Shari,could it be the miracle fruit is so bitter,everything you eat after would be sweet????LOL!
Next weekend is Labor day,and will get into some serious re potting for the overwintering of my tropicals.3 days off,should be able to get a lot done.
Ok I just came into what they call Jackfruit,the plant is about 2ft tall,how long before I get fruit???
Then I got russian Quince,don't know how either one of these taste,does anyone????
It's beginning to look a lot like the tropics (part 3)
I remember having a discussion about Jackfruit a while back, maybe it was Carol....somebody was talking about it. I'm sure you will hear soon. And quince...totally different in US from that found in Mexico and the tropics. In tropics its soft, juicy - kind of a cross between and apple and a pear. In US it pretty yucky...hard and very bitter...fuzzy skin too. Weird, don't know why the difference.
Whoopee! part 3....I grow Quince.... that should do very well for you there ....what you do is cook them....they turn a beautiful pinky claret colour and taste just wonderful I will find a recipe for you later..if you try to eat it without cooking ...well it would be like comparing a crabapple raw to cooking it ...preserved quinces and quince jelly is a gourmet delight!
Good luck with trying to fruit a jackfruit -but you seem to be able to work miracles in that magic place so you never know!....never had one to eat so I can't help you with that one ....good luck!
mmmmmm watermelon still dreaming about that one...too soon yet .
singing old dogs and children....... and watermelon wine................ps you forgot a picture of your pretty paradise to open this thread- can you go back and stick one in???
Chrissy - I'm surpised...you described the quince like the ones in the US....I thought your's would be more like the tropical ones....how strange.
Well I live in what you call boarderline ....if you grow stuff out the front of my home ...it does get blazing hot, but is blasted by very cold wind off the Blue Mountains during the Winter....so I plant all my stone fruit and cooler things out there.In the rear of my home I have my tropical type stuff ( my secret garden ) this is all fenced in and protected ..yet receives the early morn to midday sun....the home is 2 storey so the bricks reflect the heat .....hardly get any wind there due to mature things and buildings.....I know it sounds strange but I use micro climate gardening and can grow almost anything.....not the really really tropical stuff but a lot of it ...yet I have plums... peaches...crabapple....pink lady apples.....quince.. persimmons
necterines ...maltese blood orange...olives and mulberries that is out the front...out the back veggies in an outside: but sheltered area.....inside the fence.... banana ...passionfruit ...choko (cheyotes?) grapes... figs....guavas...pomagranites...mango...(hubby likes em)
lemons... lime... kaffir lime...buddah's hand and ruby grapefruit....manderines and cumquats ...avacado and green sapote......that is only my edible stuff.......I am so lucky really because with a good choice of where I plant.... and adusting the soil if need be....the sky is almost the limit...some tropical fruit does drop the leaf in Winter but comes back in Spring......;)
What a great collection of fruits you have Chrissy! There are so many on your list that we can't grow at all like the apples, peaches and nectarines because we have zero hours of chill. I think they grow some of those fruits upcountry, but even then they are the special ones that require the barest minimum chill hours like Santa Ana apple, etc.
You seem to have the best of both worlds!
Aloha.
We live in the lucky country....that is what new arrivals think ....when they settle in here they cannot believe the food we can grow year round.....even if you are poor you can eat.... if you have a bit of land...my darling husband came from a place that grew nothing for 5 months of the year and they were starving....that is why they left their beautiful country......if you are poor in a place like that you can really starve to death .......that is why everyone that comes here grows food....even after they are wealthy....that memory never leaves them and the joy they get from their own home grown stuff never leaves them.:)
Sorry Chrissy,can't think of a way to post a picture,editing doesn't have a browse area to post a pic!!!
Brave heart,never thought about the chill factor in growing certain fruits,you think the tropics
can grow everything!!!
Does Durian and jackfruit look the same in size and texure? There are different aren't they?
Chrissy,with all that fruit,I'm sure the favorites make it hard to make a choice in what to eat,or is it that your fruit comes in different intervals during the year,where your in constantly getting a new fruit every month?
How often or how many days to you get a frost?And does it every get below freezing?
Well I tried to have a garden that always has something going on...both in fruit and flower ....perfume is a must!...and if it does not smell or taste good then whatever it is has to be pretty good to come stay at my place......you you smell the Spring flowers beginning to waft around ?I am trying to blow them out there over the cyber waves.....I love it. About the chill factor ...yes you do need a bit of chill to get some things to fruit all the stone fruit and even the olives need a bit of chill ...I go for low chill varieties and I know I can't grow most cherries and most pears so I don't even try.
That Jack fruit is something I would not attempt as it requires a lot of heat....but you seem to have the knack...I could not possibly cart things in and out for Winter ....so if that is the trick then go for it .
It says in my garden bible that the fruit is edible but smells bad
I know I have heard that the Durian is large... stinks to high heaven
(smells like dirty toilets) but tastes like raspberry custard,That one requires very high heat too.The thing is the seasons may be too short and if that happens the fruit will drop off and not taste very good ...so if you choose things that don't require a long ripening time you can grow the tropical stuff. Quince in the tropics would get sick with diseases...it would struggle ...but there may be a tougher type I have not heard of.You could grow one behind a tropical thing if you wanted to .
Let me see what are we picking right now.... mandarines....lemons (meyer: fruits even through Winter if you give it shelter.....)
lettuce... spinach...spinach...all the herbs..... cape gooseberries chilli rhubarb.....strawberries...this time of the year just before the big bang (Spring) is the quietest...then once the Spring rush is on My goodness you just can't keep up! :)
For you TM
humming to the tune of the lonely Surfer...da da ...da da da da..
Chrissy to you have a long enough chill spell,to get tulips daffys and hyacinths,crocuses,bluebells,and all the other spring flowering flowers?
So spring will last just about 30 days there and here maybe 60 or more,but in those 60 days we still get cold snaps like last april that was down to freezing for a couple weeks.
During the dinosaur age there were palm trees and tropical fruit trees right here in Kansas,they have found fossil to prove,that it was a tropical paradise here..
Lonely surfer,hmm I feel a wipeout coming on!!!!
No that was a fast moving song hey!
Don, Dale-a-Gardener posted some jackfruit pics a while back...he may know more about them too.
Love and miss the spring bulbs.....good thing life has its compensations:
Well we can grow some species of bulbs but to be successful with tulips and some daffies they get thrown into the fridge for a few weeks and then planted....no once Spring hits here we have the opposite problem tooooo hot look... at today it will hit 28 c .We don't get late frosts ...rather early heat waves.....that gives us that extended period of warmth.....that is needed to fruit the tropical fruits.. we still have very warm days right up to about mid Autumn...I plant the things that need more chill in the areas that are a bit shaded under or near the big She Oaks and that tricks them a bit into thinking it is cooler than it really is....but the Winter winds while not freezing anything bring a good chill factor to my stone fruit ...these are in full flight now ....soon the apple blossom will be in flower ...have you sniffed apple blossom? *sigh*...it smells like your first crush :)
Shari,thanks I will,and I must agree with you,about being compensated!!
Chrissy,did I forget to mention I grew up working on a peach,apple pear and cherry orchards????
Well I wasn't sure about your temperature zone since it isn't under your name and country.
Also do you have a prevailing wind?
My friend would visit Tasmania at least once a year,have you also been there,if you have is it comparable to Sidney?
Hi oh no TM Tasmania is considered to be the little England of Australia.....the time and zone thingy is wrong...here in Australia I would be in our Zone 9/10 but someone told me that it is a different thing to your zones so I am confused about that....In Winter we only get real chill for maybe 6/8 weeks but even then it only goes down to about 4/5 cel ....don't know what that is in F ....but where I live the chill factor in the winds off the mountains is a lot lower....because of the winds there are only a handful of frosts and not usually hard frosts...this year was an exception....-5c is a big deal....lots of damage because no one expects that...so it was considered a pretty cool Winter...last year was considered a warm Winter with passionfruit growing and ripening ...then there was lots of global warming talk.OK just looked it up Sydney is classified as warm temperate zone....but I am a bit inland and our temp is hotter in the Summer by as much as 5c and lower in the Winter as much as 3c.....so ....my garden bible says Sydney sits around the high 80's f...but can go to 113 f....in Winter sits around mid 20s f...whew I hope that helps will be sending Spring pictures shortly :) Oh I forgot to say the wind off the mountains is so severe you have to put heavy rocks in the bottom of the pots to keep them from flying away!
Today was hot already
Thanks for clearing that all up,I know have a respective of what the weather conditions are.
The winds here are always between the 10 to 20 mph,and I go around picking up pots all the time,soon as the soil dries out the wind is blowing them over,I've been mixing more sand in with my potting soil to get a little more weight and better drainage,
Lunar eclipse this morning,well for me,did you get a chance to see it earlier,they said a great view from Australia
You know spring is here in America when the forsythias begin to bloom,what would be the plant there indicating spring has finally arrived???.
It was like a big pink pearl ...that blushed because we were all looking! :) ...it was mystic and magical.....the view was outstanding....there are no city lights where I live and the sky is like a big swathe of black velvet at night........and that big big pearl stood centre stage......other evenings you feel as though you could reach up and pluck a star right out of the sky.......it was just glorious.
Well now the winds are severe enough to see outdoor dunnys go flying past....sheets of galvanized metal sail through frequently......it isn't every day but pretty frequently ....I use rocks or pebbles to weigh the pots down.You know the wind has arrived when all the doors slam and the windows rattle....my black bamboo knocks like giant wind chimes. Spring.... well the common pink jasmine....you
know the one that eats the house! The magnolias....sweet olive has flowered right through the Winter mmmmm all the early plums ...crab apples....the rosemary walk is a sea of blue.....wattle blossoms everywhere...the bottlebrush have started....jonquils.....and all of this is just the beginning! oh I love it ...still too bl**dy hot today already! :)
It's gonna be a bright... bright.... sunshiny day....look all around there's nothing but blue skys ........
We actually got up to look at that big pearl around 2:30am. It was beautiful, and the stars! We don't get outside at that time, so had no idea how bright they get. We do have ambient light, but our big pine trees help to screen some. I'll need a nap after lunch, though - couldn't get back to sleep! :-)
We had a great show here - and early enough to watch! As soon as we get the pics downloaded, I'll start a thread....it was soooo amazing watching the dragon eat the moon!
Sounds like everyone is having a wonderful day today! Nice and warm huh Chrissy? Spring is busting out all over!
Yes it is....and all the cuttings and other stuff that was burn't off in the strange freeze ...are coming back...little new shoots everywhere! baby Angels trumpets are reshooting.....the big ones are turning a rich dark green in the leaves ......ahhh... life is good ...in the mid 70's F today......a bit warm ....gotta move quick around here or the Spring has gone before you know it!....some nice pics of the moon in the Australian forum taken at Coffs Harbour...it will be interesting to compare.
Oh yes... I've got to go look!
Yes the full pinkish moon was absolutely breath taking this morn,due west over the roof of my house,this was 4am,and by 6am on my way to work,looked as someone took a bite of it!!!!
Everyone notice how your body feels at different times of the year?
Spring you feel young and outgoing ,summer time ,seems like there's never a spare minute something is always needing you,fall your bodys slowing down,and winter you need the rest.
Here at my neck of the woods when spring time temps stay about 50* thru the night time,I'm in the go go mode,until everything is planted in the ground,then it's fertilize,mode.composting,now it's time to start digging up and repotting,and debugging.
I'll start this labor day weekend and will continue to everything is potted up and debugged and back in the greenhouses.
Just heard on the news today from the farmers almanac,the great lakes region will be under heavy snow this winter,at least 4 hard freezes for the deep south.more moisture for the eastern seaboard,west coast about average winter.
Now the federal government meteorologists say milder above average winter across
the the united states for 2008,now makes you wonder who to you trust????
Shari being tropical does your body feel any changes,at about the time here in the states
have the seasonal changes,or does your body feel the same all year long??
My white passion flower is fruiting for the first time ever noticed at least 3 fruits on it tonite.
Fall is really coming on,it's dark now by 8pm,and no sunshine until after 7am,so the days are becoming shorter,so when is daybreak and sunset in your alls neck of the woods???
Hi TM our sun is getting up about 5.45 around this time of the year...but next month we go into daylight savings mode...do you have that?...we have to put our clocks forward ...so we will be getting up an hour earlier...even though it says 5.45 it will be 4.45 in real time.....it gives you a longer day sort of......the sun is setting around 6 too.The body does feel different in Spring ...ha ha ha sore!....from all the frenzied activity....the earth is literally throbbing with new life and if you don't get the work done ...all the planting feeding and mulching......the heat will leave you in it's wake...also if we have this very early warmth the snakes and bugs will be here in the blink of an eye.Perhaps the only thing that I would miss in the tropics would be the change of seasons...I think the Rythme of nature is profound and comforting.....(ask me if I still feel that way when it is hitting the 115 f mark ...then I am not so much in love with that rythme....)ha ha ha but we need the heat for our lovelys.. right? I agree with your comments about the way the seasons make you feel I believe they replicate our life...full of ooomph in Spring (our childhood) intensity of life in Summer! (teen years and falling in love ...passion!.starting a family...hard work)..Then our Autumn where we reap the results ...the harvest of our hard work ...
the golden years....mellowness ...maturity ...wisdom.Then Winter where our bodies are tired ....we want to rest and dream.....time to look back remember.....finally to sleep....or so it seems.
and the rythme of life has a powerful beat ....puts a tingle in your fingers and a tingle in your feet.......rythme in the play ground ...
rythme in the street..............
in the street
Chrissy,at our summers begins,it stays light up until 9pm,is it that way with you as well?
Yes daylight savings time spring forward,fall backwards,October we go back 1 hour.
Average first day of frost for me is about October 15th. which is about the same time my arthritis kicks in and this body becomes so stiff hard to bend over!!!LOL
I love the flower girl,I don;t just why,she seems to catch my eye!!!!
My time is the same as tropicman. Seasons too.
Awe sore joints poor TM ....that sucks!....hope you can camp in front of the fire after tending to your indoor tenants (of the green leafy kind) and sit there with a big mug of hot chocolate and dream of the adventures to come next Summer:)
You will be going into the cold frosty weather at about the same time our waves of heat roll in.The sun goes down in Summer around 9.30....it stays hot all night ...the vines like passionfruit and melons actually continue to grow.....you would love the scent around here right now... except you would need to edit out the chook poo...cow poo and blood and bone ...ha ha ha ....you really can smell all the manure going on around all of the farms right now ....everything will leap into life shortly....our leading fertilizer is called "dynamic lifter" ...because it causes the plants to "explode into life" it is compressed chook poo and it is a standard joke in Australia that everything leaps out of the ground to get away from the smell!...but the pong racks off after a few days.....do you have that? or the equivalent?
Oh the stocks........mmmmmm....oooh everything! :) 82 f tomorrow.
(I found a chart ) Lots of spuds to dig ... do you like baby taters with mint?...or with roasted up with rosemary and garlic mmm
straight from the garden....peas are next :)
First the tide rushes in..... and it kisses the shore ...then rolls out to sea....
(for now in your little tropical paradise....you will have an ebb tide for a while )
Chrissy - Pepper is in the Kansas City (KC) metropolitan (metro) area. So now you have all kinds of information! Ha Ha.
Being so close to the equator - we only get about a half hour shift in the day length between summer and winter. But we get changes...the doldrums make everyone feel very lethargic...lots of heat and dead still air. muggy and miserable. Rainy season or windy season: hide from either extreme, revel in the garden on the gentle days.
As far as my body and the seasons...too old. Just becoming so musical ! Snap, crackle, pop, moan, groan, and grimace.....♫she will have music whereever she goes.♫
Ha ha ha .....do you mean snap crackle and pop?....you didn't answer the question ....do you miss the real seasons?
Ok thanks for clearing that up ....well it is a warm foggy morning gonna be in the early 80's today....if that keeps up the snakes will be here soon %#*&*. I love the gentle foggy morning though ....do you get fog on the Islands...or in Kanas? It is so thick you can't see for more than a few feet....then the garden emerges from the mist dripping with moisture all shiny and fresh ....raring to go! :)
Yes, I miss the seasons...my spring bulbs emerging from the snow....the change of colors in the fall....yes, I miss those. But my island life more than compensates, and at least I have the memories of seasons....some folks don't even have that!
Love fog, as long as I don't have to drive in it. We don't get much at all on the islands, but used to get great fogs in California. Fog and mist are so ethereal....you can be anyone, anywhere in a fog....so much fun for the imagination.
Snap crackle and pop,is more of a grinding noise here,and sometimes like a squeaky henge on a door!!!LOL
Love the fog,keep looking for Charlie Chan to walk out of the fog,on to the wharf!!!!
Or Sherlock Holmes calling Dr Watson!!!!
Chrissy pepper lives around 180 miles northeast of me,as the crow flies,speaking of birds
to either of you have crows ,sparrows,crackles,robins,bluejays,starlings,then in the fall millions of geese migrate down from Canada.
Took a few pics tonite,caerula passi.
The fingers on these leaves are as long as 6 inches,never seen a variety like this anywhere
else.
Here's the fruit of the white Constance Elliott.
I doubt if it will stay on until ripens I touched a few and they fell off.
Here's the white nice size flowers .
I can never seem to catch a morifola in flower but here are the tiny flower buds.
Finally a seed pod on a mexican paradise bird,looks like a redbud or maple seed pod.
Incarnata passion fruit,these are almost as big as tennis balls.
Here's the incarnata flower,
Jatrropa.coral tree in flower again
