Greetings Everyone,

I hope this note finds you well, safe, and happy.

We plan to start selling lychees and some mangoes this Saturday 5/28 at 10:00 a.m.

With respect to tropical fruit, this is an unusual year. In short, the mangoes bloomed, the flowers opened, we got a cold spell and it killed off most of the flowers. Then we had about 3-4 storms that blew off tons of fruit that did start to develop and hence, not much fruit. Three months later, the mango trees bloomed again, and when the flowers opened, we had a cold spell and it killed the flowers again and hence, no fruit. Somehow the lychees flowered and were not affected by the weather, so we have some.

Overall, there is not much fruit here on Merritt Island. I spoke to the other people that usually sell mangoes and they are not even going to open this year. Yes, you read that correctly.

So, on Saturday we will be selling Sweetheart lychees and maybe some Mauritius lychees.
Brewster, Hak Ip, and Emperor are about three weeks away, but they too are in limited supply.

LYCHEE SALES
To be efficient, the lychees will be sold in two-pound bags. The price is $20.00. We will only sell two-pound bags. So, you can get two pounds, or four pounds, or six pounds, etc. The idea is to make the transaction as trouble free as possible. The lychees will be picked that morning. You cannot get any fresher than that unless you have your own tree.

MANGOES
Mangoes will be $5.00 per pound.
As I mentioned before, this is an unusual year for tropical fruit. There will be some mangoes available. We have never sold mangoes and lychees at the same time. Usually, its lychees in June and mangoes in July, but this is not a typical year. Some of the mangoes that will be available are, Nam Doc Mai, Florigon, Van Dyke, Choc Anon, and maybe some others.

Also, with respect to mangoes, after discussions with some mango experts, it is suggested that it is better to pick the mangoes a little bit on the green side and let them ripen at home as opposed to letting them ripen on the tree. Ripening them on the tree increases the risk of getting “jelly stone” fruit. So, we will be picking a little bit earlier than we have in the past.

OPERATING PROCEDURE

We only accept cash.

For those of you that come every year, it’s pretty much the same as the last few years. Stand in line, and we will call you up to the table when it’s your turn, tell us what you want, get your fruit, pay us and move on.

A few very important notes;

• We are not a “You-Pick” operation. We will pick the fruit and have it available for you.
• Please do not wander into the orchard. You will be asked to leave the property if you do.
• Please do not pick up anything that you think may be some kind of fruit. The only fruit available will be lychee and mangoes.
• Please do not bring your animals to the farm. They will not be allowed on the property.
• Please be courteous to the others around you.
• We are unable to hold fruit for you at this time.

On Saturday, as we will be in the orchard picking fruit in the morning, I will be unable to take your phone calls. I may be able to respond to a simple text, but don’t count on it until later in the morning.

Finally, if you are planning to travel a long distance to come visit us, we appreciate it, but I would recommend having a back up plan for the day in case the fruit sells out before you make it here. Maybe visit the beach, or the zoo.

Thank you