Berries Nuts & Spices
Berries Nuts & Spices Selection
Tampa's Leading Fruit Tree Nursery!
Berries, Nuts & Spices
We offer a wide variety of Berries, Nuts and Spices. We have Blackberries, Gooseberries, Miracle Fruits and Raspberries to name a few of the berries we offer.
We offer three different types of nuts that include, Cashew’s, Coconut’s and Macadamia nuts. We also offer a few spices that include, Allspice, Black Pepper, Cacao, Coffer and Tamarind. Below you will be able to learn more about each of our berries, nuts and spices we offer. At anytime if you have any questions please feel free to give us a call or send us a message from our contact us page.
Our Berries Selection
Our Nut Selection
Cashew's
Cashew nuts, a richly sweet product of the cashew tree, have gained popularity in North America and Europe not only for their succulent flavor but for health benefits, too. Whether roasted, salted, sugared or covered in chocolate, the cashew nut, often used as a flavorful complement to appetizers, main dishes and deserts, packs a mix of nutrients and minerals not found in many common foods.
Cashew nuts, native to equatorial South America, are actually seeds, found growing on the end of the cashew apple, an edible and nutrient rich South American treat that is too fragile to export to North America or Europe.
The cashew nut, a popular treat found on grocery and health food store shelves across the world, is jam-packed with nutritional content. It packs 5 grams of protein per ounce and high levels of the essential minerals iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and manganese, which are utilized in holistic health solutions and healthy diets.
While the cashew nut is most enjoyed when eaten, it also possesses astringent qualities that are now used in topical creams and gels.
Coconut's
Coconuts are exotic, edible fruits produced in coconut trees. The coconut tree is a kind of palm tree with a single, straight trunk and it has got lots of uses and great importance since prehistoric times. It is one of those trees where you can find uses for all the parts including the fruits, wood and leaves.
In many places in South India, coconut trees are widely cultivated and they are grown in homes as well as farms for profit as well as for home use. Coconut water is different from the coconut milk. When you break the hard shell of coconut to open it, the fruit has a mildly sweet water inside which is known for its extreme health benefits.
Coconut oil is quite popular nowadays due to its unique, attractive flavor. It is even used as a replacement for butter in many recipes. This oil has a higher saturated fat compared to oils like olive oil or Canola and its impact on health is a quite controversial subject.
The hard shell of the fruit is useful too. It is traditionally used in homes to steam food and it is also popular as a craft material. So many beautiful craft items are made out of coconut shells and children use them for playing too. You can easily color the shells and carve them out to make beautiful art works!
Macadamia's
Macadamia tree grows to about 15 meters in height. In general, it reaches maturity and begins to produce fruit at around the age of seventh year of plantation.
There are about seven species of macadamia grown in their wild natural habitat. However, only two of which are edible and cultivated in the horticulture farms around the world.
Macadamia integrifolia produces smooth-shelled nuts, whereas Macadamia tetraphylla has nuts with a rough shell.
Macadamias are an excellent source of minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc. The nuts are rich source of mono-unsaturated fatty (MUF) like oleic acid (18:1) and palmitoleic acids (16:1). Studies suggest that MUF fats in the diet help lower total as well as LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase HDL (good) cholesterol levels in the blood.
They contain small amounts of vitamin-A, and vitamin E. Both these fat-soluble vitamins possess potent anti-oxidant activities, which serve to protect cell membranes and DNA damage from harmful oxygen-free radicals.
Our Spice Selection
Allspice
Historically, allspice was used to preserve meats, generally wild pig called “boucan” during the 17th century peak of pirating along the Spanish Main, leading to them to being labeled as “boucaneers,” today known as “buccaneers.”
The name “Allspice” is indicative of the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, juniper and clove essence of the berries. With this all encompassing nomenclature, what is allspice pimenta?
Allspice comes from the dried, green berries of Pimenta dioica. This member of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) is found in the Central American countries of Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras and was presumably brought there by migratory birds.
When removed and cultivated in areas with climates dissimilar to those above, the plant does not usually bear fruit, so can you grow allspice? Yes, but in most areas of North America, or Europe for that matter, allspice herbs will grow but fruiting will not occur.
Coffee
The coffee tree is a tropical evergreen shrub (genus Coffea) and grows between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The two most commercially important species grown are varieties of Coffea arabica (Arabicas) and Coffea canephora (Robustas).
The average Arabica plant is a large bush with dark-green oval leaves. The fruits, or cherries, are rounded and mature in 7 to 9 months; they usually contain two flat seeds, the coffee beans. When only one bean develops it is called a peaberry.
Robusta is a robust shrub or small tree that grows up to 10 metres high. The fruits are rounded and take up to 11 months to mature; the seeds are oval in shape and smaller than Arabica seeds.
As coffee is often grown in mountainous areas, widespread use of mechanical harvesters is not possible and the ripe coffee cherries are usually picked by hand. The main exception is Brazil, where the relatively flat landscape and immense size of the coffee fields allow for machinery use. Coffee trees yield an average of 2 to 4 kilos of cherries and a good picker can harvest 45 to 90 kilos of coffee cherry per day; this will produce nine to 18 kilos of coffee beans.
Coffee is harvested in one of two ways: Strip Picked – all the cherries are stripped off of the branch at one time, either by machine or by hand. Selectively Picked – only the ripe cherries are harvested and they are picked by hand.
Black Pepper
Black pepper is the most commonly used spice in the world and, paired with salt, is found on most tables in the U.S. The plant that it comes from, common pepper (Piper nigrum), has been cultivated in India for more than 2,000 years for culinary uses. Today, most pepper is imported from India, Sumatra, Japan, Borneo, and the Philippines. Pepper enthusiasts believe that Malabar produces the best pepper.
Prior to planting the seeds, soak them overnight to soften the seed coats. Plant the seeds ¼ inch deep in a rich, well-draining potting mix. Space the seeds three inches apart.
Once the seeds germinate, seedlings can be replanted when they stand four to six inches tall. If you live in a very warm climate, plant them directly outdoors in a protected location with partial shade. The plants need rich, moist, well-draining soil and warm, humid conditions. Peppers can’t tolerate temperatures below sixty degrees. Bring plants indoors or wrap them in a blanket if colder weather threatens.
They are usually harvested just as they reach the red stage. Once harvested, the red peppercorns are separated and dried, either in the sun or in a food dryer for about three days. The process is complete when the peppercorns are blackened and fully dry. At this point, they can be ground as black pepper.
Tamarind
Sweet and tangy, tamarind is one of the widely used spice-condiments found in every South-Asian kitchen!
Tamarind is a very large tree with long, heavy drooping branches, and dense foliage. Completely grown-up tree might reach up to 80 feet in height. During each season, the tree bears curved fruit pods in abundance covering all over its branches. Each pod has hard outer shell encasing deep brown soft pulp enveloping around 2-10 hard dark-brown seeds. Its pulp and seeds held together by extensive fiber network.
Tamarind fruit contains certain health benefiting essential volatile chemical compounds, minerals, vitamins and dietary fiber. This prized spice is a good source of minerals like copper, potassium, calcium, iron, selenium, zinc and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure. Iron is essential for red blood cell production and as a co-factor for cytochrome oxidases enzymes.
In addition, Much of these vitamins play as an antioxidant as well as co-factor functions for enzyme metabolism inside the body.
Cacao
It’s the stuff of chocolate. The cacao tree creates cacao beans that are manufactured in such a way as to create a plethora of byproducts known as cocoa, and we reap the benefits in all manner of chocolatey delicious recipes.
The bean is processed, from which cacao solids and some of its cacao butter are extracted. And what’s left is ground into either natural or Dutched cocoa powder, the latter made alkaline by treatment with potassium carbonate.
This gives it a darker color and a stronger flavor. When it comes to flavor of cacao beans, it can be dependent on the variety, the soil, temperature, sunshine and rainfall. Just like wine, you can buy chocolates made with cacao beans from one single region and thus compare the aromas. Commercial cocoa powders are generally made with a cheap blend.
It is believed that the improved blood flow after consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa may help to achieve health benefits in hearts and other organs. In particular, the benefits may extend to the brain and have important implications for learning and memory.
Barbados Cherry
The Barbados cherry is a large, bushy shrub or small tree attaining up to 20 ft in height and an equal breadth; with more or less erect or spreading and drooping, minutely hairy branches, and a short trunk 2 inch to 4 inch in diameter.
The Barbados cherry can be classed as tropical and subtropical, for mature trees can survive brief exposure to 28º F.It is naturally adapted to both medium- and low-rainfall regions; can tolerate long periods of drought, though it may not fruit until the coming of rain.
The tree does well on limestone, marl and clay, as long as they are well drained.
In Florida, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and Hawaii the fruiting season varies with the weather. There may be a spring crop ripening in May and then successive small crops off and on until December, but sometimes, if spring rains are lacking, there may be no fruits at all until December and then a heavy crop.
Barbados cherries are eaten out-of-hand, mainly by children. For dessert use, they are delicious merely stewed with whatever amount of sugar is desired to modify the acidity of the particular type available.
Grumichama
The Grumichama tree is highly ornamental, slender, and erect. It can grow up to 35 feet tall but can also be kept pruned as a hedge while still producing delicious, cherry like fruit. Heavy in foliage, the oblong-oval leaves are wide with a glossy, thick, leathery texture. The flowers are white with four petals and around 100 white stamens.
Fruits best in partial shade with high moisture. The tree is hardy but should be protected from frost when young. It can withstand light frosts once established, surviving temperatures as low as 26° F. Although tolerant of a wide range of soil types (except basic/limestone), it prefers deep, fertile, acidic sandy loam.
Production: The tree has a very short period from flowering to fruiting, can be as short as 30 days. The crop ripens quickly and produces from May to July. Very drought tolerant, but should be watered regularly once fruit appears to allow it to set properly.
Harvesting: Fruits should be harvested when dark purple to black. They are soft to the touch and must be handled with care to prevent bruising.
Mulberries
Mulberry trees are not trees you want to plant in small gardens. They can reach heights of between 30-50 feet over 20 years of growth. However, if you do have the space, they make wonderful trees for children to climb once established are great fun for the kids if you ever want to keep silkworms!
Mulberries are also self-fertile, so you don’t have to plant more than one tree to get the soft, luscious fruit every year. Best of all, you don’t have to wait 20 years before it begins to fruit. Your tree will fruit the very first year, and in each successive year the crop will be better than the last. It will fruit well for at least 40 years.
Growing mulberry trees can be done in most climates. They love any warm climates, and will survive anywhere as long as the climate is not excessively cold.
But as mulberry trees can grow quite high, it is worth keeping the tree short enough for you to be able to harvest the berries without too much trouble. If you don’t you will lose the berries to the birds, and you will have to make do with the fruit from the lower limbs.
Blackberries
Blackberries are a powerhouse of nutrition. According to the Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission, blackberries are astonishingly high in antioxidants as well as anthocyanins. They are easily grown but can easily take over an area if they are not taken care of, as they are fast-growing!
Prune your blackberry bush canes at least once every summer after they have finished fruiting. These brambles will grow leafy canes every spring that don’t produce fruit until the following year, so don’t cut them off. Instead, look for the canes that have finished fruiting, and cut them back to the ground. You should be able to recognize them by their brown bark compared to the green bark of the new canes.
Select a site that is in full sun for optimum fruiting. The plants are tolerant of partial shade but prefer full sun. Blackberries require well-drained, organically rich, loam soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5 This is important because they are extremely sensitive to wet soil. They do not tolerate clay or sandy soil, except for the thorn less evergreen cultivar, which tolerates heavy, poorly drained soils, according to the Oregon State University Extension.
After you see ripened blackberries, you want to pick them every three to six days. This prevents the birds from getting the growing blackberries before you do!
Jaboticaba
The jaboticaba is a slow growing large shrub or small, bushy tree. It reaches a height of 10 – 15 feet in California and 12 – 45 feet in Brazil, depending on the species. The trees are profusely branched, beginning close to the ground and slanting upward and outward so that the dense, rounded crown may attain an ultimate spread as wide as it is tall. The thin, beige to reddish bark flakes off much like that of the guava. The jaboticaba makes an attractive landscape plant.
The evergreen, opposite leaves are lanceolate to elliptic, 1 – 4 inches in length and 1/2 – 3/4 inch wide. In color they are a glossy dark green with a leathery texture.
Jaboticaba fruit is grape-like in appearance and texture but with a thicker, tougher skin. Most California fruit is dark purple to almost black in color. Averages size is one inch in diameter but can run from 3/4 to 1-1/2 inches, depending on species and variety. The gelatinous whitish pulp contains from one to four small seeds and has a pleasant, subacid flavor markedly similar to certain muscadine grapes. The skin has a slight resinous flavor that is not objectionable. Fruit may be produced singly or in clusters from the ground up all over the trunk and main branches, and the plant may fruit up to five times per year.
Muntingia
One of the most profuse fruiting trees! From spring to fall, you will harvest 2 crops a day once the plant is established , in full sun and has enough water. Drought tolerant, but needs regular watering to establish.
This is a very fast-growing tree of slender proportions, reaching 25 to 40 ft (7.5-12 in) in height, with spreading, nearly horizontal branches. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, lanceolate or oblong, long-pointed at the apex, oblique at the base.
It is drought-resistant but not salt-tolerant. Wherever it grows, fruits are borne nearly all year, though flowering and fruiting are interrupted in Florida and Sao Paulo, Brazil, during the 4 coolest months. Ripe fruits can easily be shaken from the branches and caught on cloth or plastic sheets.
The Jamaica cherry is widely eaten by children out-of-hand, though it is somewhat sticky to handle. It is often cooked in tarts and made into jam.
Gooseberries
The gooseberry bush has thorny, arching branches giving the plant a height and breadth of three to five feet. Flower buds are born laterally on one-year-old wood and on short spurs of older wood. Each bud opens to yield from one to four flowers, depending on cultivar.
Take hardwood cuttings in fall. The presence of a few leaves actually enhances rooting, so cuttings can be taken in the fall before all the leaves have fallen. The presence of leaves does require extra precautions to prevent desiccation. Make the cuttings about a foot long, but do not include tip growth.
Gooseberries thrive in cool, well-drained, fertile soils. In warmer regions, bushes will grow better and produce better fruit in heavier soils, which retain more moisture and keep cooler. An organic mulch is beneficial, both to protect the shallow roots and to keep the soil cool and moist. The bush will thrive in full sun or in partial shade. In warmer summer areas, plant the bushes in partial shade or on a north-facing slope.
Gooseberry is one of the few fruits commonly picked full-size but under-ripe, at which stage it is used for cooking into jams, pies and many varieties are excellent eaten fresh. The flavor of the gooseberry is considered more like grapes.
Miracle Fruit
Growing the miracle fruit plant isn’t the easiest thing to do. There are many things that can go wrong and growing miracle fruit takes attention to detail and some hard work. With proper attention and care, growing miracle fruit plants can be a rewarding and enjoying experience.
Miracle fruit plants enjoy an acidic environment. The soil present in the parts of Africa they are native to is acidic, generally being composed of various types of loose plant matter.
While most plants are alright with tap water, the miracle fruit plant is not. The pH of tap water in cities often reaches into the 7’s, which is far outside of the miracle fruit plant’s comfort zone. Using tap water over a long period of time will raise the pH of the soil enough to stunt or damage the plant.The easiest way to gather large amounts of water with the properties necessary to make a happy miracle fruit plant is to capture rain water.
The plants enjoy filtered sunlight and can even be grown well with artificial light.
Raspberries
Raspberry plants grow best in northern climates where the spring is a long, slow warming process. They will only survive and produce fruit in warmer climates if the are grown in light shade.Raspberries need full sun for the best berry production. They should be planted in rich, slightly acidic, well-drained soil that has been generously supplemented with compost and well rotted manure.
Raspberry plants must not be allowed to dry out during their flowering and fruiting seasons. Raspberries come in four colors, red, yellow, purple and black. The purple and black varieties have rigid, upright stems and are able to stand alone.
Raspberry plants can be easily propagated in late summer by tip layering the current season’s growth. By late August new canes will begin to arch down in an effort to self-propagate. As the tips of the cane touch the soil, they will often take root and begin to grow upward without assistance.
Raspberries can be planted any time from late fall up until early spring before new growth begins. They should be planted 30″-36″ apart in rows that are spaced 8 feet apart. Plant nursery grown Raspberry plants in a prepared bed, 2″ deeper than they were originally growing.
