USDA Subtropical Research Tour: Historic Microclimate Fruit Walls

Today's modern agriculture would be very different if it wasn't for this historic site in coral Gables, just south of Miami & a short jog from the Everglades. Simply put... our favorite fruits and veggies that we love to grow & eat just wouldn't exist without this priceless program.

This world-changing facility is a gem, so we will take you on a virtual tour so you don't have to subject yourself to the monster mosquitoes that guard this special site. This is the USDA subtropical horticulture research facility & although their role has changed over the years, they are the caretakers & scientists who are working on the conservation, genetics, & pathology of the species we love so much.

Pete Kanaris brings along his favorite fruit hunting crew:
Ian Bonnes (Instagram:http://bit.ly/2uPG4rG)
Matt Reese (YouTube: What's Ripening? http://bit.ly/2tCd1V7)
Quenton Pankow (Instagram: http://bit.ly/2v10BJl)

(0:33) Mike Carl Winterstein, 'Mikey'; a curator at USDA Research in Miami, FL, discusses the early history of plant pathology, Walter Swingle, the visionary of the plant introduction bureau & the implementation of the American citrus industry. Mikey also discusses David Fairchild & the connection the 2 men who saw the need for a new department called US Gardens and grounds.

(4:49): Growing Garcinia in microclimates using fruit walls made of coral (from a local quarry back in the late 1920's/ early 1930's)

(6:18) our guide shares the story of the coral microclimate fruit walls & how they were constructed & their purpose of creating higher temperatures during cold winter weather that would typically damage some of these very tender tropical species, such as Cacao.

(7:17) Matt Reece, of what's ripening Florida, finds the cacao collection inside the coral microclimate fruit walls

(10:13) Mango Madness: The real reason we are down here - collecting tree ripened Mangos for the Rare Fruit Council's Mango tasting at 'Taste of Lee County'. At this facility, we are only allowed to collect the fruit that has fallen onto the ground, but we will be able to show you Mango picking in the next couple videos we will be releasing.

We got a ton of footage from the three day trip, so stick around as we will be breaking it up into shorter segments, doing our best not to leave out any of the great footage.

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Hand Pruners are quite handy at times!
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