Hi Steven, if you start from purchased papaya seeds it's impossible to get male plants. Purchased seeds are from hermaphrodite orchards, so you will get 2/3 hermies and 1/3 females offspring, and zero males. If you collect papaya seeds from the wild then you can get male plants.

I've managed 2 male plants from bought seeds (Aloha). One Maradol and one Tropical Red.

DM

And two days ago...I found some flower buds, I'm sure they're probably male flowers .

You might be pleasantly wrong. On the papayas I have that are male the flower buds look like this.


DM

If you are not specifically looking for local grown, check the Asian groceries around you. I've see longan there, pretty sure I've seen sugar apple. I know I have seen lychee, rambutan, wax apple, jak, durian and other stuff over the course of my stopping in. You just never know what they will have. Probably not much in the way of rarer mangoes.
I've been getting some nice Dragon Fruit from one near me. Saw mangosteen ($8.99/LB) there two weeks ago, should have bought some just to have tried it when I had the chance. But was in a rush, and didn't want to wait in the check out line again.

DM

I grew up in Old Waterway, on Neptune Drive.

Joe.

Neighbor! Old waterway, Nautilus Drive myself (non-canel side of the street). One or two blocks South depending if you were North Neptune or South Neptune. My parent's house was the second house built on the street when they moved down in 1961.

Will probably stop by the fruit stand again in a about 2 weeks, the girlfriend's sister & brother-in-law from out of state will be in town.

DM

Is there any chance some of these big bad spiders devour weevils?

I have thrown weevils in webs of the spiny orb weaver (looks like a crab) and some of the small golden orb's, they hustle right down to see what they caught and then promptly cut the weevil out of their web and let them drop to the ground. Still trying to see if I can get any of the lizards to eat a weevil.

The spiders do the same thing when I throw the green stink bugs into their webs.

DM

Mango Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon*
3 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil (or ¼ vegetable oil and ¼ cup macadamia nut oil)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice**
2 cups chopped fresh ripe mango (about 2 medium mangos)***
½ cup macadamia nuts, halved****

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Grease a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt & cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Whisk together in a small bowl the eggs, oil and lemon juice and pour the mixture into the well in the dry ingredients. Lightly combine, and then stir in the mango and nuts. Do not over mix. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 65-70 minutes*****, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto a rack covered with a clean dishtowel, to avoid indentations. Let the bread cool for at least 10 additional minutes before slicing. The bread can be served warmed (under the broiler for a few), enhanced perhaps with a bit of butter.

**********************************************************************************

* I use about a tablespoon of ground cinnamon
** I use Nelli & Joe’s brand Key West Lime Juice (from a bottle)
*** I use two mangos per loaf, no matter what the size (the ones I use tend to be larger than medium sized, I usually use Kent mangos)
**** I use sliced almonds, a handful (probably between ½ cup and a full cup)
***** The baking time will vary depending on how juicy the mangos are. By using two whole mangos, 70 minutes is about the minimum baking time. Mine always go longer, but I check at 70 then add 10 & check, add 10 & check, until done.

Variations that I tried and that I like:
Add a handful of dried cranberries (adds tartness).
Add a handful of dried blueberries (very sweet)
Add powder ginger (I use a heaping tablespoon, I like ginger and think it goes good with mango)
Use chopped pecans instead of almonds

I have also baked it in mini loaf pans and big muffin pans (adjust baking time)



DM

Nymphs of some species of stink bug.
Nuisance pest.

DM

It would be awesome to see a small tree like that loaded with fruits in person.

Heres a related thread. It's not in person, but at least it isn't another picture from a catalog about that papaya plant.
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=114.msg1399#msg1399

DM

That tree was grafted by Zills...that is their yellow tag.

The tag on my LM is white, but all the words are exactly the same as the yellow one in the picture posted by pugvr1. Since they both sent to Lowes by the same nursery, does that mean that Zill's sometimes uses white tags?

DM

My Ruby Red grapefruit has been chewed up by them along with the Valencia orange next to it.
I employ the "hunt & crush" method. Early morning or early evening seems best times to find them.
I have captured one and dropped it into a golden orb spider's web. The spider promptly came to check it out and decided to cut it out of the web and let it drop to the ground. Cant seem to get the lizards interested in eating them either.
 I have used nematodes to see if they help in controlling the larva under ground.

 The local AG dept said to try Bayer's Fruit, Citrus & Vegetable Insect Control, apply as a drench once a year. It is a systemic dose of Imidacloprid which may or may not contribute to Colony Collapse Disorder in bees.

DM

That description sounds odd, or even a bit off, for a PPK...

Here is what I am used to seeing and pretty much what all the other LM mangos looked like, when I said the main stem is 3-4 foot, branches start at about 2 foot
This is not a LM, but my Coconut Cream. That is a 4 foot scale behind it.


This one is my Lemon Zest. Had it for a few months, so imagine it with out the latest flush.

You were suppoooooosed to buy that tree!

.
You are probably right. The Lowes and Home Depot are just about right across the street from each other. And I had to pass the HD to get to Lowes. I could have got the patio stones I went for from either place. And I prefer the HD.
So why did I go to Lowes and not HD.

Was out running errands late this morning, and Happy early Birthday to me.

2 foot tall, 4 branches starting at about 15 inches up.

Branches getting ready to flush out some new growth.



All the LM mangos there came from the same nursery in Miami, and I think the LM were the only ones that came from that nursery (wasn't Pine Island). I know the Valencia Pride they had came from a different nursery.
The tag around the trunk said LM, the bar-code sticker on the pot said LM and it had LM written in yellow chalk on the side of the pot.

DM

I was at the Lowes in Palm Bay (Florida) this morning and they must have had 10-12 of the Lemon Meringue mangos ($29.95). One was a really, really nice one, almost bought it just because it looked so good, but already have 5 mango trees so I left it there.

DM