Mango Tasting: Sweet Tart, Cac, Pickering

This week’s box was much more varied.  Of the 20+ varieties available to me, I researched and picked out the types that were either creamy/coconutty or famous Florida hybrids.  I also got some Asian varieties for their polyembryonic seeds that are supposedly easy to germinate and grow.

Sweet Tart:  This is one of the most celebrated of the Florida hybrids.  The smallest in the box, it completely lived up to its name.  The first taste was sweet, then you got hit in the face with a tart zing.  It wasn’t sour exactly, just really tart the way a lemon candy might make your mouth pucker.  It wasn’t my favorite!  Very juicy, extremely flavorful, this would be good if you really want to contrast the different taste profiles.

Cac:  This Vietnamese mango was FANTASTIC.  Well over a pound, it was the second biggest mango in the box.  Its unassuming yellow-orange exterior and golden interior did nothing to let you know how rich and complex the flavor would be.  It reminded me of maple syrup!  Another juicy specimen, so make sure you have lots of napkins.  Polyembryonic seed is currently planted.

Pickering: I’m so excited about this Florida variety because it has the coconut/creamy flavor profile that I love and its growth habit is favorable for container growing.  Different nurseries tout it as the smallest container mango, able to fruit in fewer years in just an 8″ diameter pot!  That said, the full-size fruit was the ugly duckling of the bunch, prone to spotting and a standard yellow coloring.  The goldenrod flesh is smooth, sweet, and juicy–I can’t wait to see if this grows for me.  Polyembryonic seed is currently planted.

Mango Tasting: Baptiste, Alphonso, UNK Kang, Nam Doc Mai

Growing up in Haiti, I tended to take mangoes for granted.  They were simply the fruit we had around, nothing to get excited about. A few years ago, I was in England and had a ripe Alphonso mango that transported me in its similarity to Mango Baptiste, a singularly Haitian variety.

The chase was on.  I have since discovered a handful of Florida mango growers that specialize in different varieties: Florida hybrids, Haitian, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese… for a pretty penny at the right time of year, you can try some amazing fruit.  My goal here is to catalog my impressions of what I get to help out anyone looking for new varieties down the line.

Here is my first order from Tropical Acres Farm in West Palm Beach, Florida.  They only have a Facebook page, but ship boxes of mangoes for $40/10lb.  If you request custom varieties based on their “what’s ripe” list, it’s $45/10lb.  I ordered Baptiste (on the right), Alphonso (bttom left), and asked for the grower’s favorite, which was Edward (on the left) that week.  It didn’t occur to me to take individual pictures until after I’d enjoyed them, but here are the tasting notes:

Baptiste: orange exterior, orange interior, on the smaller side, classic oval shape.  Taste: floral/herby, distinctive and sweet.  Texture: firm when ripe, not fibrous at all.  Juicy and good down to the seed–you’ll need napkins for this one.

Alphonso: yellow exterior tinged with slight red blush, yellow on the inside, large, classic oval shape.  Taste:  Wonderfully sweet, a touch on the floral side, very smooth.  Texture: not fibrous at all, should be eaten when it gives a little but not soft.  Juicy–you’ll need napkins for this one too!

Edward: greenish yellow exterior, yellow interior, large, classic oval shape.  Taste:  Amazingly sweet and creamy, unlike any store-bought mango ever.  Texture: smooth and soft when ripe, not fibrous at all.  SO juicy you’ll be eating around the seed over the sink if you’re smart!  This Florida hybrid is incredible!

Last week, I had cousins visiting from Florida who brought the requisite suitcase full of fresh backyard mangoes and treat of all treats, Nam Doc Mai mangoes from Truly Tropical!  Truly Tropical does not ship but they have orchard tours and a variety of other fruits like lychees, sapote, custard apples… They are located in Delray Beach if you’re ever in South Florida!

Unknown “Kang”:  these are from my cousin Kang’s backyard in Margate, Florida.  red exterior, bright peachy yellow interior, extra large, classic oval shape.  Taste: extremely mild and lightly sweet, somewhat like a firm nectarine that’s just getting ripe.  Texture: firm and almost crisp, not fibrous but not smooth either.  I ate this firm, after letting it sit for 4 days, and it was still not juicy.  It was, however, a great snack when sliced up and chilled.

Nam Doc Mai: this popular Thai variety is probably the most well-known with its elongated elegant shape and light green/yellow exterior.  Taste: unbelievably sweet and mild, almost honey-sweet when perfectly ripe.  Texture: buttery smooth, one of the few varieites I would eat with a spoon.  Juicy juicy juicy… this is a fantastic variety if you can find it.

I have another box coming this week–stay tuned for more mango yumminess!

you say tomahto

Tomatoes are so much fun to grow–we did a combination of purchased seedlings (Roma, Better Boy) and tried growing Sun Gold from saved seeds.  We had a bit of a late start due to a strange April snow but have managed to get a few lovelies so far.  The Romas came first, much to the delight of the slugs.  Our first batch yielded 3 perfect specimens and 2 with a few nibbles.

The Sun Golds are coming in now.  The parent plant, purchased as a seedling, produced gorgeous bright orange sugar bombs.  I’ve since learned that the variety is a hybrid so anything I get will probably not be true to the original.  This first batch ended up being a light yellow with a single orange one.  I wasn’t even sure they were ripe until I gave them a quick taste test: good, but not as sugary sweet as I’d hoped.  Still, very pretty!  The first Better Boy is picture perfect and destined for greatness in a tomato sandwich.  Yum!

Bottom line, saving seeds is all well and good, but if you can buy inexpensive seedlings, there isn’t much difference in hardiness and at least you know what you’ll be getting!

 

 

may flowers

It turns out, April showers really do bring May flowers!  I’ve always wanted a cutting garden and have added a few varieties every year.  The peonies are my favorite, but my new David Austin roses are giving them a run for their money.  If you’re trying to establish an easy flower garden, try peonies, roses, and coreopsis–they all come back every year and make excellent bouquets in the spring.

new potatoes ninja style

The coolest thing about growing potatoes in planters is that you can keep a close eye on them.  I’m going to let them go until they flower, but for now, I’m checking for new potatoes close to the surface.  Lots of gardeners say that this is fine to do as long as you’re careful and don’t injure the plants.

I didn’t want to dig too far, so I stopped when I got five egg-sized spuds.

Here’s a video, in case you want to see how I did it:

 

companion gardening

This is my first foray into the notion of companion gardening.  It seems that marigolds are good for repelling beetles and other pests from kale and tomato plants–both of which I planted in my first garden bed.  I’m trying to incorporate as many natural solutions in the garden as possible and this was a particularly pretty one.  You can’t really tell by the photo, but it’s drizzling this morning and just cold enough to make my fingers tingly.

An added bonus to planting marigolds is that they are edible.  I’m looking forward to using some as garnishes, in salads, and on cakes.

seeds vs. seedlings

If you’re as impatient as I am, both seeds and seedlings have a place in your garden.  Seeds help stave off winter boredom and scatter to burst forth with bean vines, zucchini explosions, and pretty much every root vegetable.  Seedlings, however, help extend the growing season by producing cold-hardy greens to enjoy when mornings are still frosty.

kale is our favorite right now.  Try both curly and Tuscan for texture in salads or sautée them for a nice mild side dish with some garlic and oyster sauce.  Swiss chard is another prolific green, but you have to wait until April to be sure the ground is warm enough for it.  Make sure you take just enough to cook until the plants really take off.  When they do, you’ll be giving the giant leaves away!

“Hey, do you mind…”

Call me a country mouse, but the thing I like best about having a garden is being able to say, “hey, do you mind going out back to get some herbs/greens/veggies?”  It’s still early, so we haven’t got much to pick, but tonight it was kale, green garlic, and oregano to sautée with some mushrooms.  Yum!

herbs

This year, I’ll be experimenting with drying my own herbs.  Even a single seedling gives you much more than you need, and snipping them weekly ensures that they won’t flower and change flavor too much, even in the heat (this happens with many basil varieties).

I can’t wait to make a roast chicken with some of this!  I still have a few to get, but so far, we have: oregano, thyme, purple basil, and rosemary alongside this week’s garlic greens.  I plan on scattering seeds for parsley and cilantro around the tomatoes and peppers so that it comes up everywhere.  Basically, I want to go out back and be able to snip whatever I need and make little jars of dried herbs for fall and winter.

 

missing the plums for the peaches

In my impatience to see the peach blossoms (I check on them daily leaving and returning home), I completely missed the blooming of my new Santa Rosa plum.  I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve neglected it terribly, plopping it in a hole in the backyard last summer and promptly ignoring it.  I believe I had 5-7 blossoms–only 3 are still visible on the tree.  They’re so tiny I can’t even get my phone to focus on them!

I took a bit more time with the bean patch.  Last year’s sugar snap peas did okay, no more than a handful to each tiny harvest, so this year I’m re-using the plot to grow Borlotti beans.  My favorite UK YouTuber, Lavender and Leeks, loves them and they’re so big and beautiful!

I chopped up the dirt and poked them in–pictures later when I install the trellis for them to climb.  Part of the reason why the sugar snaps didn’t do well is because Charlie loved running through them like a charging bull.

While I was wedding the bean bed, I found two little patches of ivy.  These will be perfect for reclaiming the front yard from our cookie-cutter lawn.  I’m shooting for an ever-widening ivy island around our giant maple tree in the front, something like what they have at my sister Sue’s house.  Less mowing?  Yes please!