Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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Shopping for gifts is not an easy chore!

6 important steps for successful Holiday Gift Plant Shopping

1. Make a list of friends and family members that absolutely require your special plant attention. Obviously, a live plant is the best present!
2. Set deadlines for shipping gift plants. Remember good timing is 50% of a good surprise!
3. Set a budget and call our Customer Service to help you pick the right plant that fits your needs and finances. Check out current sales and deals to get more for your dollar, and low cost offers.
4. Buy plants for plant lovers, or simply for those who appreciate the Nature, and the Beauty. Check out fragrant gift plants, fruit, and spice plants - these are always win-win! A gift certificate can be a great option so they can pick what they like, and it is not time sensitive!
5. Prepare. Remember that live plant requires some attention. Prepare pots, soil, and planting instructions beforehand so your beloved ones can enjoy a happy plant for a long time.
6. Don't forget about yourself! Take advantage of BOGO deals to get One for Present, One for Me! Personally, here at Top Tropicals, we all buy at least one plant for ourselves for each holiday!

Happy Holidays!

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Longevity Spinach Superfood Recipes: how to make healthy food delicious. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Longevity Spinach Superfood Recipes: how to make healthy food delicious

Longevity Spinach Superfood Recipes: how to make healthy food delicious Longevity Spinach Superfood Recipes: how to make healthy food delicious
👨 Longevity Spinach Superfood Recipes: how to make healthy food delicious.

Can healthy food taste delicious?

Healthy Longevity Spinach... It tastes like... spinach? You can add it to your salads, but let's face it, you can only eat so much of a salad. So try it cooked - you will be so surprised and want to eat it every day!

🍳 Eggs with Longevity Spinach

You will need:

🌿 Longevity Spinach or Okinawa Spinach: 2 handfuls
  • 1 cup Bacon (optional), sliced or chopped, or: 2 tbsp Olive or vegetable oil

1 large Onion, sliced in semi-rings
1 sweet pepper, red or yellow, sliced
3-5 cloves garlic, chopped (optional, to taste)
5-6 eggs
1 cup ground beef or turkey/chicken (optional), or mushrooms
½ cup shredded cheese (regular or Parmesan)
salt and pepper to taste
🌶 Sweet Chile Sauce (optional. Tastes great with this dish!)
  • 🍷 a glass of your favorite wine or cocktail to enjoy your dinner 🍷


Preparation time: 10 min
Makes dinner for 2

Open detailed recipe

🛒 Order Longevity Spinach

#Edible_Forest #Recipes

TopTropicals.com
We Grow Happiness

Date:

How to learn the Truth about fertilizers. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to learn the Truth about fertilizers

How to learn the Truth about fertilizers How to learn the Truth about fertilizers How to learn the Truth about fertilizers
How to learn the Truth about fertilizers.

Spring is here and so is the time to give your plants more food for active growth!

❓ How to decide which fertilizer to chose with so many of them on the market? The basic idea is -

❗️ All fertilizers and good for plants, because it's food!

But like with every food in must be in right time, right kind, and right amount.

Basic types of fertilizers:

  • ❇️ Controlled-release fertilizer is coated and release nutrients slowly and constantly within labeled amount of time (3-6-12 months). Good for stepping-up and transplanting.

  • ❇️ Slow release granulated fertilizer breaks down quickly, especially in the heat, and should be used as a top-dress only occasionally (for example, to green up a plant quickly).

  • ❇️ Liquid fertilizers are the most efficient in a long run. They make plants strong, resistant, healthy and productive, slowly but surely building up energy in their system. This is why all professional food farms, from veggies to hemp, stick to liquid plant food.

We suggest Sunshine Boosters, they are safe to use with every watering and year around. Their formulas are natural (based on organic amino-acids) and great for edibles.

🛒Get your plants some food

#Edible_Forest #Fertilizers #How_to

TopTropicals.com
We Grow Happiness

Date:

What are the health benefits of Gardening? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What are the health benefits of Gardening?

What are the health benefits of Gardening?
What are the health benefits of Gardening?

Therapeutic effect of gardening is not just a modern discovery. Throughout history, various cultures have recognized the mental and physical benefits of gardening...

🏺 In ancient Egypt, physicians prescribed walks through gardens for patients struggling with mental health issues.

🕯 During the Middle Ages in Europe, monastery gardens were designed not only for sustenance but also for meditation and relaxation.

🔮 Gardening has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression while promoting relaxation and a sense of well-being.

😅 The physical activity involved in gardening also provides exercise, contributing to overall health.

🌳 So, whether you're tending to a small indoor herb garden or cultivating a vast outdoor plot, the act of gardening can be a powerful tool for both mental and physical wellness.

🛒 Shop tropical spice plants and herbs

#Edible_Forest #Remedies

🏵 TopTropicals

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How to get a HUGE crop. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to get a HUGE crop

How to get a HUGE crop
🍇 How to get a HUGE crop of grapes, like in this post, or any other fruit crop?👆

🍝 Your answer is SUNSHINE C-Cibus - eco-friendly concentrated nutrition booster for fruiting plants.

  • 🟢 Helps to produce strong growth, high yield, larger fruit size.

  • 🟢 Improves quantity and quality of flowers and ability to set fruit. Encourages profuse blooming and reduces bud-flower-fruit drop.

  • 🟢 Can be used as often as with every watering and year around.

  • 🟢 Scientifically-balanced stable formula is organic Amino-acid based and has NO EDTA chelators to eliminate nutrients lockup; it does not affect crop taste.

  • 🟢 Great for edibles! Based on Organic Amino Acids.

  • 🟢 Pollinating insects friendly!

🐞🐝

🛒Get food for your Grape Vines

#Edible_Forest #Fertilizers #How_to

🏵 TopTropicals

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Do you know what is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Do you know what is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world?

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)

🍈 Do you know what is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world?

Answer: Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is the biggest and one of the most fascinating fruit in the world.

#Edible_Forest #Nature_Wonders

TopTropicals.com
We Grow Happiness

Date:

Why is it called Pineapple Guava? It tastes just like strawberries! Feijoa Superfood. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why is it called Pineapple Guava? It tastes just like strawberries! Feijoa Superfood

Pineapple Guava, Guavasteen, Feijoa sellowiana

Pineapple Guava, Guavasteen, Feijoa sellowiana

Pineapple Guava, Guavasteen, Feijoa sellowiana

Pineapple Guava, Guavasteen, Feijoa sellowiana

🍓 Why is it called Pineapple Guava? It tastes just like strawberries! Feijoa Superfood.
  • Feijoa is certainly one of the easiest fruit trees to grow as it does not require much care.
  • Feijoa is an attractive, evergreen large shrub that produces lovely edible flowers and fruit.
  • The fruit is eaten fresh, added to smoothies, fruit salads, used to make delicious jam (that tastes like Strawberry Jam on steroids!), and wicked chutneys.


Feijoa fruit go a long way in flavor!

📚 Learn more about Feijoa

🛒Grow your own Feijoa

#Edible_Forest #Guava

TopTropicals.com
We Grow Happiness

Date:

Tamarind. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Tamarind

Tamarind fruit - Tamarinus indica

Tamarind fruit - Tamarinus indica

Tamarind fruit - Tamarinus indica

Tamarind fruit - Tamarinus indica

Tamarind flowers - Tamarinus indica

Tamarind flowers - Tamarinus indica

📖 Fun Fact: Tamarind is used as a souring agent in many cuisines around the world, adding a tangy flavor to dishes. How to use Tamarind in cooking?

🍲 Tamarind Chutney Recipe

Ingredients:
  • · 1 cup tamarind pulp
  • · 1 cup water
  • · 3/4 cup brown sugar or jaggery
  • · 1 tsp each of ground cumin, ginger, and coriander
  • · 1/2 tsp red chili powder
  • · Salt to taste


  • Instructions:
  • · Simmer tamarind pulp and water.
  • · Strain, return to heat, and add sugar.
  • · Stir in spices and salt.
  • · Simmer until thickened.
  • · Cool and store in the refrigerator.


🛒Grow your own Tamarind Tree

#Edible_Forest #Fun_Facts #Recipes

🏵 TopTropicals

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Cold protection for tropical plants

greenhouse and cold protection covers on tropical plants

Pushing the limits of tropical gardening

The year is almost over but the winter is not. This Christmas weekend at our Sebring B-farm we had it down to 30F. As a tropical gardener, winter can be challenging, especially if you grow plants outside of tropical zones.

greenhouse with tropical plants

To protect your garden from the cold, consider the following:

1. Monitor freeze watches and be prepared to take action if necessary.
2. Create temporary structures like mini-greenhouses using PVC pipes, carport frames, or bamboo sticks to support covers.
3. Use covers such as frost cloth, cardboard boxes, blankets, and bed sheets.
4. Use Christmas lights and other heating elements, including propane heaters, to keep plants warm.
5. Add a layer of heavy mulch around plant trunks to protect them from the cold.
6. Apply plant boosters that improve cold hardiness, such as Sunshine Epi, Sunshine-Si, and Sunshine Superfood.

At TopTropicals B-Farm, we sprayed our plants with a special cold hardiness treatment Sunshine-Si and covered and wrapped everything we could. We also moved cold sensitive species inside greenhouses. All of our plants are looking great and happy!

Mulching mango trunks and using Christmas lights for cold protection

Photo above: Mulching mango trunks and using Christmas lights for cold protection

Read more about this special treatment plan: Cold Hardiness Improvement Kit.

Covering plants during cold night

Plastic warm house wrapping

Photo above: Temporary wrapping of a section of a greenhouse with a plastic or frost cloth protects from a windchill. It may also win you a few degrees even without a heater. In this particular case, according to our temp sensors, it was 30F outside, and 41F inside this "dome", no heaters used.


Sunshine Boosters:

Last chance to stock up
at a lower price!

Sunshine Boosters are natural, amino acid-based liquid fertilizers made with only the highest quality ingredients. Starting in 2023, the pricing for Sunshine Boosters will be adjusting to reflect the increasing cost of supplies. This is your last chance to stock up on Sunshine Boosters before the end of the year! Sunshine Boosters are safe to use year around, with every watering.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to get the best value for your money!

Use discount for even better deal:

22FOR22
for 22% off orders $220+

Min order $220. Offer expires 12-31-22

Sunshine boosters for different plant types

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The Winner of the Tropical Flowering Plant contest will get the Joy Perfume Tree - Champaka. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

The Winner of the Tropical Flowering Plant contest will get the Joy Perfume Tree - Champaka

The Winner of the Tropical Flowering Plant contest will get the Joy Perfume Tree - Champaka The Winner of the Tropical Flowering Plant contest will get the Joy Perfume Tree - Champaka
🏆 The Winner of the Tropical Flowering Plant contest will get the Joy Perfume Tree - Champaka!

22 participants posted their plant photos. We counted the votes. The biggest number of likes:

The Lotus Flower by Harita Nair
This plant received 20 likes! ❤️

Congratulations! Your Joy Perfume Tree will be on the way as soon as we confirm your shipping info.

💰$69.95 Value + FREE shipping 🚚
yes, delivered to your door absolutely FREE!


Thank you all participants!

🎁 Stay with us, and discover our new contest and exciting prize - it is coming soon!

#Win

🏵 JOIN TopTropicals