Florida - Sunday, July 24
As usual, my trip to PR always starts in Florida. It's always great to visit the Florida bunch and eat Florida fruit. In addition to this, we're all able to fly together down to PR.
Noel and his girlfriend Claudia picked me up at the Fort Lauderdale airport...after American Airlines delayed the very first flight out of Columbus for four hours due to the crew not having enough time. It's the first freaking flight of the day! Oh well...got to expect this shit from the airlines.
Noel and his girlfriend Claudia picked me up at the Fort Lauderdale airport...after American Airlines delayed the very first flight out of Columbus for four hours due to the crew not having enough time. It's the first freaking flight of the day! Oh well...got to expect this shit from the airlines.
Our first stop was Bender's Tropical Grove. A little about Mike Bender. This is as colorful a character you could possibly meet. A straight-shooter for sure. One would never walk away wondering what side of the line Mike stands on. Many may see his Facebook posts and cringe. Many laugh. And I'm sure there are some who are quite annoyed. You know what? He doesn't care! This guy will tell you what's what with no worry of what comes after. I believe this honesty is refreshing...and certainly entertaining. So if you want to discuss, debate, or ague plants, politics, or guns...go visit Mike. You may disagree with him or even hate his guts, but he'll still probably offer you a beer.
Mike has a wonderful selection of tropical fruit trees and fruit for sale. He runs a very tidy nursery and all of the trees looked great. We walked around his property seeing plenty of mangoes and jackfruit. His dogs are sweethearts too.
Mike has a wonderful selection of tropical fruit trees and fruit for sale. He runs a very tidy nursery and all of the trees looked great. We walked around his property seeing plenty of mangoes and jackfruit. His dogs are sweethearts too.
Florida is really hot and humid currently. Mike offered us fresh mangoes and refreshments while we chatted. We enjoyed our visit and encourage anyone looking for some nice plants down there, to stop by Bender's Tropical Grove. Just don't bring up Hillary!! Thanks Mike!
Our next stop was Brandon's place. Two acres of awesomeness. Lots and lots of mangoes and jackfruit. First on the agenda was mango eating! In addition to Noel, Claudia, and I, Harry and Warren joined up with us as well. Everybody brought fruit and we sat down cutting and eating for a couple hours at least.
Our next stop was Brandon's place. Two acres of awesomeness. Lots and lots of mangoes and jackfruit. First on the agenda was mango eating! In addition to Noel, Claudia, and I, Harry and Warren joined up with us as well. Everybody brought fruit and we sat down cutting and eating for a couple hours at least.
We chowed down on jackfruit, sugar apples, abiu, pineapple, dragon fruit, and mangoes. Lots and lots of mangoes...at least 20 varieties. I was so full I was nearly sick. But everything was absolutely delicious. I've been waiting a full year to eat Florida mangoes and I wanted my fill of them.
Afterwards, Brandon gave us a tour of his yard. Great place and lots of space.
Afterwards, Brandon gave us a tour of his yard. Great place and lots of space.
After the yard tour, Brandon hosted a nice dinner for us. Yeah...we made room after all of the mangoes. A great day in Florida spent with tropical fruit hunting friends. Thanks to Brandon and his family for welcoming us to their home.
Not only did Noel pick me up at the airport and shuttle me around, he had a spare bedroom for me to crash in at home. Noel has a nice little collection of rare fruits in the yard which includes a couple of nice rambutan, one of which is a grafted. He also has some nice durian seedlings.
Off to bed. We have to be up around 4:30 a.m. to get everyone at the airport shuttle. A huge thanks to Noel is due.
Not only did Noel pick me up at the airport and shuttle me around, he had a spare bedroom for me to crash in at home. Noel has a nice little collection of rare fruits in the yard which includes a couple of nice rambutan, one of which is a grafted. He also has some nice durian seedlings.
Off to bed. We have to be up around 4:30 a.m. to get everyone at the airport shuttle. A huge thanks to Noel is due.
The rest of the pictures can be found at Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
Puerto Rico! Day One. Jardines Enaidas.
The Jetblue flight from Fort Lauderdale to San Juan went off without a hitch. Everyone was meeting up at the car rental station. Once John and Harry got their cars, our little caravan, led by Gwenn, started out to take the southern route to the west side of the island. Our first stop however, was the lechoneras and some good PR food to start our journey. Roast pig, chicken, blood sausage, beans and rice. Lots of food and we really filled up!
Off we go. Next stop was in Ponce at the Home Depot store. This particular store was one of two stores in all of PR that carried the 6" pvc drainage pipe John and I were going to use to ship back plants. I purchased pvc end caps to fit so we would have a nice, quick, safe method of packing and shipping plants. We were really short on time so we were all hustling our asses off. The 10 foot section of pipe had to be cut in 3 equal lengths as well. All of this went well and we were back on the road to Cabo Rojo in good time.
Our destination was Jardines Enaidas. A lovely nursery and fruit farm that we visit each year. Zaida, one of the owners, is always kind enough to welcome each of us and take time to give us a tour of the grounds.
Off we go. Next stop was in Ponce at the Home Depot store. This particular store was one of two stores in all of PR that carried the 6" pvc drainage pipe John and I were going to use to ship back plants. I purchased pvc end caps to fit so we would have a nice, quick, safe method of packing and shipping plants. We were really short on time so we were all hustling our asses off. The 10 foot section of pipe had to be cut in 3 equal lengths as well. All of this went well and we were back on the road to Cabo Rojo in good time.
Our destination was Jardines Enaidas. A lovely nursery and fruit farm that we visit each year. Zaida, one of the owners, is always kind enough to welcome each of us and take time to give us a tour of the grounds.
We're always welcomed to pick fruit and eat our fill. Enaidas is growing two of the best tasting genipas ever...the Sasa and Jose Pabon. Large, sweet, and none of that gumminess and stick-in-your-mouth like other varieties.
There was so many kinds of fruit to choose from...genipas, rambutan, starfruit, avocados, cacao, mangosteen, achachairu, sugar apples, kwai muk, breadfruit, and so much more. It's always enjoyable to just walk and listen...while eating something of course.
This was a super way to start off the week in PR. There weren't any plants in the nursery that caught my fancy this year. This is probably a good thing. Before we left, Ian brought out a durian from the farm for us and the folks at Enaidas to enjoy. We brought out Florida mangoes that we carried down. The mangoes blew these people's minds! The look on their faces was pure joy and amazement. A big thank you to Zaida for her time and patience with all of us idiots.
Getting late and we still have to drive up the coast to Rincon and check in. We made pretty good time and arrived at our little hotel/inn before six. Gwenn, John, Ethan, Noel, and Brandon all rented a beach house together. Harry, Patrick, and I chose the more private option and stayed at the Rincon Inn.
The previous few years were spent at resorts and the realities fell short of the expectations. This time I thought, since I was solo, that I would do the no frills and less expensive route. Well, the place certainly lived up to it's "no frills" claims. The place was not much to look at from the outside and not much better on the inside. It was clean at least. I did have to put the sheets on the bed myself. There was a very small microwave and a fridge. A spare bed in the outer room served as my luggage dumping ground. A shelf in the shower would have been a wonderful addition. They claim that the rooms will be cleaned every two days. And by "cleaning", I mean that someone came in and changed out the lining in the garbage bin. Beds were never touched and the floors never got swept. But it worked and as my wife told me the first evening...I just had to suck it up.
We were on our own for dinner. Ian had other plans...the illusion that we were his world while down here completely shattered. But we moved on. Most of the gang at the beach house opted to fix their own dinner. Patrick, his daughter Autumn, Harry and his son Garret, and Brandon hit La Cambija and enjoyed the hell out of it. Spring rolls, lionfish empenadas, conch fritters, grouper and mahi skewers. The restaurant meets the boats as they come in each day so this stuff is fresh as can be. Wonderful meal.
Off to bed with for an early start on Tuesday. The weather was fantastic and not a drop of rain.
The rest of the pictures can be found at Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
Getting late and we still have to drive up the coast to Rincon and check in. We made pretty good time and arrived at our little hotel/inn before six. Gwenn, John, Ethan, Noel, and Brandon all rented a beach house together. Harry, Patrick, and I chose the more private option and stayed at the Rincon Inn.
The previous few years were spent at resorts and the realities fell short of the expectations. This time I thought, since I was solo, that I would do the no frills and less expensive route. Well, the place certainly lived up to it's "no frills" claims. The place was not much to look at from the outside and not much better on the inside. It was clean at least. I did have to put the sheets on the bed myself. There was a very small microwave and a fridge. A spare bed in the outer room served as my luggage dumping ground. A shelf in the shower would have been a wonderful addition. They claim that the rooms will be cleaned every two days. And by "cleaning", I mean that someone came in and changed out the lining in the garbage bin. Beds were never touched and the floors never got swept. But it worked and as my wife told me the first evening...I just had to suck it up.
We were on our own for dinner. Ian had other plans...the illusion that we were his world while down here completely shattered. But we moved on. Most of the gang at the beach house opted to fix their own dinner. Patrick, his daughter Autumn, Harry and his son Garret, and Brandon hit La Cambija and enjoyed the hell out of it. Spring rolls, lionfish empenadas, conch fritters, grouper and mahi skewers. The restaurant meets the boats as they come in each day so this stuff is fresh as can be. Wonderful meal.
Off to bed with for an early start on Tuesday. The weather was fantastic and not a drop of rain.
The rest of the pictures can be found at Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
PR day two. Ian Crown's farm
Ian's farm is always the main attraction on our trip. The welcome we receive from Ian and his crew cannot be matched. His hospitality knows no bounds. I've been traveling to PR to see Ian since 2009...and he still has us come around! LOL! We cannot thank him enough for all he does for us down here. Time to start the tour!
And just so that everyone is aware...the farm is not flat, we immediately head way down and then back up a huge incline that taxes everyone's legs and breath right off. Oh yeah...and hot. Holy shit is it hot in PR right now. Also so humid it is like wearing a warm, wet blanket.
Another beautiful day is in the making but it is hotter than hell right now in PR and the humidity just sucks the life out of ya, but we are fruit hunting so you just shrug it off as part of the package. It's expected. What we didn't expect was finding two pulasan air layers on the tree John and I did up last year. We thought that all of our efforts had gotten torn apart during the big storm. Turns out that Jimmy visited the farm earlier in the year and redid our air layers. How cool is that?! Looks like both had rooted very well too. After removing them from the tree, John and I gave them a good, long soak in the water trough.
Another surprise was finding some ripe and ready champedak. This was a first for us all and a real treat. The smell and flavor was wonderful. I did find the texture a little on the slimy side. A nearby jackfruit was very flavorful and I actually found it more pleasant than the champedak. But this fruit certainly got everyone's attention.
After a long morning of walking/hunting/eating, we got back to the house where Ian had some pedalai laid out for us to try. According to Ethan, this is actually benda ( A. Elasticus)...very similar to pedalai but the fruit carpals are much smaller. This is a very odd looking and feeling fruit. Really freaky to the touch. But the fruit itself tastes very good and sweet and is sort of like banana ice cream.
After a little break, several of us headed to another part of the farm looking for marang. I went off the trail to try and check on a lower hanging fruit when I found myself in an uncontrollable slide down. Everything I grabbed a hold of was either already dead or barely hanging on itself. It was a wild ride to the bottom and no fruit to show for it. Only busted my ass once though. Damn those hills are brutal.
The pic below shows Jimmy in his natural element...up in a tree. He is about 30-35 feet up trying to reach marang. His efforts were mainly wasted but it was entertaining. He did manage to dump some marang down onto Gwenn which was pretty damn funny.
The pic below shows Jimmy in his natural element...up in a tree. He is about 30-35 feet up trying to reach marang. His efforts were mainly wasted but it was entertaining. He did manage to dump some marang down onto Gwenn which was pretty damn funny.
The morning had been great fun, but the day was not over yet. Ian still had plans for us!
The rest of the pictures can be found at Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
The rest of the pictures can be found at Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
PR day two. Felipe's farm.
The rare fruit hunting world lost Felipe back in March. He was a true icon and a force to be reckoned with. Many fruit was introduced to PR by Felipe and he collected so many rare specimens, I wouldn't even know where to begin.
It was always a treat to tour his farm. It wasn't just seeing all of these wonderful varieties of rare fruit growing that made the tour special. It was the man himself. Everyone always crowded in a tight circle and pushed and shoved to be near him when he began his story telling...and Felipe was a great story teller! Each one always chock full of quotes that we wish had been written down for all to enjoy and recall. My favorite quote and one that I will never forget is his belief that 'every fruit is someone's favorite'. What this translates out to mean is that while you and I may think a particular fruit is nasty and inedible, someone, somewhere in the world believes that fruit to be their favorite.
Several months after his passing, Ian mentioned a possibility of doing a tour of the farm during our visit. Ian got the blessing from Felipe's wife, Elba, and the tour was on. We kept this secret from the rest of the gang for various reasons. One of which we wanted it to be a cool surprise.
Unfortunately for several of our group, they decided to do some family things and head into Mayaguez instead of going to Felipe's. Their loss truly. One of the first things we got to do was to finally meet Felipe's wife Elba. What a sweet lady! None of us ever had the opportunity to meet her before. She is generous and an absolute pleasure to talk with.
After some introductions, we learned that a nice young couple, Luis and Lori, are now renting the house. Elba had decided to leave the farm and stay in Mayaguez. We sort of caught them just sitting down to lunch. So after being told to go where we wish on the farm by Elba, we left them to their dining while we headed back out to tour the farm.
It was always a treat to tour his farm. It wasn't just seeing all of these wonderful varieties of rare fruit growing that made the tour special. It was the man himself. Everyone always crowded in a tight circle and pushed and shoved to be near him when he began his story telling...and Felipe was a great story teller! Each one always chock full of quotes that we wish had been written down for all to enjoy and recall. My favorite quote and one that I will never forget is his belief that 'every fruit is someone's favorite'. What this translates out to mean is that while you and I may think a particular fruit is nasty and inedible, someone, somewhere in the world believes that fruit to be their favorite.
Several months after his passing, Ian mentioned a possibility of doing a tour of the farm during our visit. Ian got the blessing from Felipe's wife, Elba, and the tour was on. We kept this secret from the rest of the gang for various reasons. One of which we wanted it to be a cool surprise.
Unfortunately for several of our group, they decided to do some family things and head into Mayaguez instead of going to Felipe's. Their loss truly. One of the first things we got to do was to finally meet Felipe's wife Elba. What a sweet lady! None of us ever had the opportunity to meet her before. She is generous and an absolute pleasure to talk with.
After some introductions, we learned that a nice young couple, Luis and Lori, are now renting the house. Elba had decided to leave the farm and stay in Mayaguez. We sort of caught them just sitting down to lunch. So after being told to go where we wish on the farm by Elba, we left them to their dining while we headed back out to tour the farm.
More walking, chatting, and reminiscing. Felipe's presence, as well as his absence, was felt by all. He had done and acquired so much on this farm alone, how could it not be felt? Every person that has joined me in PR most likely has something growing from Felipe's farm.
We spotted this enormous dragon fruit high up in a huge tree. This tangle of dragon fruit was the size of a small house!
We spotted this enormous dragon fruit high up in a huge tree. This tangle of dragon fruit was the size of a small house!
The funny and "holy shit" moment came when Ian stopped, was looking at a tree far down in a valley and said "Looks like a durian tree". He was looking up and I was looking down. I spotted fallen durian fruit galore below that tree! Oh yeah...we had to get down there.
There were durian everywhere! Must have been at least 50-60 fruit scattered all over. One of Felipe's seedling durians shed the mother load.
There were durian everywhere! Must have been at least 50-60 fruit scattered all over. One of Felipe's seedling durians shed the mother load.
We just had to lightly step on a fruit to crack it open and then carefully pry the rest of it away leaving very tasty sections for us to try. And try we did! Man-O-man this shit was good! We could have eaten more but we all agreed that we would take several up to the house to Elba. We were all pretty tired and this seemed like a good way to end the tour. We didn't get out to very much of the farm but we didn't mind. All of us were anxious to get back and visit with Elba a bit before heading back to Rincon.
So here were all were, about 7 of us...dirty, sweaty, and tired. We thought we'd show our gratitude, chat a few minutes, and let these folks go about their business. We didn't want to intrude any more than we had already. But no. They were not just going to let us go on our merry way. Elba, Luis, and Lori invited us into their home to sit and relax. They were very interested in how our group came to be and what all we did in our normal lives. Lori was a blast and in minutes seemed like she was one of the gang and we were all laughing at each others stories. Elba seemed to truly enjoy herself as well. Luis, Lori's husband was busy in the kitchen. Another very pleasant lady was with them. Mary. She is Ian's neighbor and she was quite fun to chat with as well. Turns out we are both COBOL programmers.
We visited for quite some time and Ian finally announced that we should go. Again, these folks were not done with us quite yet! Luis had been busy preparing us some unbelievable snacks/entrees! There were refreshments, fried chicken bits, sausages, a marinated flank steak that makes my mouth water still. Incredible! So incredible, I started taking pics and texting the rest of the gang that didn't join us to rub it in some. LOL!
Their hospitality made us speechless. To take us in like that, especially when never having even met most of us, was inspiring. We cannot thank them enough for the kindness and generosity they had shown us.
So here were all were, about 7 of us...dirty, sweaty, and tired. We thought we'd show our gratitude, chat a few minutes, and let these folks go about their business. We didn't want to intrude any more than we had already. But no. They were not just going to let us go on our merry way. Elba, Luis, and Lori invited us into their home to sit and relax. They were very interested in how our group came to be and what all we did in our normal lives. Lori was a blast and in minutes seemed like she was one of the gang and we were all laughing at each others stories. Elba seemed to truly enjoy herself as well. Luis, Lori's husband was busy in the kitchen. Another very pleasant lady was with them. Mary. She is Ian's neighbor and she was quite fun to chat with as well. Turns out we are both COBOL programmers.
We visited for quite some time and Ian finally announced that we should go. Again, these folks were not done with us quite yet! Luis had been busy preparing us some unbelievable snacks/entrees! There were refreshments, fried chicken bits, sausages, a marinated flank steak that makes my mouth water still. Incredible! So incredible, I started taking pics and texting the rest of the gang that didn't join us to rub it in some. LOL!
Their hospitality made us speechless. To take us in like that, especially when never having even met most of us, was inspiring. We cannot thank them enough for the kindness and generosity they had shown us.
With our bellies and hearts filled, we headed down the mountain and back to Rincon...to get ready for dinner later! Got back in time to start preparing my pvc pipes. Unfortunately, the pvc end caps that were made just for these pipes, as I was told, were at least a quarter of an inch too big for the damn tube. This required me cutting a section of tube off and taping it around the tube to thicken it up and giving a bitter fit. What a pain in the ass this was.
But I got all three tubes ready. I even started getting the two pulasan seedlings all wrapped up, including dowel rods taped to the sides the length of the tube so keep the plants from shifting while being non-to-gently handled by our competent USPS. While dicking around with the tubes, I once again had the airlayer soaking in water hoping to rehydrate the roots. I also had a bag of those water absorbant gel crystals soaking up water. I was going to fill up the plastic bag holding the air layer with this stuff for continued moisture throughout the shipping period.
I ended up getting the seedlings and the one air layered pulasan all packaged up in two of the tubes. No shit, these things were kick ass containers. The USPS would have to drop them from a building to screw them up. While the drainage pvc pipes were not as thick and certainly not as heavy as the regular, schedule 40 pvc, they were still heavy. The package with the seedling and air layered plant...with all the gel crystals, was very heavy. I had a feeling the shipping costs were going to be a kick in the crotch.
Crap! Time was flying and I had about 10-15 minutes to shower and dress before everybody cruised to dinner! Tonight's dinner was at the Lazy Parrot. A favorite of ours. This is a pool bar that served fantastic pizza and salads. But wait! We are not having dinner downstairs, but at the restaurant upstairs. Oh well, their food is good too. The wait staff sucked though. I ordered some grouper chicharonnes and a salad. The grouper was good but gone in a few bites. Never did get my salad. No problem really since I was still pretty full from the fine food provided by Luis and Lori...not to mention the snacks I ate while preparing the plants!
Back to the room to put some more tape around the pvc tubes, then it was lights out! Day two was another day with no rain.
The rest of the pictures can be found at Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
I ended up getting the seedlings and the one air layered pulasan all packaged up in two of the tubes. No shit, these things were kick ass containers. The USPS would have to drop them from a building to screw them up. While the drainage pvc pipes were not as thick and certainly not as heavy as the regular, schedule 40 pvc, they were still heavy. The package with the seedling and air layered plant...with all the gel crystals, was very heavy. I had a feeling the shipping costs were going to be a kick in the crotch.
Crap! Time was flying and I had about 10-15 minutes to shower and dress before everybody cruised to dinner! Tonight's dinner was at the Lazy Parrot. A favorite of ours. This is a pool bar that served fantastic pizza and salads. But wait! We are not having dinner downstairs, but at the restaurant upstairs. Oh well, their food is good too. The wait staff sucked though. I ordered some grouper chicharonnes and a salad. The grouper was good but gone in a few bites. Never did get my salad. No problem really since I was still pretty full from the fine food provided by Luis and Lori...not to mention the snacks I ate while preparing the plants!
Back to the room to put some more tape around the pvc tubes, then it was lights out! Day two was another day with no rain.
The rest of the pictures can be found at Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
PR day three - Juan's farm
We planned and executed a very early start to Juan's today. John and I had a goal to get our plants packed and at the post office by one o'clock. An early start also meant that it would be a little cooler and maybe less of a chance for rain.
Juan always welcomes us with open arms and treats everyone warmly. We stand and chit chat for a bit getting caught up with some things happening in the area and on the farm. Seems like every time we show up, the trails and paths are either wider or more numerous. Lots and lots of hard, hot work going on.
But before things got too serious, Juan came out with a big bucket of his pulasan. The rioting begins!
Juan always welcomes us with open arms and treats everyone warmly. We stand and chit chat for a bit getting caught up with some things happening in the area and on the farm. Seems like every time we show up, the trails and paths are either wider or more numerous. Lots and lots of hard, hot work going on.
But before things got too serious, Juan came out with a big bucket of his pulasan. The rioting begins!
After gorging ourselves on pulasan, we walked on down to the mother tree. It was so loaded with fruit, branches were hanging to the ground. Such a beautiful and perfect fruit. All of the folks raving about rambutan have never had a good pulasan. Don't get me wrong, rambutan is a fine fruit and there are some luscious varieties out there. The pulasan, on the other hand, is just in a different league altogether. Bigger, sweeter, more complex flavor, better shell that is easier to open. The Thais have a huge rambutan market but they sure don't have a clue what they are missing!
As I mentioned, Juan is constantly making improvements to the farm. In the pic below, the road is being extended and he had someone in a huge excavator with bucket removing bamboo and digging out the new road. This pic can also give you some perspective on the height and steepness of the hills we continued to climb up and slide down.
That red soil you see in the above pic is nothing short of magical. It is simply unbelievable how fast and well Juan's trees grow in this stuff. He can get an easy six feet out of a newly planted tree. One thing for sure is that his soil has a very low PH of around 4.5 and it is obvious that the plants thrive in it. He's also experimenting with some pruning various areas of the farm. The pic below is a good example of the growth and vigor of his plants. This is a very young, grafted rambutan and was just loaded with fruit.
Juan plans on clearing at least ten more acres soon. He has much more rambutan and pulasan ready to go. He also has achachairu and a bunch of Mexican garcinias...or Luc's mangosteen waiting to be planted out. These were very young plants and the size and condition of the plants outstripped any I've seen to date.
The early start may have beat some of the heat and humidity , but it is sure picking up. My clothes from shoes to hat are just soaked. I'm sure the steep climbs have a little to do with it as well.
I've been pleading with Juan for sometime now for a grafted pulasan. They are just not to be found anywhere and certainly cannot be found in Thailand. I want to bring the tree to Thailand and plant it in the folks' yard. So this has been my quest for the past few years. Juan came thru big time for John and I and presented each of us our own grafted tree. We were as tickled as young kids on Christmas morning! Couldn't wait to get them packed up and on their way home.
The early start may have beat some of the heat and humidity , but it is sure picking up. My clothes from shoes to hat are just soaked. I'm sure the steep climbs have a little to do with it as well.
I've been pleading with Juan for sometime now for a grafted pulasan. They are just not to be found anywhere and certainly cannot be found in Thailand. I want to bring the tree to Thailand and plant it in the folks' yard. So this has been my quest for the past few years. Juan came thru big time for John and I and presented each of us our own grafted tree. We were as tickled as young kids on Christmas morning! Couldn't wait to get them packed up and on their way home.
It was time to say our goodbyes. Juan is a busy man and we didn't want to hold him up too long. The visit was wonderful as always. Everyone enjoyed the tour and the company. Always something to look forward to. Thank you again Juan for the continued hospitality and the plant!
Wow! We are going to get back to Rincon in record time and should meet our self-imposed deadline to reach USPS by one. Our pvc packing method with the overly large end caps turned out to be more work than we first thought.
The seedlings, air layered pulasan, and cuttings were all packed in the first two tubes. All I needed to pack and seal was the grafted pulasan. These tubes are tanks man. All set.
Brandon, Ethan, and John picked me up and we headed to the post office. My three tubes were heavy and I was really concerned...mainly thinking my wife is going to kill me! I also had one large box of fruit to sent home. Figured I wasn't walking out of there under $200.
The tubes weighed 14, 17, and 19lbs! Total damage for all four packages was $174. Lot of money entrusted to USPS but we had little choice. They are on their way and that's that.
After we returned, I walked down to the beach house and we spent a good while in the ocean enjoying the water. Nice and relaxing. The water felt so good after trekking around the farms the last three days. Another shout out to our new friends that were renting the upstairs of the beach house. Davis is in our country's Coast Guard and we once again thank him for his service. We all met briefly coming out of the water and he brought down some extra steak for Ethan and I to enjoy. We in turn introduced him to some rare fruit. A win win for all.
Dinner tonight was back to La Cambija. No complaints to any of us. This place has rockin' food. Got two skewers of grouper and one of blackfin tuna. Also got their Artisian salad. Everything was delicious.
The rest of the pictures can be found at Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
Wow! We are going to get back to Rincon in record time and should meet our self-imposed deadline to reach USPS by one. Our pvc packing method with the overly large end caps turned out to be more work than we first thought.
The seedlings, air layered pulasan, and cuttings were all packed in the first two tubes. All I needed to pack and seal was the grafted pulasan. These tubes are tanks man. All set.
Brandon, Ethan, and John picked me up and we headed to the post office. My three tubes were heavy and I was really concerned...mainly thinking my wife is going to kill me! I also had one large box of fruit to sent home. Figured I wasn't walking out of there under $200.
The tubes weighed 14, 17, and 19lbs! Total damage for all four packages was $174. Lot of money entrusted to USPS but we had little choice. They are on their way and that's that.
After we returned, I walked down to the beach house and we spent a good while in the ocean enjoying the water. Nice and relaxing. The water felt so good after trekking around the farms the last three days. Another shout out to our new friends that were renting the upstairs of the beach house. Davis is in our country's Coast Guard and we once again thank him for his service. We all met briefly coming out of the water and he brought down some extra steak for Ethan and I to enjoy. We in turn introduced him to some rare fruit. A win win for all.
Dinner tonight was back to La Cambija. No complaints to any of us. This place has rockin' food. Got two skewers of grouper and one of blackfin tuna. Also got their Artisian salad. Everything was delicious.
The rest of the pictures can be found at Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
PR day four. Back to Ian's farm.
Our last day of farm tours arrive and we are once again off to Ian's farm. Ian invited some neighbors and friends from around the island to join us today. It was a good sized group. Ian is definitely in his element in front of a crowd. I'm not sure who enjoys these tours more, him or us!
Right from the start, we knew this day was going to be a scorcher. We've been blessed with great weather all week...meaning no rain. It looked like it was going to be another good day. I can't remember when we've gone thru an entire week down here without getting dumped on at least once and normally with violent thunderstorms to accompany the rain. Heat? We'll take it.
There was a good mish-mash of people on today's tour. Most were rare fruiters and several have been to Ian's farm before. But there were some who have not and many of these fruit would be a first time experience for them. It's always fun to see that look of amazement light up someone's face. We got to see that look several times throughout the day. There were a few not too excited about the durian though.
This year was a very odd year for fruit. Most are earlier than normal. Ian has to calculate/judge/devine the date of our visit by when the majority of the trees begin to flower. Magic? Sorcery? Maybe. Whatever it is, he does a fine job at it...even though he stresses out for several months always wondering if he made the right call. Always great to come down here to an abundance of fruit...in number and variety. But our visits are for more than just the fruit. We've made a lot of good friends down here and it's always a pleasure to meet up with them. Besides, this is our play time, this is their business. So a bad year means we might not get all the fruit we love, but this is bad for business. Luckily for all, it's looking pretty good!
Below is the fruit pedalai. An artocarpus related to marang, jackfruit and breadfruit. Very tasty and one of the holy grails of rare fruiters. Ian's trees were loaded and wonder of wonders, many were even close to the ground within reach for a change. Marang and pedalai grow like weeds down here and would be very difficult to keep pruned when there are so many other chores needing done. So unless they are close to the ground, or you have a tree climber like Jimmy, then that fruit remains out of reach.
There was a good mish-mash of people on today's tour. Most were rare fruiters and several have been to Ian's farm before. But there were some who have not and many of these fruit would be a first time experience for them. It's always fun to see that look of amazement light up someone's face. We got to see that look several times throughout the day. There were a few not too excited about the durian though.
This year was a very odd year for fruit. Most are earlier than normal. Ian has to calculate/judge/devine the date of our visit by when the majority of the trees begin to flower. Magic? Sorcery? Maybe. Whatever it is, he does a fine job at it...even though he stresses out for several months always wondering if he made the right call. Always great to come down here to an abundance of fruit...in number and variety. But our visits are for more than just the fruit. We've made a lot of good friends down here and it's always a pleasure to meet up with them. Besides, this is our play time, this is their business. So a bad year means we might not get all the fruit we love, but this is bad for business. Luckily for all, it's looking pretty good!
Below is the fruit pedalai. An artocarpus related to marang, jackfruit and breadfruit. Very tasty and one of the holy grails of rare fruiters. Ian's trees were loaded and wonder of wonders, many were even close to the ground within reach for a change. Marang and pedalai grow like weeds down here and would be very difficult to keep pruned when there are so many other chores needing done. So unless they are close to the ground, or you have a tree climber like Jimmy, then that fruit remains out of reach.
I've mentioned before how all of the farms here normally have terrain that could make a billy goat puke. The extreme steep hills make harvesting fruit and caring for the trees a herculean effort. Ian's crews use ropes and luck. We use daring and attitude...going to get to that fruit no matter what! There are some very narrow footpaths winding down the hills but these take constant attention to maintain. So we mostly hop, stumble, and slide on our ass to reach the fruit. We don't worry how we're going to get back up till later. There is no wonder why we are soaked with sweat and dragging ass by the end of the day.
I really had no business bounding up and down these steep hills given how easily my back goes out these days. But Harry's son Garret, and I, were having a blast doing it. We careened down the slopes for baccaurea and finding several of the lower trees just loaded with fruit. We did a good impression of slip-n-slide down for lanzones. We seldom time our visit with the fruiting of these darn trees. While the fruit was plentiful and delicious, we were still a good week away from the fruit being at its peak.
I really had no business bounding up and down these steep hills given how easily my back goes out these days. But Harry's son Garret, and I, were having a blast doing it. We careened down the slopes for baccaurea and finding several of the lower trees just loaded with fruit. We did a good impression of slip-n-slide down for lanzones. We seldom time our visit with the fruiting of these darn trees. While the fruit was plentiful and delicious, we were still a good week away from the fruit being at its peak.
There certainly was no shortage of durian on this trip. We ate plenty on Tuesday at both Ians and Felipes and we will eat more today. Not everybody's favorite and even a few of the group today would not even try it. C'mon! Ya got to at least try it once!
When the first half of the tour was over, everyone headed back to the house for some refreshments and food. We had a sort of pot luck and everything was wonderful. Hell, just being able to sit down for a few minutes was heaven. I looked like I had fallen in a lake. I was that wet. Oh well...all part of the program.
Ahhh...rest time is obviously over. Garret was itching to head back to the pulasan and achachairu to grab some fruit to send back to his girlfriend. Another long and hot trek across the farm and some more extreme hill climbing. Here we are taking a little break in a durian tree.
We ate and collected more pulasan and then went in search of the achachairu. This is a great fruit and needed to be shared with loved ones. Ian's trees are on a particular nasty slope that required Garret and I to give each other assists in getting up and down. The last tree we found was loaded with the largest fruits I've ever seen in all the years I've been coming to PR. Just beautiful. And very tasty. Some were damn near the size of a mandarin.
We had our fill...eating and collecting. It was time to head back and call it a day. We were beat. Garret was planning on sending his fruit out USPS and since achachairu was now supposedly legal, I was going to bring mine back on the plane with me.
After their post office trip, Harry, Garret, and I headed to the beach house for some more ocean time. Boy did that water feel good! You could just feel the heat leach out of you. But it is all fun and games until someone hears a big snap in their knee. This was Harry.
As Harry walked into the water, he stepped into a deep drop off and came down at a bad angle. His knee took the punishment of weight, momentum, and waves...but did not take it well. He fell back and we could tell right away that he was in distress. One doesn't just sit there letting sand and surf pound the shit out of you without moving out of the way. Harry couldn't.
Harry's a big guy. Introduce wet sand and waves, the process of getting him up and out of there is made more difficult. We eventually got him up to the house and rinsed off as best we could. Sitting down for a while didn't really calm the knee so we figured a trip to the ER was in order.
Several hours later, it was determined that nothing was broken and that he would have to follow up with an orthopedic specialist back home. A couple shots in the ass and some prescriptions, Harry was back to the luxurious Rincon Inn and just in time to load back up for dinner.
Dinner. One of our favorite activities while on the island. Tonight was at La Copa Llena on the beach. Ian follows this chef around no matter where he's working. It's no wonder either. The meals have never disappointed. The food is fresh from the boats that day and the catch determines the menu.
Tonight I opted for the blackfin tuna poke and seared trigger fish. Never had trigger fish and this was something unusual for their menu so I had to try it. The poke was uncooked blackfin tuna marinated in soy and Siriracha. It was on a bed of seaweed salad mixed with tomato, avocado, and cucumber. One of the most unbelievable dishes I've ever had. I had torn into the dish before taking the pic so I messed up the presentation of it. The trigger fish was in a lemon butter and very good. Although now I wish I had ordered another poke!
After their post office trip, Harry, Garret, and I headed to the beach house for some more ocean time. Boy did that water feel good! You could just feel the heat leach out of you. But it is all fun and games until someone hears a big snap in their knee. This was Harry.
As Harry walked into the water, he stepped into a deep drop off and came down at a bad angle. His knee took the punishment of weight, momentum, and waves...but did not take it well. He fell back and we could tell right away that he was in distress. One doesn't just sit there letting sand and surf pound the shit out of you without moving out of the way. Harry couldn't.
Harry's a big guy. Introduce wet sand and waves, the process of getting him up and out of there is made more difficult. We eventually got him up to the house and rinsed off as best we could. Sitting down for a while didn't really calm the knee so we figured a trip to the ER was in order.
Several hours later, it was determined that nothing was broken and that he would have to follow up with an orthopedic specialist back home. A couple shots in the ass and some prescriptions, Harry was back to the luxurious Rincon Inn and just in time to load back up for dinner.
Dinner. One of our favorite activities while on the island. Tonight was at La Copa Llena on the beach. Ian follows this chef around no matter where he's working. It's no wonder either. The meals have never disappointed. The food is fresh from the boats that day and the catch determines the menu.
Tonight I opted for the blackfin tuna poke and seared trigger fish. Never had trigger fish and this was something unusual for their menu so I had to try it. The poke was uncooked blackfin tuna marinated in soy and Siriracha. It was on a bed of seaweed salad mixed with tomato, avocado, and cucumber. One of the most unbelievable dishes I've ever had. I had torn into the dish before taking the pic so I messed up the presentation of it. The trigger fish was in a lemon butter and very good. Although now I wish I had ordered another poke!
What meal is complete without a durian that shows up unexpectantly? This was a fruit Ethan found and well...probably should have left this sleeping durian lie. It was rotten! Thank heavens we were the last people in the restaurant or we would have driven them all out. The wait staff was across the deck wiping down tables when they started picking up their washcloths and sniffing them!! They couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from. We had a great laugh and unfortunately, I can say that this durian certainly did stink!
This being our last time together, we all said our goodbyes and thank yous. Ian pulled off the impossible once again and we really cannot thank him enough. Incredible. But it's time to head back and pack up. We've got an early start for San Juan tomorrow and I have to drive Harry's car back since he is unable to.
Day five was our travel day. The trip to San Juan was fast and uneventful. Unfortunately, that ended once I went thru the USDA inspection. They sympathized and said nice things, but the bottom line was the achachairu was not leaving their station. Yes, it is legal now but ONLY for commercial purposes...not taking back home. There went a lot of effort on those hills. I hope they choked on the fruit.
The rest of the flights were blessedly on time and even got back to Columbus early. It is fun to get away, but man, it is great being home again. I really missed Bee, Boon, and Faah and couldn't wait to seem them.
Thanks to everyone involved in this trip. I want to single out Gwenn here. She helps with accommodations and activities if you stay on the island. She is our shepherd and looks after her flock. I had a great time and spent that time with great friends. My life is richer and a hell of a lot more interesting with all of you in it.
The rest of the pictures can be found at Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
This being our last time together, we all said our goodbyes and thank yous. Ian pulled off the impossible once again and we really cannot thank him enough. Incredible. But it's time to head back and pack up. We've got an early start for San Juan tomorrow and I have to drive Harry's car back since he is unable to.
Day five was our travel day. The trip to San Juan was fast and uneventful. Unfortunately, that ended once I went thru the USDA inspection. They sympathized and said nice things, but the bottom line was the achachairu was not leaving their station. Yes, it is legal now but ONLY for commercial purposes...not taking back home. There went a lot of effort on those hills. I hope they choked on the fruit.
The rest of the flights were blessedly on time and even got back to Columbus early. It is fun to get away, but man, it is great being home again. I really missed Bee, Boon, and Faah and couldn't wait to seem them.
Thanks to everyone involved in this trip. I want to single out Gwenn here. She helps with accommodations and activities if you stay on the island. She is our shepherd and looks after her flock. I had a great time and spent that time with great friends. My life is richer and a hell of a lot more interesting with all of you in it.
The rest of the pictures can be found at Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
Columbus, Ohio - post trip. July 30.
I owe my wife a huge thanks for taking care of the yard, garden, greenhouse, and neighbor's yard and garden while we were all away. We didn't get a drop of rain most of the week and it was hot. She had lots and lots of watering to do! Character building!! LOL! Except she wouldn't really find that funny at all......
Saturday was crazier than hell. So much to do. Hoping my plants show up. USDA tracking shows all four packages are out for delivery...so we'll see. But first, there's work to be done.
I said before the trip that if my dragon fruit dropped all of the blooms again for this fourth time, I was going to yank them out. Well, each and every bloom had dropped while I was in PR. I have no idea whether it is the varieties or conditions in the greenhouse. What I do know is this...the fruit is just not good enough to rate this level of aggravation. Here is what they looked like prior to the trip
Saturday was crazier than hell. So much to do. Hoping my plants show up. USDA tracking shows all four packages are out for delivery...so we'll see. But first, there's work to be done.
I said before the trip that if my dragon fruit dropped all of the blooms again for this fourth time, I was going to yank them out. Well, each and every bloom had dropped while I was in PR. I have no idea whether it is the varieties or conditions in the greenhouse. What I do know is this...the fruit is just not good enough to rate this level of aggravation. Here is what they looked like prior to the trip
And here is what the area looks like now. I figured this would now be a good spot to put the humidity tent to house the plants from PR.
After clearing the dragon fruit out, I had a bunch of pulasan and sugar apple seeds to get potted up. Also had to mix up some soil for the hopefully-soon-to-arrive air layered pulasan. Around two o'clock, I heard the mail truck chugging thru the neighborhood. Boy oh boy oh boy! The driver pulled up and said "Well, you're not going to be happy". Shit. Certainly wasn't wanting to hear that! Please be the fruit box! Please be the fruit box!
It wasn't the fruit box. All 3 tubes had the pvc end caps barely hanging on. One tube had no end caps and was completely empty! Yeah...they sent along an empty fucking package! How nice of them. 3 tubes. One carries a seedling pulasan. One carries a seedling pulasan and the air layered pulasan. And one tube carries the grafted pulasan. If the empty tube contained my grafted plant, I wouldn't be writing this blog right now because I would probably be in jail. I did tell the driver right away that my meltdown was not directed at her. She just delivers this shit. She's not one of the irresponsible idiots handling them. And meltdown I did. Man was I pissed...and pissed is probably an understatement.
They would have had to drop these containers from the roof of a building to knock off the end caps like they did. So let's say they did drop them from a roof. What's the excuse of picking up a package and leaving the contents behind? Ya just got to stop wondering what and how they do things. I've got to check which plant(s) got left behind and dreading the outcome.
The heaviest tube still had its contents so was pretty sure it had the seedling and air layered plants. That left a 50/50 chance of my grafted plant was the one missing. After venting a few more minutes, I checked the remaining container. It was the grafted plant. I had to sit down. So while missing one of the seedlings is bad, things could have been a whole lot worse.
It wasn't the fruit box. All 3 tubes had the pvc end caps barely hanging on. One tube had no end caps and was completely empty! Yeah...they sent along an empty fucking package! How nice of them. 3 tubes. One carries a seedling pulasan. One carries a seedling pulasan and the air layered pulasan. And one tube carries the grafted pulasan. If the empty tube contained my grafted plant, I wouldn't be writing this blog right now because I would probably be in jail. I did tell the driver right away that my meltdown was not directed at her. She just delivers this shit. She's not one of the irresponsible idiots handling them. And meltdown I did. Man was I pissed...and pissed is probably an understatement.
They would have had to drop these containers from the roof of a building to knock off the end caps like they did. So let's say they did drop them from a roof. What's the excuse of picking up a package and leaving the contents behind? Ya just got to stop wondering what and how they do things. I've got to check which plant(s) got left behind and dreading the outcome.
The heaviest tube still had its contents so was pretty sure it had the seedling and air layered plants. That left a 50/50 chance of my grafted plant was the one missing. After venting a few more minutes, I checked the remaining container. It was the grafted plant. I had to sit down. So while missing one of the seedlings is bad, things could have been a whole lot worse.
I put the air layered plant in a bucket of water to continue to hydrate while I put the other two in the greenhouse and watered them well. The air layered plant dropped all of its leaves while in transit. We expected that and was not too alarmed at this time. While the plant had rooted out, the roots were still very dry. The roots on their own this early could not sustain the leaves. So I'm cautiously optimistic. I had a bunch of grafting to do yet as well as put together some sort of humidity tent for the plants.
I put 5 mangosteen scions on my male Imbe. I figured it might as well be good for something. I also had some kwai muk scions I put onto an old grafted plant that died back above the graft. More hot work and I was already exhausted physically and mentally. Once done with the tent, I still had a yard full of shit to put away.
I put 5 mangosteen scions on my male Imbe. I figured it might as well be good for something. I also had some kwai muk scions I put onto an old grafted plant that died back above the graft. More hot work and I was already exhausted physically and mentally. Once done with the tent, I still had a yard full of shit to put away.
Well, that's it for now. Everything is done and I can go try and relax. The grafted plant did end up losing some leaves between Saturday night and Monday...probably due to being too hot inside the tent. I opened it up. There's obviously a fine line between needing high humidity to recover and being just too damn hot. I'm not freaking out yet...hoping that it recovers. But in the coming weeks if it does not recover, and you hear a faint scream that you just can't pin point where it came from...it was probably me. Wish my poor wife luck. She's the one who has to live with me!
The blogs are few and far between I know. I'm no ordinary blogger. I don't have a lot to say on a daily basis. Well...I hope you enjoyed this latest blog though. Be sure to check out all the rest of the pics from the trip by clicking the following link: Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
The blogs are few and far between I know. I'm no ordinary blogger. I don't have a lot to say on a daily basis. Well...I hope you enjoyed this latest blog though. Be sure to check out all the rest of the pics from the trip by clicking the following link: Tropical fruit hunting 2016.
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