The Ridge

𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠!
🌱🥭🤞🏼❤️🙏🏼

Tiny flower clusters are beginning to fill the branches—always a rewarding sight after watching these trees grow.

Now comes the waiting: hoping the blooms hold, the fruits set, and we get a good first harvest.

Project “Miyazaki Experiment” begins soon …

“𝐌𝐈𝐘𝐀𝐙𝐀𝐊𝐈 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐎𝐄𝐒”: 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭

These two grafted seedlings will be added to the food forest collection soon. Interestingly, there are already five (5) young trees of this type growing here—they’re just known by a different name: 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼 (𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗿𝘄𝗶𝗻/𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼).

Growing these in a manner that adheres to strict horticultural quality practice in contrast to our traditional ways would be the more interesting accomplishment here. Because the hard part isn’t growing the mango. The hard part is learning how to make the tree put everything it has into a handful of fruits—and then having the discipline to leave the rest behind.

Here at 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲, that is the experiment I’d like to try.

Not necessarily to grow a “𝗠𝗶𝘆𝗮𝘇𝗮𝗸𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼,” but to find out how good an Irwin mango can actually become 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐲𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐤𝐢 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐞: 𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡?

For me, nothing beats 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀. Bar none. It is a premium Carabao mango variety from the island of Guimaras that is widely celebrated as one of the sweetest and finest in the world, boasting of a natural high sweetness rating of 𝟭𝟲° 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟲° 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘅, smooth fiberless flesh and an official Geographical Indication (GI) certification. But I have been hearing and learning of this increasing ‘craze’ about the “𝙈𝙞𝙮𝙖𝙯𝙖𝙠𝙞 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙤” lately. A lot of people speak highly of it and many seedling banks produce and sell grafted clones—and they are not cheap.

I was just discussing with a friend some pointers and plans for further development at 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 with Cacao as its primary ‘high-value’ crop and several fruit-bearing trees [𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨, 𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵, 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘰, 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘰, 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯, 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘰 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴] to create our very own food forest. Then the idea of growing the “𝙈𝙞𝙮𝙖𝙯𝙖𝙠𝙞 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙤” came up which, at first, I wasn’t really too keen about. He said that he’ll give me two (2) grafted seedlings to grow, despite the fact that I already have five (5) Apple Mangoes growing (𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦). Grateful of the gesture, I ended up accepting the gift and the two are now on their way.

So we continued to discuss about this variety at length and here are a few of my insights from the exchange ...

The “𝙈𝙞𝙮𝙖𝙯𝙖𝙠𝙞” is said to be one of the sweetest and very expensive mango varieties developed known as 𝗧𝗮𝗶𝘆𝗼̄ 𝗻𝗼 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗼, meaning “𝙀𝙜𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙪𝙣”. It is a top-grade luxury mango grown in the Miyazaki Prefecture of Japan and is famous for being among the most expensive and sweetest fruits in the world, they are treated as high-end gift items rather than everyday food.

I know a thing or two about things Japanese and they are really exceptionally good! And it doesn’t come as a surprise that they produce some of the highest-quality products because the Japanese have an almost obsessive respect for craftsmanship, precision, discipline, and attention to detail. They don’t just aim to make something good—they refine the process until even the smallest details matter.

The “𝙈𝙞𝙮𝙖𝙯𝙖𝙠𝙞 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙤” has become almost mythical—an ultra-premium mango associated with exceptional sweetness, color, size, and price. But how much of the hype is really about the mango, and how much is about the production system and the story being sold around it? The interesting part is that the famous Miyazaki Mango is primarily 𝗜𝗿𝘄𝗶𝗻 (𝗜𝗿𝘄𝗶𝗻/𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲), we know it here as the “𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼”, yes it is—a cultivar that isn’t uniquely Japanese. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗝𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱.

I have spoken to people who have eaten Miyazaki Mangoes in Japan and those sold here, and according to them, the comparison is 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁. That makes me wonder whether what we are calling “𝙈𝙞𝙮𝙖𝙯𝙖𝙠𝙞 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙤” here is really the same product—or simply the same cultivar being marketed under a prestigious name. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻, 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺, 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲.

So, can we do it here at 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲?

𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴. The Philippines already has the climate to grow mangoes, and we know that the Irwin can certainly grow outside Japan. We have them here. The challenge is not keeping the tree alive. The challenge is reproducing the conditions that produce those exceptional fruits—particularly during flowering and fruit development, when our heat, humidity, rainfall, disease pressure, and seasonal patterns can work against us. We have more than enough heat, but we may not have enough dry weather during flowering season. So the biggest enemy isn’t heat—it’s the rain at the wrong time. Rain can interfere with pollination. Japan developed greenhouse cultivation partly because rainfall during flowering made reliable fruit production difficult.

And then comes the real question: 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙮𝙖𝙯𝙖𝙠𝙞 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢?

Probably not.

Rather than trying to copy Japan, I’d rather adapt the principle: 𝙛𝙚𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙨, 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙨, 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙣𝙚—𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹, 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲.

Ultimately, the refractometer will probably tell us more than the marketing does. If an Irwin grown at 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 can consistently produce exceptional size, color, flavor, and 𝟭𝟱° 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝘅 𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿, then perhaps the “𝙈𝙞𝙮𝙖𝙯𝙖𝙠𝙞 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘” isn’t magic at all. Maybe it’s simply good horticulture, meticulous crop management—and a 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

This is what I’d like to find out.

Is the Miyazaki mango really something we can’t reproduce outside Japan—or have we simply been sold the idea that the magic belongs to the name? 𝗧𝗮𝗶𝘆𝗼̄ 𝗻𝗼 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗼 is a Japanese brand standard, not simply the name of a mango variety. So we could potentially grow an Irwin that is every bit as good—or potentially better—than a Miyazaki Irwin without calling it a “𝙈𝙞𝙮𝙖𝙯𝙖𝙠𝙞 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙤”.



📸 CTTO (𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘦)

𝐀 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲.

The country has sent its first commercial shipment of fermented cacao beans to New Zealand, opening another international market for Filipino cacao farmers. Sourced from Kapalong, Davao del Norte, the 6-ton shipment is a promising step toward making Philippine cacao more competitive—and more valuable—for our farmers.

𝗔 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗼.
🇵🇭🍫👍🏼📈💯

Read the full article⁠ …

PHL sends first cacao shipment to New Zealand - BusinessWorld Online THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said an initial shipment of fermented Philippine cacao beans has been dispatched to New Zealand. The DA sent off the 6,000-kilogram shipment at the container yard of the Hong Equipment and Development Corp. in Carmen, Davao del Norte. It is expected to arrive at th...

𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓

Received two sets of fruit tree seedlings to further diversify and complete our fruit tree collection at 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝟭. The new trees include 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 (𝟰) 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 (𝟯) 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴.

The additional Apple Mangoes were chosen for their excellent eating quality, vibrant color, and reliable productivity (𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘰 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴), while the Marang will add to the older trees—native fruit that thrives well in our tropical environment. With these additions, Ridge 1 continues to move closer to the vision of becoming a diverse, productive food forest—one that combines cacao with carefully selected fruit trees to provide shade, improve biodiversity, attract wildlife and pollinators, and eventually offer a steady harvest throughout the year. Every tree planted today is another investment in the landscape we’ll enjoy for many years to come.
🌱🙏🏼🥭👍🏼🌳

𝐂𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐨 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝟏…

From a barren, freshly cleared hillside to a thriving cacao orchard—this is the vision for Ridge 1. In the years ahead, these slopes will be covered by productive cacao trees beneath a healthy canopy, restoring the land, supporting wildlife, and proving that with patience and purpose, today’s hard work becomes tomorrow’s legacy. 🌱🥰🙏🏼💯🌳

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬

These two new grafted Cardinal avocado seedlings bring our total to five trees. Cardinal is known for its large, creamy, great-tasting fruits and is regarded as one of the finest avocado varieties for our climate. Looking forward to watching these little trees grow and, in a few years, enjoying our own homegrown harvest. 🌱🥑👍🏼❤️👨🏻‍🌾