Texas boy has new respect for Florida avocados - Catalina. WOW!

[Mark in Texas]

Wow, what a great fruit (Catalina), totally unexpected.  I have a new respect for Florida avocados.  The ones we get in the store are terrible, always have been.  Peel almost fell off on its own, meat was creamy, faintly sweet, rich, golden yellow, no strings and no bruises.  Seed easily popped right out without leaving any paper.  With a tad more oil this would be the perfect avocado for me.  We first tasted it straight, then with S/P, then some lime, and finally made guacamole to go with our tacos dinner last night. 

The Catalinas were gifted by an expert Florida grower  (thanks CTMiami!) with one going a whopping 30 oz.  (note the egg and Hass on the granite).  From the time picked it took 5 days to ripen the fruit at room temperature.  Needless to say, we could only eat 1/2 of one of the "smaller" ones - 2 lbs.

Anyone know the race?  I know it's of Cuban origin but is it WI X G or pure WI?  IMO, this would be a perfect fruit to cross with something like Sharwil, Reed, Gwen, Hass or any other high oil cado.

Mark

[zands]

There are very good ones in the South Florida stores...or were a month ago. I have eaten them for a few years but had no name for them until recently. All I knew was local Florida" avocado. I don't know what you are going to do with them but Latin cuisine has the right idea. make slices and put them on the dinner table where they can be taken and put on the dinner plate next to your steak or chicken or what have you.  I am saying forget the guacamole

Few grains of salt sprinkled on each slice will bring out the flavor. Even better if salt is allowed to meld in for 15-30 minutes

[Mark in Texas]

....Few grains of salt sprinkled on each slice will bring out the flavor. Even better if salt is allowed to meld in for 15-30 minutes

That's true Zands.  We use coarse sea salt in a grinder to kick it up a notch.  Same with pepper.  Totally different flavor, much richer, when you grind it yourself.

Well, if  you buy a Florida avocado in a Texas store, expect it to be watery, bland, and covered with bruises.  Up side is I used the pits as rootstocks and the scion wood is loving it!  Reed, Sharwil, Gwen.

We like avocado slices dressed with different kinds of dressings too - freshly squeezed key lime juice or Italian salad dressing, S/P and a delicious one by Marie's called "Spinach Salad (with real bacon)".   Very rich, a little goes a long way.  Is in the refrigerated section of your grocery store.  Trust me, it's worth finding this one.  We just sent a friend in Arkansas a couple of jars USPS priority mail, packed with ice packs.

Guacamole - I've never seen so many do such a bland guac in my life here in Texas, hah!   My drill is to lightly crush, not mush, the meat with the side of a fork and season, mix, with a little finely chopped onion, S/P, lime, good dash of Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning and garlic powder, chopped cilantro topped off with chunks of homegrown maters.  Like a top shelf tequila, you want to go easy so you don't lose the fruit in the process!   
   

[bangkok]

Wow i have never seen such huge cado's. Here they sell huge round ones but i have never bought them, i always take the hass because now they cost 3$ for  4 which is great.

Do you texans only eat garlicpowder and not fresh garlic? Here we eat garlic not by clove but by whole bulb. Some restaurants even also use the peel.

[zands]

Mark--
Thanks for the avocado ideas

Here is my sea salt strategy. You buy Frontier brand sea salt at a good natural foods store. Get the coarse kind it has no anti-caking additives. Grind it up in a vitamix or other strong blender or electric coffee mill. Then sift with a fine strainer. Put in a glass jar that has a plastic lid. The salt will cake up but you can live with this

Sea salt saturated water is also useful in cooking. In Kenya they brush it on goat as it grills. Grilled goat is a national obsession there
http://m.npr.org/news/World/159384328

[CTMIAMI]

Catalina is  West Indies BUT I WOULD NOT RULE OUT A BIT OF GUATEMALAN. Mark, If you think this is good wait until you taste a properly mature Monroe.

[Mark in Texas]

Do you texans only eat garlicpowder and not fresh garlic?

I season grilled raccoon with about a TBSP. of garlic powder per pound.   We Texans also grow more hair on our chest by adding garlic powder to our morning cup of coffee.  You hairless Asians ought take heed. 

[Mark in Texas]

CT, can't wait.

Zands, just get you a set of S/P grinders.  Fill one with whole peppercorns the other with coarse sea salt.  Done.......

[Tim]

Do you really? I have friends that praise raccoon meat but never tried myself... How is it?
Those damn things harass my Jack Russell , he doesn't back down but their pack could destroy him.

I season grilled raccoon with about a TBSP. of garlic powder per pound.   We Texans also grow more hair on our chest by adding garlic powder to our morning cup of coffee.  You hairless Asians ought take heed. 

[Bananimal]

Do you really? I have friends that praise raccoon meat but never tried myself... How is it?
Those damn things harass my Jack Russell , he doesn't back down but their pack could destroy him.

I season grilled raccoon with about a TBSP. of garlic powder per pound.   We Texans also grow more hair on our chest by adding garlic powder to our morning cup of coffee.  You hairless Asians ought take heed. 

Get 2 more JRs.  The masked bandits won't stand a chance! 

[Mark in Texas]

Do you really? I have friends that praise raccoon meat but never tried myself... How is it?
Those damn things harass my Jack Russell , he doesn't back down but their pack could destroy him.

I season grilled raccoon with about a TBSP. of garlic powder per pound.   We Texans also grow more hair on our chest by adding garlic powder to our morning cup of coffee.  You hairless Asians ought take heed. 

Kinda of an inside joke between me and Mr. Bangkok after I lost 2/3 of my grape crop this year to coons....thanks to the drought. 

On a more serious note, I'd keep my dog away from the coons (or vice versus).   They can easily kill a dog, and will.

[Tim]

Lmao
And here I was...

[Mark in Texas]

Lmao
And here I was...

Hook, line, and sinker. 

My "coon-ass" relatives in Baton Rouge have eaten it.....says it is greasy.  Yech!

[Mark in Texas]

Zands, thanks for the info.  We use a hand held, tall salt grinder.  Works great, never cakes.

Bangkok, I plant garlic every fall and harvest early summer.  Creole, Italian, Russian......

[bangkok]

Mark i will tell you my secret, i shave my chesthair in Thailand because it is too hot to have that and it is useless. The hairs on my leg i keep because they are great to protect me from mosquito-bites.

I don't like garlicpowder, fresh garlic is much better and also very healthy. The Thai sure would eat raccoons, they also eat dogs and every other thing that walks, crawls or can fly, jump or swim. I know Texans love to eat meat but believe me nothing beats a japanese hamburger from MOS-burger. If you ever see them go try one!

I really thought you won't eat fresh garlic, i know many people in Holland who also refuse to eat it (mostly older people though).

Wow a monroe is even better then the catalina? You guys make me jealous! Today again i had a bag of 4 huge thai cado's in my hand and didn't buy them. I want to buy only 1 but they don't sell them by piece. At least you guys give me hope that one day i also will have my own cado's in my garden. I think i need to make a plan to let a thai friend bring me a tree from the USA.
CTMIAMI does great work!

[Doglips]

Wow a monroe is even better then the catalina? You guys make me jealous! Today again i had a bag of 4 huge thai cado's in my hand and didn't buy them. I want to buy only 1 but they don't sell them by piece. At least you guys give me hope that one day i also will have my own cado's in my garden. I think i need to make a plan to let a thai friend bring me a tree from the USA.
CTMIAMI does great work!

I'm hoping their great, I just flew to Excaliburs and brought home their last Monroe.

[HMHausman]

Catalina is  West Indies BUT I WOULD NOT RULE OUT A BIT OF GUATEMALAN. Mark, If you think this is good wait until you taste a properly mature Monroe.

Amen, amen, amen!

[bangkok]

Wow a monroe is even better then the catalina? You guys make me jealous! Today again i had a bag of 4 huge thai cado's in my hand and didn't buy them. I want to buy only 1 but they don't sell them by piece. At least you guys give me hope that one day i also will have my own cado's in my garden. I think i need to make a plan to let a thai friend bring me a tree from the USA.
CTMIAMI does great work!

I'm hoping their great, I just flew to Excaliburs and brought home their last Monroe.

Houston is in the desert right? So do WI-cado's also grow well there? I thought they like to be in the hot and humid mosquito-land?

Or are they even better then the mexican/guatamala cado's that you really want to grow them?

This week i will buy the huge thai grown avocado's, now i have to know how they taste. Soon i will go to pakchong where they sell grafted cado-tree's so i have to know which variety i will buy.

[Mark in Texas]

I'm hoping their great, I just flew to Excaliburs and brought home their last Monroe.

Tree or fruit?

I just expanded the RootBuilder pot on my Reed by 2 1/2 panels or about 30" which produced a gap of about 4-5" around the rootball, 16" H.  Took a whole bucket of custom mixed soil which tells you how big that pot now is!   Upon cutting the cable ties I was blown away by thousands of fine and coarse roots at the perimeter of the rootball and at ground level just under the 4" layer of pine needles.  There was a solid thatch of fine white roots under those needles, so what I'm doing is working very well and the young Reed tree reflects it.  What started as a small veneer graft on a 4 month old Florida pit about 18 months ago should produce a big crop set next year (actually 2015 since they take 18 months to mature.)

My small Oro Negro is holding 8 big beautiful fruit.  This one bought from PIN and is on Waldin rootstock.

Bottom line?  A tree's root system determines or drives the vigor and productivity of your tree. I've been tweaking methods to get the best root systems possible for about 30 years.  Think I've finally got it maxxed!   

Mark

[Doglips]

Wow a monroe is even better then the catalina? You guys make me jealous! Today again i had a bag of 4 huge thai cado's in my hand and didn't buy them. I want to buy only 1 but they don't sell them by piece. At least you guys give me hope that one day i also will have my own cado's in my garden. I think i need to make a plan to let a thai friend bring me a tree from the USA.
CTMIAMI does great work!

I'm hoping their great, I just flew to Excaliburs and brought home their last Monroe.

Houston is in the desert right? So do WI-cado's also grow well there? I thought they like to be in the hot and humid mosquito-land?

Or are they even better then the mexican/guatamala cado's that you really want to grow them?

This week i will buy the huge thai grown avocado's, now i have to know how they taste. Soon i will go to pakchong where they sell grafted cado-tree's so i have to know which variety i will buy.

Texas is a little on the big side.  It has both desert and humid swamps.  Houston is on the wet and humid side of the state.

Mark, it is a tree.  It would be foolish of me to not get a couple of trees (only get two check bags).  I checked two empty boxes and returned full (I got a Pickering Mango too).

[Mark in Texas]

Doglips, might wanna try an Oro Negro sourced from PIN.  Their stock and service is second to none and arrives in pristine condition.  You can save a lot by shipping two.    Also, I assume you're growing outdoors in raised beds.  Check out RootBuilder and go bottomless.  You'll get your raised bed with very little work, raised beds will insure no root rot, and the side benefit of root tip pruning.  Oh......feel free to send some of that rain our way.

I fruited a Brogdon for the first time.  Great taste but being that it was next to impossible to peel and the seed's paper stuck to the meat, it will be shopped back and new scions grafted onto it this spring.