Farmers' Markets on STX and what they sell

Many tropical fruits....mango,papaya,star fruit,bananas,guava, passion fruit, cocunut...most of them have a season.thefruits and veggies you are accustomed to will most likely change. Mango season coming up soon.
There is a real co-op on island and weekly farmers markets and regular roadside stands for fresh produce and seafood.
Its great!

Thanks, Sheiba. I'm really looking forward to getting on island and trying everything for myself. I love mango in particular!

Thanks, Sheiba. I'm really looking forward to getting on island and trying everything for myself. I love mango in particular!

When I was a broke-ass in Florida we would wander the neighborhood ransacking peoples yards for mangos for something to eat. They a nice treat that time of the year, especially when theyre new to you. I dont know about local wildlife but you have to get them before the squirrels do.

So you "went scrumpin'" for mangoes? Awesome. LOL :@)

I have been going to Art Farm once a week, but they'll be closing for the summer. Not much fresh veggies in the summer I hear. July we have a Mango festival and there is a lot of fresh fruit right now. It's the start of pineapple season.

Being from Bucks, Jamison, you know what we've got around here. I cannot wait to be able to eat fresh mangoes!

I wonder how well lettuce and broccoli grounds in gardens there.

There are some great greens here. Great!

just watch for the sap from the mangos

just watch for the sap from the mangos

This intrigues me. Care to elaborate as to why? I haven't run across mango warnings in my readings.

Bob

i would hope you would not be allergic to it as it will give you a mighty rash.

Thanks, Sheiba. I'm really looking forward to getting on island and trying everything for myself. I love mango in particular!

When I was a broke-ass in Florida we would wander the neighborhood ransacking peoples yards for mangos for something to eat. They a nice treat that time of the year, especially when theyre new to you. I dont know about local wildlife but you have to get them before the squirrels do.

No squirrels that I know of on island, but plenty of mongoose, iguanas and centipedes.

The mango is related to poison ivy. It can get ugly. We had two mango trees where we lived and had to "fight" the deer for them.

Interesting!

Birds and bats also like de mango dem.

I didn't know mango could induce a poison-ivy reaction. You're talking about plant sap, like what you'd get if you crushed a leaf or broke a branch, not the juice of the fruit, right?

Thanks,

Bob

depends on how allergic you are.

From http://www.livestrong.com/article/179501-mango-skin-rashes/ :

"Mango rinds contain an oil, called urushiol, that occasionally causes skin irritation. Although it is relatively common for people to develop rashes after coming into contact with urushiol, it is minimally present in the actual mango flesh. Few people develop similar rashes from eating mango fruit."

And

"If you have never had a reaction after eating something that contained mango, then you can probably eat it without a problem, as long as the sap from the rind is handled carefully. If someone else cuts the mango for you, make sure the knife that cut through the rind is immediately washed, and that the mango is rinsed to remove any urushiol residue."

most people just get the reaction from the sap when they pick the mango.

I can eat cut mango with a fork, but if I peel one without gloves or eat it in hand like an orange (taking off the peel as I go), I get a rash around my mouth and on my hands.

Bob (NQ3X) has made mango chutney from fresh mangos, so I doubt he's allergic. But thank for the warning, guys!

LOL! This is getting to sound like when I was in Australia. It seemed like everything you wanted to do, someone would say, "Don't do that! It will KILL YOU!" After a while, you start wondering how anyone in Australia manages to live past the age of ten.

One day, I asked my friends if they personally knew anyone who had died from any of these things they warned me about. They admitted they heard about one guy dying on TV once. 😀

If you've had poison ivy and had the severe rash, then apparently the oil from the peel can give you the same type rash. And if you have had poison ivy rash, be warned that skin contact with fig tree sap will then cause the same experience. My husband did some barehanded weeding around our new property where there was poison ivy and had a terrible time getting rid of the rash. He also had it all around his knees from kneeling. It was painful and raw. It took cortisone shots to finally get rid of the problem. Now he's allergic to anything connected to the poison ivy family. We also had some fig trees on this property and on mowing around one a year later, a limb scratched his arm where he then developed another bad case of poison ivy... More shots. I'm so thankful for the mango warning!

I found a website that had a message board where literally hundreds of people had written in about their experiences with poison ivy and ways to prevent/treat it. The consensus was that if you get the oil/sap on you, (or something in that family, like the mango peel), if you'll wash the skin that was exposed with a good soap within several minutes of the exposure, you'll be able to wash the oil off thus preventing the rash. I had no idea poison ivy was such a problem!

Cup of gold does it too, and the spanish plum tree...all of which we have in our year. Just glad I never got around to planting mango. Most folks are not bothered to a big degree though.

Yeah I am allergic to mangos too. I picked them one season of a large old mango tree and got the sap on my hands and face (from wiping my brow) and swelled right up.