HOW TO GROW ZAPOTE TREES (MAMEY SAPOTE)

GROWING ZAPOTE IN FLORIDA (Other common names: sapote, mamey colorado )

Specs (PDF) TREE The mamey sapote grows into an open tree with a thick central trunk and a few large limbs.  Mamey sapote trees are large, erect to spreading trees which may grow to a height of about 40 feet (12.2 m) in Florida and may exceed 60 feet (18.3 m) in more tropical regions. FRUIT The fruit is a berry, ovoid to ellipsoid in shape, with a persistent calyx at the base. Most vary from 3 to 8 inches (7.6 to 20.3 cm) in length.  The skin is thick and woody with a russet brown, somewhat scurfy surface.  The pulp of mature fruits is salmon pink, orange, red or reddish-brown in color, soft and smooth to finely granular in texture, usually low in fiber.  The pulp has a sweet, almond-like, unique flavor.  Normally, the fruit contains a single, large, elliptical seed but it may have up to four.  The seed has a shiny, hard, dark brown surface with a light brown scar (hilum) on the ventral side.  Seeds may crack and sprout in overmature fruits.  Fruit weight ranges from 0.75 to 6.0 lb (0.3-2.7 kg). SEASON In Florida, the bloom season may be in summer, fall, and winter depending on the cultivar (variety).  Because of this, each cultivar has its own main maturity season ( Table 1 ).  For example, ‘Pantin’ matures most of its crop in July and August with some fruit maturing before or after these months.  ‘Magana’, on the other hand, matures its fruit in March and April with some fruit maturing before or after these months.  Other cultivars will mature fruit in the winter, thus allowing for year-round harvest.  Trees may have flowers, immature fruit and mature fruit all at the same time.  It takes from 13 to 24 months from flowering to fruit maturity. PRODUCTION Seedling trees begin to bear fruit after 7 years or longer.  Grafted trees begin to bear in 3 to 5 years.  Mamey sapotes are very prolific.  Mature trees may bear 200 to 500 fruit per year.  Twice this amount may be obtained from large trees. PRUNING Grafted mamey sapote trees may have one or more leaders (main trunks) with narrow, V-shaped crotch angles.  The strongest and best situated leader should be encouraged to grow by removing all other leaders when the tree is first planted, or preferably in the nursery.  In addition, mamey sapote trees have a tendency to produce three to four branches close to one another on the trunk.  When this occurs, it is advisable to remove some of them so that the trees will develop a good framework of strong branches. Maintenance pruning of mature trees involves removal of narrow-angled (V-shaped) main branches which tend to split with heavy fruit loads.  Wide-angled branches should be selected instead.  Maintenance pruning of mature trees to remove dead or diseased branches and to limit tree size should be done periodically.  Trees kept to a height of 12 to 15 feet (3.7-4.6 m) or less are easier to care for and are less susceptible to severe wind damage than trees allowed to grow tall.

FARMERS’ MARKET IN COSTA RICA

Fruits and vegetables of Costa Rica, Central America

LATIN PHRASES

a bene placito	from one well pleased
a falsis principiis proficisci	to set forth from false principles
a posteriori	from the latter
a priori	from the former
ad honorem	to the honour
ad infinitum	to infinity
ad nauseam	to seasickness, to the point of disgust Sometimes used as a humorous alternative to ad infinitum. An argumentum ad nauseam is a logical fallacy involving basing one’s argument on prolonged repetition, i.e., repeating something so much that people are “sick of it”.
agere sequitur credere	action follows belief
ceteris paribus	all other things being equal
non sequitur	it does not follow (In general, a comment which is absurd due to not making sense in its context (rather than due to being inherently nonsensical or internally inconsistent), often used in humor. As a logical fallacy, a conclusion that does not follow from a premise.)
quid pro quo	this for that, what for what
status quo	the situation in which,
veritas vos liberabit	the truth will set you free

MEDICAL PRESCRIPTION ABBREVIATION LIST

Deciphering your doctor’s messy script on your prescription. Below is the list of the most frequently used medical abbreviations: Ac: before meals ad lib: at will, as desired adm: admission, admitted ASAP: as soon as possible Bid: twice a day Bm: bowel movement BP: blood pressure BRP: bathroom privileges C: Centigrade, Celsius Cap: capsule CC: chief complaint cc: cubic centimeter c/o: complains of C02: carbon dioxide CPR: cardiopulmonary resuscitation CXR: chest x-ray d/c: discontinue or discharge ECG or EKG: electrocardiogram EBL: estimated blood loss ER: emergency room F: Fahrenheit Fb: foreign body fx: fracture gtt: drop-liquid measurement H & P: history and physical HR: heart rate hr: hour hs: hour of sleep (bedtime) H20: water i: 1 ii: 2 iii: 3 iv: 4 v: 5 I & O: intake and output IDDM: insulin dependent diabetes mellitus IV: intravenous IM: intramuscular Mg: milligram Ml: milliliter MVA: motor vehicle accident NPO: nothing by mouth NTG: nitroglycerin O2: oxygen OD: right eye OS: left eye OU: both eyes post-op: postoperative (after surgery) pre-op: preoperative (before surgery) po: by mouth pt: patient prn: as needed pc: after meals qd: every day qh: every hour qid: four times a day qod: every other day Rx: prescription, treatment sc/sq: subcutaneous s: without sx: symptoms s/s: signs and symptoms stat: immediately SOB: short of breath tab: tablet TPR: temperature, pulse, respiration vs: vital signs

Source: http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/abbreviations/medical-abbrev.html http://www.pharmacytimes.com/ More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_abbreviations_used_in_medical_prescriptions

PHRASES: Cogito Ergo Sum (I think therefore I am)

French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650) proposed “the cogito” as demonstrating the most fundamental epistemological principle upon which all knowledge is based.  As the canonical formulation has it, I think therefore I am. (Latin: cogito ergo sum; French: je pense, donc je suis.)  But this formulation does not expressly arise in the Meditations, it actually says: …So that it must, in fine, be maintained, all things being maturely and carefully considered, that this proposition: I am, I exist; is necessarily true each time it is expressed by me, or conceived in my mind.(Med. 2, AT 7:25) Descartes’ Epistemology

QUICK ECONOMIC NEWS – February 2009

GOOD ECONOMIC SIGNS
(You have to look hard for the good news since it’s bury amid other negative news. But signs are signs.)
Sales Up, Jobless Down – Unexpectedly
Retail Sales Unexpectedly Climb 1%, First Increase in Seven Months…
New jobless claims drop slightly…
Pending home sales rise 6.3% in December – MarketWatch
Oil slides toward multiyear lows…

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE (CBO) ANALYSES
CBO is supposedly non-partisan.
Budget people at CBO Predict Recession Will End in 2009 Without Stimulus
CBO: Obama stimulus harmful over long haul

FINANCIALS NEWS
World stocks sag on concerns about Obama plans…
Wall Street falls on Geithner announcement…
Stocks plunge as Obama’s government unveils bailout plan
The dollar promptly fell and gold jumped $40 after Geithner said the Obama Administration “believes that China is manipulating its currency”
MAYOR: Obama should apologize for Vegas trip quip…
Obama: Caterpillar will re-hire people if stimulus passes; Caterpillar CEO: No, we won’t
CEOS DEFEND…

POLITICIANS GREAT LIFE

POLITICIANS INDULGE THEMSELVES BUT EXCORIATES OTHERS

POLITICIANS GIVE THEMSELVES SALARY RAISE…during a recession!!!
Congress now gets paid $174,000 plus perks for working only 3 days per week.

(H/t: GatewayPundit)

BUT…
Obama caps salaries at $500,000 for business executives

MORE HYPOCRISY FROM WASHINGTON
Politicians go to spa resort paid by taxpayers
Democrats use taxpayer money to go to luxurious resort for annual “planning” retreat…all during economic crisis
● Obama recently blasted Wall Street executives for their “excesses”
but he joined Democrats at the resort….mostly paid with taxpayer money.
● Obama chose this luxury resort to be his first trip aboard Air Force One….a 9-minute flight!
● About $500,000 of taxpayer dollars have been spent by Democrats to attend these retreats.
● About $70,000 are spent each year for an Amtrak train to ferry Democrats to the resort.
● Security helicopters fly above the train.
● Republicans also went the week before to another resort for “their planning session.” They said they don’t use taxpayer money but lobbyists’. Having interest groups so close to our politicians it’s not pretty, but that is reality. When has a politician with no funds won an election? John McCain found out that his campaign-financing bill although is sounded great it just restricted him to receive donations. Obama refused to use public funds and was free to raise unlimited amounts. Obama won.
● Using taxpayer money for these retreats is worse than using resources from lobbyists or from nonprofits organizations since taxpayers get robbed with so many taxes and then do not have dedicated personnel fighting for the private American citizen in Washington like interest groups (weather they are lobbyists or non-for-profit organizations or activists.)
● Some politicians pretend to dislike lobbyists but there are plenty of lobbyists in the current administration.

Politics is a nasty business.

BUT….POLITICIANS CRITICIZE OTHERS
● Wells Fargo Defends Then Cancels Vegas Retreat Amid Controversy
● Politicians slammed AIG executives for spending more than $440,000 at a company retreat…just days after receiving …$85 billion bailout in taxpayer funds
● Lawmakers excoriated banking and financial companies for flying in corporate jets to Washington to request bailouts

POLITICIANS CELEBRATE WITH $100-PER-POUND STEAK

Obama invited House leaders to celebrate the first House of Representatives passing of his Stimulus Bill.
Obama’s cocktail menu included Wagyu beef….

What is Wagyu?
One of the most expensive meats:

$2,299.99 for 15 lbs
at Costco

BUT…Obama said to businesses “…there will be time for them to make profits
and there will be time for them to get bonuses….
now is not that time…” (minute 1:49)

● Obama calls Wall Street bonuses “shameful”
Obama said, “It is shameful. And part of what we’re going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility.” (NYT)