Early Summer in N.E. Oz - it's Mango season

They looks so good! I need to get a new mango tree.

I absolutely love mangoes!

The Bowen Specials have been fantastic this year, Andy. Well actually it's been a good year for all varieties of mangoes here this year.

That's great! Yes, I know some years are better than others. Last year was a terrific year for mangoes here. This year not so much. I'm not sure why.

I know the drier the winter and spring weather, the better the fruit production.

Yes even though our autumn to spring is also our dry season, some years we do get the occasional shower of rain in late autumn and spring. That happened last year, but not this.

Do you grow mango trees?

I used to have a small Keitt variety mango. It died from being crowded out by other plants. Mango trees need all day sun, all year to grow and produce fruit.

No we don't grow any ourselves. We do however live in an area where they are dozens and dozens of small holdings that have an acre or so full of mango trees. Every year they put out their mango stall and sell their fantastic crop. We're lucky that we are regarded as real locals now (after living here for 13 years!), so we are actually given mangoes for free every year. Sometimes we get buckets of them. We never go short of mangoes around here.

I did grow up in a place called Bowen, which is the home of the Bowen Special. Everyone, including my family, had at least two trees in their backyard, if not more. We would practically live on mangoes all summer long. I've never ever had a mango tree in any place I've lived in as an adult though.

That's so terrific you get free mangoes! I can eat three a day...and that's every day. LOL!

There's some heavy-producing trees around here where they let the mangoes drop and don't eat them. I must go and ask for them. It's such a waste of good fruit.

I would love to have a tree this size. It's the perfect shape and size for a small yard.

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/226369-mangifera-indica-mango-tree

Of course our Bowen Special (sold as 'Kensington Pride' now) is a commercial cultivar of the Mangifera indica. It originated in my home town back in the 60s, and can't be beaten for quality and the amount of crop. In the tropical and sub-tropical areas here, it can reach 35 m.

One of the other cultivars that is grown on the hobby farms around here is the R2E2, which is great and the fruit can be slightly larger than the Bowen Special.

I hope you get your mango tree one day. There would be nothing better than being able to wander out into the yard and pick a mango for breakfast.