Date: 21 Jun 2022
Grow Your Own Food...
Affordable for everyone!
Grow Food Not Lawns - this is the theme for our Garden party. But it's much more than that. It's a philosophy and a
state of mind. One that more and more people are adopting as the world's food
supply continues to dwindle and get more expensive...
Like all things plant and garden related, each of us can adopt this state
of mind at whatever level we're capable of and comfortable with. Many of our
customers just want to start small and see what it's all about. After all, the
world of tropical plants can be more than just beautiful, it can be
sustaining as well!
Growing your own food is more than just about price, it's also about quality, choices and availability. As you watch the choices, and quality of store bought food go down and prices continue to go up, maybe it's time to grow more of your own food?
Fun Facts
- A mature mango tree can produce 200 to 300 fruit per year
- A single avocado tree is capable of producing 500 avocados in one
year
- A mature papaya plant can produce as many as 100 fruits per
growing season
- One longevity spinach plant can provide you with a fresh supply of
healthy spinach leaves all the time!
At Top Tropicals we offer a wide selection of fruit, including mango and avocado, and even spinach to get you started and to continue down the road on your own self sustaining journey. Even better, to help you with your food project, we have not only added to our varieties, but we have reduced prices on many items to make it even more affordable and enjoyable!
Who is cutting prices in today's world?! - We are, because...
...it's important that we do what we can to make it easier for our customers!
We have Avocados starting at only $49.95 and Mangos as low as $79.95, with dozens of varieties in stock! Use our discount coupons to save even more, and if you're local or in Fort Myers, stop by our Garden Center and save even more!
Date: 30 Aug 2024
Edible Landscape
Four must-have herbal edibles for your instant Food Forest
Q: What attractive and useful edibles or herbs can I grow in my yard landscape without needing dedicated garden beds?
A: When we think of an "herb garden," parsley and chives often come to mind -plants that aren't particularly showy and typically require a dedicated vegetable garden, space, and regular maintenance. However, creating a food forest in your yard doesn't have to be a complex project. Useful edibles and medicinal herbs can also be exotic and beautiful, enhancing the charm of your landscape. Here are some examples of unusual tropical edibles that are not only stunning ornamentals but also bring delicious goodness to your kitchen.
1. For drinks: Jamaica Tea flower - Karkade Hibiscus
Hibiscus
sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel, Roselle, or Jamaica Tea flower
(Karkade Tea) - yes, many hibiscus species are edible!
- Flowers of Roselle hibiscus are used to make a tea "Agua de Flor de
Jamaica". To be exact, those are flower bracts around flowers and seed pods.
- Medical studies show that it lowers blood pressure and has diuretic
effects.
- The pleasant flavor is similar to a cranberry juice and it's so good, you
may not even want to add any sugar. We make this cold tea every day -
perfect for hot summer.
- Karkade Hibiscus grows into a large bush within just one season from
seed! Lots of flowers to harvest will last you the whole winter. It can be
treated as annual in cooler areas due to its fast growth and same-year harvest.
Thrives in full sun.
- Short video:
2. For medicine: Aztec Sweetleaf - Lippia
Lippia dulcis
- Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf is a wonderful fragrant groundcover.
- Fragrant Mexican herb with incredibly sweet and aromatic leaves.
- The fresh leaves can be eaten from the plant like candy or tossed into
fruit salads for an unusual addition, or used for making a healing tea.
- It has been used since the time of the Aztecs for coughs and colds.
- The sweetness tastes great, and can be used by diabetic patients. We add
this herb to Karkade or Mint tea as a sweetener, instead of sugar or
honey.
- Grows like a ground cover, in shade or semi-shade, great perennial
container plant.
3. For salads and stews: Longevity Spinach, or Cholesterol spinach
Gynura
procubens - Longevity Spinach, or Cholesterol spinach is a perennial spinach, and
once you plant it, you have it for many years, and can grow many more easily
from cuttings!
- Longevity Spinach is one of the Superfoods, and there are many claims
that it lowers cholesterol.
- We use Longevity Spinach in our cooking all the time and so far we are
all alive, so it works! :)
- Longevity spinach can be eaten raw in salads or cooked wherever you would
use a regular spinach.
- Grows as a large spreading herbal bush, in full sun.
- See some recipes with more pictures
4. For meat wraps: Vietnamese Pepper or Wild Betel Leaf
Piper
sarmentosum - Vietnamese Pepper, Lalot, Wild Betel Leaf, Chaa-plu adds wonderful
peppery flavor to meats and is great for wrapping meats and cooking in the oven,
on a stove or grill. We use it all the time, wrapping ground beef of turkey
and putting wraps on a grill or on a frying pan, very easy!
- Vietnamese Pepper leaves are eaten raw in salads or cooked with other
greens or dishes.
- The leaves are used as food wraps in Vietnam. It is used medicinally in
India and SE Asia.
- It is also chewed with Betel Nut as a tonic and medicine, very similar to
Betel Leaf (Piper Betel) which is very popular tonic in Indian culture.
- Vietnamese Pepper grows as a vining herbaceous shrub or ground cover, in
both sun or shade, and spreads with runners so you can have plenty if you
want to have more. Can be grown in container and indoors, too.
- Check out recipes of meat wraps for grilling
Date: 10 Dec 2025
Katuk coconut soup: quick-n-fun exotic recipes
Katuk coconut soup
Katuk leaves - Sauropus androgynus, Tropical Asparagus
🍴 Katuk Coconut Soup
Ingredients
- Katuk leaves (Sauropus androgynus), about 2 cups, stems removed
- Coconut milk, 1 cup
- Garlic, 1 clove, minced
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Wash Katuk leaves thoroughly.
- Boil Katuk leaves in plenty of water for 15 minutes.
- Drain completely and discard the boiling water.
- Chop the cooked Katuk leaves.
- Warm coconut milk in a saucepan over low heat.
- Add garlic and simmer gently for 1 minute.
- Add the boiled Katuk leaves and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Season with salt and serve warm.
Important Safety Note
Katuk leaves must always be boiled for at least 15 minutes and the water discarded. Do not consume raw or lightly cooked Katuk.
🛒 Add Katuk Superfood to your Food Forest
📚 Learn more:
#Food_Forest #Recipes
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date: 11 Jan 2026
How to lose weight naturally with tropical fruit and plants
Fat orange cat on treadmill with tropical fruit that help lose weight naturally
🍑 How to lose weight naturally with tropical fruit and plants
🏃♀️ Losing weight isn’t about starving yourself - it’s about supporting your body with the right nutrients and keeping things balanced. Plants can help by boosting your metabolism, keeping you full longer, improving digestion, and regulating blood sugar. When you build a food forest with the right plants, you’re investing in long-term health that tastes good and feels good.
🏆 15 TOP TROPICAL plants and fruits that naturally help with weight management:
- 💚 Papaya – Contains enzymes like papain that aid digestion, and it’s high in water and fiber—great for feeling full.
- 💚 Mango – Supports fat metabolism and reduces inflammation. Its fiber helps regulate appetite and digestion.
- 💚 Avocado – Full of healthy fats and fiber, avocado helps you feel satisfied longer and supports steady energy levels.
- 💚 Banana – Rich in resistant starch (especially when underripe), bananas help support gut health and fat metabolism.
- 💚 Jackfruit – High in fiber and low in fat, this fruit keeps blood sugar steady and supports slow, sustained energy.
- 💚 Yerba Mate – A natural tea with gentle stimulant properties that may help reduce appetite and increase fat burn.
- 💚 Moringa – Known as a superfood, moringa helps regulate blood sugar and boosts metabolism with powerful nutrients.
- 💚 Galangal (Thai Ginger) – Supports digestion and contains compounds that may help increase fat burning, like regular ginger.
- 💚 Cinnamon – Can improve insulin sensitivity and help with sugar cravings, making it easier to stay on track.
- 💚 Insulin Ginger (Costus igneus) – Traditionally used to manage blood sugar, it also supports digestion and energy. Chewing the spiraled leaves or brewing them as tea is a natural way to get more from your garden.
- 💚 Dragon Fruit – Extremely high in fiber, dragon fruit supports healthy digestion and helps regulate metabolism, which can aid weight loss.
- 💚 Pomegranate – Used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine to improve metabolism. Its antioxidant-rich juice supports fat burning and digestion.
- 💚 Tea Leaf Tree (Camellia sinensis) – The source of green, black, and white tea. These teas are linked to metabolism boost, heart health, and appetite regulation.
- 💚 Noni – A powerhouse fruit traditionally used for inflammation, immune health, blood sugar balance, and metabolism support. It may also help reduce fat accumulation and boost overall vitality.
- 💚 Canistel (Eggfruit, Pouteria campechiana) is a naturally sweet, nutrient-dense fruit that helps curb sugar cravings while keeping you full longer. Its rich fiber content and slow-digesting carbs make it a great choice for supporting weight management without reaching for processed snacks.
❗️When you grow these plants in your home garden or food forest, you're not just planting food - you’re planting tools for better health.
And bonus: gardening itself keeps you active and stress-free, which is another win for your waistline.
🛒 Explore tropical fruit and edibles
📚 Learn more about natural weight loss with plants:
- Tropical fruit health benefits guide: Part 1 and Part 2.
- How to make lots of Insulin Ginger plants quickly and get more health benefits
- Truth about which fruit helps you lose weight faster: Mango or Papaya?
- Jambolan health and life benefits
- Health benefits of dragon fruit
- Weight loss with Noni
- Healing drops of blood: why Pomegranate is a superfood
#Food_Forest #Remedies #Discover
🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals
Date: 14 Oct 2024
New Animation Video: Grow Your Own Food
Q: Prices continue to skyrocket! How can we afford healthy food? I wish I could grow money, like that useless grass in the yard - it grows faster than we can mow it!
A: You don't have to grow money! Grow the fruit! Use your yard instead of being used by your yard. Start your own Food Forest today by planting the edible landscape. Grow your own food - we can help!
Plant a tree today and enjoy your fruit tomorrow!
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