🐰🐁🐿 How to protect fruit in your garden from greedy competitors

• 🥭 Mango season is here, and so are squirrels, bunnies, birds, rats, and raccoons... They also love the delicious fruit but don't like to share. So you may end up getting their leftovers if anything!

Here is how we protect our mango and avocado fruit - so far it works great:

💰💰💰 Fruit Protection Bags


These mesh netting bags/covers are made of strong nylon and have an easy drawstring, helping to protect developing fruit on a tree from insects, birds, and rodents. With drawstring closures on both ends, you can easily tighten bag around the fruit. Available from Amazon for only 15 cents a piece.

🥭🍒 Enjoy your fruit!

🛒 Dont's have your own mango tree? Plant one now to enjoy fruit tomorrow.

📚 Fun reading: Penelope, the Squirrel Cat

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🍊 How to have fresh Papaya fruit year around

• 🟠 Many people include Papaya fruit in their daily diet because of its healing properties for digestive system. You can eat Papaya fresh as a tasty dessert, add to salads ripe or green, use fruit and leaf wraps in cooking - possibilities are endless.
• 🟠 Buying papaya fruit from the store every day can become costly. So you can plant your own tree - Papayas are heavy producers. But like with many fruit trees, the question may arise:

❓ What to do with so many fruit at once, and where to get the fruit when it's out of season?

• 🟠 The answer is: plant several varieties. Different Papaya cultivars, similar to Mango and Avocado, have different crop seasons.
• 🟠 If you want to enjoy fresh delicious Papaya fruit year around, plant several Papaya varieties in your garden that have different ripening times.
For example:
Waimanalo - ripens from July to October and sporadically throughout the year.
Sunrise - ripens from January through September and sporadically throughout the year.
Maradol - ripens from August through March and sporadically throughout the year.
• 🟠 Papaya tree doesn't take any room in your garden: similar to a palm tree, all its leaves/crown is up high, so you can plant as many trees as you want in a very limited space and still use the room under Papaya tree for other plants.

🛒 Limited time offer: Papaya collection - 3 trees for half price!

Shop Papaya varieties

📚 Learn more from previous posts:
The secret facts of Papaya's private life
Top 3 most wanted Papaya varieties

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❓ What is the most delicious Annona fruit? Guanabana!

• 🍐 Annona muricata - commonly known as Soursop, Guanabana, or Graviola, is widely regarded as the best-tasting annona fruit.
• 🍐 This tropical tree, native to Tropical America, produces large, unusual-looking fruits with a unique blend of sweet and slightly sour flavors. The custard-like pulp is fragrant, smooth and creamy, making Soursop perfect for milkshakes, desserts, or simply enjoyed fresh.
• 🍐 Soursop is evergreen in warm climates, though it's highly sensitive to cold and requires temperatures above 50°F to thrive. However, it can also be grown indoors in containers, making it possible to enjoy its delicious fruit even in cooler regions. The tree itself is medium-sized, fast-growing, and relatively easy to manage in a pot, offering a wonderful option for indoor fruit growing.
• 🍐 Soursop is one of the largest of the Annonas, and its quirky, bumpy fruit shapes make it a fun conversation starter. We even have an interesting article on how to grow, hand-pollinate and fruit Soursop in an apartment - ideal for plant lovers looking to bring a taste of the tropics into their homes!
• 🍐 Soursop leaves are superheroes in the world of natural remedies. Known for their potential to fight cancer, these leaves are packed with compounds that may help keep rogue cells in check. Whether brewed into tea or turned into extracts, they've become a popular go-to in holistic health circles.

📚 Tropical Treasures Magazine:

Growing and fruiting Soursop in apartment (PDF download)
Spoiler in the next post ⬇️⬇️⬇️

More about Anonnas in previous posts:
Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #1. Annona
Why everyone wants the Sugar Apple?
The best tropical fruit tree for container growing, and the fastest to fruit: Annona
Spiny Hedgehog fruit: what does it taste like?

🛒 Plant your own Guanabana

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What tropical fruit tree is cold hardy and easy to grow? It's Golden Loquat – the Symbol of Prosperity, and it tastes like apricots!

• 🍑 Loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica) is fast-growing, drought-tolerant, cold-tolerant, compact tropical fruit tree.
• 🍑 Heavy producer. Fruits are juicy, aromatic, and resemble apricots. Ripen from early Spring to early Summer.
• 🍑 Ideal for small gardens, beginner fruit tree growers.
• 🍑 High in sugar, acids, vitamins B and C, minerals, and pectin.
• 🍑 Eaten fresh, used in fruit salads, jams, jellies, chutneys, pies, tarts, and wine
Popular as a natural sweetener and for creating sauces.
• 🍑 Grown in Japan for over 1,000 years. In China, represents gold and wealth, often included in auspicious displays or offerings for prosperity💰

📚 Learn more about Loquats
' target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">🎥 YouTube video about Loquat
📁 Overlooked fruit: tasty Loquat recipes (PDF)

🛒Start your fruit garden with Loquats

#Food_Forest #Recipes

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🍸 What is the best fruit for summer drinks and wine?

• 
  🍋 Hands, down, Costa Rican Guava, or Cas Guava (Psidium friedrichsthalianum) takes the crown! This tropical gem from Central America is known for its intense flavor, making it perfect for refreshing beverages and creative drinks. The tree is incredibly productive - even young ones yield abundant fruit!
• 
  🍋 We discovered this fruit last Summer. The tree was so productive (on the second year!), we didn't know what to do with so much fruit! So we made a concentrated drink and have been drinking it since then. It looks like the juice has antibacterial properties so it doesn't need to be canned, it stores for months in refrigerator.
• 
  🍋 Plans for 2025 season crop: Homemade Cas Guava wine!

Next summer, we are going to try making wine with Cas Guava. Its bold, tangy flavor is sure to produce a delicious, unique brew!

💯 Why choose Cas Guava?

• 
  • Packed with vitamin C - four times more than lemons - for a powerful immune boost.
• • Rich in antioxidants to combat stress and inflammation.
• • Hardy and low-maintenance, thriving in poor soils and resisting pests.

🍸 Recipe: Cas Guava Juice Concentrate

Ingredients:

• •  Fresh Cas Guavas
• •  Sugar (to taste)

Instructions:
• • Wash the guavas, cut in half and place them in a large pot with enough water to cover.
• • Add sugar to taste and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5-10 min until the fruit softens.
• • Let sit for a few hours so the fruit softens more.
• • Strain the liquid through a colander to remove the pulp.
• • Bottle the concentrate and refrigerate.
• • To serve, dilute with water to your liking for a flavorful, tangy drink!

This concentrate doesn’t need sterilizing/canning and stays fresh for months, thanks to Cas Guava’s natural antibacterial properties.

🍸 Traditional Favorite: Agua de Cas

Cas Guava is the key ingredient in Costa Rica's famous Agua de Cas, a blend of cas juice, water, and sugar. It's a refreshing, slightly acidic drink that's perfect for hot days.

With its vibrant taste, rich nutrients, and endless possibilities, Cas Guava is a must-have for gardeners and culinary adventurers alike!

📚 Learn more:

• •  What fruit is more sour and has more vitamin C than a lemon
• •  What fruit can you drink? Costa Rican Cas is the Guava for Drinking
• •  Costa Rican Guava

🛒 Order Cas Guava

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Guava

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