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Growing a mango tree from seed – one year time lapse [video]

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Re: Growing a mango tree from seed – one year time lapse [video]

#211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same with plums. I don’t even know why they sell them in the us. It’s like eating a ball of water. Think of the flavor of an ice slushie that’s just the ice. I gave them plenty of chances, in every corner of the country, in every season I could find them. Always terrible.

> It’s like eating a ball of water. We are talking about different fruits here: Prunus domestica, The Common or European plum, and Prunus salicina, the Japanese plum are, by far, the most cultured. European plums are sweet, acidic, fleshy and firm, with a rich taste. Japanese plums are sweet, acidic, have a less complex taste and are soft and --watery-- by nature. The best Japanese plums are decent fruits with an use…

I don’t know how to tell you which one is which. But I compare them visually and I know two.

The one with red flesh, and the one with yellow flesh. (Could be the same one at different points in its life)

My baseline is the plums I ate growing up in Argentina.

The red ones are full of flavor, especially when ripe. The softer they get the juicer and sweeter they get. These are bigger in size.

The yellow ones are more acidic, but get sweeter as they ripen. Also good. Smaller in size, I can fit a whole one in my mouth. I find the same red/yellow variants in the US. But without the flavor. They are also flavorless no matter what stage you eat them at. Ripe, not ripe, all the same: water. The yellow ones are just bleh. Acidic without the good side.

I gave them plenty of chances at different times of the year and in different locations. The best ones I had were in upstate NY in September, but still about 7/10ths of the flavor of the ones in South America.

Re: Growing a mango tree from seed – one year time lapse [video]

#212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It’s like eating a ball of water. We are talking about different fruits here: Prunus domestica, The Common or European plum, and Prunus salicina, the Japanese plum are, by far, the most cultured. European plums are sweet, acidic, fleshy and firm, with a rich taste. Japanese plums are sweet, acidic, have a less complex taste and are soft and --watery-- by nature. The best Japanese plums are decent fruits with an use…

I don’t know how to tell you which one is which. But I compare them visually and I know two. The one with red flesh, and the one with yellow flesh. (Could be the same one at different points in its life) My baseline is the plums I ate growing up in Argentina. The red ones are full of flavor, especially when ripe. The softer they get the juicer and sweeter they get. These are bigger in size. The yellow ones are more a…

Your description fits well with a 'Golden Japan' (or 'Sungold') and a 'Methley'. Both are standard quality Japanese. Probably picked too early if they lack sugar (or cultured in an cloudy place, or stored in a fridge for too long...). The problem with spring fruits is that they need a long spring to be really good.

Re: Growing a mango tree from seed – one year time lapse [video]

#213
post #125
post #115

People here complaining about good mangoes not being available in the US haven't been to CA. You can get a box of 14-15 alphonso or ataulfo mangoes for $10-12 at local indian and asian stores around late summer. These come in from Mexico and near the beginning of the season are still not yet ripe (on purpose so they don't spoil in the store). Wait a few days after purchasing them and then they become really sweet. Ye…

> 14-15 alphonso or ataulfo mangoes Alphonso and ataulfo are not the same thing, not even close except they are both mangoes. Alphonso is a uniquely fragrant and flavorful variety from India which is very rare to find in the US but you should be able to find it canned in pulp form. Ataulfo is an ordinary mango from Mexico that is available everywhere in CA, including in organic form at Costco.

correct! i did see alphonso mangos being sold at the local indian store once in 2019, $5/ea

Re: Growing a mango tree from seed – one year time lapse [video]

#214
post #47

I grew up in Egypt, my dad is from a town on the Suez Canal called Ismailia, famous for its mangoes. We would wait the whole year for mango season (August/September). As kids, our clothes would all get mango stains. Our parents would make us take our shirts off before we eat them to avoid that. I moved to the US, and I haven't had a good mango here. When friends visit Egypt, I tell them to get mangoes (in season, aro…

A lot of tropical fruit is uninteresting in the USA: bananas, pineapple, mangoes etc have little flavor and typically one variety is available at most. I sometimes have 50 year old memories in dreams of eating fresh fruit and they are so different in form and flavor I wonder if they are hallucinations. But as you point out, they require a climate unavailable on the continent so have to be harvested unripe and transpo…

Supermarkets have focused on breeding varieties that are bigger and more resilient to aging but completely lack of taste.

Re: Growing a mango tree from seed – one year time lapse [video]

#215

I grew up in Egypt, my dad is from a town on the Suez Canal called Ismailia, famous for its mangoes. We would wait the whole year for mango season (August/September). As kids, our clothes would all get mango stains. Our parents would make us take our shirts off before we eat them to avoid that. I moved to the US, and I haven't had a good mango here. When friends visit Egypt, I tell them to get mangoes (in season, aro…

Ever since I ate mangos in India during mango season (I was there in May/June), I have not been able to enjoy a mango in the US. Especially this variety: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gir_Kesar I feel like I should be able to smell it from across the room, and there should be no fibers. I have had really good mangos in Kenya/Zimbabwe/Zambia too though.

Australian who lived in London for six years here. About once a year in London I'd buy a mango, craving that amazing smell and taste. Always disappointing.

Then one day my partner walked into the local Pakistani corner shop and stopped. She could SMELL mango. She asked the guy: have you got mangoes? Sure enough he did. She bought a box of four.

Soon as I got home from work that day, I opened the front door and immediately smelt it. "Have you found mangoes?"

Back in Australia, this year has been a very disappointing mango season. Very few of the good ones.

Re: Growing a mango tree from seed – one year time lapse [video]

#216
post #53
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main difference is fruits and vegetables in the US are bred for storage and transport, and not for flavor. This is starting to swing back, with people appreciating flavor, but this will require people to accept that there are seasons to fruits and vegetables, which is hard when you're used to year-round supply. But if you want a tomato in January or an apple in June, those just aren't going to taste as good.

I get your point about seasonality, but most produce here don’t taste good any time of the year, even when they’re supposed to be in season. I have heard the same feedback from others too, I am not the only one. Someone told me the same chocolates taste better outside U.S, because corn syrup is used in the American version.

But my point is that the varieties planted are the ones that store well. So it won't matter what season you eat them in, they won't taste good.

If you are lucky you might live near a good farmer's market that has actual seasonal varieties that actually take good in their proper months, and can't be found in other months.

Re: Growing a mango tree from seed – one year time lapse [video]

#217

I grew up in Egypt, my dad is from a town on the Suez Canal called Ismailia, famous for its mangoes. We would wait the whole year for mango season (August/September). As kids, our clothes would all get mango stains. Our parents would make us take our shirts off before we eat them to avoid that. I moved to the US, and I haven't had a good mango here. When friends visit Egypt, I tell them to get mangoes (in season, aro…

Come to South Florida. The variety of delicious tropical fruits is dizzying.

Re: Growing a mango tree from seed – one year time lapse [video]

#218
post #102
post #95

I really want a solar powered time lapse camera that takes a photo around noon every day, saves to SD card. Would be great for plant time lapses. I haven't been able to find anyone who's done this already. It seems like there are trail cams and similar that have all the parts, so this should be possible to manufacture for a price point of around $50, and I think it would be an amazing product: I bet every gardening e…

I wonder if there's any way to do crowdfunding for products that don't exist yet. I don't mean kickstarter, in that case there's someone who wants to make the thing already. I mean for things where there are a lot of people who want it to exist, and could pledge some cash to motivate someone to make the damn thing. One I've been waiting for since 2008 is a general purpose epaper tablet / laptop, and I see its nonexis…

Potentially a DAO

Re: Growing a mango tree from seed – one year time lapse [video]

#219

I've been growing plants for the last year and a half or so (covid y'know) and it's really enjoyable and fulfilling, I highly recommend it. Among other things I've got five little macadamia trees, three Torrey pine trees, two carob trees that just sprouted, and a sequoiadendron giganteum seedling about an inch tall. (It's funny to me that the Giant Sequoia seeds are tiny, smaller than a grain of rice, yet the tree gr…

I find it incredibly frustrating. Some plants will die right away so at least it’s a fast failure. But others will be ok for quite a while, several months or even a year or two. And then they’ll start yellowing, losing leaves, whatever, and eventually die. Even plants that are supposedly hardy, like ivy. I absolutely hate growing plants, and it actually makes me angry to see them fail. Even though I love an interior…

The yellowing leaves suggest you might be watering the plants too much. This seems to be among the more common issues with houseplants.
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