The Tropical Fruit Forum

I failed to trap this one - it's too smart to get the fish bait inside the trap. Last night I placed the fish/meat inside a plastic bottle with some thumb size holes cut out, and hang the bottle with the wind-bell about 12" off the ground, hoping it will try to pull the bottle around and ringing the bell for me to aim the air gun. It didn't touch the bottle and dug up the 4" mustard-greens seedlings all around looking for worms. I am running out of ideas. Might try cover the soil with hot chili flakes.

Also, there is a squirrel I couldn't trap it: it licked off all the peanut butter outside the trap but didn't get inside for a bigger meal. I used to get all of them this way but not this one.

Most of my trees start to send out flower stokes on Dec 1st 2022 -- much early than normal. Too bad as I will only let the fruitlets hold after March. I think reason is those trees didn't have flowers or fruits this year and they are busted with energy.

Same for your trees?

I have been germinating the seeds by placing the washed clean seeds (still in husk) in a plastic lunch box -- layering the seeds on top each other --  sealed with lid, in the old O'Keefe gas oven with a small pilot light. I think it's about 85F with room temp around 75F. But for the last 7 days we had the heatwave and my kitchen has been in the upper 80s and so I think it must be over 90F inside the oven, but the seeds love the heat and sending out roots very quick. (I was concerned about the high temp and moved the box out and on the counter, but the seeds slowed down.)
Every couple days I removed all the seeds, wash them in cold water and checked the condition. Washed the container also to minimize mold and fungus.

We know the mango trees don't like when it's above 90F, but the wet seeds love the 90F environment as I had learned in this experiment. When the roots were about 1" long, I placed the seed on the soil surface (in an empty orange juice or milk paper box filled with soil to the top and have a few drain holes cut out), covered the roots with soil but left the seed uncovered. When the seedlings are about 6", I cut open the bottom and plant the paper box in the soil.

My wife bought some fruits from a store in Little Saigon down in Orange County, SoCal yesterday. She told me $15/lb. I have only one as she gave the rest to other relatives. They must be air shipped from VN as the fruit looks so fresh with the green stem (about 3mm section near the base and the remain is brown) attached. I was so surprised that the short stem didn't break off during the long journey and changing hands. I also have never seen a mature mango with part of the stem still green. One special characteristic of CHL is its 10mm dark circle around the stem, as seen in these pics I took. My goal is to grow a seedling from seed. Have anyone tried them before?






I just learned both CHL and Cat Chu have similar dark circle around the stem, so how to differentiate them? This video shows CHL has the navel at the bend about 1" from the beak. The lady said those mangoes were picked from tree yesterday and they are CHL. Notice the green stems, as I don't remember my mangoes grown in SoCal  had the green stems when ready to pick.
https://youtu.be/PtjHMQjpExA

The 2 or 3 yrs old graft gave us 2 good size fruits this year. We ate one this morning and it was so good. Perfect texture, very dense, and the sweet and tart was perfectly balance. I ate Edward and ST is just much better. I will top off the Edward and graft ST on it. No perfume but just great taste. It reminds me of the old memory of how some Vietnamese great mangoes tasted like, and how the compact seed with brush bristles like fiber on the seed hush. I bet it has VN mangoes in its genes. Anyone know its lineage?

I am still waiting for my Lemon zest to ripe; 5 or 6 big fruits still on the tree and the squirrels were chirping around. I don't think they have tasted a mango yet, but one of them had bit on couple green LZ few weeks ago when they jumped from the Longan tree over to the mango tree. I immediately covered up the mangoes with aluminum foil hoping to distract them. But one day I saw one aluminum foil on the ground and ran looking for the dropped fruit, as I didn't believe the squirrel could carry the big fruit away moving on the trees.  No where to be found within 5 feet radius, and it was a mystery of where was the fruit. Moment later I found it 7 feet away under the Longan tree with no bite marks or even a small bruise from falling on the hard pavers. Who moved it 7 feet away? Not even a scratch from the squirrel sharp teeth or claws. Can the squirrel carry it with front paws and walked on hind legs?
I need to eliminate this squirrel before all of them know how great a ripen mango taste like.

I know some suggested that holding the fruit and tilt it a little and if it snapped off the stem then it's ready. This is a good way to judge its maturity, but snap off the stem near the fruit base will empty its blood (the oily juice with strong perfume and sometime sweet). I always cut the stem off with around 1/2" stem attached on fruit to prevent the juice flow out.

How do you pick them?

I have both and L is normally larger than V, but when they are same size, I cannot tell the difference. I also cannot tell base on the taste as after put the fruits together I can't ID which is which.
Anyone?

This morning I found a large yellow fruit dropped on ground. It's in the early stage of ripening (I like to eat Maha in this state before the flesh turned to jelly seed state). Cut it up and ate a piece. The texture was kind of chalky, and I remember I had the same taste last year also. Is this chalky texture/taste is part of LZ, or what is the best time to enjoy the best it can offer?

I'm learning to pick some hard fruits but with filled up shoulder to be shipped to a friend. I normally pick when it gives to a squeeze. So do you think the shoulders are filled up and ready to ripe within a week after picked?
ST Maui:


Peach Cobbler:


Maha are not ready but I just want to show the changing color and the good size. I think they will be ready when it turned yellow and maybe some red tint.

I had noticed that all of my LZ green fruits, even 4" long, got sun burned easy in 90+ F SoCal summer, while others such as  Peach Cobbler and Okrung are doing fine. The ones got some shade from the leaves are fine. Next year I will shade the direct sun fruits with papers. Do you guys have the same experience with LZ?

I grafted a few scions bought from Alex of Tropicalfarm 3 years ago and now those grafts holding fruits. I believe these fruits are either ST Maui (Alex's Scion) or Alphonso, but I'm not sure which one. When some of the small fruits dropped I crushed and smelled them -- the smell was a very strong Indian type, like Himam Pasand and so I think they are Alphonso. But does ST Maui also smell Indian mango -- my guess is not?
Thanks.

This morning went out and saw this – it ruined my day otherwise a beautiful high humidity in mid 80sF.
For a moment my blood was boiling thinking the rat or squirrel did this, but upon a closer look there was no biting marks on the green fruits nor the stem. The whole eight Okrung-Tong cluter just broke off from the 2nd node (not on the terminal tip) under their own weight. I should have used shoe string to support the stem and pull it to the bigger branch.
 
The lesson: on those unusual many fruit stem, make sure to use string to support the stem especially if it is not the terminal stem.
 
Those fruits need one more month to ripen properly. What is a good way to eat them now?

This year all of my LS  and many Okrung-Tong young fruits split due to no seed inside. I think this is due to the cold weather during flowering causing bad embryo. Who else is having  this problem?

Maybe next year I will strip off all flowers until mid March.