Many folks have been avoiding crowds and even staying home to avoid COVID-19 exposure for the last two years. Being grounded has new meaning when we have little opportunity to socialize. Even folks who have lived in Hawaii all or most of their lives, have never had a problem with rock fever until now. However, there are solutions. We can mentally escape this isolation by growing and expanding our tropical fruit cuisines. Enjoying these fruits can expand our world even though we are stuck at home.
When we are comfortable with travel again, a trip to tropical and subtropical regions can be very enlightening in some unexpected ways. By visiting these places, we can learn more about what tropical fruits are important to the colorful cultures of our world. For example, there are literally hundreds of fruits yet to be found in the forests and local markets throughout South America and Asia. Many of these fruits are high in vitamins, minerals and energy. So the lesson for us may be instead of pies, cakes and cookies, consider fruit for your sweets. Those vitamin pills on your shelf, besides being pretty expensive items, are not nearly as palatable and eye appealing as fresh fruit especially when it is grown in your own garden. You can purchase books on fruits of Hawaii from local garden centers and bookstores that give descriptions, nutritive value and uses of most of these fruits.
Take vitamin A for instance. One papaya is supposed to contain 4,000 IUs (International Units) while 5,000 IUs per day are listed as adequate. Passion fruit and relatives like banana poka, poha, avocados and surinam cherry are other South American fruits high in vitamin A. Other South American fruits to consider are rollinia, cherimoya and white sapote, just to mention a few.
Some fruits famous for their contribution of vitamin C are guava, papaya, soursop, poha, various cactus fruit and passion fruit.
One of the fruits highest in vitamin C is the acerola or barbados cherry. The fruit is not a cherry but a member of the Malpighia family. The family is a fairly familiar ornamental shrub in many gardens and bears the highest-known vitamin C content fruit. As a comparison, oranges average 49 milligrams of vitamin per 100 grams of edible fruit (100 grams is about 3.5 ounces), while the barbados cherry, picked as they are turning green to red, average over 4,000 units per 100 grams.
Don’t forget the pineapple. Even though we see them commonly in the stores, it is fun to grow your own. The pineapple will produce several crops a year if you have a large number of plants; varieties like red Spanish, smooth cayenne, queen and abakka are found in our gardens. When grown in the home garden, they tend to be much sweeter than the commercial fruit found at the supermarket.
In addition, there are dozens of less known fruits, like the mountain apple and its relatives that make outstanding ornamental shrubs and trees as well as fruit producers. Jaboticaba, pitanga and grumichana are also very attractive with delicious fruits. The common Surinam cherry, also in this family, has fruit that vary from tasty to terrible depending on seedlings. The Carissa macrocarpa, or natal plum, is common in our gardens, but most folks don’t know that it is edible. It is extremely high in vitamin C. Even though it is related to the poisonous oleander, the fruit is safe to eat and tastes a bit like a sweet cranberry. Only he leaves and stems are toxic.
Another favorite in its homeland is the sapodilla, chicle or chewing gum tree. It is an attractive shade tree that grows to about 30 feet. The dark brown fruit is about the size of an orange and tastes like a combination of brown sugar and butter. It will tolerate wet or dry conditions and will grow from sea level to 2,000 feet.
Don’t forget the durian and jackfruit. The durian has a certain reputation. Lovers of the fruit are willing to pay $25 to $50 for a good-sized fruit, but others who do not like it are actually repulsed by its smell. When it comes to jackfruit, a close relative of breadfruit, trees can produce more fruit than a family can eat. Some fruit have been recorded weighing 20 to 50 pounds. The seed is also edible and is incorporated into many tropical Asian dishes.
Before you plant, remember, the adaptability of a fruit tree to moisture, temperature and wind conditions will be important factors determining selection. For example, West Indian avocado would have a chance of success in warmer, lower areas, but would be a definite gamble in high, wet inland locations. By the same token, Mexican strains are desirable in the higher, cooler areas. All require good drainage.
In addition to adaptability to temperature conditions, there are other factors to consider in selecting fruit trees.
Fruits for home use should be selected on the basis of eating quality, rather than for their market appearance or shipping endurance. Pollination requirements must not be overlooked in selecting fruits. Solo papaya need no pollinators, but avocado varieties should be chosen with regard to assuring proper pollination.
Pest resistance as a factor in selecting fruit trees is more important to the homeowner than to the commercial grower because the commercial grower has equipment for pest control while the homeowner may not. The less pesticides required, the better.
Selection of fruits for the home grounds should assure a long season of available fruit by use of a series of varieties of early, mid-season, and late production within the range for the species.
There are hundreds of fruits that can be grown in our Hawaiian gardens and thanks to the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Association efforts, we are soon to have many more. If you need help on selecting fruit trees, contact the Master Gardener Helpline at (808) 322-4893 in Kona or (808) 981-5199 in Hilo.