Mangoes

[everdream78]

Just wondering if anyone could give me some tips or hints for growing mangoes?

I've just done a healthy eating session with a youth group and they tried a mango for the first time! They were all fascinated by the stone in the middle and seeing as I'll be planting some basics (herbs, broad beans, cress and mustard etc) with them on Thursday, I was wondering what I would need to do to try growing a mango.

Thanks in advance!

[jeannine]

I'm guessing mangoes would be very tricky to grow in the UK as they need warm temperatures and are the fruit of quite a big tree - so you might need a Kew scale greenhouse.

If you wanted to try something exotic to grow with a youth group, cape gooseberries are surprisingly easy to raise from seed (treat them like a tomato or a chilli) and if you plant them now by mid to late summer you'll have a good crop.

You can peel back the husks and dip the berries in melted chocolate!

Seeds are about £2 from T&M or Chilterns.

[Flummery]

I had 2 mango stones which I cut open and the little shoots began to grow. Then winter came! They were on my kitchen windowsill which is obviously not sufficiently tropical!

[Two_Sheds]

Hmmm.
Mangoes are tropical, and grow over 30 metres tall. How about a nice tomato instead?

Or, grow mango/avocado as a houseplant? Hands on - Mango

[everdream78]

Thanks for the replies guys n gals!

Think we'll give the houseplant version a try!

See my shocking reality check thread in general chithchat for the background to this story!

[Ethansmum]

We had both an avocado and a mango tree at our homes in South Africa. I can testify as to how huge they grow!!