(7/31) My Passion Fruit cuttings are doing fine. The cuttings in the planters are around 2 weeks old and the two cuttings in the round planters are from mid-March (4 months old).
Friday, July 31, 2020
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Passion Fruit
(7/30) The Passion Fruit vines in the front of my house are doing great and starting to grow. I created these clones months ago. It took the clones about 3 months to grow strong roots and start to sprout. I was thinking I would have to wait until next year to get fruit from these plants, but feel they will produce this year. My original plants are starting to develop flower buds, but suspect these will too soon.
Loquat (Biwa)
(7/30) Both Loquat (Biwa) trees are doing well. The tree on the right was growing faster than the tree of the left, but got attached by pests, but has rebounded. Now both trees are around the same size. I grew these trees from seed, so I may have to wait 8-9 more years to see fruit.
Mikan Orange Tree Graft
(7/30) A couple months ago I posted how to create a graft using the Air Layering method. A caterpillar ate the leaves of the graft I was working on, but I moved forward and planted it. Today I noticed it is starting to grow leaves. I lost my Guava tree graft, but this graft survived, so this technique does work.
Today's Harvest (30 July)
I'm still getting a handful of Acerola Cherries nearly everyday. I thought my tree was finished for the season, but it flowered again and started to produce more cherries. I'm so pleased.
Today's Harvest (29 July)
Today my wife picked some Malabar Spinach. This was the first time we ate it and was pleasantly surprised it tasted just like regular spinach. It was delicious. Malabar Spinach is a great alternative to regular spinach, especially considering it grows like a weed in the hot humid weather, not to mention it is more nutritious than regular spinach.
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Acerola Cherry Tree (Barbados Cherry)
(7/22) Though my Acerola tree is winding
down fruit production, I am still getting a handful every few days.
Blackberry Lily and Pink Caprice Seed Pods
Curious to notice how similar the seed pods of the Pink Caprice (left) and Blackberry Lily (right) appear.
Passion Fruit
(7/22) My last Passion Fruit
Full of sweet pulp
Sweet Dessert Idea
(Vanilla ice cream, Passion Fruit topped with Mint)
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Red Cucumber (Moi)
(7/21) I found my first Red Cucumber (Moi) of the season. My plants sprouted late this year, but better late than never. This is a small Cucumber and not sure it will fully develop, but the plant is super healthy and has so many flowers, so I am bound to get a few.
The Red Cucumber (Moi) plant is running across the top of my fence with flowers at the based of every leaf.
Passion Fruit
(7/20) My Passion Fruit vines are really starting to grow, so I decided to build a trellis for them to climb. We have quite a few typhoons here, so the trellis and planter suspense ropes are designed to be removed and placed on the patio and covered for protection.
Mikan Orange and Kumquat (Kinkan)
(7/19) My Kamquat (Kinkan) (left) are starting to develop and the tree is still producing flowers. My Mikan Oranges (right) are developing well and getting larger, but I did have a bit of a battle with beetles boring holes in the trunk. It took me about a week, but think I got them all.
Blackberry Lily (Leopard Lily)
(7/19) It has been raining a lot and my wild Blackberry Lily is flowering. Such a pretty flower.
(7/22) I found Blackberry Lily seed pods, so I picked a few. I will dry these and plant more.
Guava Tree
As I posted a few days ago I got a huge Guava. When I purchased this tree it was labeled as Red Guava; however, when we cut the Guava we found it was white. I must say it was disappointing, but we called the nursery we bought it from and they delivered a new Red Guava tree to our home at no cost and let us keep the original one. Now that is great service.
Today's Harvest (17 July)
Found this Bitter Melon (Goya, Nigauri) hidden in the vines.
Noticed a few Papaya starting to ripen, so picked them. The three large Papaya weighed roughly 1.5 kg (3 lbs) and the smaller one was roughly 1 kg (2 lbs). Lots of fresh fruit for dessert.
Thursday, July 16, 2020
Guava Fruit
(7/16) One of my Guava dropped today. I was so surprised how large it was, 346 grams (12 oz). The average Guava weighs around 200 grams, so that means this is one large Guava.
Japanese Sweet Potato (Beni Imo)
(7/16) I have a Japanese Sweet Potato (Beni Imo) that has sprouted. I will plant this 92 gram tuber and see what it yields in 6 months time. From my experience, the Sweet Potato tuber does not produce new tubers, but rather the vines; therefore, I will let this grow and take cuttings or slips and plant them.
(7/21) The Japanese Sweet Potatoes (Beni Imo) I planted on July 12 and 16 have already sprouted.
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Clay-Colored Leaf Beetle
The Clay-Colored Leaf Beetle loves the leaves of climbers, like Cucumbers, Squash, Pumpkin, Watermelon and even Sweet Potato leaves. They eat the edges and make holes in the leaves and place a lot of stress on the plants. They are painful, but in most small gardens they can be controlled manually. They are not fast flyers and can be caught in mid-flight or swatted, but will return immediately if not terminated.
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Side Yard Update
Everything in my Side Yard is doing fine.
This Avocado tree is roughly five years old and nearly 10 feet tall. I wish it would start to produce fruit, but it can take between 8 to 15 years when grown from seed.
These Celery stocks are doing fine considering the heat. We just break off what we need and let it continue to grow. I have two more stocks on my second floor balcony that I plan to move them here due to the heat.
This Red Cucumber (Moi) plant is doing well, but I have to keep the Clay-Colored Leaf Beetles off them. These beetles and the Mealy Bug are two of my worst pests.
Clay-Colored Leaf Beetle.
On the left I have a Mint Herb post, a little ahead on the left I have some Passion Fruit cuttings, and ahead of that are some Succulent plants. Straight ahead are my main Passion Fruit vines, and to the right some roses, Lettuce, Kale, Aloe and you can see a little of the Shiso plants.
From the bottom, empty planter, Shiso, Onions, empty planter, Basil and Garlic Chives sitting behind the round planter. The lower round planter has Okawakame and the taller round planter has Strawberries.
Passion Fruit
This Passion Fruit dropped yesterday (7/13) and was the last on the vine, but this plant is growing a lot of new vines recently with new flower buds, so I expect more Passion Fruit later this year.
Squash and Basil
(7/14) I planted a few Squash seeds 10 days ago (7/4). Squash can be planted in my area until the end of August.
One seedling sprouted (center planter) today (7/14). I planted Basil seeds (right planter) three days ago and they are already starting to sprout.
Monday, July 13, 2020
Acerola Cherry Jam
.
I made Acerola Cherry jam a few days ago. I wish I took a picture when I first put the jam in the jar since it was so beautiful. Making jam is so easy. Here are the instructions for a non-Pectin jam:
1. Create a pulp by removing the seeds and stems from the cherries.
2. Weigh the cherry pulp and then add to a sauce pan.
3. Add 45% the weight of the pulp in sugar; for example, if the cherry pulp weighed 1 kg, add 450 grams of sugar.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of Vanilla extract.
5. Place a metal tray of any kind in the freezer.
6. Turn the heat on low and cook for 15 minutes.
7. Test the thickness of the jam by adding a little on the metal tray and move the tray. If the jam easily slides it needs to cook a little longer. Cook until it slides a little.
Today's Harvest (13 July)
This is the last harvest of Acerola Cherries for the year. I am so pleased with how many Cherries I got this year. I estimate I got over 3 kg (6.6 lbs) of cherries.
Today's Harvest (12 July)
Got 390 grams (13 oz) of Acerola Cherries.
This Year's Cherries are quite large.
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Back Yard Projects
I'm building this trellis to support Yellow Passion Fruit.
I started to build this frame for steps, but changed the location so turned the frame into a planter and planted a Papaya Tree and Strawberry Guava Tree.
I planted a few Strawberry Guava trees around the Mango tree.
I planted Surinam Cherry trees on either side of the main pathway that leads into my Garden.
I relocated a few Banana trees to the top part of my Garden.
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