May is the month of mangoes. We are all waiting for these green mangoes to ripen.
The idea of picking mangoes myself from my farm was always a vision I had as a little girl. Mangos are my favorite fruits. Filipinos everywhere pride themselves in having the sweetest and most juicy mangoes on earth!
Here are my mangoes still on the tree, right in my driveway at my farm.
Mango Trees are actually equipped with their own self defense. Mango leaves and stems have a poisonous , sticky, white sap that insects do not like. There may be a lot of ants on the tree, but they do not mess with this sap. Birds, and other insects stay away, or merely sit and wait for the mangoes to ripen. That is when everyone races to get to the fruit.
We plant a lot of flowers around the fruit trees to encourage pollinators like bumble bees, honey bees, butterflies to come and do their job in spreading the pollen of the flowers.
Fertilized naturally by these natural pollinators, we do not spray our trees at all with any enhancement chemicals, bloomers, or insecticides.
Bats, birds, insects will then taste the fruit, and once this milky sap turns to sweetness, the mangoes will allow the fruit to be eaten and the seed to drop to the ground and begin a new generation.
We can only eat some of this queen of tropical fruits, but the rest of the fruits will become jams, juice, toppings for cakes, and just enjoyed right off the tree for a wonderful treat!
