Mango Hi Stan! You are listened to my many members of my family - .great going! My question is this: My mom has a mango sitting on her cupboard in the kitchen that she would like begin growing. It is over ripe already but neither of us know how to go about planting it so that she may produce a beautiful plant? Should she let the mango ripe to 'mush' and then plant it? Any tips you could pass on to me would very helpful. Please hurry! The mango gets riper every day. Thanks Stan! Dawn P.S. She lives here in Alberta so this will be a 'house plant' if she ever gets it growing. Dawn.. I hasten to answer. Your mango is ripe when 'firmly soft'. Like any seed producing fruit, other than the strawberry, when the fruit is ripe either by color or texture, so too is then is the seed ready to harvest. Peel and enjoy the mango flesh and extract the large 'carp' or seed. The seed husk is protecting the embryo, and must not become dry. While preparing the seed mix into a 6 or 8 inch pot, keep it submerged in a tin or cup of water. Use a mix of peat and perlite half and half. Fill the pot to 2 inches below the rim. You will notice that the seed is longer than wider, and with more of a bulge to the bottom of the seed when held at both ends that would represent an oyster shell. The bulgy part is the bottom and will be inserted into the soilless mix, so that the sharper edge is protruding about an inch above the mix. Water well and keep moist, good light during the day and dim to dark beginning after supper to early morning. The pot needs continuous warm temps. without much variation. Germination may take 6 to 10 weeks this time of year but lesser time beginning in March. Good luck and await your success.

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