South Tampa News Featured Article
Are you a Mango Maniac?
I’m a mango maniac! Mangos are my most favorite, readily available, versatile fruit! There are over 1,000 varieties worldwide. With five trees of three delicious varieties in my backyard you would hope so wouldn’t you? Even my barber, Karen calls me the “mango man”. In the great Florida novel, Cross Creek written back in 1942, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings extolled the joys of the mango. She wrote, “Tastes and odors can never be described unless they are comparable with known tastes and odors and the mango is unique and completely superior to all fruits.”
I’ll bet you didn’t know that the mango is the most consumed fruit on the planet? It is; the latest data (2002) shows 58 billion pounds of it were shipped throughout the world. That’s a lot of mangos. Did you also know it is produced in 90 countries worldwide on about 8.5 million acres of land? It is also the oldest commercial grown fruit dating back more than 4,000 years.
History tells us the mango originated in Southeast Asia. The noted Chinese traveler Hwen T'sang, who visited India between the years 632 and 645 AD, is credited with being the first person to bring the mango to the attention of the outside world. Thank you very much Mr. T’sang.
Mangos are indeed a versatile fruit. It can be eaten green as well as ripe. You can eat them dried, pickled, or cooked. They are higher in vitamin C than citrus and they are a rich source of beta-carotene. When eaten green they are like green apples - tart, crisp, somewhat dry, tasty with salt and vinegar. The large seed can be processed into flour, and the fat it contains can be extracted and substituted for cocoa butter.
Some people have an allergic reaction to mangos. My late father could handle them, but when they were peeled and diced he couldn’t let the fruit touch his lips. If he did, he’d break out in blisters. The reason for that is the mango is a member of the Anachardiaceae family. Distant relatives include the cashew, pistachio, and our itchy, blistering friend poison ivy. Luckily that gene didn’t pass to me so I’m not allergic to them.
You don’t need a big back yard to grow mangos. Enter the world of Condo Mangos. The term was coined by Richard Campbell, Ph.D. curator of tropical fruit at the famous Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Coral Gables near Miami. He was referring to varieties that are conducive to container growing, meaning they are smaller by nature and can be kept even smaller through selective pruning. Condo mangos are suitable for balconies, greenhouses, or for planting in suburban backyards. If you do keep them in a pot, get the largest pot you can handle. By cutting the tips of the branches once or twice a year the trees can be maintained at six to ten feet according to variety. Training the tree to stay small is very easy, and the fruits of your labor are sure to impress friends and family alike.
So which are the best varieties to grow here in South Tampa? Here are a few of my choices. I have a framed mango poster in my garage showing 140 varieties that are grown in Florida. Oh to have all of those in my yard!
“Kent” was selected in Coconut Grove way back in 1944. The flesh is deep yellow, sweet, aromatic, and fiber-less. It is my personal favorite without exception. I love it so much I painted the exterior of my house this color! In my boyhood home there was a 40 foot Kent in the backyard. It was a big beautiful tree with branches hanging over the lake. It had huge fruit, weighing as much as two pounds each. I would climb to the highest branches and pick the fruit for my family waiting below. As a boy it was thrilling to be that high up among the fruit. The view of my domain was spectacular! One of the most rewarding attribute of the Kent is a bountiful late season crop. The fruit ripens from July to August. It freezes well and provides that needed mango “fix” well into the New Year. It makes killer ice cream.
“Keitt” is a Florida selection which has become one of the world’s most outstanding commercial mangos. It’s excellent eating quality, couple with disease resistance, high productivity, and ripening time are some of the features of this four to five pound goliath. It is definitely one of the biggest! It has a sweet firm flesh that is abundant and delicious. It ripens from August to October.
For true condo size the “Cogshall” and “Fairchild” (both about 8 feet) and “Ice Cream” (about 6 feet) are best suited. Remember, bigger the pot, the better the tree.
When we first moved to Tampa, I called a certain expert at a prestigious university (way down south in Coral Cables) asking which variety would be best in our area. I was told in no uncertain terms that “mangos don’t grow in Tampa; it gets too cold for them”! Well, nothing could be further from the truth! Young mango trees don’t like to get too cold that is true, but with a little care and proper protection, they’ll be fine. Wrap them with blankets and keep them warm during the freezes and everything will work out. I’ve seen mango trees in the Philippine Islands that were over 150 feet tall. Trunks as big around as Holiday Inn dance floors. If you go down to Bradenton along Manatee Avenue heading towards Ana Marie Island you’ll see some big boys! Planted many years ago, these beauties are over 75 feet tall and still producing fruit. It is said mangos can live 300 year and produce fruit for almost that long.
As you drive around this great city, hundreds of mango trees are in bloom right now, displaying a rich copper/bronze coat of flowers. It’s a beautiful sight to behold. Every year at this time I smile, knowing that I’m not the only mango manic in South Tampa. Enjoy your mangos and share them with a friend.