 30 minutes after eating it I was unable to think about anything other than Jumbo Kesars. I was inspired, totally captivated by the exoticness of its flavors.  I would rate the Jumbo Kesar as an unusual but "outstanding" mango. It is not a mango for people with timid palettes, but I consider it to be essential tasting for any true mango lover.





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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Best Tasting Mangos of 2015?
« on: July 27, 2015, 11:47:22 AM »
Which mangos did you find most delicious this year's season? Here's the place to post your Top 5 or top 10...

1. Sweet Tart - This season was the best I've ever had,  so delicious its unbelievable
2. Maha Chanok - has the most complex and elegant flavor, more subtle than a Sweet Tart
3. Fruit Punch - amazing taste but the fruit is extremely sweet & large - a "family sized" mango
4. Edgar - seriously good, hopefully it will be released
5. Lemon Zest - lots of hype surrounding this mango, justifiably so
6. Carrie - a timeless classic
7. E-4 - an unusual, appealing and "different" taste - very tropical & coconutty
8. Kathy / K-3 - superior ZINc seedling - resin heaven
9. Venus - superior ZINC seedling - yum!
10. Juliette -  great fruity-resinous Caribbean flavor


6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Coconut Cream mango - hot or not?
« on: June 22, 2015, 11:21:17 AM »
I was extremely excited when I first heard about the Coconut Cream mango, because coconut cream is one of the most luscious flavors I know.  Fresh homemade cream... produced with a blender, warm water and a straining cloth... makes canned coconut milk taste like an old shoe. I had to taste both side by side to fully understand how big the difference was.

When I first tried the CC  mango, it smelled heavenly. I was impressed that it actually did have a creamy, coconutty flavor. Eating it by itself, with no other mangos on the table, it was delicious... as well as unique and special. That combined with the buzz surrounding it made me feel like it was a top mango.

At the PB Rare Fruit Council tasting a couple weeks ago... one thing that struck me was how the E-4 mango tasted way more coconutty and tropical. It was like E-4 was "the Real Coconut Cream." Then when trying CC alongside several other tasty mangos... I realized that there were other mangos that tasted better.  The CC was still excellent but it paled in comparison to top tier fruits like Lemon Zest and Fruit Punch that really inspired my tastebuds.

Do you consider Coconut Cream a top tier mango? Or do you rate it as "excellent" or "good" or ?

7
On Saturday morning I went to the Fruit and Spice Park in the  Redlands (agricultural district) of Miami-Dade. There you are allowed to sample fruit that has dropped off the tree, but you cannot pick it or bring it out of the park. This time of year there is plenty to try on the ground.  I stayed at the nearby Everglades Hostel - http://www.evergladeshostel.com/ - 8 miles down the road in Florida City - which has beautiful landscaping w/ fruit trees, a small swimming pool with waterfall, hammocks, a communal kitchen and a backpacker vibe. I got a air conditioned dorm bed for $28 per night with roommates from Holland, Germany.

I got to the park at opening time (9 AM) and headed straight to the Mango Row in the back of the park.

Po Pyu Kalay & Sia Siam and Laurina mangos appeared to be the most "in season," ripening on the tree and dropping off en masse. The PPK was yummy, but not quite as good as Lemon Zest. The Sia Siam (pictured below) was good too - maybe a little bit peachy, and the SE Asian resin element reminded me of gingerbread.



Kenningston Pride, Florigon, Tommy Atkins were also dropping but not at peak levels. I got to taste a sun ripened "Tommy" and it was really not that bad. It was an thoroughly average, not-at-all exciting, not-very-sweet, stringy mango. Better than the store bought. 

The most interesting mango flavor of the day was Laurina. This was a small yellow mango with an extremely resinous and "not what I was expecting from a mango" taste.  First there was a very strong burst of Surinam cherry, then regular cherry, then a Jackfruit kinda thing, and finally a lingering astringent taste that was unpleasant.  Interesting to try.




I got to try my first white sapote, which had a nice, dessert-like texture and "caramel" flavor. Yum.

Most of the Jackfruit don't seemed to have ripened or dropped off yet, maybe a later season this year?

Lychee and Lemondrop Mangosteen fruiting nicely. Only a few jaboticabas.

The wax jambu section of the park was particularly spectacular. Almost all the trees were exploding with colorful fruit and dropping piles of it all over the ground. Some of the ones I tried tasted like cardamom. While it is not a very sweet fruit, I enjoy the look, the unique texture and spice flavors... I find it to be light, crisp and refreshing.

The Baobab tree was blooming and looked lovely, and the Cannonball tree had flowers... probably the loveliest look and scent of any flower I have seen.  I am sure there was a lot I missed, but these were the trees that called out and caught my attention.

I went back to the Everglades hostel and jumped in the waterfall to cool off. A great, magical summer morning in South Florida!

8
Blackberries have high antioxidant and low glycemic properties, and I would like to know about growing this mountain fruit in the tropics (South florida).

Is it worth it to grow in the tropics? Can you get a decent yield (pounds of fruit to freeze) with a modest amount of effort, or is it more of a project / hassle to grow this fruit out of its preferred native habitat?

If so, can someone suggest a strain and a supplier (woman on phone @Excalibur said you need both a male and female, they only had one type available) in S. Florida?

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Recipes / Miracle Fruit + La Croix sparkling water "Coconut" flavor
« on: August 10, 2014, 09:06:07 AM »
Here's my suggestion for under the influence of miracle fruit:

La Croix Sparkling Water - Coconut flavor
http://www.lacroixwater.com/product/varieties/coconut/

It transforms from a bitter seltzer water flavor to a sweet "Coconut-flavored Sprite / Cream Soda" flavor. No sugar, no artificial chemicals - just "yum!"


10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / mulching avocado trees?
« on: June 30, 2014, 11:54:49 AM »
I am planting a couple of avocados and mulching was recommended by the nurseryman and some online articles.

1.) Should mulch be added immediately after planting avocados or wait after the tree gets a little more settled?

2.) How much mulch (inches / cm thick), how wide... and most importantly, how close to the  trunk of a 15g tree should it go?

I have heard avocados have root systems sensitive to water and want to get the mulch "just right."

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / ID this Exceptional Florida Avocado???
« on: June 02, 2014, 03:34:24 PM »
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I got to eat a truly great avocado. They grow on a large tree in a residential area just south of Homestead, FL. According to the owner of the property the tree is "over 100 years old" (I have doubts about this, but it is definitely a few decades old) but they know nothing else about the cultivar or history behind it.


The characteristics that are consistent with all the fruits I ate are as follows:

- Large green fruits that stay green as they ripen off tree. Apparently November is peak ripeness time. Some were still on tree in December.



- High oil content. Far creamier than the Brodgons from the neighbor's tree. Judging by taste, it has equal or higher oil content to a Haas. If you suck on a slice, it melts in the mouth like warm butter - not metaphorically "sort of like butter" - almost exactly like butter. Nothing like the watery "Florida avocados" people like to disparage.



- ALL fruits have consistently "slanted" top where the panicle connects to the fruit. The panicle connects and the "low" end of the slope. See photo.





- There is sometimes but not always space around the pit. Quite often the pit is covered by a loose "brown paper" skin that is falling off or very easy to peel away with minimal finger pressure.





Disclaimer: I have limited experience tasting avocado types, but I know when I like something. I have checked the Pine Island Avocado viewer and a couple other charts and don't see a close match.

If this is a known Florida cultivar I will be very happy that I can simply and run out and buy one. If this is an unknown seedling, I will have to learn grafting :)


Any ideas on what this is, guys?




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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Mango transplanting advice?
« on: June 02, 2014, 11:50:20 AM »
I have a 5.5' tall Maha Chanok mango tree that has been in the ground 1 year, flushed 1 time, and has about a 1" thick trunk. I bought it in 15g at Excalibur but it was a very small 15g.  More like 7g recently upgraded.

I now realized that the spot its in is a prime landscaping spot that needs to go to a large shade tree. (not a maha).

My plan is to try and move it into a 25g pot.

A guy at the local garden center said to dig around the rootball with a shovel in a circle, break the roots vertically...leave it in the ground for 3 to 4 weeks while watering it heavily & daily to minimize the trauma... then get a friend to help lift the whole rootball into a pot. Then give it some kind of seaweed-based plantfood in the pot to help it heal.

1. Is this good advice or not? What would you do differently?

2. What kind of potting mixture is optimal for container mangoes?


13
I love grapefruit.

I have one prime planting spot in my yard.

As a kid growing up in South Florida I remember seeing orange and grapefruit trees everywhere. Groves, gardens, yards, etc. Now I don't notice too many trees out and about.

I read about HLB / greening ruining Florida citrus.

In light of HLB, its it viable or wise for a beginner to plant a grapefruit tree for long term fruit and shade in a small yard? 


I do not want a high-maintenance tree, a tree that requires heavy chemicals to protect,  or a tree that is likely to be killed several years down the road.

14
Behind my office there are two mature avocado trees (25'+). The guy who planted them says he planted two specimens at the advice of the nurseryman, but has never fertilized or cared for them... and regrettably,  he has never seen or tasted a mature fruit.

My own observation is that one sets egg-sized fruits in the spring that ALL (100%) fall off during the summer at some point. The other doesn't set any fruits at all.

Any ideas on how I could get the fruiting tree (left)  to hold onto its fruit to maturity? Or how to get the non-fruiting one on the right to wake up and get productive?





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Tropical Fruit Discussion / First Mangoes of 2014 Season
« on: March 29, 2014, 07:58:34 AM »
Post your first mangoes of the season in this thread.

I found this small mango on the sidewalk, below a tree, on 3rd Ave N in Lake Worth, FL.

Tasted pretty good for this time of year -  sunny, sweet, resinous, fibrous and Haden-y.




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Tropical Fruit Discussion / planting mango trees close together?
« on: September 20, 2013, 10:58:22 AM »
Newbie questions:

I have a 20' x 80' plot of land I can plant trees on.

I would like to maximize the space, if possible, for more varieties. I would like a couple mango trees, a grapefruit, an atemoya, perhaps something else.

What would happen if I went to the far end and planted two mango trees (Lemon Zest and Sweet Tart) close together - say 10' apart within the 20 foot wide space?

Would they still grow and fruit OK? Would the branches weave into each other - like a Siamese twin tree?

Or should I focus on growing one big mango tree and later grafting other varieties onto it?

Any advice on how to maximize this space?


Also I don't want to create a situation that requires heavy or constant maintenance.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Lula vs. Brogdon Avocado?
« on: September 12, 2013, 08:28:23 PM »
I have one backyard planting spot, next to a huge ficus tree... that gets half sun (noon to dusk) in the summer and more sun in the winter.

I have two potted avocado trees - Lula and Brogdon - that I picked up at a plant sale. I have tried the Brogon and it was very good. I have not tried the Lula.


Questions:

1.) Will avocado trees do OK without morning sun?

2.) Would you rather have Lula or Brogdon tree in your yard - and why?

3.) I have heard some people say avocado trees must be planted in A / B flower pairs. Is this true? I have seen plenty of lone avocado trees bursting with fruits in my neighborhood.

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Terribly Astringent Taste Near Mango Stem
« on: August 25, 2013, 07:04:29 PM »
On some of the older cultivar mango trees planted around my neighborhood, I find the most revolting mango trait of all:

a HORRIBLY astringent, taste-bud burning, sour-face making taste if you eat the flesh too close to the stem.

This taste, or more like sensation, lingers for 20 to 30 minutes after eating the mango. It ruins the experience of eating the mango, makes you wish you hadn't eaten the mango, and is close to impossible to wash out or cover up with other tastes.

It slightly "burns."

Is there a name for this? Has the chemical that causes it been isolated? Is it a trait of certain cultivars, or a characteristic that develops under certain conditions?

Any known antidote for it?




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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Overpowering Indian mango flavors?
« on: July 15, 2013, 02:53:20 PM »
While traveling in India a decade ago, I tried a lot of really interesting mangoes ("aum" in Hindi) in summer markets. I never bothered to find out the cultivars.

One thing I noticed was that the Indian idea of a "great mango" flavor and the western taste was often different. Some had an overpowering, hard-to-describe "funky" flavor... flamboyantly super fruity bordering on fetid... distinct from any flavor I tried back home in Florida or elsewhere in Asia.  Sometimes I only reluctantly finished the fruit... not wanting to "waste" it. I'm pretty certain it was not an over-ripe or an off-flavor... I double checked with the the vendors, who were very proud of how these were a taste of heaven at the peak of the season. I think I have tasted "notes" of a similar flavor shade in Florida street and sidewalk scores, but never the full-on funk.

Any ideas on what kind of mangoes these might have been? Are they grown in Florida and can we achieve a similar flavor? I'm not particularly interested in getting or growing them.. but just wondered what they are and if there is some sort of climate or soil difference.


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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Avocado ID?
« on: July 12, 2013, 12:29:12 PM »
Can anyone identify this s. Florida grown Avocado?


  • fruit is black, most specimens have a few "ruffles" on skin but not full-body "bumps"
  • This one specimen was a bit unusual -  as smooth and shiny as an eggplant
  • Creamy, high-fat content, good for guacamole, delicious!
  • Large tree about 25' tall - with wide spreading "Y" branches maybe 50' wide
  • supposedly ripens best in August


Thanks!

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The place I'm living has a large yard but there is a powerful, high pressure sodium (HPS) streetlamp in the corner, shining down over the prime grow areas. 

The young trees I have planted in the yard are all growing fine... but I am concerned about flowering.

1.) Will being in the direct path of a HPS streetlamp (20' - 100' away) affect flowering or fruiting of fruit trees? (Mango trees in particular.) 

2.) Regardless of the effects on plants, I don't want this light shining in my bedroom windows. Can you recommend a dense, fast growing tree that will attain a height of about 30' - preferable WITHOUT a large spreading canopy to steal light from other trees - that also does well in questionable, sandy soil  -  that I could plant in the corner to block most of this light? Any tree that is tall enough + dense + fast growing will do... but a fruit tree would be icing on the cake!

A nursery worker suggested a bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa)... what's your take on that?

Much thanks, guys!

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