I have been blessed with a mango tree which gives sweet and delicious fruit each year. However, we've had to learn a lot of lessons on how to properly harvest them, avoiding birds and insects, etc. This year it seems we have the best harvest ever. So far, about half way done, we have had around 80-90 mangoes and they've been amazing!
One thing we now do is have one person climb the tree and pick mangoes, while 1-2 stand below to catch them. They're heavier and harder than soft balls, and if you don't catch them just right it really hurts.
(Susan & Peter helping catch the 22 we picked that day).
We also pick them before they're ripe, to avoid further bugs. Some bugs get into the fruit when it is in pollination stage, but we've been able to beat many to that with spray our exterminator man supplies. When they are picked semi-green, they take anywhere from 2 days to a week to ripen, in a dark but breezy place. I've been sharing a number of them with my fellow missionaries and friends, including my guards plus Susan my house helper. With prices for 3 mangoes at a high cost, we've all not only saved money, but we've really enjoyed the benefits! i'm in freezing stage now for some, and will later use them in various recipes. Any recipe that calls for apples can take mangoes instead. Yum!
Peter wanted to demonstrate how you might carry them, but typically people here would normally not be using their hands- only their heads- when carrying bananas, mangoes, other loads.
Bosco, our neighbor's guard, helped Peter pick mangoes one day. He is enjoying one which fell and cracked open- and wanted his photo in this pose. Funny! Many Ugandans eat the mangoes while green (bitter/sour!) to get them before the birds and insects, so although the above mango he was eating was not quite ripe, he thought it was delicious! ... and here he is in the below photo, up in the tree having fun picking!
