💩 10 reasons why chocolate is actually good for you and how you can grow your own

• 
  ☕️ That's right - the source of your favorite sweet treat, the Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao) we introduced in earlier post, produces cocoa that's packed with powerful health benefits. Growing your own chocolate tree isn't just fun and rewarding - it's a way to bring a superfood right into your backyard!
• 
  ☕️ Here are 10 reasons why cocoa is a health hero:

• 🍫 Loaded with Antioxidants - Fights free radicals and supports overall cell health.
• 
  🍫 Heart Healthy - Helps lower blood pressure and improve circulation.
• 
  🍫 Mood Booster - Promotes feel-good chemicals like serotonin and endorphins.
• 
  🍫 Brain Power - Flavanols support memory, focus, and cognitive function.
• 
  🍫 Fights Inflammation - Natural compounds help reduce chronic inflammation.
• 
  🍫 Supports Blood Sugar Balance - May improve insulin sensitivity.
• 
  🍫 Glowing Skin - Boosts hydration and protects against UV damage.
• 
  🍫 Aids in Weight Management - May reduce cravings and support metabolism.
• 
  🍫 Rich in Minerals - Packed with magnesium, iron, copper, and more.
• 
  🍫 Good for Gut Health - Acts as a prebiotic to feed good bacteria.

☕️ With all these benefits, why not grow your own source of chocolate? Plant a Theobroma cacao tree and enjoy the magic of harvesting your very own cocoa pods. It's not just a tree - it's a conversation starter, a wellness booster, and your personal chocolate factory in the making.

🛒 Get your Chocolate Tree today and grow your own goodness

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💋 This is why Atemoya is better than any other Annonas

• 
  🎃 Atemoya (Annona cherimola × Annona squamosa) is a hybrid between the Cherimoya (Annona cherimola) and the Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa), combining the best traits of both fruits.
• 
  🎃 This tree is notably hardier than the common sugar apple and thrives in tropical heat, unlike the cherimoya, which prefers cooler summers. Its resilience makes the atemoya an excellent choice for both subtropical and tropical gardens, as it can tolerate light frosts.
• 
  🎃 The tree reaches about 15-25 feet in height and spreads equally wide at maturity.
• 
  🎃 One of the advantages of Atemoya over the Sugar Apple is its fruit, which contains fewer seeds, making it more enjoyable to eat fresh..
• 
  🎃 Grafted Cultivars:

Atemoya cv. Geffner: An Israeli cultivar renowned for its heavy cropping capacity and excellent flavor. Geffner is highly productive and is considered one of the best varieties, producing good fruit yields without the need for hand-pollination. ​

Atemoya cv. Lisa (48-26): Developed by Gary Zill, Lisa is praised for its outstanding taste and attractive appearance. The fruit has a pinkish-gray exterior and a soft, light pink interior. While not as naturally productive as Geffner, Lisa can yield well with hand-pollination. ​

Atemoya cv. Priestly: This cultivar produces large, green fruits with a creamy texture and uniquely sweet flavor. It is a grafted variety that combines desirable traits from both parent species, making it a delightful addition to home gardens. ​

📚 More delicious Annonas:

• • Sugar Apple: how does it taste?
• • Guanabana - the most delicious Annona fruit
• • Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #1. Annona
• • Why everyone wants the Sugar Apple?
• • The fastest to fruit: Annona

Spiny Hedgehog fruit: what does it taste like?

🛒 Plant Atemoya and enjoy your own rare exotic fruit!

#Food_Forest #Discover

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👍 Why this tree is so popular in Asia: health benefits of Chinese Olive Superfruit

• 
  🫒 Chinese Olive Tree (Canarium album) is a time-honored Superfruit tree that packed with nutrients, history, and amazing flavor.
• 
  🫒It has been celebrated in Asia for over 2,000 years - for good reason.
• 
  🫒 The olive-like drupes are packed with essential amino acids, healthy fats, fiber, and vitamins. Plus, they’re rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and other powerful bioactive compounds.
• 
  🫒 Enjoy the fruit raw, pickled, candied, or cooked into soups and stews. It can even be dried as a snack, brewed into herbal teas, or roasted like a nut.
• 
  🫒 With its unique flavor and ancient reputation in Asian medicine and cuisine, the Chinese Olive is both a conversation piece and a functional food tree for your garden.

🛒 Plant Chinese Olive - add timeless wellness and culinary magic to your garden

#Food_Forest #Nature_Wonders #Discover

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🍑 What fruit and edibles can help with health issues and VITAMIN deficiencies 🥑

...Continued from previous post ⤴️

7. 💅 Beauty Enhancer
(Vitamin B7 - Biotin):
Banana, Avocado, Aloe Vera, Clitoria (Butterfly Pea), Patchouli.

8.🩸Blood Builder
(Vitamin B9 - Folate):
Avocado, Guava, Papaya, Moringa, Chaya (Maya Spinach Tree), Mulberry.

9. 🦠 Immunity Booster
(Vitamin C - Ascorbic Acid):
Guava, Pineapple, Carambola, Mango, Dragon Fruit, Loquat, Longevity Spinach (Gynura), Moringa, Allspice, Camphor Tree, Bay Leaf, Yerba Mate, Cherry, Peach, Passion fruit, Mulberry, Eugenia, Cinnamon, Piper sarmentosum (Vietnamese Pepper), Wiriwiri and Biquinho Pepper.

10. ✋ Skin Shield
(Vitamin E - Tocopherol):
Avocado, Sapote, Dragon Fruit, Moringa, Patchouli, Aloe, Annatto, Camphor Tree.

11. ❣️Clot Controller
(Vitamin K - Phylloquinol):
Moringa, Sauropus (Katuk), Chaya.

12. 🍲 Digestive Aid
(Enzymes):
Pineapple, Papaya, Ginger, Turmeric, Mango, Lemongrass, Cinnamon, Black Pepper, Bay Leaf, Betel Leaf, Peach, Eugenia, Jackfruit, Lippia dulcis, Allspice, Lippia alba (Poleo), Wiri wiri and Biquinho Pepper, Passion fruit.

📚 Learn more in our next posts about specific benefits of each fruit or plant...

🛒 Explore tropical fruit trees with benefits

#Food_Forest #Discover #Remedies

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🍑 What fruit and edibles can help with health issues and VITAMIN deficiencies 🥑

We've got a handy little cheat sheet to help you choose the right foods when you're low on vitamins or dealing with health issues.
Save it and give your body a tune-up!

🥗 12 powerful vitamins and their food sources

1. 👁️ Eye Sight Protector

(Vitamin A - Retinol):
Mango, Loquat, Papaya, Carambola, Moringa, Annato, Annona, Cherries, Peach, Blueberry.

2. ⚡ Energy Booster
(Vitamin B1 - Thiamine):
Jackfruit, Pineapple, Banana, Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan), Camellia sinensis (Tea plant), Coffee, Yerba Mate, Wiriwiri and Biquinho Pepper

3. 💧 Cell Repairer
(Vitamin B2 - Riboflavin):
Dragon Fruit, Sapote, Avocado, Moringa

4. ❤️ Heart Helper
(Vitamin B3 - Niacin):
Guava, Jackfruit, Sapodilla, Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan), Passion fruit, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Yerba Mate, Cacao, Annona, Mulberry, Cinnamon, Camellia sinensis (Tea Plant), Curry Leaf

5. 🤯 Stress Fighter
(Vitamin B5 - Pantothenic Acid):
Avocado, Mango, Dragon Fruit, Camellia sinensis (Tea plant), Clitoria (Butterfly Pea), Lippia alba (Poleo)

6. 😊 Mood Balancer
(Vitamin B6 - Pyridoxine):
Banana, Jackfruit, Sapote, Passion fruit, Banisteriopsis caapi (Ayahuasca), Cacao

Continued in next post...⤵️

🛒 Explore tropical fruit trees with benefits

#Food_Forest #Discover #Remedies

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🔥 Is this the actual Burning Bush of the Bible? 👍

• 🔥 This is no ordinary bramble - Rubus sanctus, also known as the Burning Bush of the Bible, is steeped in ancient mystery and sacred history. Grown from seeds sourced by Top Tropicals directly from the revered plant at St. Catherine’s Monastery in 2016, this Holy Bramble connects your garden to one of the most powerful symbols of divine revelation.
• 🔥 Still growing today at the Chapel of the Burning Bush on Mount Sinai, this plant is believed by many to be the very bush through which God spoke to Moses. Its sacred presence inspired the founding of the monastery itself.
• 🔥 Rubus sanctus is a very long-lived fruiting shrub, bearing symbolic and botanical significance. Its Latin name says it all: Rubus (blackberry/raspberry) and sanctus (holy/sacred). Whether you're drawn to its spiritual roots or its resilient nature, this plant brings a piece of biblical history to life in your garden.

📚 Learn more about Burning Bush of the Bible

🛒 Plant your own Sacred Burning Bush and bring a piece of biblical history in your yard

#Food_Forest #Nature_Wonders #Discover

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🥭 MANGO VARIETY CHEAT SHEET
How to pick the right mango tree for your yard, Quick Guide

• 🟠 Condo Mango - for containers and small spaces

1. Cogshall - Compact and colorful, with sweet flavor and fungus resistance.
2. Ice Cream - Stays under six feet with rich, dessert-like flavor.
3. Julie - Caribbean favorite with sweet tropical flavor, but very cold sensitive.
4. Mallika - Indian condo mango with rich, sweet flavor and hints of citrus and melon.
5. Carrie - Super sweet and fiberless, perfect for small yards.

📚 More: Top 10 Dwarf "Condo" Mango - great for container culture.

• 🟠 Most popular varieties everyone wants

1. Alphonso - Rich Indian mango with coconut-like flavor, highly prized.
2. Maha Chinook - Rare, ultra-sweet Singapore mango, good for pots.
3. Fralan - Hardy tree with sweet green fruit that cracks when peeled.
4. Fruit Cocktail - Tastes like a blend of pineapple, citrus, and guava.
5. Nam Doc Mai - Most beloved Asian mango, semi-dwarf and versatile.
• 🟠 Most vigorous reliable producers

1. Glenn - Easy to grow, consistently produces excellent fruit.
2. Pim Seng Mun - Super productive and reliable.
3. Sweet Tart - Intense flavor, new and exclusive variety.
4. Fruit Punch - Tastes like a medley of tropical fruits.
5. Orange Sherbet - Sweet citrus flavor on a moderately vigorous tree.

🛒 Select perfect Mango trees and enjoy your own treats

#Food_Forest #Mango #Discover

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❤️ How Mangoes can help with diabetes

• 🥭 A new study shows that eating fresh mangoes may support better blood sugar control. Researchers at the Illinois Institute of Technology found that overweight adults who ate mangoes daily experienced significant reductions in insulin resistance - a key factor in preventing type 2 diabetes.
• 🥭 Mangoes also improved beta-cell function, helping the pancreas produce and release insulin more effectively. After just four weeks, participants had noticeably lower insulin levels, with no changes in the control group.
• 🥭 While mangoes are naturally sweet and rich in fiber, portion control and balanced carbs are still important. But when enjoyed as part of a healthy diet, mangoes could be a tasty way to support blood sugar balance and metabolic health.

📚Learn more about #Mango

🛒 Plant a Mango tree and grow your own healthy fruit

#Food_Forest #Mango #Fun_Facts #Discover

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🍍What are the best varieties of Pineapples?

• 🍍 All the Pineapples (Ananas comosus) are easy to grow, virtually carefree plants. You you plant a few - you will always have the benefit of fresh delicious fruit on the table.
• 🍍 Our top 3 pineapple plants - beauty, flavor and backyard bragging rights!


1. White Jade Pineapple (Eleuthera) - Hawaiian luxury in your yard! Ultra-sweet white flesh, edible core, and spineless leaves for easy handling. Doesn’t ship well - because it's meant to be grown and enjoyed fresh by you!

2. Florida Special Pineapple - A golden-fleshed classic! Bred for Florida by the Libby fruit company, this variety once covered 240 acres in Immokalee. Sweet, flavorful, and tough - ripens even after chilly nights in the 30s!

3. Sugarloaf Pineapple - Sweet, Juicy, and Totally Unique! Also known as Kona Sugarloaf , it is a low-acid, super sweet variety originally from West Africa. It's famous for its creamy white flesh, mild flavor, and edible core - yep, even the core is tender and tasty! Grows tall, slim, and heavy, with dark green skin that stays green even when ripe. It can reach an impressive 10 pounds! The plant itself is just as striking, with a large pointed crown and smooth leaves edged with fine serrations.
• 🍍 Make sure to feed your pineapples what they crave - sunshine and nutrients! Boost their growth with - SUNSHINE Ananas - Pineapple and Bromeliad Booster. This special formula gives your plants the energy they need to thrive and produce tons of sweet, juicy fruit just for you!

📚 Pineapples from previous posts:
How we ate all pineapples from that ugly corner
The most luscious Hospitality Fruit: Pineapple
Three must-have fruit for every tropical garden

🛍 Enjoy the benefits of Pineapples - make your yard useful!

#Food_Forest

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🙂 This is how a young Loquat tree is fruiting

For the previous posts⤴️

📚 Loquat in previous posts:

• 🟡about #Loquat
• 🟡Ten best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes. # 10: Loquat Tree
• 🟡Loquat – the Symbol of Prosperity
• 🟡Learn more about Loquats
• 🟡10 best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes

🎥 YouTube video about Loquat
📁 Overlooked fruit: tasty Loquat recipes (PDF)

🛍 Shop Loquat Trees and enjoy fresh fruit benefits

#Food_Forest #Loquat

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