Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date:

Hot Pepper pickles: quick-n-fun exotic recipes. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Hot Pepper pickles: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Hot Pepper pickles with hot and spicy pickles - Biquinho and Wiri Wiri peppers

Hot Pepper pickles with hot and spicy pickles - Biquinho and Wiri Wiri peppers

🍴 Hot Pepper pickles: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
  • 🔴If you like hot and spicy pickles - Biquinho and Wiri Wiri peppers (Capsicum) are perfect for new experiments!
  • 🔴Pickle whole little peppers in vinegar, garlic, Bay leaves (Laurus nobilis) and sugar.
  • 🔴Sweet, tangy, and spicy little bites! Perfect as appetizers, chasers and hot parties! 🔥

Hot Pepper pickles: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

🍲 Ingredients

🔥 Instructions

  • 🔴 Place whole peppers, garlic, and Bay leaves into sterilized jars.
  • 🔴 Boil vinegar with sugar and salt, then pour over the peppers.
  • 🔴 Seal and let cool. Store in the refrigerator for a few days before enjoying.
  • 🔴 Sweet, tangy, and spicy — perfect for appetizers, chasers, and hot parties!

🛒 Invite Biquinho, Wiri Wiri peppers and Bay Leaves to your kitchen

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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Curry leaf rice: quick-n-fun exotic recipes. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Curry leaf rice: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Curry leaf rice

Curry leaf rice

🍴 Curry leaf rice: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
  • 🟢Fry curry leaves (Murraya koenigii) with mustard seeds, garlic, and chilies
  • 🟢Stir into steamed rice for a fragrant side dish 🍛

🍛 Curry Leaf Rice recipes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup steamed rice
  • 1 handful fresh curry leaves (Murraya koenigii)
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3-4 dried red chilies
  • 1 tbsp oil or ghee
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds until they pop.
  2. Add garlic, chilies, and curry leaves. Fry until fragrant.
  3. Stir in steamed rice and mix well.
  4. Season with salt and serve hot as a fragrant side dish 🍲

🛒Grow your own Curry Leaf Tree for exotic recipes

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Peanut butter fruit smoothie: quick-n-fun exotic recipes. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Peanut butter fruit smoothie: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Peanut butter fruit smoothie

Peanut butter fruit smoothie

🍴 Peanut butter fruit smoothie: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
  • 🔴Peanut butter fruit (Bunchosia argentia) makes delicious shake!
  • 🔴Blend ripe peanut butter fruits with milk and honey.
  • 🔴A creamy shake that tastes like dessert straight from the tree!

Peanut Butter Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients

  • 1 cup ripe peanut butter fruit (Bunchosia argentea), seeded
  • 1 cup cold milk
  • 1–2 tablespoons honey
  • Ice cubes (optional)

Instructions

  1. Remove seeds from ripe peanut butter fruits.
  2. Blend fruits with milk and honey until smooth.
  3. Add ice cubes if desired for a chilled version.
  4. Serve immediately and enjoy a creamy shake that tastes like dessert straight from the tree!

🛒 Harvest Peanut Butter Fruit - the tree is fast fruiting!

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Loquat salsa: quick-n-fun exotic recipes. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Loquat salsa: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Loquat salsa: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
🍴 Loquat salsa: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

  • 🔴Dice Loquat fruit with tomato, onion, and jalapeno.
  • 🔴Great spooned over grilled fish or eaten with chips.

Loquat Salsa Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh loquats, peeled, pitted, and diced
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, finely diced
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Peel and pit the loquats, then dice them into small cubes.
  2. Dice tomatoes and onion, finely chop the jalapeno.
  3. In a bowl, combine loquats, tomato, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro.
  4. Add lime juice and salt to taste, stir gently to mix.
  5. Chill for 15 minutes before serving.

Serving Suggestions

  • Serve with tortilla chips.
  • Spoon over grilled fish, chicken, or shrimp.
  • Use as a topping for tacos or salads.

🛒Plant your Loquat tree

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Loquat

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10-minute recipe Bo La Lot with a leaf youve never cooked before! A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

10-minute recipe Bo La Lot with a leaf youve never cooked before!

Bo La Lot recipe with Vietnamese pepper Lalot (Piper sarmentosum)

🍴 10-minute recipe Bo La Lot with a leaf you’ve never cooked before!
  • 🌮 Forget boring tacos - this wrap will blow your mind! In Vietnam they call it Bo La Lot - beef wrapped in peppery Lalot leaves.
  • 🌮 It started as grape leaf wraps in the Middle East, but in tropical Asia grapes don’t grow, so people swapped to Lalot. Way more flavor than grape leaves!
  • 🌮 Grilled beef, garlic, onion, lemongrass - all can be tucked into these shiny green leaves. Smoky, juicy, and so good you’ll wonder why you didn't try it sooner! It's better than grape leaf wraps, because it has so much flavor!
  • 🌮 Most large leaf pepper plants will work for this recipe - Vietnamese pepper Lalot (Piper sarmentosum), Betel Leaf (Piper betle), or even large leaves of the traditional Black Pepper plant (Piper nigrum).


🌯 BO LA LOT RECIPE

✔️ Ingredients
  • · 1 pound ground beef or turkey
  • · 2 tablespoons chopped lemongrass (optional)
  • · 1 tbsp spice powder
  • · 1 tbsp curry powder
  • · 1 tbsp finely minced garlic
  • · 1 tbsp oyster sauce or fish sauce (optional)
  • · 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • · 1 tbsp finely minced shallots
  • · 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • · 2 tsp sugar or honey
  • · 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • · 1/2 tbsp salt
  • · 10-15 fresh Lalot leaves

  • 👉 Directions

  • · Preheat the grill.
  • · Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
  • · Wrap about 2 tablespoons of the mixture into each betel leaf.
  • · Spear 3 to 4 betel leaf wraps onto a skewer and grill until the meat is thoroughly cooked.
  • · Be sure to eat immediately.


🛒 Grow Leaf Pappers for tasty, peppery recipes

📚 Learn more:
📱 Growing" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" > Lalot Pepper

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Container_Garden #How_to

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Moringa omelet: quick-n-fun exotic recipes. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Moringa omelet: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Moringa omelet

Moringa omelet

🍴 Moringa omelet: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
  • 🟡Whisk eggs with chopped Moringa leaves, garlic, and a dash of soy sauce.
  • 🟡Pour into a hot pan with some cooking oil and cook for a minute or two until fluffy and golden.
  • 🟡A green power-packed breakfast!

Moringa Omelet

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup fresh Moringa leaves (chopped)
  • 1 small onion (chopped)
  • 1 tomato (diced)
  • 1 clove garlic (minced)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp oil or butter

Instructions

  1. Beat the eggs in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat oil in a pan, sauté onion, garlic, and tomato until soft.
  3. Add the chopped Moringa leaves and cook for 1 minute.
  4. Pour in the beaten eggs and cook until set, flipping once.
  5. Serve hot with rice or bread.

🛒 Plant Moringa tree and harvest superfood year around

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Guava Tree Plant Care

Tips from Top Tropicals Plant Expert - Tatiana Anderson

Guava trees for sale in 3-gallon nursery pots, healthy young plants 
with green 
foliage.

Where to Plant Outdoors

Guavas love full sun — aim for 6–8 hours of direct light. They’re adaptable to many soils but do best in well-drained, organic-enriched mixes. Plant them in a spot where you can water easily; guavas are thirsty trees during fruiting.

Container & Indoor Growing

Don’t have space or live in a cooler climate? Guavas thrive in large pots. Use well-drained potting mix. LINK TO OUR SOIL Keep them on a sunny patio during warm months and bring them indoors when nights dip below freezing. Compact varieties like Dwarf Hawaiian Rainbow or Tikal are especially good for pots.

Winter Care

Mature guavas can handle a light frost (down into the high 20s F), but young plants need protection. If planted outdoors, cover them with frost cloth on cold nights. Container guavas can be wheeled into a garage, greenhouse, or bright indoor window until the weather warms.

Watering and Fertilizing

Water deeply once or twice a week, more often in hot weather or when fruit is developing. They don’t like soggy soil, but they won’t complain about short floods either. Fertilize 3–4 times a year during the growing season with a balanced fruit tree fertilizer. Guavas especially love potassium and phosphorus for strong flowering and heavy crops. We recommend liquid crop booster Sunshine C-Cibus and balanced controlled release fertilizer Green Magic.

Pruning

Prune after fruiting to keep them compact and open up airflow. Remove crossing or dead branches. In containers, trim back vigorous shoots regularly to manage size and encourage more fruiting wood.

Pests and Problems

Guavas are generally tough and pest-resistant. The main thing to watch for in humid or rainy climates is mealybugs - those cottony white clusters on leaves or stems. They're easy to manage with neem oil or a quick spray of horticultural soap.

Fruit time

Guavas fruit young - often within a year or two.

Pollination

Guavas are self-pollinating, so you'll get fruit even with a single tree. Planting more than one tree, however, often boosts harvests and gives you a longer fruiting season.

If you've ever wanted instant gratification from a fruit tree, guava is it.

Ruby Supreme Guava tree with a large ripe yellow fruit, variety known 
for sweet pink flesh and reliable 
harvests.

🍴 Guava Recipes

With all that fruit, the next question is always: "What do I do with it?" Here are our favorites:

  • Cas Guava: Make Agua de Cas

    Boil halved Cas Guava fruits with sugar, simmer, strain, and bottle. Dilute with water when serving. The concentrate keeps for months in the fridge.
    Check out the recipe.

  • Hawaiian Gold: Make Drinks

    Perfect for Mojitos or Margaritas. Sweet, tangy juice pairs beautifully with lime and mint. Learn more

  • Araca Pera: Guava Wine

    Famous in Brazil, where the fruit is turned into a vibrant rosу wine. Locals say it’s the taste of summer in a glass — and yes, you can make it at home too. Learn more...

  • Quick snack: Guava Grilled Cheese

    Spread guava paste or fresh mashed fruit with cheese, grill until golden. Sweet and savory heaven. Learn more...

  • Simple Guava Juice

    Blend ripe guavas with water, ice, and a little sugar if you like. Instant refreshment.

✅Ready to Grow? Whether you want fresh juice, sweet fruit, or even your own guava wine, we’ve got the best varieties in stock right now. Your future self, sipping guava juice on a hot summer afternoon, will thank you.

👉 Order your guava tree today

Tabby cat sitting between a glass of yellow guava juice with white 
guavas and a glass of pink guava juice with green guavas and cut pink guava 
fruit.

Date:

Dragon fruit coconut parfait: quick-n-fun exotic recipes. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Dragon fruit coconut parfait: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Dragon fruit coconut parfait

Dragon fruit coconut parfait

🍴 Dragon fruit coconut parfait: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
  • 🔵Layer Dragon Fruit cubes with coconut cream and toasted granola.
  • 🔵A tropical breakfast that looks neon and tastes fresh!

Dragon fruit coconut parfait recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 fresh Dragon Fruit, diced into cubes
  • 1 cup coconut cream
  • 1/2 cup toasted granola
  • Optional: honey or maple syrup for drizzle

Instructions

  1. Layer Dragon Fruit cubes in a glass or bowl.
  2. Add a layer of coconut cream, then sprinkle toasted granola.
  3. Repeat layers until glass is full, finishing with granola on top.
  4. Serve immediately for a refreshing tropical breakfast or snack.

🛒 Explore Dragon Fruit varieties

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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Date:

Ackee breakfast scramble: quick-n-fun exotic recipes. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Ackee breakfast scramble: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Ackee breakfast scramble

Ackee breakfast scramble

🍴 Ackee breakfast scramble: quick-n-fun exotic recipes

Ackee breakfast scramble recipes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups boiled Ackee (Blighia sapida)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1-2 hot peppers (Scotch Bonnet, Wiri Wiri, or Biquinho), sliced
  • 1 tbsp oil or butter
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a skillet. Saute onion until soft.
  2. Add tomatoes and sliced hot peppers, cook for 2 minutes.
  3. Gently fold in the boiled ackee, stir carefully to avoid breaking it up.
  4. Season with salt, cook until heated through, then serve warm.

🛒 Grow your own Akee fruit (banned for import) and hot peppers

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Banana cinnamon fritters: Quick-n-Fun exotic recipes. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Banana cinnamon fritters: Quick-n-Fun exotic recipes

Banana cinnamon fritters

Banana cinnamon fritters

🍴 Banana cinnamon fritters: Quick-n-Fun exotic recipes 🍌
  • 🟡Dip banana slices in a light batter, fry quickly, then dust with cinnamon sugar.
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