Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

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A flavor bomb of sugar and citrus, syrupy when ripe - Mango Sweet Tart. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

A flavor bomb of sugar and citrus, syrupy when ripe - Mango Sweet Tart

Mango Sweet Tart - tree with fruit on it

🌈 A flavor bomb of sugar and citrus, syrupy when ripe - Mango Sweet Tart

Sweet Tart is a Florida-grown mango prized for its rich, sweet-tart flavor and silky, fiberless flesh. Created by breeder Gary Zill, it's known for its dense orange pulp, excellent sugar-acid balance, and juicy texture. The fruit is oval, heavy for its size, and sometimes develops harmless speckles on the skin. Great fresh, underripe or ripe. Tangy when underripe, syrupy when ripe and perfect for containers thanks to its upright growth and high productivity. A standout variety that lives up to its name!

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

📚 Previous posts: #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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Wise Mango - a smart choice for flavor lovers: sweet, juicy, and Florida-tough. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Wise Mango - a smart choice for flavor lovers: sweet, juicy, and Florida-tough

Mango Wise tree with fruit on it

🌈 Wise Mango - a smart choice for flavor lovers: sweet, juicy, and Florida-tough.

Mango Wise is a forgotten gem from the golden age of mango breeding in South Florida. Originating in Miami during the post-1930s boom of cultivar development, it was once part of a wave of exciting new introductions. Over time, many of these excellent varieties faded from commercial propagation, despite having outstanding eating qualities. Wise stands out with its nearly round fruit, minimal to no fiber, and rich, juicy sweetness. It's a smart, flavorful choice that deserves a comeback in Florida gardens.

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📚 Previous posts: #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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Why mango lovers are obsessed with this rare variety: Maha Chinook - the mango even Nam Doc Mai envies. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why mango lovers are obsessed with this rare variety: Maha Chinook - the mango even Nam Doc Mai envies

Maha Chinook mango

🌈 Why mango lovers are obsessed with this rare variety: Maha Chinook - the mango even Nam Doc Mai envies

Maha Chinook Mango is possibly the best mango you've never tasted. Rare, beautiful, and unbelievably delicious. It is a prized semi-dwarf variety from Singapore, known for its exceptional flavor and fiberless flesh. The fruit is long, often with a pink blush, and resembles Nam Doc Mai - only better! It can be enjoyed green (sweet and crisp) or ripe (smooth and aromatic). Slow-growing and perfect for containers, it produces multiple crops and has a long, variable season. Its nearly paper-thin seed and high flesh-to-seed ratio make it one of the most sought-after mangoes in the world.

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

📚 Previous posts: #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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How to make healthy food taste delicious? Longevity Spinach Super-food Recipes. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to make healthy food taste delicious? Longevity Spinach Super-food Recipes

Longevity Spinach recipe

Longevity Spinach recipe

Gynura procubens (Longevity Spinach, Okinawa Spinach)

Gynura procubens (Longevity Spinach, Okinawa Spinach)

How to make healthy food taste delicious? Longevity Spinach Super-food Recipes.
  • ☘️ Gynura procubens (Longevity Spinach, Okinawa Spinach) is one of the Superfoods, known for its longevity-promoting properties in traditional medicine.
  • ☘️ Native to Indonesia, commercially grown in China. It is a relatively hardy perennial that once planted, you will have these healthy greens for many years!
  • ☘️ Both the stems and the leaves are edible and nutritious, can be eaten raw or cooked. They have a unique flavor with a faint hint of pine, and will add a beautiful aesthetic element to cuisine.
  • ☘️ This green is also known as cholesterol spinach, and there are many claims that it lowers can cholesterol.
  • ☘️ Perfect for hot and humid climates unlike traditional Spinach that only grown in cooler areas. It will thrive in any type of soil, any type of light other than dark shade, and is pest-free.
  • ☘️ Very adaptable to container gardening and even grows well on a windowsill.
  • ☘️ The leaves and young shoot tips can be steamed, used in stir fry, tempura, stews, and soups. Just add them at the very end.


Check out the recipes⬇️⬇️⬇️

📚 Gynura: Longevity Spinach Superfood Recipes

🎥 Best Hot Weather Spinach Crops - Longevity and Okinawa Spinach

🛒 Plant Longevity Spinach and live long

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Remedies

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Do you have Longevity Spinach in your garden? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Do you have Longevity Spinach in your garden?

Gynura crepioides - Okinawa Spinach, Purple leaves

Gynura crepioides - Okinawa Spinach, Purple leaves

Longevity Spinach (Gynura)

Longevity Spinach (Gynura)

Gynura crepioides - Okinawa Spinach, Purple leaves

Gynura crepioides - Okinawa Spinach, Purple leaves

Gynura crepioides - Okinawa Spinach, Purple leaves

Gynura crepioides - Okinawa Spinach, Purple leaves

Do you have Longevity Spinach in your garden?
  • Longevity Spinach (Gynura) is a leafy green plant known for its mild flavor and nutritional benefits. It is one of the Superfoods, known for its longevity-promoting properties in traditional medicine. There are two varieties - Green (Gynura procubens) and Purple leaves (Gynura crepioides - Okinawa Spinach).
  • It's often used in Southeast Asian cuisine, added to soups, stews, and salads for its health-promoting properties, including immune support and improved digestion.
  • It is prized for being easy to grow and rich in vitamins and antioxidants. This green is also known as cholesterol spinach, and there are many claims that it lowers can cholesterol.
  • Perfect for hot and humid climates unlike traditional Spinach that only grown in cooler areas. It will thrive in any type of soil, any type of light other than dark shade, and is pest-free.
  • Very adaptable to container gardening and even grows well on a windowsill.
  • The leaves and young shoot tips can be steamed, used in stir fry, tempura, stews, and soups. Just add them at the very end.


Check out the recipes⬇️⬇️⬇️

📚 Learn more:
5 most useful edibles for tropical garden
How to make healthy food taste delicious: Longevity Spinach Super-food Recipes
Gynura: Longevity Spinach Superfood Recipes

🎥 Best Hot Weather Spinach Crops - Longevity and Okinawa Spinach

🛒 Plant Longevity Spinach and live long

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Remedies

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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

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We Grow Happiness

Date:

Mango Rainbow tasting table: varieties you should try. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Mango Rainbow tasting table: varieties you should try

Kent Mango

🌈 Mango Rainbow tasting table: varieties you should try
  • Kent Mango variety is native to Florida. It is originated in Coconut Grove, in 1945 from a Haden seed.
  • Kent has an excellent flavor, large size, and very little fiber. Considered by many to be one of the best tasting Florida mangoes and one of the most beautiful, truly rainbow colored fruit!
  • Eat before fruit gets too ripe.
  • The most rewarding attribute is a bountiful late season crop.


❔ What Mango varieties do you have in your garden?
Share in comments 👇

📚 Previous Mango Rainbow Tasting Table: 1 • 2 • 3 • 

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#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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Mango Rainbow tasting table-2: what's the taste of that Mango variety? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Mango Rainbow tasting table-2: whats the taste of that Mango variety?

Mango Rainbow tasting table

🌈 Mango Rainbow tasting table-2: what's the taste of that Mango variety?

We've had another mango tasting table and asked participants to describe the taste in a few words. And this is what we got:
  • 🟠 Haden - mild, melting, classic heavenly mango flavor,dark yellow flesh, almost fiberless.
  • 🟠 Ugly Betty - opposite to the name, the taste is excellent , juicy, melting, sweet.
  • 🟠 Cotton Candy - true candy, fiberless, sweet, melting.
  • 🟠 Madame Fransis - dark orange pulp, slightly fibrous, robust, meaty like a steak, good with cognac. A little pulpy but unique flavor.
  • 🟠 Diamond - bright yellow, fiberless, sugary, juicy, no pulp at all, classic mango taste, good with ice cream, "wow" taste!
  • 🟠 Pickering - zesty, waterfall: all the flavors come at once, eat with White wine and/or a cake. Oval fruit somewhat flat, very large for a dwarf tree!
  • 🟠 Baptiste - hint of citrus, melts in your mouth, dark orange flesh, crisp, eat with Red wine and cheese.
  • 🟠 Florigon - creamy, buttery, spicy. Eat with Ice cream!
  • 🟠 Tommy Atkins - has a bit zing to it, perfect consistency, perfect taste. Super colorful, crimson red to purple skin!
  • 🟠 Nam Doc Mai - gold standard! Perfect every day.
  • 🟠 Carry - tastes even better than all others, smooth buttery, lite!


❔ What Mango varieties have you tried this year?
Share in comments 👇

📝 Previous post: Mango Rainbow Tasting Table

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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Date:

Mango Rainbow tasting table: what's the taste of that Mango variety? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Mango Rainbow tasting table: whats the taste of that Mango variety?

Mango Rainbow tasting table

🌈 Mango Rainbow tasting table: what's the taste of that Mango variety?

We just had a mango tasting table of a few early and mid-season varieties and here is our impression:
  • 🟠 Tommy Atkins (purple) - the earliest variety, sweet a juicy, but a bit fibrous. The fruit is super colorful! The tree is an excellent producer, vigorous and problem-free.
  • 🟠 Haden (red) - a full sweet flavor, less fibrous than Tommy. Very colorful, large fruit.
  • 🟠 Florigon (yellow-green, round) - completely fibreless, sweet and flavor is somewhat mild pineapple-like.
  • 🟠 Baptiste (bright yellow) - very sweet, firm flesh, good flavor.
  • 🟠 Val Carrie (green elongated) - reminds large Asian mangoes, with firm flesh, very sweet, fibreless and juicy. It is a cross between Valencia Pride (large fruit) and Carrie (excellent flavor). It took the best from its parents. Very aromatic flesh has no fiber at all.
  • 🟠 Kent (large green-and-red) - excellent flavor, large size, and very little fiber. Eat before fruit gets too ripe.


❔ What Mango varieties have you tried this year?
Share in comments 👇

📝 See also earlier posts:

🛒 Shop Mango Trees

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

🏵 TopTropicals

Date:

A Cup of Tea Plant

By Onika Amell, tropical plant specialist

A: I live in Ave Maria, Florida. I want to try my hand at growing my own tea. Which plant do I need?

A: Most people do not realize they are actually enjoying camellias when they sip their cup of tea. True tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, an evergreen shrub or small tree.
In the fall and winter, the plant will produce small white flowers with a lovely fragrance. The foliage is shiny and dark green with a very nice informal and open look. Camellia sinensis (or tea plant, as it is commonly known) prefers a temperature between 65 and 86 degrees, which makes Florida an ideal area to grow them. However, if you live in colder zones, you can certainly succeed growing your own tea plants using a greenhouse. Alternatively, you can use containers which can be brought inside when temperatures start falling. Tea plants will usually survive a very slight freeze, though the leaves may be damaged or killed. It will not tolerate a hard freeze. They prefer full sun or light shade in the garden.
Tea plants will become small trees or large bushes if not pruned. Hardcore tea growers trim back the shoots repeatedly to a height of around 4 feet to encourage new growth and to contain the size.
Make sure to pick an area of your landscape where it does not flood or remain wet during our rainy season. Camellia sinensis does not like wet feet at all. They prefer well-drained, sandy and slightly acidic soil. If grown in a container, add some sphagnum moss to the potting mix. They will benefit from frequent applications of small amounts of fertilizer.
You will need some patience, too. Your plant should be around 3 years old before you start harvesting leaves.

Recommended fertilizers:

Tropical Greenhouse Plus - Plant Booster
Tropical Allure - Smart-Release Booster

Harvesting recipes

Now that you know how to grow the Tea, you need to check this out: the Harvesting recipes how to harvest and make different kinds of real tea: Green Tea, Japanese Style Green Tea, Oolong Tea, Black Tea, Orthodox Indian Tea... Continue reading...

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