SoCal LZ and NDM update 2021

[bsbullie]

Those are some nice looking LZs Simon, thanks for sharing. Here are some almost ready to pick LZs on my second tree. My third LZ is a graft on Manila and holding only 1 fruit this season.

Tbat sure doesn't look like its close to being ready.

At least share a picture or some tips about when to pick.

The shoulder needs to fill out and color change to yellow (similarly to PPK).

I dont think I have any pictures of them hanging in trees.  I have a number of pictures after picking.

Here is one where shoulders have started to fill out but still not ready to pick.

[hawkfish007]

Cool, I will wait longer this year. Last year I picked at slightest yellowing around the nose and let them ripe on the counter. Some ended up with a brix of 28.1, there are definitely some room for improvements then!

[simon_grow]

Nice looking Lemon Zest! Your fruit are probably a month ahead of mine. My first 1-2 blooms on LZ rarely hold fruit. It’s usually my 3rd bloom that holds all the fruit. I love LZ at 28% Brix, any higher and the sugar acid balance is thrown off. At 32% Brix, it’s unbearably sweet and not very enjoyable.

Simon

[bsbullie]

I would love to see people eat fruit for the fruit itself  and not based on what a random machine says.

[hawkfish007]

I would love to see people eat fruit for the fruit itself  and not based on what a random machine says.

Most definitely, I have 2 1/2 LZs for that reason. 2 are on turpentine and 1 with PPK grafted on Manila.

[sapote]

Another friend of mine asked me about why his mangos are cracking and he believed it was due to watering but I explained to him that our fruit often cracks due to incomplete pollination.

Agreed.
Simon, are those fruits from the late flowers blooming in April or May? My tree is large and vigorous but sadly there is no fruits this year due to incomplete pollinated fruits.

[simon_grow]

Hey Sapote, those fruits were approximately from blooms at that time frame. First couple blooms in November-January didn’t set any fruit. I don’t spray my trees and after speaking to some friends in Florida, I could probably get a lot more fruit if I sprayed Sulfur, copper or other fungicides pre bloom to kill all fungus and then spray again with a different fungicide right before the blooms open. I already have all the fungicides, Nufilm 17 and Nufilm P and a Fogger but I just hate the thought of always spraying to get fruit.

Last year I top worked my big LZ on Florida Turpentine rootstock to Sweet Tart, E4, M4, Pineapple Pleasure, Venus, Edward, Ice Cream, Pina Colada Seedling and E4 seedling. My LZ on Lavern Manilla just produces more reliably for some reason.

Simon

[sapote]

My LZ on Lavern Manilla just produces more reliably for some reason.

Are they near or at two different locations? I found the trees that are close to the house structure -- protected from the cold -- having more fruits and better pollinated.

[simon_grow]

They’re pretty close to each other, maybe 30-40 feet away but counterintuitively, the LZ on Turpentine rootstock was in full sun, closer to the house and had better air flow and rarely produced a fruit. The LZ on Lavern Manilla is slightly farther from the house, gets significantly less sun and much less airflow because it is surrounded by a fence, a large Cherimoya, Achachairu and a large Jaboticaba. This tree produces fruit more consistently.

Simon

[sapote]

Here is one where shoulders have started to fill out but still not ready to pick.

Rob, I think proper mango picking timing is within days and not weeks, and so if they are picked based on the look of filled up shoulders, then do the fruits developed the full shoulders within days? I think color can change within days but fruit shape takes longer than a week to make noticeable changes. I'm not an expert on fruit pick timing.

[hawkfish007]

LZs starting to ripe! First one I tasted was super sweet with a kick of lemon zest. I forgot to check brix but will check for this tree ripen one.

[simon_grow]

LZs starting to ripe! First one I tasted was super sweet with a kick of lemon zest. I forgot to check brix but will check for this tree ripen one.

Nice looking fruit hawkfish007! The mangos are starting to roll in and they’ve been pretty darn good. The E4, Sweet Tart, Coconut Craam, CAC and Glenn’s have all been excellent.

Two years ago, I had a CAC that blew my mind! It was super super good and I’ve been chasing that high but my CACs are good but not as good as the one my friend grew.

I’m starting to appreciate my mangos on the just ripe side when they’ve fully sweetened up but are still on the firmer side so there is more acid balance.

Let us know how your next LZ is. My LZ still have a couple or more weeks to go.

Simon

[hawkfish007]

Thanks Simon, for some reason my Cac didn’t hold any fruits this year, last year they were excellent.

Tree ripen LZ was 1.8 lbs with 26.1 brix. It was full of lemon zest flavor near the skin, subtle hint of lemon zest in the middle. It was an excellent quality fruit. I am looking forward to the rest that are still hanging on the tree. I didn’t find tree ripen one much different than the ones picked mature green and ripened on the counter.

[simon_grow]

Hawkfish007, that’s a great looking LZ. I know there are Brix reading haters out there but by knowing the Brix, you get an idea of how well the tree/fruit was grown. For a mango of that weight at 26.1% Brix, I know your tree got sufficient fertilizer, water and sunlight. Yes, you could have just used your taste buds and known it was a sweet mango but sweetness is much too subjective.

Simon