Photos
How About Them Apples?
This isn't an apple, it's a bell pepper. The parents, a California Wonder and a Chocolate Bell pepper, made these big, beautiful red peppers with a little deep purple blush. Thick walled and sweet, it's a great pepper for stuffing as well as eating fresh. Thick walled and very sweet. A good pepper for stuffing and in sauces.
Big Ol’ Tomaters
One of the pleasant surprises of the season are these Costaluto Italian heirloom tomatoes. They bear big, meaty fruit (8 - 22 ounces) in clusters of six. The plants definitely need heavy duty support because they produce 20 - 30 pounds of fruit per plant. The flavor is outstanding.
A Hanging Gourd Garden in the Making
Earlier this summer I trellised the gourds to keep them from invading the vegetable garden. Now I have a hanging gourd garden that's filling in beautifully and providing shade for lettuce in an area that usually bakes in the summertime.
Video: Onion Flowers: Little and Big
Here's a quick video of the world's smallest flower bulb (about 12 inches) and the worlds largest (about 6 feet), flower together in August at Sage's Acre.
Remember That Missing Duck? I Found Her.
I don't take attendance, but I had a general idea that one of the female ducks was missing. Good news is she's alive. Bad news is she has 13 chicks with her. At least they're cute.
Sunday Daydreaming – Tropical Garden Before and After
It's too hot to do any real work on the Acre, so here's some then and now photos of the tropical garden before spring began and now in the height of summer. I'm going to find some shade and take a siesta.
Let Me Show You a Photo of My Baby… Watermelon
Even watermelons are adorable when they're babies. This is Little Baby Flower, a compact plant that produces 10-12 fruit only 6" across when ripe. Perfect melon for 2.
Kahili Ginger in the Tropical Garden
This spring I overhauled my tropical garden adding tall, kahili ginger to make a spicy flowering forest as a transition to the fruit orchards and dry creek below.
New Members of the Family
Shy is our only Cuckoo Maran hen (she's named Shy because, unlike the buffs and Welsummers, she's not really interested in people or their food). When she disappeared a few weeks back, I figured she'd been nabbed by a coyote, raccoon, bobcat, or one of the other varmits that like the taste of chicken. Shy with her new chicks Imagine my surprise when she appeared yesterday with one black and one white chick. Turns out she was just nesting in the lavender. The chicks are really cute. I just hope they're not roosters. I don't need any more roosters.
A Striped Pepper
I came across this Italian frying pepper in my garden today. It's changing from green to red with stripes of color instead of the usual blush.