Mango "Timotayo"

Today I harvested about half the fruits from our Timotayo Mango tree. I determine ripeness by pressing slightly on the bottom (pointed end) of the fruit. If it is softening, I pick it. The skins have been turning color a bit unevenly – some patches of green remain on many fruits. Who cares – the fruit inside is packed with flavor! I found the skins edible except a bit too tough where green so most of them I eat without peeling. I also found the seed of this cultivar very thin, unlike those from the stores. :slight_smile:

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while mangos are so much sweeter when they start softening, they are also pretty good even at a rock- hard stage when they have started ripening.
mangos generally ripen like pears(from inside out), so the fruit may still be hard, but the inside is already getting sweet. More zesty and sweet-tart when eaten this way, while the flesh is at the crisp crunchy stage, instead of mushy.

Very often used grated in salads at that stage. I prefer them softer, as noted above.

Spring growth flush.

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Awesome! This is mine from today. Zone 11.

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And this is from nearly 2 years ago. It’s grown quite a bit! The first fruiting had stunted fruit, but it had only been planted for half a year, and was still quite young.

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I think you’ll have a prolific year. The fruit size might be small for the first 6-10 years but the quality is excellent. The skin is thin and pleasant enough to eat with the flesh. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Surprised you eat the skin of mangos. I get contact dermatitis from the mango skin around my mouth when I eat too many mangos. Mangos are related to poison ivy! BTW I have a 41 Ford woodie there at Ron Heidens Woodshop in Vista getting a new set of wood. Nice place to live. I was at Wavecrest last September. How smart you are with no grass in the back yard. Any in the front? Is that large tree in your neighbor’s yard an avocado?

Mangos and poison ivy are distantly related in plant family Anacardioideae. Pistachio is also a member of that family – I imagine you are related to them too?

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Not a squirrel in sight!:chipmunk:

Probably no rabbits or voles, either

Physical barriers insure they cannot enter the yard.

Too many predators near our location.

Even though unrelated, both mango skin and poison ivy produce “Urushiol”, the substance responsible for the allergy.

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My sympathies. I know a person who is 1/4 native American and is allergic to Macadamia nuts – but no others. She also gets a rash from contact with the Macadamia relative Carrotwood which are common street trees in coastal counties of SoCal.

I installed retaining walls and a driveway on the property boundaries. The walls and the property line portion of the driveway have a cement footing descending a minimum of 2.5 feet. Nothing has attempted to burrow under.

There is fencing on top of the retaining walls and alongside the sidewalk leading from the street+driveway to the front door. The side fencings are 6’ vertical fir planks while the front and back are vertical 1/2" iron rods. I installed 1" thick-gauge wire mesh along the bottom of the wood fence so that nothing can crawl under. I also installed 32" high 1" mesh along the sections of iron fence. So it is difficult for the cottontail rabbits to get in and even more difficult to get out. Last year we discovered a dead rabbit which apparently had leaped in overnight and then met its demise by an owl.

Rats sometimes venture in only to discover the bait I leave for them in the shed. Mice that clamor in are quickly removed by the local raptors – probably the small falcons.

Sounds like serious security! Which is what it takes to grow fruit in peace

Do Timotayo get larger than the ones you harvested? I bought some mangos grown in Mexico last September that I thought might be Timotayo but they where larger.

Yes, the tree is young.