July 11, 2019
The Seashell in the Mangroves
by Joey Bokor
Listen by Joey Bokor
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| Shells hanging in the mangroves. |
We recently had a kid free evening and decided to take a little trip over to the beach. We weren't terribly hungry, so we just grabbed a quick drink at the bar at Frenchy's and as we were leaving, the waitress asked where we were headed. We told her that we were just planning on going for a walk and she mentioned that if you walked far enough to the north, you'd find mangroves that people hang shells on. We didn't have a destination in mind, so we headed in the direction she recommended. We've walked Clearwater Beach a hundred times over the last 25 years. North, south, in good weather, in iffy weather. We've been there a lot, but we had never heard of, or noticed shells hanging in mangroves.
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| An evening beach walk on Caladesi Island |
It was a fun evening, but I think the best part of it was the discovery. We really had no idea that there were mangroves filled with memory shells. We were just planning to walk as far
as we could. It's amazing what exists around us without us realizing it. I wonder what we'll discover tomorrow.
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Happy
Gardening, The Kerby's Nursery Family 
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The Weekly Special
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Offer valid through 7/18/19
Cannot be combined with other offers.
In Stock Items Only
Close your eyes and picture a tropical paradise. There's sand, there's warm ocean water, there's bright color . . . and there are definitely palm trees. A gorgeous palm will quickly turn your landscape into your very own backyard paradise. A new shipment just arrived at Kerby's and this week only, they are all 20% off.
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| It's mango harvest season. |
Garden Tip
If you've got a mango tree that is at least 3 years old, then you are probably starting to harvest fruit from your tree. We've picked some of our own first fruit this week and wow are they delicious. There is nothing like tree-ripened mango on a hot summer day. Below are a few tips for keeping your harvest going and for caring for young mango trees in the summer.
Watering - After a year, most mango trees will be fine with the water that Mother Nature provides. However, when they are setting fruit in April and May, they may need a little additional water to help the fruit set properly. Those are two of our dry, hot months and so a good extra soaking once a week can help prevent fruit drop.
Fertilizer - Don't fertilize mango trees when they have fruit on them. A burst of nutrients can cause fruit drop and it can also sometimes cause a change the fruit flavor. Be ready to fertilizer as the last mangos are harvested. This will encourage a great burst of summer growth so that there are even more mangos next year. For a balanced fertilizer, use The Kerby’s Special, applying 1 tablespoon per foot of height evenly across the entire root zone of the tree.
Disease Control - Mangos have one major disease that causes them problems. It is called anthracnose and it shows up as black spots on leaves as well as black spots on fruits. If it gets really bad, it can cause fruits to rot. Fortunately the disease has an easy solution: Liquid Copper Fungicide or Copper Soap Fungicide. For our mangos at home, we spray just as the first fruits are setting in March or April to keep disease off the fruits and new leaves. If needed, we repeat monthly to keep our trees happy and healthy.
Pruning - On younger trees, pruning may not be necessary, but after harvest time if there are branches in places that you don't want them, prune before you fertilize. Once you've shaped the tree, give it food so that it can grow in from where you pruned.
June, July and August are the months for mango harvests, so we hope you are enjoying the fruits of your labor.
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