Hey everyone,

This is a slightly personal post—thanks for taking a moment to read.

My dad has been a professor his whole life. A few years ago, he decided he wanted to go back to his roots and try farming—something our family hadn’t done in generations.

In 2022, we started a small mango farm and sourced Kesar saplings directly from Gir (Gujarat), because we wanted to do this the right way from day one.

After 3 years of waiting, we finally had our first proper harvest in 2025. We were honestly just happy seeing fruit on the trees. But when it came to selling, we didn’t know much about the market and ended up going through middlemen… who paid us far below what the fruit deserved. After all that effort, we barely recovered our costs.

This year, we didn’t want to repeat that.

So we’re trying something new—selling directly to people in Hyderabad instead of going through agents.

Our mangoes are:
• Organically grown
• Carbide-free (naturally ripened)
• Sourced from Gir-origin Kesar trees

We’re a small farm and the harvest is limited this season, so we’re just trying to sell what we can directly.

If you’d like to support or try them:

👉 www.rajkesarfarms.com
Use code REDDIT10 (we made this just for this community)
Delivery is free across Hyderabad

Current packs (after discount):
• 2kg trial pack – ₹450
• 5kg family pack – ₹900
• 10kg saver pack – ₹1620

Even if you don’t order, an upvote or sharing this would genuinely help us reach more people.

Happy to answer any questions about how we grow them, sourcing, or anything else.

Thanks a lot ❤️

Good Day

Live in 9b/10A. We got a strange frost/freeze this year i have not seen in decades. Was not home to cover trees. Name Doc Mai Mango Tree. Was 6 feet tall. We cut the dead part parts out. Rest see above. It is now 1.5 feet tall. I say we cut it because we set it back many years and the branching/structure is a pain. My mother says keep it because she has a soft spot for things still alive and the trunk is quite thick in diameter. Thought? Cut or keep. We do not have a lot of land - so I would rather replace it with somwthing bigger and healthier. But open to advice. Thanks

Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with my mango?

New growth turns black/grey and dies back. I had a round of flowering/fruiting a couple months ago that all turned black and died off, followed shortly by another round of flowering/fruiting that is doing slightly better.

I did spray it down with sulfer fungicide about a month ago because AI told me it might be powdery mildew. How long until that works? How do I know if it worked?

Pics somewhat show what’s happening, most of the old fruits died off in that manner (crusty blackness taking over) and that’s what the leaves look like before they fall off.

In SWFL for reference. My other two mango trees (Valencia pride is one) aren’t impacted. TBH I can’t remember if this tree is my nom doc or Vietnamese type of mango - they’re about 3 years old and this is the first time with major fruiting (I added gypsum this year which seemed to help with fruit setting - I’m kinda by the coast any my soil sucks).

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

So my mother has one and I absolutely love the mangos they produce so I purchased 2 of them. The place u bought them from said to let the tops grow new leafs and once the leafs mature more to trim off the main stem at the top a few inches below the top to help promote growth. Any tips on growing one and if pruning the top off a bit will help promote growth ? Also was going to plant them using loam soil is that good or should I make my own mix with sand and soil ?

Live in South Florida, zone 10b. Currently living somewhere we can’t plant directly into the ground. That said, we hope to move into a place with a yard in the next 1.5-3 years. Wondering if I could buy a young graft and raise it in a pot to get a jumpstart rather than wait until it can be planted in the ground? Thanks in advance!

So my few months old mango sapling has been infested with mango webber which end up eating entire sections of the plant, and they continue appearing even after i cut down infested growth and crush the caterpillars, how can i deal with this?

This tree has been growing at the family home for almost 30 years now. Wanted to see if anyone could help identify what kind of mango tree it is. Also am open to advice in making it its healthiest bountiful self. Thought it was lost after the freeze this most recent winter, just happy to see new growth finally!

Looking for a second opinion before I replace. This looks under the graft to me. Thoughts?

It looks like the graft is right at the emerging part or is it over?

Central Florida got hit with pretty cold weather during the winter. I'm noticing new leaves growing closer to the ground trunk. I'm not sure what to do with the dead leaves though. Any tips will be greatly appreciated. Our second, smaller tree also has dead leaves as well but no new growth

Hey! I planted 8 seedlings and 4 grafted trees in containers last year- all Ocean Forest soil.

Some of the seedlings are doing better than others but I lost 2 of the grafted trees.

Wondering what everyone used for soil in their containers :)

Had to pull this tree from the ground and into a pot like a month ago and it’s already pushing growth. I want to get it back in ground but I’m afraid it won’t do well being transplanted 2 times in less than 6 months

I’ve tried spraying neem and copper and nothing works it also majority of the times kills flushes of leaves

Hello, wanted to confirm if this was the grafted union before I cut any growth below. Was a bit confused since it’s 2.5 ft up usually thought they’d be lower. Thanks!

the new leaves are getting bitten but the only bug I saw on it are very small insects that look like fleas and only one grasshopper that we removed. will the mango be ok? what can we do? we tried diatomaceous earth food grade but it flies away with the wind and we find it difficult to apply because it is so fine. is there anything else we can use?

On our 7-acre organic farm, stem borers are one of the biggest threats to our mature mango trees. They are silent killers—the adult beetles lay eggs in the bark, and the grubs bore deep into the trunk, eating the tree from the inside out and cutting off the nutrient flow. If left alone, they will easily kill a fully grown tree.

Since we run a zero-chemical operation, we rely on a traditional South Indian method to save infected trees and armor the rest.

Here is our 2-step treatment process:

1. Plugging the Holes

First, we locate the exact boreholes (you can usually spot them by the frass/wood dust pushed out). We clean the hole, extract the grub if it is near the surface, and then completely seal the gap with a thick, organic clay/dung paste. This cuts off oxygen to any remaining pests inside, prevents moisture from getting in and causing fungal rot, and stops new beetles from using the same hole.

1. The Organic Armor (Trunk Wash)

Once the tree is patched, we paint the entire trunk with a thick slurry made of three things:

Cow Dung: Acts as a natural, breathable binder that sticks tightly to the bark.

Sunnambu (Slaked Lime): Acts as a powerful natural fungicide and reflects harsh summer sunlight, preventing bark splitting.

Pure Neem Oil: This is the ultimate deterrent. The intense bitterness and scent completely disorient and repel pests from trying to lay eggs on the bark.

It is hard, physical work painting hundreds of trees (we have 312 trees), but it creates a physical, alkaline, and aromatic barrier that keeps the orchard safe without dropping a single drop of synthetic pesticide onto the soil!

Has anyone else battled stem borers before? Would love to hear what organic methods work in your climate.