Today Brandon and I tasted my Berry jackfruit seedling.  It is described in the link below


http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?action=search2;params=eJw1zMENAjEMRNFWEBeuUAI1bAGR1x6RrEyCnASElOLXQcvtzzsMyZsyQ8ZlXMd5rDbr5lVj-QQuz5ei4W993cAtlKxfpynFWpBkvgSVD_FlUPyeJ4GMo-O912akifJpAURTfuydxjJX;start=0




Best Jack I've had this year by far, and possibly my favorite overall to this point.  It's difficult to determine based on a single fruit, but this one sure seems like a winner.  Wonderful aroma, great texture - medium to firm with no gagging effect, and taste was on point.  In addition to all of that, the tree is only 2 years in the ground and should only improve. 

I'm very impressed. 

This year, for whatever reason, my Glenn and Cogshall are producing quite a few mature "Nubbin" mangoes.  About golf ball size, mature ripe, and they pack a punch. 

They taste better than the full size fruit.  My Cogshall overall production is very light, and 80% of the fruit are Nubbins.  Weird but true....

Jackfruit Flowers can be tough to identify in regards to male vs female.  I figured I would post some pics of female and male flowers to help my fellow Jak growers.

In general female flowers grow from flower stalks that are near the trunk or major branches near the trunk.  This is a general rule of course, and females can grow more peripherally.  Female flowers also tend to have a more profound "collar".  This can be deceiving however as females from some varieties don't have a particularly profound collar and males from some varieties do have remarkably profound collars.  Females have much more noticeable bumps on their surface.  You can definitely see the difference in the "bumps" when side to side with a male. 

One thing that is only present on females is tiny "tubules" on the tip of the bumps when receptive to pollen.  When seen close up, it is distinctive.  Males have powdery or granular pollen which is also distinctive.   

Well, a picture speaks a thousand words right?  Check it out

2 females on variety: Excalibur


Close up of "tubules" on female flower variety: Excalibur



Male flower on variety: Excalibur



Female flower on variety: Super Thai.  Yes, there is male pollen on it, I had just finished hand pollinating it



Female flower past receptive stage, now more like a fruit - variety unknown, tagged as "chempedak" by BRFC - likely a cheena.  You can also see a female flower pre receptive stage in the background.




Receptive female next to a crusty old male - asme variety as above


Male from same tree



Female variety : seedling of Bangkok Lemon

My Ma-afala tree has held 5 fruits over the summer.  I harvested the first one today and cooked it up on the grill ...











I think I overcooked it.  I left it on the grill for about an hour at around 425f.  The flavor was decent, but I think I need to up my cooking skills in order for it to truly shine.  Anyway, I am happy that the tree actually held fruit to maturity here in S.Fla.  I certainly won't Axe the tree anytime soon, but I also don't think I'll make a grand effort to cold protect it this winter.

I hope I can get a chempedak or marang to fruit one of these days ....

I figured i would start a new post to illustrate this weekends project.  With the help of Brandon, we did it in about a day and a half.  Couldn't have done it without his help, and many thanks. .....

This project began in a rush, without much planning, as a cold front is making its way to S. Fla Monday night.  When I planted this tree, I knew the risks and I told myself I wouldn't try to protect it from our occasional winter cool blasts.  But, this tree has almost rudely had a way of changing my idea of just letting it be when it decided to pop out 5 fruit in January.  Go figure.

Anyway, here is what we did:

I decided on using wood to frame out the structure.  I knew going into the build that wood is not exactly a long lived material here in S. Florida.  I thought about using steel fence posts used in chain link fences, but realized the cost was about 3x that of wood.  Brandon discussed with me using steel conduit, which seemed like a reasonable idea.  I ended using wood because I figured I would have and easier time fastening the plastic sheeting to the wood.  Using wood definately may have been a mistake as far as longevity is concerned,  I'll find out soon enough.

Posts, I used 4x4's, in 8 foot length.  We dug post holes, and concreted in the 4x4's.  Height was extended with 2x4's, mounted on metal brackets, adding about 3 feet of height.   We set out a 8x12 area around the tree, and after the posts set, built up the rest of the structure.

The posts and framing took up a good bit of time.  The cost for all materials including concrete, screws, etc was about 100$

On day # 2, I went back to home depot and purchased some 6 mil plastic sheeting.  This is not the UV protected kind, but I had to use what was available.  We cut the sheeting, and attached the two long sides in a semi-permanent fashion.  I intend on leaving the two long sides up until march or so.  The smaller sides we cut the plastic to size and attached it on the top of the structure.  The rest of it we rolled up and left it up top, waiting to be rolled down and tacked on the eve of an impending front.  !/2 of the roof we covered semi permanently with the plastic sheeting, and the other half with an agricultural frost cloth, rolled up , waiting to be tacked down the eve of a cold front.

Inside the structure we placed a rain barrel full of water, heated by two aquarium heaters. 

So there it is. 

Would I do it again?  Maybe, maybe not.  It was a lot of work, cost me about 200$ total, I have no idea how long it will last, and I have no idea if it will work well or not.

Time will tell ..

I figured I would share a photo of this Guanabana I picked this morning.  It has been an unusually warm fall, and my Guanabana tree is obviously happy about that !

After 7 or 8 years off and producing nothing, my Guanabana tree finally has come back into production , and in 2 waves.  A summer and a winter crop.



The tree produced about 6 of these nice sized fruit in Nov-Dec.  I only was able to harvest 2, as the squirrel population has exploded and they take out almost anything they can sink their teeth into ..

The carambola are Kary, in the photo for size perspective.

I thought I would share some pictures of my Bangkok Lemon Seedling Jackfruit that I opened this morning. 








Weight was about 30 lbs. 

Texture is just about perfect.  Crispy but not too crunchy, thick fleshed and very juicy.  The flavor has a nice sweet and lemony character.  Distinct from other Jaks I have tried.  Not overpowering.  My only critique would be that it lacks the intensity to make it #1 for me.

Overall an excellent fruit.

So, this is a custard apple right? 

Taste is OK, IMO.   Not really sweet enough for me.  Flesh has a nice creamy texture and seed count is low.  A few years ago a Jamaican friend tried one and she said it was very good. 

 

There is some difficulty, especially with new tree owners, on how to identify a female Jackfruit flower.  I originally was a tad bit frustrated on my inability to identify female vs male flowers on my first Jackfruit tree.  Over time, I have learned how to identify the male vs female flowers with relative ease on my Bangkok Lemon ( seedling?) Jackfruit tree.  It wasn't easy though when I was inexperienced with the tree. 

Now I have a second tree fruiting.  It is a seedling from a Jak I purchased at Robert is Here ( Black Gold?) a few years ago.  The female flowers on this tree have a different physical appearance than my BL (S?) tree. 

 We know that females are more likely to be produced on thick stalks originating near a major limb or trunk.  They also tend to have a "ring" around the neck of the flower.  But males can also have these traits, depending on variety and maturity of the tree.
 
I am currently attempting to cross hand pollinate these two varieties in hopes of producing fruit with the highest fruit to rag content. 

Maybe we should fill this thread with female flowers of different varieties.  It might help those who are having difficulty in identifying flowers.


Bangkok Lemon (seedling?) Female Flower in the receptive stage.  You can see the transition from stem to fruit is fairly gradual.




Now compare that to this Female Flower ( receptive) on my BG-S tree.  Notice how abrupt the transition collar from stem to fruit is.






It is not so easy to see in the photo, but the BG-S Females have a very distinct lip at the stem/fruit transition.  Nearly impossible to miss when seen in person.  Much different than the males.

I planted out few jackfruit seeds intending to use them for future rootstock.  I believe these seeds were from Harrys Mai 1 seedling.  That would make them mai 1 S2 I suppose?  Anyway, some of the seedlings had a totally normal appearance for Jackfruit leaves.  But some others looked very unique to me.  Almost like a mango leaf.  Since I have never seen this before, i found a little space to put them in the ground.

Has anyone else seen Jackfruit leaves like this?  If it is common I wont keep them going in ground since my space is limited ...

My Pakistani Mulberry tree is putting out a few berries right now ... I thought it was a springtime only bearer, so this was a nice surprise







They are really tasty.  My favorite berry.

After about 5 years in the ground, and 3 very disappointing fruiting seasons, I just couldn't take it anymore.  The King had failed me. 

I purchased this tree from Pine Island as a 15 gallon tree, nice and full, well branched and in overall very good condition.  I carefully planted it in a prime location.   No chance of flooding, fed it the right stuff, gave it micro's and potassium, tipped it, sprayed for PM and athracnose.  After all, this was the King, and I wanted to see what he would give me in return for all of my hard work, care,  and dedication.

Well, what I was rewarded with was 3 seasons of Sub -Par, spongy seeded drupes.  All 3 seasons they have been amongst the worst. 

So today I have moved on, and the king is no more. He met the Axe, or should I say a hand saw.   What stands in his place is a 4 foot stump, with the promise of future greatness. 

So now the question is ..  What should I top work onto this fabulous trunk?


Alphonso Mango Tree before



After

Khun See is a Thai Mango that is currently producing in my yard.  I have it top worked onto a "4 in 1 " mature size tree, with 4 types producing currently.

It is a mango that can be eaten when mature green and crunchy.  I am certainly not an authority on crunchy green mango's, and the Khun See is the only good variety I have tried that is good when mature crunchy green.  That being said, it is of particular interest to me since it is unique in my collection, and I do find it quite good and very different from the usual mango fare this time of year.  I thought I would share some of my experience with it in case anyone here has interest in it or other mango's of this type. 

I have tried them in two stages, fully green, and just starting to ripen where the fruit is changing in texture and flavor to a ripened stage.  I have one on my countertop right now that I will let ripen up to the full ripe stage.

In the full green stage, the Mango has a texture very reminiscent of an apple.  It is a much different texture than a "normal" mango in a mature green stage.  There is no fiber, and you can eat it right down to the seed, just like you would an apple down to the core.  In this stage the flavor is nice and I do find it apple-like, with a slight mango nuance.  Refreshing and crisp.

In the change over stage, starting to ripen, with the flesh starting to yellow up, the fruit starts to take on a more "mangoish" character.  The texture and flavor begins to change, into a sort of crisp mango, with apple nuances.  I think this stage is really nice, and thus far, that is where I think it is at it's best.  Interesting thing is that so far I have been able to catch them at this stage when 1/2 of the mango is changing over, and the other 1/2 is green.  That is nice also since it's almost like you have two different mango's, and can compare/contrast the stages simultaneously.

Some of the mango's on the tree start to split when just beginning to ripen.  It's not a big deal since you can pick them, and eat them at that stage right off the tree.  You will see in the following pics that one is splitting, and that is the one I cut up in the pictorial.  The other, I will let fully ripen and give it a try.

Anyway, on to the pics..




























This is how I typically cut my mango's at home .. I find it fairly easy, and it's nice to sit down with a plate and a fork after preparation and enjoy it this way ..









You can see this mango is just starting to turn from full green. The pieces with green and yellow were very tasty..








This is the one I will wait for full ripening.