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Messages - Oolie

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 57
1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango sap reaction
« on: Today at 12:04:07 AM »
During my undergrad years at Cal Poly, I was a budding field botanist.  In a failed attempt to impress a girl during a field botany trip, I ended up getting covered in dormant poison oak sap.  Keep in mind, during dormancy poison oak has no leaves and urushiol is something like 10X or more concentrated in the sap than on the leaves.  Well later that night it went full systemic and I ran to CVS or Rite Aid, buying everything they had (Tecnu etc.).  Of course it was too late, the urushiol had already chemically bonded to my skin.  I went in to the college physician's office the next day and was received pamphlet on how to ID poison oak (ahh..........it was in the middle of winter.  There's no ID for sticks, c'mon) and a full course of oral steroids.  The steroids stopped the allergic reaction dead in its tracks.  Once it goes systemic, there's not much you can do besides steroids or tough it out IMHO.  Good luck man.
If it's hard to breathe then it should be treated as an emergency, but they do sell epinephrine inhalers OTC which could be a reasonable short-term (until you get to the emergency room) remedy. It provides some of the symptom relief of a steroid, but the potency is marginal and you may get jittery.

2
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: "Sweet Sugar Mango"
« on: June 16, 2025, 09:07:43 PM »
Quote
Azucar is widely grown in Colombia, and is even found in supermarkets throughout the country there. The trees are vigorous vertically orientated growers and produce large quantities of small yellow, oval shaped mangos with moderate fiber content.

Azucar means 'sugar' in Spanish and the fruit have a sweet, classic mango flavor.  The flesh is yellow and contains a polyembryonic seed.

We obtained budwood of Azucar in 2019 and topworked onto a stump that contains other varieties. It fruited for the first time in 2021.

Flavor: Classic

Country: Colombia
https://www.tropicalacresfarms.com/product-page/azucar

3
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: WTB Mango Seed
« on: June 16, 2025, 02:05:04 AM »

Still looking for:
Mesk
USDA Taymour
Giselle
Creme Brulee
E4
M4
P22
Karen Michelle

4
Temperate Fruit Discussion / Re: Where to buy designer grapes?
« on: June 08, 2025, 04:13:07 AM »
If you're looking for fruit selected for flavor, I'd first look to universities which may have a breeding program for improving a particular species, many new releases in the last decade have been university improved selections.

Many are not likely to have commercial potential, but there have been very favorable reviews for the grapes released by The University of Arkansas.

5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Are these mahachanoks ripe yet?
« on: June 07, 2025, 11:12:00 PM »
I had read that some were mislabled at some point, but after reading how good TBC is, I'd definitely try it a few times before working it over to maha completely.

6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Chayote for a rookie
« on: June 07, 2025, 11:09:30 PM »
The entire plant is edible. It is vigorous, and should be planted on a fence that can bear some weight. The base will need protection for gophers, so planting in a basket or a 5 gallon bucket with the bottom removed, then buried in the ground.

You will need to spray for ants and whatever their chosen scale insect/mealybug/crop of your colony's choice.

I really like eating the seed when cooked, but like I said the whole plant is good.

7
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: June 06, 2025, 12:38:32 AM »
Indochinese sap smell is too good to resist.

Wild boar are challenging.

8
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Sugar apple root stock for atemoya.
« on: June 04, 2025, 08:12:49 PM »
If you're dead-set on sugar apple, you can hand pollinate.

As stated earlier the limitation, especially in the dry desert will be the female part of the flower drying up too quickly to receive the pollen.

To improve fruit set you will want the blooms to form in times of high humidity for selfing to succeed.

Atemoya likely does better due to larger flower petals which keep the female part of the flower from drying up as quickly as they would on a sugar apple with smaller petals.

Luckily there are hybrids which have taste and texture similar to sugar apple, but with flowers which favor selfing.

Those I would recommend are Leo#3 and LH Late, which based on naming convention is probably Late Gold.

I wouldn't recommend a pure cherimoya due to defoliation in the intense desert heat, but the recommended hybrids have some sugar apple which seems to improve heat tolerance.

If you use sugar apple as rootstock, you will have dwarfed trees.

9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: June 04, 2025, 07:57:42 PM »
I disagree about Guava mango. It is absolutely distinctive and delicious; flavor bomb. In fact, I know of no other mango like it, taste-wise.

I'm glad to hear other people enjoy it more than I do. My dad REALLY liked it, I think it was the sweetness. I ate a few of them but I will try again. I'm just really curious how you (and others) would describe the flavor, does it really taste like a pink-flesh Guava to you? Tell me what to look for. The naming of mangoes can be so misleading, sometimes I can get too hung up on complaining about it.

I am always looking for distinctive flavors when I eat mango, the kind of flavor you could pick out of a lineup blindfolded. Something like Lemon Meringue, I mean, that is an utterly singular flavor that smacks you in the face. You'll never confuse it with a Maha Chanok, that's for sure! I just didn't get that from the Guava mangoes I tried so far.

It has a guava note, but that's only a singular note in a very complex fruit. It's peak when it has an aroma similar to camphor or certain geraniums. The most appealing characteristic to me was the tongue tingling component which I suspect is an acidic component, but it's unique from other mangoes.

OS is like the aroma of O2 with the texture and mouthfeel of LZ which is to say creamy, where O2 is a juicebox in thick skin.

More of an apples to apples comparison instead of a fruit to incense.

10
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: WTB Mango Seed
« on: June 04, 2025, 07:45:57 PM »
Still looking for:
Mesk
USDA Taymour
Giselle
Creme Brulee
E4
M4
P22

11
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: WTB - Mango Seeds
« on: June 03, 2025, 08:52:49 PM »
Some of those like M4 and Honey Kiss are later season mangos so I don’t think their seeds will be available now. You could always just buy mixed mango boxes and see which of these you get. Taste the fruit and plant the ones you like.

I would be interested in purchasing a box or two of mangos, but I thought that they could not be shipped to CA unfortunately.

they can be if processed/ exempted. The vast majority of mangoes in California are.

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: June 03, 2025, 08:40:10 PM »
Guava is definitely up there. I prefer it to LZ, but I've never had a mind blower of an LZ. I've had Guava that was special.

Sorry CC, sounds like the guava you had wasn't a peak guava.

If grafts fail, it's poly, so plant a seed and use it for an approach graft.

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Gopher Gold
« on: June 03, 2025, 08:33:53 PM »
Excellent numbers for only June, you've really put the time in.

As the weather dries (if ever) and the soil firms up, you will find the trap line traps pulling more weight. the benefit over the macabee and victors isn't just the lack of material felt by the gopher, it's also the ease of setting and lack of damage it causes to the walls when setting. I think the gophers become more cautious when they sense changes, but it may be that I've only allowed the most cautious ones to remain.

Eventually the numbers on you will be catching drop, and they get better about pushing dirt into the trap at any disturbance. Then you must use indescriminate methods like CO poisioning.

14
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: WTB - Mango Seeds
« on: June 01, 2025, 09:10:59 PM »
Pineapple Pleasure is Mono unfortunately.

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Old Mango not bearing fruit
« on: May 28, 2025, 03:56:27 PM »
Is it blooming?

If it doesn't bloom, it may not be getting enough bloom stimulus. Some trees have higher requirements and may not bloom where they are planted.

16
The nursery trade here tends to be better, but this type of thing still occurs. Usually only with online sellers though.

I'd hold out for a P-22 or a K-3, those will be the popular ones down under, and they're poly.

The Zill method for crushing the leaves and smelling the sap will keep you from picking an off type in many cases, so I'd use that to find ones you're hoping to enjoy.

17
I've yet to see a scale infestation that wasn't caused by ants. Scale have few defenses and are preyed upon heavily when ants aren't there to defend them/ spread them around.

If you stop the ants, the scale should cease to be an issue.

18
David H,
Thank you, I have been having this little battle with quite a few of the nurseries and even more of the keen collectors claiming to have varieties that can't possibly be authentic, as they all eventually say they got the varieties from Mike or from someone who did. Even when they know they are selling a product not as they state, they still go ahead and do it. Anyway... When it comes to US varieties that, as far as I can tell, all came via Mike, and as you stated, Mike always told everyone, all the varieties came from seed except for a reasonable collection from Ayre. I have only been collecting for three years and have around 80 varieties, the majority I have collected from Mike, Fitzroy, and the Seed Bank at Ayre. I, too, got the Zill bug but have removed all varieties that were not polyembryonic, except Bailey's Marvel, which by the time I understood about Mono's and Poly's is now at an age that it is worth waiting for fruit. The good news is that many of the varieties that have excellent reputations are poly, Sweet Tart, Orange Sherbet, Lemon Zest, etc, so there is a reasonable chance that some are the real deal. How they perform here is another question. I would love to get some advice from you. Again great to read from someone who knows what is going on. Cheers Dan

Hey mate I too have come to this conclusion after a few email exchanges with some of the big name nursery here.  I was quite disappointed to find that they didn't really know whether some of their mono mangoes were sourced from budwood or seed so I now avoid anything mono like the plague just in case. Not just zill varieties but some of the Indian mono are likely been sold from seed as well. Buyer beware.  Im sticking to mango that have been around a lot longer at this stage the only zill mango I currently have is orange sherbert so we will see how that turns out, hopefully ok being a poly.

Crush some leaves and smell the sap, OS has very identifiable sap smell. I've planted many OS seeds, and they very rarely produce off-types in my experience.

19
Both sides of the narrow crotch will end up growing close together, and in time will form a weak spot, I'd pick one or the other.

20
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: WTB Mango Seed
« on: May 23, 2025, 12:03:12 PM »
Bumping this up.
I'd like to try to get these seeds this year.
Mesk
USDA Taymour
Giselle
Creme Brulee
E4
M4
P22

21
My citrus that produce dry, intense, fruit with off flavors are usually juveniles still. Sounds like in a couple years you will have a zesty lemon.

22
Several of the CRFG members have it now if you go to the meetings (A week from tomorrow, 6PM, Balboa Park, room 101), and ask around, I'm sure you'll find someone with extra.


23
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Kathy K-3 Mango tree size
« on: May 20, 2025, 02:39:15 PM »
From my reading on it, it's between ST and Venus where ST is high vigor, and Venus is Moderate. Even in Florida with minimal bloom stimulus this one apparently produces quite well, many commercial growers grow it instead of ST for this reason.

24
Leafs typically curl up in response to the soil drying out between waterings. They don't get better, just kinda bend the other way, but the plant only uses them for about a year before replacing them.

It also helps to paint the pots white so they don't heat up as much, but I usually keep drip-fed pots which aren't self-watering, in a shady area where they get a lot of indirect sun.

25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: White sapote cultivar reviews
« on: May 18, 2025, 09:31:00 PM »
If you plant the tree around the same time as the child is born, it should be producing in time for them to appreciate if the tree is grafted.

Kids usually like WS, most people who aren't too sensitive to the bitterness (I taste none) will appreciate them either normally or with citrus juice or cinnamon on it.

I planted a WS next to a Mulberry. and they're duking it out, there is no clear winner. Kids go for whichever one has fruit at the time, and they do seem to have complementary seasons.

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