By Victoria Torley

Wow, here we are more than halfway through November so it must be time for a what’s-ripe-now column.  

I guarantee that the mandarinas are ripe because my gardener just brought me a large basket of fruit.

We have a number of mandarina trees that are scattered about the property and we have added a nice new one in the orchard where it is easier to maintain, not that they need much but pruning and fertilizing. The oranges and grapefruit are in the orchard as well and both are producing now.

Mangos are also ripe but don’t try to make pie from the soft ones. For pie, you need “green” or unripe mangos. Ripe ones just get stringy in the pie.

Then there are the fruits that have no season. The coconut, for example, is unique in that it flowers even while it is setting fruit, a most unusual behavior. Pineapple and bananas are two more that have no fruiting season. After all, this is the tropics. Papaya is also available year-round.

Sweet passion fruit (granadilla) are not just ripe they are huge. The last one we picked weighed 4.2 kilos. Very impressive, and granadilla has no season. The pulp is usually popped in a blender with added water but it is so sweet that the beverage is mixed with a tangier fruit juice like grapefruit or orange. Granadilla can also be served like a melon.

The Seville orange is another fruit with no precise season and is a great juicing orange. 

The avocado is year-round as well.

Some unusual (at least where we live) fruits are the cocona (aka topiro) and the naranjilla. They are related fruits and have a limited range but they are worth trying if you find them. The cocona is said to smell a bit like a tomato but taste a bit like lime. The naranjilla (“little orange”) is said to taste like pineapple or lemon.

Then there is the tamarillo or tree tomato. Fruits are small but very tasty and high in vitamins and minerals. You can also find the Cape gooseberry or uchuba in the markets. It’s the one that looks like it is individually wrapped in a papery covering. It has a sweet-tart taste and is great for jams and jellies.

In Costa Rica, it seems that watermelons have a season. You can almost always find them but they aren’t always ripe.

So, instead of a “plant of the week”, here is how to pick a good watermelon.

Rotate the melon. A ripe melon will never have stripes all around it, there will always be a yellow to light yellow spot where the melon rested against the ground or sling. Look for bumps, dents, and spots that may tell of rough handling. Thump the melon. It should sound hollow when ripe. Pick the melon up. If it feels like a lightweight, it isn’t ripe. Now, grab a nice sharp knife and cut a big slice. Yum.

---------------
Find more amazing stories about gardening in Costa Rica on the Costa Rica Garden website. Regarding questions on this article, Ms. Victoria Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached by emailing victoriatorley1@gmail.com.