wiltznucs
| Favorite team: | South Florida  |
| Location: | Apollo Beach, FL |
| Biography: | |
| Interests: | |
| Occupation: | |
| Number of Posts: | 9404 |
| Registered on: | 9/23/2005 |
| Online Status: | Not Online |
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quote:
I would put Phillipine/Carabao in my bottom 5 easily.
My local mango farm is owned by the sweetest Thai family. The matriarch of the family pulled me aside and gave me the rundown for a perfect Carabao mango. Let it ripen to full yellow with almost no green. The skin should yield when pressed. Almost like Ataulfo. It should smell sweet. Like I said; not that complex. Super sweet and enjoyable with a bit of fiber around the seed. I’m here for it. This one was at least 20 Brix and juicy AF. Not something I can do everyday; but, an enjoyable ride especially for an early season mango.
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I’m about over it. The reverse zone pushing is fun; until it isn’t with apples in Florida. Year three with Anna and Golden Dorsett Apple trees. Anna holds up reasonably well. The Dorsett is extremely susceptible to Bitter Rot. We’ve had small amounts of rainfall the past two days and it was enough to trigger the fungus. They’ve looked great until now with regular applications of Bonide Orchard Spray. I’ve not had a single edible fruit from Dorsett. Only a few from Anna. The trouble is it’s an all or nothing proposition. One pollinates the other. I don’t want to use or invest in systemics when I can buy perfectly good and better tasting apples at the market. You can’t spray most fungicides if the temps are above 85; that’s definitely a problem here. I have a feeling these two are getting yanked this Fall.
On the bright side. I tried a new mango (for me) that’s instantly in my Top 10.
Philippine/Carabao is a smaller mango. The fruit to seed ratio is very good. You’ve got to let them ripen until it’s easily pliable and the skin should be mostly yellow. If you do; you’ll be greeted with an excellent dessert mango. Not the most complex flavor profile; but; sweet and decadent.
re: Are rolling style sharpeners worth it?
Posted by wiltznucs on 5/19/26 at 9:00 pm to slidingstop
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Horl
Where are they available on sale? Been toying with picking up the Horl 3…
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Don't worry about Florida mango season. Different climates means different harvests
This… Even within Florida and in the same zone it can be wildly different. I’m in Tampa Bay Zone 10a. The same as West Palm Beach. Their early season mangoes are already producing and we’re still likely two weeks away.
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only about 25% larger than last year
Remember; it’s a true dwarf mango tree and it’s in a pot. You can’t let what you’ve seen from your guava or carambola be an indication of what to expect from it. 25% is a significant amount of growth for a Pickering IMHO. I probably would let it rip too. This year is messed up. I’m writing it off to a painful learning experience.
I’m running into a similar situation. Planted a 25g tree back in early April. 25g is probably a 3-4 year old tree. It was holding fruit when I got it; so I decided to thin out half and let it ride. Not enough; the fruit just isn’t growing. May bite the bullet and wipe it clean or leave just 1-2 this weekend.
I hope to be in a position to graft some scions into my trees this Fall. Fruit Punch is definitely on my short list.
Florida mangos finally showing up in my part of the world. Irwin up top with Haden the middle and Philippine/Caraboa on bottom.
Sounds increasingly like thrips. They are definitely a thing here in FL and could have arrived with the tree. Spinosad is a good remedy.
This looks more like thrips damage than fungus to me. Those bugs love newly flushed vegetative growth. What you think Laff?
My experience has been the bananas are very resilient. I think there’s nothing they enjoy more than a constant feeding of compost and chicken manure. Lots of sunlight and regular watering usually equal success.
New trees in the ground. Was hoping to get this little horse trade done earlier in the year; but, the freeze set this back a bit.
A friend of mine in Sarasota went down the rabbit hole of boutique and rare bananas a few years back. He’s got two dozen different varieties at his place. He agreed to separate some out of his patches for me. Handed me two monsters today..
First up is Hua Moa…. It’s from Polynesia. Popular in Hawaii. The large bananas grow to as much as 10 inches long and 4 inches thick weighing as much as a pound each. Creamy and sweet; people treat them more like a plantain than a banana. Good for frying or cooking as well as eating out of hand.
Then the other side of the spectrum.
The other is Pitogo. It’s from the Phillipines and known for its small, round, to tear-drop shape and creamy texture. The fruit is roughly the size of a golf ball with berry notes.
A friend of mine in Sarasota went down the rabbit hole of boutique and rare bananas a few years back. He’s got two dozen different varieties at his place. He agreed to separate some out of his patches for me. Handed me two monsters today..
First up is Hua Moa…. It’s from Polynesia. Popular in Hawaii. The large bananas grow to as much as 10 inches long and 4 inches thick weighing as much as a pound each. Creamy and sweet; people treat them more like a plantain than a banana. Good for frying or cooking as well as eating out of hand.
Then the other side of the spectrum.
The other is Pitogo. It’s from the Phillipines and known for its small, round, to tear-drop shape and creamy texture. The fruit is roughly the size of a golf ball with berry notes.
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I'm holding out for a Musa Florida
The price is still high. I know where a couple of 3-4 footers are; but, she’s asking $200 a piece. I think someone like Costa doing tissue culture will make them affordable in the near future.
Full credit to her; these look good so she’s at least letting them ripen a bit or harvesting at a very mature green.
Some outfits harvest way too early. Like immature green. I’ve had some take 12-15 or more days to ripen on the counter.
I think Chloe is a seedling, I don’t think I’ve had either Guava and Dupuis.
Some outfits harvest way too early. Like immature green. I’ve had some take 12-15 or more days to ripen on the counter.
I think Chloe is a seedling, I don’t think I’ve had either Guava and Dupuis.
They are cool little trees. I have one that gets brutal intense full sun and another sort of tucked into a corner near my home that gets some shade. The one with some shade is doing marginally better than the other; but, both are growing faster than any banana tree I’ve encountered. I fully expect them to be 6 or more feet tall by the the end of the year.
Looks like the Lowe’s in Covington will be getting the Variegated Pink Nono Musa plants soon. They sold out here in FL in a matter of hours. I planted two in the ground back in December. Both got hammered by the 27-28 degree freeze and have bounced back. Giving me a new leaf about every other week currently. Both even have pups now. So odds are they’ll hold up in pots for sure and probably do well in ground even in the southernmost parts of Louisiana.
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Idk if I even like sapodilla
It’s unique. Not for everyone. Custardy brown sugar with hints of cinnamon/anise. Much better refrigerated IMHO. My friend has an Alano variety. Super productive. Can’t possibly eat all the fruit it produces. It’s very popular with Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian people.
Montura was delivering to Tampa today so I took advantage. I need another avocado tree like I need a hole in my head; but, Oro Negro it is. Felt good to support a good operation. A big tree that’s probably ready to go into a 25g pot.
FL avocados have a hard time competing with Cali; in general, but I do think this varietal offers a lot of hope. Productive with a high oil content despite Florida’s less than ideal growing conditions. From truck to hole in less than 30 minutes.
I just want it simplified to the lowest volume you can possibly make with readily available quantities. Two X lb bags of this and one Y lb bags of that. Throw into a container and seal after mixing.
re: Ideas for Poland
Posted by wiltznucs on 5/3/26 at 5:50 pm to Zappas Stache
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You could do the Baltics (Vilnius, Riga and Tallin are great).
Will second this recommendation. From Tallinn it’s a quick 2-3 hour ferry ride to Helsinki which then easily throws Scandinavia into the mix.
4000+ square feet.
200+ is the number of bags of mulch we’ve picked up from Lowe’s and spread around the flower beds in the last week. Definitely made the most of their $2 per bag of mulch sale this Spring.
Alas; it’s finally done and looks great. The arms and back are a bit sore admittedly.
Despite the freeze; some of the fruit trees are bouncing back. The Namwah aka Ice Cream bananas are producing already. Apples have showed up strong and as we’re in a drought the fungal pressure is lighter than usual. Last year we lost all of them to scab; so I’m optimistic that we’ll have some to eat in a month or so. Avocados are on the menu too. Will be several months before they are ready. Hopefully we can keep the pests away.
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