Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 17 Jul 2024

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?
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📝 See also earlier posts:

🛒 Shop Mango Trees

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 4 Jul 2024

Do red, white and yellow Dragon fruit taste differently?

White Dragon Fruit

White Dragon Fruit

Red Dragon Fruit

Red Dragon Fruit

Yellow Dragon Fruit

Yellow Dragon Fruit

⚡️ Do red, white and yellow Dragon fruit taste differently?



🐉 White Dragon Fruit is not as common as the red variety and has a slightly sweeter taste. The sweetest one, however, is the yellow variety.

#Fun_Facts #Food_Forest #Dragon_Fruit

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 21 May 2025

Finally: a sugar that is good for your health!

Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) - the Brown Sugar fruit tree

🍯 Finally: a sugar that is good for your health!

  • 🍩 Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) - the Brown Sugar fruit that loves you back with a health kick! Sapodilla is a delicious tropical fruit with soft, brown, sweet flesh and a malty, caramel-like flavor. It's loved not just for its unique taste, but also for its rich nutritional and medicinal value. Sapodilla is a sweet, nourishing fruit that doubles as a natural energy snack and a digestive aid.


🍴 Culinary Benefits: The sweet you don't have to feel guilty about!

  • 🍩 Eaten fresh - Just scoop the flesh out and enjoy! Tastes like brown sugar or caramel with a hint of pear.
  • 🍩 Smoothies and shakes - Adds creamy sweetness without the need for added sugar.
  • 🍩 Desserts - Used in ice cream, custards, or fruit salads.
  • 🍩 Jams, preserves - Makes a rich, flavorful jam.
  • 🍩 Dried sapodilla - Can be sun-dried like dates for a chewy, candy-like snack.


💚 Sapodilla's Health Benefits:

  • 🍩 Rich in fiber - Helps regulate digestion, prevent constipation, and support gut health.
  • 🍩 Natural energy booster - High in natural sugars and calories, great for quick energy.
  • 🍩 Packed with antioxidants - Contains polyphenols and flavonoids that help fight inflammation and cell damage.
  • 🍩 Vitamins A, C - Supports eye health, immune function, and skin regeneration.
  • 🍩 Iron, potassium, and folate - Supports blood health and may help maintain heart function and blood pressure.


🛒 Grow your own Sugar Fruit

📚 Learn more:


When does Sapodilla start fruiting and what is the best variety
New variety of Sapodilla: Thai Brownie

#Food_Forest #Discover

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Date: 29 May 2025

Why does everyone want a Miracle fruit plant?

Miracle Fruit - Synsepalum dulcificum

❓ Why does everyone want a Miracle fruit plant?



✨ Because it's pure magic for your taste buds! The small red berry of Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum) contains a natural compound called miraculin that temporarily makes sour things taste sweet. Lemons taste like lemonade, vinegar like candy! It's fun, fascinating, and even helpful - especially for those undergoing chemotherapy who need help enjoying food again. A miracle? Pretty close!

📚 Learn more from earlier posts:



🛒 Bring the magic home - plant your own Miracle Fruit!

#Food_Forest #Nature_Wonders #Remedies #Fun_Facts

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 7 Jun 2025

From seed to fruit. How to grow Loquat from seeds, step-by-step guide. Part 1: planting seeds

Loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica) - seedlings

✍️ From seed to fruit. How to grow Loquat from seeds, step-by-step guide. Part 1: planting seeds

  • 🍑 1. Harvesting and Preparing Seeds


  • Harvest: Select ripe Loquat fruits (when they are bright yellow color) and remove 1-3 seeds from each.
  • Clean: Rinse seeds thoroughly in cool water to remove all fruit residue. Like with every fruit seeds, any pulp leftover may prevent germination and/or cause rot of the seeds.
  • Storage: If not planting immediately, wrap seeds in a damp paper towel and store in a vented container with moist sawdust or moss (to avoid drying out) at room temperature (if stored a few days) or at 40F if stored for over a week. Seeds can remain viable for up to 3-6 months. Refrigerating the fruit doesn't harm the seeds, although may take seeds longer to germinate. If the seeds are slightly dry, soak them in water overnight.


🍑 2. Planting Seeds

  • Container: Use a pot with a good drainage.
  • Soil: Fill with well-draining, soilless potting mix (no compost or top soil). Perfect seed germination mix is Abundance Mix: peat moss (or coconut fiber) - 80%, perlite - 10%, small pieces of pine bark - 10%.
  • Depth: Plant seeds 1"deep. Place them horizontally.
  • Spacing: Multiple seeds can be planted in one pot or tray (with drainage holes); space them adequately. You can use so called “community pots”, then separate the seedlings once they reach 2-4" in height.


🍑 3. Germination Conditions

  • Light: Place the pot in a bright, warm area with temperatures at least (and above) 70F . The warmer, the faster the germination. We germinate seeds in a "hot house" where temperatures can reach 100F.
  • Moisture: Keep the soil consistently moist but not wet.
  • Germination Time: Loquat seeds germinate within 2-4 weeks.

Continued in next post ⤵️

🛒 Shop Loquat Trees and enjoy fresh fruit benefits

#Food_Forest #Loquat

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