Watch My Food Grow ~ A South Florida Raised Vegetable Garden

Florida Backyard Raised Vegetable Garden

Noble Experiment Was a Mango Semi-winner

May 10th, 2012 by Lila Steinhoff
Respond

A couple of weeks ago, scores of mangos were blown off my trees during several thunder storms. The mangos were half as big as they would be at maturity and were two months from ripening on the tree.

It seemed like such a waste to dispose of so many, so I laid the undamaged, larger ones  on a rack to see if they would ripen enough to be edible.

Then, I had a glitch….

While waiting for the results, another storm produced a lightning strike that came in on the internet cable and took out my computer, printer and phone line. I was not able to put up a blog post for almost two weeks.

The computer and the printer have been replaced, and switching out several wires repaired the phone. So, I am back online and ready to share the results of the ‘Noble Experiment’.

Ripe, but…

The mangos did ripen and are edible. The taste varies from bland to tart, and everything in between, on a random basis. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to what determines the taste, but the mango essence does come through. While they are not as good as tree-ripened mangos, these are good enough to satisfy a mango craving.

The only downside that I have found is that their size makes it labor intensive to slice and peel them. Also, because many of them are so small, it takes a whole lot more mangos to produce enough fruit.

Seed Issue

Unlike a ripe mango where the seeds are very hard, the seeds in these are very soft. The non-matured seed has a white skin that tends to get sliced against the flesh of the mango. The white skin must be removed from the flesh before eating… not difficult, just one more step.

Craving Satisfied Temporarily

I have been known to ‘taste’ as I go along, and I just can’t resist mangos. I’m lucky to get a container filled to chill for later.

The fruit of this ‘experiment’ may not taste quite as good as the mangos that will ripen on the tree in another month, but they taste as good as most of the ones I have purchased from a grocery store when they are out of season, and I have an intense craving… and these are pretty to look at, too!

Tags:   No Comments.

Mangos Draw Gnats

April 24th, 2012 by Lila Steinhoff
Respond

Two storms within  two weeks of each other, both with lots of wind and rain, caused mangos to drop from most mango trees in this area. The mangos have been on the ground long enough to begin to rot. The result is an onslaught of gnats.

Luckily, our outdoor space is screened, but anytime we are in the open, the gnats are thick. Hanging laundry or tending the  garden have become uncomfortable chores because of the annoyance caused by swarms of gnats. The easiest way to take the yard back is to bury the rotting mangos and the gnats will move on.

Take the Yard Back

Today, four 2-foot-deep holes were dug around the mango tree. All were filled with small mangos that were blown off during the storms and the holes were covered with sand. With nothing to draw them, the gnats disappeared in less than an hour.

Noble Experiment?

An aside….. it almost hurts to have to throw away hundreds of mangos, including a few that fell just today. They are larger than most of the ones we disposed of, but they are still half the size they should be, and are six or eight weeks from being ripe. (This particular Haden mango tree is a late producer with fruit that ripens at the end of June and into July.)

I decided to lay the the larger fruit on a rack for awhile to see if it will ripen, and if so, how it tastes. The result will be either a pleasant surprise, or it will have been a noble experiment. I learn something either way.

 

 

Tags:   No Comments.

Pepper Update

April 21st, 2012 by Lila Steinhoff
Respond

A few weeks ago, I began again with poblanos, jalapenos and several varieties of bell peppers. These plants replaced ones that were planted in one of the boxes I had been using for everything else. The first crop appeared to be suffering from damping, so a new box with better drainage was constructed. That gave me three above-ground boxes.

The various peppers are doing well in their new box. The bricks under the soil seem to have made the difference in the drainage. All is well all around. All plants in all boxes look very good, now.

Tags:   3 Comments