Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - Cookie Monster

Pages: 1 2 [3] 4 5 ... 193
51
Interesting video. Selective harvesting is probably the most labor intensive part of the mango cultivation process.

52
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Question: Silas Woods Sapodilla
« on: July 05, 2023, 01:44:14 PM »
That's typical of both makok and silas woods (I believe the latter is offspring of the former). I think alano may also be in the same family.

Silas woods has the added problem of brittle branches. So very common to lose a portion of the crop to branch breakage. Raccoons climbing the tree doesn't help.

But the good thing about silas is that the tree stays small. Small is a good thing once you've been growing tropicals long enough. And year round production is great. Also highly precocious. Same with offspring generally (plant a seed of a silas or makok and it seems to have tendency to be precocious).

I've found that harvesting the fruit a tad green produces a smoother flavor.

53
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2023 Mango Season
« on: July 05, 2023, 01:38:00 PM »
haha welcome to the club. Despite growing on calcareous soil, I still have a major problem with uneven ripening of OS. Though when picked early, they should ripen normally.

I'm sure there is a way to mitigate the soft nose / jelly seed issue, but I haven't quite found it yet.

Soil water retention might be a factor (ie, high rain plus poorly draining soil might exacerbate the condition).

Can anyone help with this?  My orange sherbet mangoes are not ripening properly.  No matter what they have a huge jelly seed.  I've tried picking them earlier and not leaving them on the tree to ripen, and opening them earlier, and still the jelly seed.  This is the first year the tree produced a lot of fruit.  Last year I got a few fruit and I don't remember them having this problem.

54
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2023 Mango Season
« on: July 05, 2023, 01:32:23 PM »
Yes, OS has the same "slimy" texture. It's prone to softnose and jelly seed in my experience. PPK can develop jelly seed as well but seems less prone than OS. LZ normally ripens very evenly.

I know LZ and OS have different textures, but do you notice a big difference in taste? I’ve had PPK and LZ, but not an OS yet.

LZ has been more complex than OS in the past, with a bit more acid as well. Both quite good, but usually LZ is preferred by those who like more complexity. OS is more simple mango and orange flavor, with less acidity. Juicy.
PPK, as great as the flavor is, has a sort of sliminess to the pulp.  I don't recall this with LZ, but I've only eaten a few.  Is OS similar to PPK in this regard?

Re OS:

OS beats PPK in my experiences, and LZ usually beats OS.

OS can get kind of jelly-ish when overripe, perhaps some slime. At proper ripeness, texture of OS is medium firm with a bit of juice. A joy to eat, never noticed a slime problem, but will look for slime next time =)

55
It is mildly vigorous but can be maintained smaller with pruning and withholding nitrogen.

56
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Papaya Fruit Fly Question
« on: June 29, 2023, 02:16:54 PM »
I'm not sure about the original question asked. But I've found that there is a period of the year where papaya fruit flies don't bother the fruit and they can be harvested and eaten without worms, generally the dry season. Key is to discard of infected fruit. My wife tosses them in the canal, and that seems to work. TLDR it's possible to harvest clean fruit without going through the trouble of bagging.

57
I would say yes it can be maintained at that size. As for "will it bloom," there are a few factors:

  • Size of limbs cut / magnitude of the cut back
  • How much cold we get next winter
  • How well mineralized the tree is

A mild prune on a healthy tree, especially in zone 9 would likely not hinder harvest much.

58
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2023 Mango Season
« on: June 28, 2023, 06:13:05 PM »
In south florida -- we had a lot of rain early, which washed out the flavor. That said, gypsum and potassium helps, just be sure not to overdo the potassium as it competes with calcium.

I realize this is a naive question, but is mango flavor affected by the care the tree has received?
My trees, which include some very well regarded varieties, received no fertilizer or other care for the last 2.5 years (I was away).
So far this year not a single tree has given me really good, full-flavored fruit.
I'm guessing that getting lots of rain has not helped, but I haven't heard anyone complain that 2023 crop is a washout.

59
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2023 Mango Season
« on: June 25, 2023, 12:00:38 PM »
One nice thing about PPK is that it hangs on the tree past maturity. So if you don't get out there regularly to pick mangoes, it won't send them to the ground before you get a chance to pick.

Oh boy, I finally got my hands on some PPK/LM today.  Mango candy!  ;D

60
I've settled on Nordox 75. One tablespoon per gallon, applied with a blower / mister. I tend to prefer dusk application to prevent burn, cause I usually mix it with other stuff.

The drawback is that Nordox 75 does stain the fruit.

Nordox (also Brandt) 30/30 (copper zinc) is great and doesn't stain. However, I haven't been able to find a supplier in many years.

There usually talk about copper toxicity, but I've typically struggled with copper deficiency, so it's served as a micro nutrient. And I've sprayed about 20 pounds of the stuff over a 1/2 acre orchard through the years.

61
haha oh boy, the perennial question.

If I could only grow one, I'd say Maha Chanok.

Many years ago, a guy by the name of Harry Haussman -- owner of a multi-acre, multi-decade old mango orchard with somewhere north of 100 cultivars -- proclaimed Maha Chanok as the best all around mango. I was a skeptic but planted out a tree grafted from scions taken from his Maha Chanok for trialing. I've been growing it for about 10 years now, and I think I have to agree with old Harry.

Flavor is consistently very good to excellent, production fairly strong and consistent, and very resistant to anthracnose and probably MBBS as well. The tree also isn't particularly vigorous. But it does take a few years to come into production.

62
Mango Bacterial Black Spot aka MBBS. Keitt are especially prone due to the fact that they hang fruit throughout the rainy season.

As for treatment, I've found that a religious fortnightly spray of copper works during the rainy season. If not controlled from the get go, it can multiply and get to the point where 90% of crop is destroyed every year. Once under control, copper spraying regimen can be scaled back.

I've also heard that pruning and discarding of infected fruits keeps MBBS from spreading.

64
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2023 Mango Season
« on: June 21, 2023, 02:13:35 PM »
Correct. MBBS should be decimating the harvest right now, but only a half a dozen or so affected fruits despite the insane rain and humidity. And I haven't even sprayed since bloom.

Not sure, but think MBBS is fueled by high humidity, and Cookie was remarking upon it being remarkable that there was no bad issue with MBBS, with all the rain we've had.

65
Aha, I didn't remember where it came from. The PSM gave us thousands of fruits and is pretty consistent though very vigorous. Our johny appleseed adventure paid off on that one, as we eventually bought the property that it's on.

In general it was probably the best harvest we've ever had, all thanks to that great extended cold snap back in Dec or Jan.

66
Yah, mine also took like 6 years to start production, from a grafted 15 gallon sized tree. One of my favorite mangoes though, flavorwise.

67
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2023 Mango Season
« on: June 20, 2023, 08:48:58 PM »
The rainy season kicked in a couple of months early this year. Some of the mangoes have been slightly lower in brix. Fortunately MBBS hasn't been a problem.

68
In terms of flavor, I'd say Orange Essence.

Alex has a really nice variety viewer:

https://www.tropicalacresfarms.com/product-page/orange-essence
https://www.tropicalacresfarms.com/product-page/orange-sherbet

69
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Hurricane Ian Prep
« on: September 30, 2022, 09:10:43 PM »
Holy smokes. Think the fruit trees on pine island will survive the salt water? Fruit Scapes is (was?) one of my favorite nurseries.

70
The trees in the photos above look like they're a couple of inches away from the home. 2.5 feet for a soursop? I think you're fine. Those trees aren't very aggressive.

Yah that's really close to the house. Could cause foundation issues as the tree gets older. Planting close to the home is good for cold protection, but staying a few feet away from the foundation / walls will also protect your home.

I have a soursop planted close to my home for cold protection (2.5 feet away), of course I never thought about the foundation! Are soursop roots a problem as well?  I have a house built on a slab with no basement.

71
Yah that's really close to the house. Could cause foundation issues as the tree gets older. Planting close to the home is good for cold protection, but staying a few feet away from the foundation / walls will also protect your home.

72
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2021 Lychee Season
« on: January 12, 2021, 09:47:24 AM »
Yah, boron does make a big diff. The lychee is one of the few trees that I don't spray with boron, but perhaps I should change that. Thanks.

73
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2021 Lychee Season
« on: January 11, 2021, 05:58:27 PM »
First winter with decent chill hours in close to a decade here. Sweetheart pushing out a decent amount of flowers.

I've been told that lychees much be extremely well irrigated around fruit set to prevent abortion of fruit. My sweeetheart flowers every year (20% or less of the tree), but only a dozen fruit ever make it to maturity.

This time, I'm in the process of upgrading my irrigation system. 3HP pump with 2" and 1 1/2" tubing. Hoping for a good crop.

74
haha we need to start insuring our irrigation systems. why not insure the trees too!

Does this guy offer affordable home insurance too? I could sure use some of that right now. Hurricane insurance is absolutely bonkers here in Broward right now... the worst I've seen it in 15+ years.

75
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Pickering is way too under-rated!
« on: December 06, 2020, 09:26:27 AM »
haha we appear to be officially off topic.

TX, UT, AZ are getting a lot of Cali expats. It's driving up prices in those areas and will likely shift the political climate.

I left Cali in 2004. Great climate, but that doesn't make up for the much increased cost of living. And that was before all the weird political stuff started taking shape.

Florida has been nice. Good politics, good cost of living. Only bad points are hurricanes (and corresponding homeowners insurance) and 6 months of unbearable heat, with a winter that keeps getting shorter with every passing year.

PS -- there are lots of great places in the "south." One of my coworkers has been remotely working from MX for the past couple of years and loves it. Personally I'd like to get a second home in El Salvador one day -- one of my favorite places to visit.

Pages: 1 2 [3] 4 5 ... 193