Chubby Bunny

Project Mango: The Fetus

Last weekend, Mom bought a box of Phillipine mangos because they were ripening much quicker than the store could manage to sell them– so, they were on sale.

Some years ago, when I was old enough to hold a knife skillfully, but not yet old enough to say…take the Regents, I had Phillipine mangos for the first time. While watching television with my parents after dinner, we peeled and ate the golden, nutrient-dense orbs.

Despite the occasional fiber getting caught within my teeth, I actually really liked eating whatever flesh was on the stone at the end. And I guess when I was younger, I was very confident about the strength of my teeth– or maybe I simply didn’t care — but for whatever reason, I was determined to rip off the fibers on the very hairy part of the stone. So it was really by serendipity that I managed to open the stone and–for the very first time– see what a mango seed looked like.

It was like any other seed, shaped very much like a giant lima bean with a dark seed coat. It was exciting. So this is how a mango tree really begins? Awesome. I took some paper towel and a plastic container and was determined to germinate the giant bean.

Well, since last weekend, I’ve regained the determination to crack open stones and sprout the seeds. Despite having a box of mango to begin with, I only ate three and a half this whole time– I pulled out the seed each time.

And now they’re growing!

Unfortunately, I severed one of the giant seeds.

Instead of ripping the fibers off with my teeth, I now carefully saw through the fibrous part with a small serrrated knife. Unfortunately, I sawed off a bit much where the stem of the tree would attach to the mango and in doing so, severed a seed. It’s doing okay, but it’s struggling a bit. The smallest seed that I’ve harvested is slowly but surely developing chlorophyll in what will grow to become the stem.

I still remember the botany unit in biology 101, where we learned that water activates certain hormones in seeds that, in tandem with other environmental conditions, generate a signal that says: it’s okay to grow now.

Other tips for anyone bored, adventurous or curious enough to try growing their own mango plants (it should be a while before they become trees…!) are:

• Work in “sterile” conditions. I pretended that I was handing petri dishes for growing bacteria. Generally, keep things closed or faced down so that whatever is in the air won’t fall in. We want to minimize the possibility of mold growing (this is usually my biggest problem.)
• Rinse the seeds well! We don’t want food particles or even traces of glucose on the plant. This could pose as growth media for any spores that might find themselves in the container. I think.
• Cover tightly. So far, the Rubbermaid tupperware one is working very well– it’s airtight, resulting in a mini terrarium for the lone seed inside. The other two reside in Chinese takeout containers and are covered with Saran wrap. It’s nice, because Saran wrap is easy to peel back and crystal clear, making it easy to see inside.
• Water– not too much, not too little. Usually, enough to dampen the paper towel plus a few more drops is sufficient, but water quantity really depends on the size of the seed. Larger seeds need some more water, but I still think it’s better to estimate towards the dryer side of things and add some more water later as needed (check them daily! They’re your babies!) It also depends on how tightly wrapped your containers are, since evaporation may or may not take place.
• Clean paper towels only please. Again, to reduce possible uninvited microbial guests.
• Side note about mold: I’ve recently tried to grow Japanese pumpkin and there was some mold on it, so I put it out in the sun, since UV radiation is often used in autoclaving or sanitizing lab equipment. It worked. The seeds are growing safely again.

Okay, that’s pretty much it. I check on these babies when I get home from work, like a good parent. They’re doing well though the potentially disabled one is struggling a bit; I hope it can pull through!

Oh, I should mention that after over a decade of naively peeling the mango carefully and slowly by hand (to reduce loss of mango flesh!), I’ve realized that the most convenient way to eat mangos is really to slice down on either side of the stone, crosshatch and spoon it out. And then peel the circumference of the stone before eating the flesh around it.

Surprisingly, the “loss” of edible mango with this procedure is about the same are arduously peeling the whole fruit first. :O Very, very shocked. There is a dramatic time difference– the latter procedure is a cinch to do and takes hardly anytime. The former, for someone who isn’t a highly skilled knifesman, will make quite some time. Enough to go from commercial break to commercial break at least. (But I work slowly with a knife.)