🎉 Work First. Celebrate Anyway. That Is the Plan.

Smokey: Work first. Celebrations later.
Sunshine: I am celebrating efficient workflow.
Smokey: Impressive. Somehow your workflow smells like tacos.
Sunshine: I assembled mango tacos. Join my festivities.

Cinco de Mayo has a way of sneaking up the right way. The weather settles, the evenings stretch a little longer, and suddenly everything moves outside - plants, people, and whatever happens to be for lunch. It is the kind of day where you stay out longer than planned, something cold is sweating on the table, and dinner becomes whatever sounds good.

This year, it was mango tacos. Not a recipe we planned - just a few ripe mangoes that needed a purpose and the kind of lazy inspiration that shows up around 5pm in the garden. Nothing complicated. Just something warm from the pan and a quick assembly that somehow feels like a celebration.

It's funny how a good meal can send you down a rabbit hole. One bite of something fresh and you start wondering where it came from, whether you could grow it yourself, and how much better it might taste if you did.

That is really the point. A small shift from planning to picking, where the line between the garden and the kitchen starts to blur. If you are growing fruit, or thinking about it, this is your reminder: the best meals usually start about ten feet from your back door.

🛒 Start with one plant - Shop Fruit Trees

Healthy Plants: Q&A from Mr Booster

How to prevent mango flowers drop

Q:The mango blossoms my tree had in February have blown off due to weather conditions. Do you know what I can do to prevent this from happening again in the future?

A: The only "guarantee" to protect mango flowers from cold weather damage here in Florida is to plant a LATE flowering variety. Generally, mango trees are winter bloomers. Those varieties called "early season" start flowering in January (for example, Nam Doc Mai), and of course very often they get affected by cold, so they drop. Some varieties are so called "late season" - for example Venus. They start flowering in spring when the weather conditions are more favorable.
Another thing that may help you with mango flower drop is applying plant micro-element supplement Sunshine-Honey - it contains Molybdenum and Boron, which help flower and fruit development/strength and prevent their drop.

Read more: Boosting Mango Flowers and Fruit.

How to establish a Mango Tree

Q: I received my mango tree from you on Monday and it looked beautiful. I followed the instructions and kept it out of direct sun. I watered it a little each day when the potting mix was dry to the touch. But the leaves are turning yellow and brown then falling off. Should I have removed the tree from the soil it was packed in?

A: Leaf drop and dry/yellow leaves are normal symptoms of shipping stress. Your mango tree looks healthy overall. Considering you have high humidity now in Louisiana, the plant should recover soon under proper care. These are important tips:

- Keep the plant in bright shade, away from direct sun - at least for a week, then you may start moving it gradually to semi-shade, then to full sun within a few days.
- Do not over-water. If the top of the soil is still moist, do not water until it dries a little bit. Mango prefers to stay on a dry side. From this point, over-watering is more dangerous than under-watering. You may skip a watering if in doubt.
- If it rains every day, make sure to keep the pot under the roof to protect from excessive water.
- Do not remove original soil and do not disturb roots.
- You used the right container size and looks like you have a quality soil with good drainage. Keep the plant in this container at least for a few months. You may step it up only when you see a lot of active growth of branches and leaves - this means, the root system is developing fast too.
- do not fertilize until you see new growth. Then use Mango Food Smart release.
- to help the plant recover from stress, you may use SUNSHINE-E booster and micro-element foliar spray with SUNSHINE-Superfood.