The MGS Forum
Plants for mediterranean gardens => Fruit and Vegetables => Topic started by: John J on September 17, 2015, 05:37:49 AM
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My wife recently suggested that perhaps a thread dedicated to the various fruit and veg that are grown by members would be something to consider. I realise that previous threads have mentioned several of these already but perhaps it would not be a bad idea to resurrect some of them and for members to perhaps tell us about ones that they grow.
I went around our property yesterday and took a few photos of what is being produced at this time of year. I'll start the ball rolling with our Mango. This was grown from a stone brought to us by a friend from UK when she came for a visit several years ago. She is originally from Jamaica and had been given the fruit by a relative who had visited her from there. She ate the fruit and brought me the stone! The tree took around 8 years from germination to first fruiting, producing just 2 fruit at the first attempt. Since then it has averaged around 20 fruit per year, until this year when it has again set only 2. We can only put this down to the fact that we had a prolonged spring this year with late rain and high winds during the period that the fruit normally set.
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John, that is an excellent idea to be talking about fruit and veggies. Re. Your mango, does it have a good flavour? It looks as though it would be delicious. I ask because, when I was living in the subtropics, seedling mangoes were not highly regarded and it was barely worth the trouble of growing them because of the 'turpentine' taste of the fruit. If mangoes are cross pollinated perhaps the chances of getting a good one are much better in Jamaica than in southern Queensland.
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Joanna, when the mango first germinated and began to grow I looked up all the info I could find about growing them from stones. The general consensus of opinion seemed to be that they took at least 8 years to reach fruiting size and that even then the fruit would be very stringy and taste of turpentine, just as you mention. Well, when the tree was 2 years old it suddenly went dormant, literally went into suspended animation. For the next 2 years it did nothing, didn't die and didn't put on any new growth. Then, suddenly it burst back into life and at around 8 years old it set 2 fruit. We watched these grow larger and begin to change colour, hardly daring to breathe in their vicinity, until one day I grew impatient and touched one of them. It came away in my hand. My wife and I then sat and stared at it for some little time before eventually taking the bull by the horns and tasting it. I must admit that it was rather stringy but I wouldn't describe the taste as turpentine. It may not have been the best mango I've tasted but I'd certainly say it was passable. The rest have been of similar quality.
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Thought we'd have something a little different today, Psidium cattleianum (Strawberry guava). Grown from seed it has made a small bush that produces bunches of marble-sized fruit that turn red when ripe. I find the taste a tad tart but with a possible hint of strawberry.
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Turn of the veggies. It may not win many beauty contests but it's a fair size.
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Crikey, John, what a whopper! Is it a particular cultivar?
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Alisdair, I have no idea of its provenance but they are common here in Cyprus where they are known as 'glykokoloko' (sweet marrows). When young and small they are cooked with fresh black-eyed peas and oil. When left to get this size they are used to make 'kolokotes', a sort of sweet pasty. Chunks of marrow, bulghar wheat, raisins, salt and pepper to taste and a touch of sugar, wrapped in pastry and baked in the oven. As they are vegan they are popular during the winter fasting periods, especially.
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Thanks for the recipe idea John. Always on the lookout for vegan ideas :)
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Quite a coincidence that today's veg is that marrow. Each Saturday when Helena and I are in UK and we have a glut in our veg patch, with our neighbour Laurie down the lane we set up a stall for anyone to take what they want, for free. Today's crop is a bit "mediterranean", as besides the marrows/courgettes (and the flowers) there's not just spinach, Swiss chard, corn on the cob and parsley, there's basil, aubergines/egg plants, peppers and even melons.
(One day when we've more time we'd like to try expanding the idea among all those other people who might have surplus produce, with a "freshandfree" website where anyone could put in their post code and a map would come up with their closest Fresh & Free stall...)
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I'm not sure that your scheme would work here, Alisdair, but then again there has long been a tradition of friends, relatives and neighbours sharing their excess produce. One of the most popular items that we get requests for is below.
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Staying with veg we have Butternut squash, or Cucurbita moschata to give it its correct name I believe.
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Today's fruit is Citrus bergamia the oil of which is used to flavour Earl Grey tea. The ones in the photo are not yet ripe of course.
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Not many people, myself included, would normally list Eleagnus angustifolia as a fruit, however, here in Cyprus it has its followers. The same size and shape as an olive, peeling off the brown skin reveals a large stone surrounded by flesh that has the look and texture of cotton wool. Obviously it's an acquired taste that I, frankly, have never acquired.
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A rather unusual citrus, the limequat is a hybrid between key lime and kumquat.
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Hi John
Is the limequat used for anything? I have friends who make a good marmalade from kumquat. I say "good" in that it comes out as good as Italian style orange marmalade but I have to say that to my taste Italian marmalades are a bit too sweet. In my experience Italian jams, on the other hand, tend not to be. All a matter of taste, I suppose.
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David, I have to confess to not having a lot of personal experience of this fruit, we only acquired our tree last year. Apparently they stay quite small and so are suitable for growing in containers. Info says they are more cold hardy than limes, down to around 10*C. We have found the taste to be similar to lime, a sort of bitter-sweet, acidic taste. It seems they are suitable for making marmalade or for juicing.
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This is a much colder garden in Toscana than John J's delicious looking fruit orchard in Cyprus. However, here is an Arbutus unedo just beginning to redden and looking fat after good rain. They look better than they taste.
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And here is a pot of so-called (by the nursery) Greek Basil, ready to be cut and dried in a cool place for winter pasta dishes.
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Joanna, thanks for those and for reminding us that herbs deserve to be included in this category too.
Our Mespilus germanica is grown more for its ornamental value than for its fruit. These need to be subjected to a period of cold, even frost, before becoming softened/ripe enough to eat, a process known as bletting. This can be done artificially by storing them in the fridge for a while but we've never found it to be worth the effort.
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I have a whole hedge of limequats across the end of the veggie garden, put in to provide a screen. They have been in about 4 years, and are now cropping really well. In response to David's question about using them, I make a good sour marmalade and recently tried a hot chutney which is delicious. More generally, I substitute the juice for either lime or lemon juice (a mexican lime squeezer helps as they are very "pippy").
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The myrtle is one of the plants that is associated with Aphrodite, she who was born of the sea off Paphos. When she emerged from the waves she hid her nakedness behind a myrtle bush.
Providing bowls of myrtle berries on a dining table so that the diners could chew them in order to freshen their mouths and taste buds between courses is another of those traditions that has largely disappeared.
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The pomegranates are ripening nicely, soon be ready.
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In fact one variety is ready as the birds have already discovered! Anyway, we can't begrudge them a few as there should still be plenty left for us.
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John, how do you eat your pomegranates? I was intrigued by the idea of pomegranate juice when I was in Iran. It crops up in many dishes.How on earth does one extract juice from a pomegranate?
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Hi Joanna, pomegranate juice is available commercially but my wife's sister makes her own. You need a variety that is full of juice, more flesh than pip, put the seeds into a blender/liquidiser and strain the juice.
As for eating them we usually add them to salads. For instance, mix them with rocula, sun-dried tomatoes soaked in vinegar, olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste.
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We've been enjoying a daily ration of figs for a few weeks too. ;)
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Our current (newly minted) Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, was on a program a year or two ago called "Kitchen Cabinet" and revealed the secret of peeling the pomegranates into a bowl of water, the fleshy pips sink and the inedible pith floats.
Who knows where his wisdom will lead our country :-\
cheers
fermi
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John, how do you eat your pomegranates? I was intrigued by the idea of pomegranate juice when I was in Iran. It crops up in many dishes.How on earth does one extract juice from a pomegranate?
Joanna, to get the juice I treat them like lemons. Cut in half and extract the juice using a manual or electric juicer.
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We don't have many vines and I have no idea what the variety is but they provide us with a few bunches of small, sweet fruit every year.
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We cut the pomegranate in half crosswise, then whack the outside smartly with a wooden spoon (kept your fingers out of the way). Do this over a bowl so that you don't waste any of the juice. The seeds are delicious in salads and as a finish to cous cous and many Mediterranean dishes.
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Olive picking time is approaching once more. In our village it is traditional not to begin picking until after the Festival of the patron saint, in this case St Luke the Apostle, whose name day is 18 October. So that's a job that will be waiting for us when we return from this year's MGS AGM on the island of Ischia, Italy.
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Back to something a little more out of the ordinary, Acca sellowiana (Pineapple guava). Not an ideal fruit for us to grow as we cannot offer it the best conditions. It needs more water than we can give it for the fruit to swell and a period of colder weather than we experience for them to ripen properly. However the stunning flowers are a bonus well worth having.
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Not ready yet but it won't be too long before they begin to split open. I believe the one we have is a variety known as Mohawk.
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Apologies for the quality of the photo. The tree was grown from a stone and rarely produces fruit but has become so large that it provides some quite substantial shade, so much so that I've made a small seating area under it.
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OK! I admit it, I'm stretching the boundaries here. This is Sideritis perfoliata traditionally used here, and I believe in Crete, to make 'mountain tea'.
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This is my current, rather pathetic, specimen of Saccharum officinarum. Since coming here to live permanently we have tried to keep a sugar cane plant growing as a reminder of part of the history of the village. Sugar cane was brought to Cyprus from the Holy Land by the crusaders. Our village (Kolossi) was the headquarters of the Commanderie of Kolossi created by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem (Knights Hospitallers). Vast areas of the surrounding land was given over to growing sugar cane and in the 13th century a Mill and Factory was built to process the sugar ready for shipping to northern Europe. The second photo shows the mill with the top of the later Castle (built 1454).
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Another sorry-looking specimen I'm afraid. This time of Cymbopogon citratus. They don't seem to do too well with us, probably not getting enough water.
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Back to the more conventional fruit. A tree that appeals to 3, possibly 4, of the 5 senses. It's aesthetically pleasing with attractive bark and beautiful flowers. The ripe fruit smell as good as they taste. As for the 4th sense, the feel of the smooth, fresh bark is not unpleasant.
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My neighbours have left, but they have a persimmon tree with ripe fruit, I didn't very feel guilty when I tasted a couple of them, they were very sweet.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5822/21683172249_66e0a2d92b_n.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/z34VFp)
P9300334 Persimmon-Diospyros kaki .jpg (https://flic.kr/p/z34VFp) by Jorun Tharaldsen (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46063510@N03/), on Flickr
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Pots of Mint and Chives close to the kitchen door area.
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Ok, going out on a limb again!
Basella rubra can apparently be used very much like conventional spinach. It can be eaten raw in salads but is more often steamed or used in soups, stews, stir-fries, etc. I have to admit that we have not tried it as yet but my wife has declared that one day it's going into a stir-fry, so watch this space! :P
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Ginger, easy to grow and great used fresh.
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Just because they're pretty common is no excuse to ignore this or any other of the citrus. :D
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We don't use the fruit but keep the tree for springtime scent and because my wife's late mother used to collect the flowers to make 'glyko'.
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This loquat Eriobotrya japonica sprang up uninvited not far from the house. I have never tried the fruit, and don't plan to unless someone can persuade me that I am really missing out on a treat. The wood pigeons gorge themselves at a time when there isn't much else for them to eat, and I figure their need is greater than mine :)
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I have to admit Caroline that your fruit do look a little less than appetizing. :-X
I tend to eat ours straight from the tree. Suck the flesh out from the skin and spit out the stones. Sorry, sounds a bit disgusting put like that! :-[
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In addition to its more common uses here in Cyprus they make a tea from it.
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Our patches of it suffer in the heat of the summer but spread when the cooler weather comes. We don't use it for anything other than as a pleasantly scented ground cover.
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I have to make a correction to the above post, having been reprimanded by my wife. :-[ She does use lemon balm on occasion along with lemon verbena to make a tea that is refreshing when drunk cold.
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You are really missing out on a treat!! You can pick them slightly under ripe and leave them to ripen in the fruit bowl, although straight from the tree is best if the birds allow it. My two trees grown from seed form a selected tree have been hit by a nasty disease and the fruit each year blackens and shrivels. I'm bereft.
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Oops! Seem to have skipped a day on this, can only put it down to external pressures. :-[
A bit of a cheat on this one as I can guarantee we don't use it for anything but maybe other members do.
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Aloysia triphylla (syn. Aloysia citrodora) is the other ingredient, along with Lemon Balm, of a refreshing cold tea, as mentioned in a previous post.
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Back to citrus. Our mandarins are not yet ripe of course, 4 year old granddaughter likes to pick them and eat them straight from the tree when they are. I don't use sprays of any description so this is quite safe.
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The quince is ripe here now, beatiful to look at, but needs some preparations before it is edible.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/681/22062458412_3f01814960_n.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/zBzSf1)
PA100769-Edit Cydonia oblonga.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/zBzSf1) by Jorun Tharaldsen (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46063510@N03/), on Flickr
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/622/21452087144_4fcf261a2e_n.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/yFDy8s)
PA100770 Cydonia oblonga.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yFDy8s) by Jorun Tharaldsen (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46063510@N03/), on Flickr
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Jorun, thanks for that 'lead in'. Oct 18th is the day of the patron saint of our village (Apostle Luke) and from 2 days prior the streets are filled with the stalls of the vendors of an assortment of produce and products. One of the traditional purchases of the housewives and cooks was quince from which they made 'glyko' and 'marmalada'. This year we had already received a large bag of them from a friend who lives in a village further up the mountain. After being used to make the 'glyko' seen below the remainder of the fruit were wrapped in silver foil and cooked in the oven before being skinned and de-pipped. The flesh was then used together with mountain apples, known as 'kathista', and made into apple crumble. Some of which is still in our freezer. :D
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Not just a weed, but a valuable 'horta', which can be used like spinach. It is now back again, ready to be harvested. And it's free.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5627/22169197746_090471d96a_n.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/zM1W8m)
PA151075 βλήτα - Amaranthus viridis .jpg (https://flic.kr/p/zM1W8m) by Jorun Tharaldsen (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46063510@N03/), on Flickr
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Hello Jorun, I always order 'Horta' when visiting Greece. I first ate 'Amaranthus veridis' in Heraklion Market in Crete and being fond of 'grass' continued to eat it when available. It grows also here in Cyprus but it is never offered on the menu. It is available in some supermarkets but it does not have the same demand as in Greece. I think it is because it has not got the exciting look for instance of asparagus.
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Is Basil veg? Mine is coming to the end of its season in this unusually cold spell in Rome :'( I hope that the seeds I have taken from this plant will produce plants with stems as deep purple as this one. Fingers crossed.
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Not mine but in the garden of a friend near Rome who we visited on the way back from the AGM in Ischia.
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Sometimes things are just so obvious that you miss them, like our Bay tree. :-[
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......and how could I possibly miss the Rosemary ???
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We return to the loquat as ours are coming into flower now. Even if you don't eat the fruit you can still enjoy the scent of the blossom.
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Absolutely overpowering from our two trees, like a room full of soap bars.
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Spreads prolifically, puts down very long, tough roots. Acts as a host for the caterpillars of the Swallowtail butterfly in addition to its normal duties in providing greenery for domestic use.
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Tarragon, attractive flowers as well as being a useful herb.
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That does not look French tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus, isn't it Mexican tarragon, Tagetes lucida?
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I may be wrong, Jorun, but I'll stick with Artemesia, at least until I've had a chance to investigate it further.
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I think Jorun is correct, John, in identifying your plant as Tagetes lucida, which does have yellow edible flowers and can be propagated by seed. French tarragon -Artemisia dracunculus- doesn't set seed (indeed I have never seen even the hint of a flower) and has to be propagated vegetatively.
Mexican tarragon is supposed to survive better in hot conditions and have a stronger flavour than the French stuff. I once mistakenly grew Russian tarragon -A. dracunculus ssp dracunculoides - which is much more vigorous than the French version and got totally out of control. Some sort of moral for our times there, maybe...
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I've obviously been guilty of believing what I read on the Internet, having found several photos of a plant similar to mine that were labelled as Artemesia dracunculus, without looking more closely into it. Having now done so I see that it is indeed Tagetes lucida. So, thanks, Jorun, for putting me right on this, and Caroline, for your insightful input, on all levels.
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Which shows you can't always trust the internet, John.
I have both the Russian and the French variety of tarragon in my garden in Oslo, the first one is much taller and more vigorous, but it isn't too difficult to keep it under control. When it is fresh, the taste of the Russian tarragon is OK, but there is no flavour when it is dried. The flowers are inconspicious, and does produce seeds, while the French variety is totally sterile, I have never seen any flowers, but it is easily propagated by divison.
It would be interesting to try to grow the Mexican tarragon in Greece, I have never seen or tasted this one. We have just prepared a small vegetable patch which is ready to be planted next spring. Did you grow it from seeds?
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I don't see any reason why you shouldn't, Jorun, ours is in full sun for much of the day. We didn't grow them from seed but got them from a local 'garden centre'. I'll try to find out how they got them, but you know how it can be getting useful info out of some of these places. If I find anything helpful I'll let you know.
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Thank you, John
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We've tried growing Ipomoae batatas several times and had lots of foliage but this is the first time that one has flowered.
The second photo shows the foliage of another variety that I believe is known as 'Blackie'. This produces lots of foliage each year but has yet to flower.
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John J, do you cook and eat the tubers of the sweet potato?
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Actually, Joanna, we don't grow enough of them to produce a viable crop. We use them for ornamental purposes, mostly in pots, and really to see what the flowers look like. We've eventually found out about one of them, now for the dark leaved one, which is actually much darker than it appears in the photo. Maybe one day we'll plant some in the ground, give them adequate water and see if we can get enough to make at least one serving!
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Jorun, I've been to one of the more reliable garden centres and found that he gets his Mexican tarragon from a supplier here in Cyprus. He can get me some, probably by next spring, but then we have the problem of getting them to you! I go to Athens every 3 months or so but that's still a long way from where you are, both in Norway or Halkidiki.
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Thank you, John, you are right, Athens is a long way from Halkidiki. If this is available in Cyprus, I would guess it may be found in Greece as well, so maybe I should try to find it there first. We are coming back to Greece in the spring, I'll ask the owner of our local garden center if he can get it, he is very interested in drought-tolerant plants. I see there is a company in the US that sells seeds, might be worth trying.
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I actually see that the Swedish company Impecta sells seeds of Tagetes lucida as well, I buy most of my seeds from them, they have an enourmous selection of seeds from all over the world. I'll try that, it seems as if this plant is easily grown from seed.
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I forgot to mention that we spotted some actual French tarragon while we were there and picked up a couple so that we can compare their drought tolerant potential with that of the Mexican one.
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One of the many varieties of thyme. This one is Thymus citriodorus 'Variegata'.
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Beginning to appear along our western boundary hedge.
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Physalis peruviana, only a small plant but doing quite well so far. The seeds came from the MGS garden Sparoza.
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I'm stretching the boundaries here with this tree. It isn't one that I recall encountering before. This morning I paid a visit to the home of someone who has introduced a growing method that I believe is new to the island, it's certainly new to me. Actually I was carrying out a recce prior to planning a Branch visit. I won't go into detail as I am hoping to write an article for the MGS Journal about this so MGS members at least will be appraised of the subject. While the owner and I were walking around the property he pointed out some small trees and encouraged me to try the flowers and leaves. This was the so-called Miracle tree (Moringa oleifera). Apparently it has been given the common name due to the nutritional value of almost all of its parts, especially the leaves it seems. Having looked it up on the Internet it would indeed appear to live up to the name, if all that has been written about it is factual. There is far too much info for me to list it here and I leave it to readers of the Forum to investigate it for themselves and make their own judgements. I was very generously offered a seed pod, which I accepted, and intend to attempt to grow a 'Miracle tree' of my own. I'll keep you posted of developments.
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Hi John,
your pics reminded me of what my dad grew in India and Hong Kong as "Drumstick Tree"and I see that Mr Google gives it the same botanical name.
I must see if it is available here,
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi,
I saw the same common name for this tree when I was looking it up. I don't recall ever coming across it in Singapore. The guy I got the pod from says he grows them quite easily from seed and I'll be going back to see him in the New Year but I don't suppose your strict Aussie rules will allow the importing of seeds by post or I could maybe send you some?
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I wasn't sure whether or not to post this on wildlife in the garden as something has certainly been at it! >:(
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Almond blossom time again though sadly the tree is not ours but is in a field at the edge of the village.
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OK, I know Limoncello is not a fruit but is the product of one of our most prolific fruit trees, the lemon. My wife produced the ones shown using the recipe provided by MGS member, Helene Pizzi, and reproduced on the MGS website by our web editor, thanks Fleur. :)
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All your recipes for your garden (or hedgerow) produce would be very welcome for this website page www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/fruitandveg.html (http://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/fruitandveg.html). Thea has added her own crumble recipe using the giant marrow pictured above.
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Someone was asking what to do with Mexican green tomatoes (Physalis), apart from making fresh salsa - sorry I can't find the thread. It's also possible to make a cooked salsa (green tomatoes, garlic, onion and chili), whizzed up in a blender/processor then cooked briefly in a small fry pan with a little oil. Delicious on top of bread, cheese and avocado, put under the grill, or as a sauce in tacos with shredded meat. I imagine it would freeze well (never had enough left over to try!).
:)
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Not a bad crop on our Medlar tree this year despite the lack of winter rain.
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We've never had much luck with cauliflowers but this year decided to try one of the purple varieties with our first decent cauliflower ever!
cheers
fermi
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Some time ago I posted a photo of Sideritis perfoliata growing in our garden. Here in Cyprus we have an endemic Ironwort, Sideritis cypria that grows in a very few locations in the Pentadaktylos mountain range in the north of the island. It is listed in the Red Data Book as Endangered. Today I was fortunate enough to see one for the first time in the garden of a friend. The general difference between the two plants is quite striking.
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Hello John, there are three species of Sideritis on this garden, cypria, phlomoides and syriaca. All plants came from Gerard Weiner, pepiniere Vaugines at Lucca Murabilia 2016. So far all seem to be flowering well so I could send seed to you in due course if you would like it. They are now growing in a pot with sharp drainage and plenty of sun as I lost a previous S. cypria in winter. It is one of my favourite grey leaved plants.
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Joanna that would be fantastic and very generous. If you could let me know when you have any seeds ready I'll send an email with my address. Thank you.
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Not a single fruit of the day but the result of my wife's early morning walk around the garden.
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Lucky you. Last year the plum tree was full of fruit - most of which was eaten by Monk Parakeets - but this year frost killed all the flowers and I have not even one plum. The lemons too suffered. Many of them have mushy areas in them which are brown. Also due to frost damage. On a positive note, the new lemon crop is starting to develop now.
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David and John, can you give some advice to Sandy about apples and pears?
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I have just seen this today by clicking on "recent unread posts". Clicking on "unread posts" throws up nothing so there is something amiss. In answer to your question, I am afraid that I am not much use. I inherited a garden with two lemon trees and one plum tree. Even with those I have little idea of how to prune them etc. I have no knowledge of either apple or pear trees I'm afraid :)
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Fleur, I assume you are referring to Sandy who posted on 'Apple tree woes'? Personally I would not even attempt to grow pears here as we can experience temps as high as 40 degrees in summer. I mentioned on the above post that we do grow a variety of apple that has a proven record of surviving these conditions. Once picked the fruit does not keep well and needs to be used within a reasonable period of time, so they are generally used for cooking rather than as conventional eating apples.
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Not quite "fruit of the day" but the promise of things to come - hopefully!
Watermelon 'Sugar Baby' is starting to set fruit,
cheers
fermi
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Two weeks later and we have harvested our first 'Sugar Baby' watermelon - but the one in the pic above is a smaller variety called 'Golden Midget'!
Here's a pic comparing the two
cheers
fermi
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We bought a chilie plant from an Italian couple at a local market earlier in the season and it is now in fruit.
A friend tasted one when it was yellow and said it was very hot. We're not game to try them now that they've gone red :P
Not sure what it is exactly as it's not one I've grown before.
Anybody got an idea?
cheers
fermi
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Nearly four years living in Mexico gave me an interest in the different varieties of chili. I have just tried to find the booklet I had which was very comprehensive, but it looks as if I threw it out in a fit of decluttering. However I still have two posters on the kitchen wall and your photos Fermi most closely match "Scotch bonnet", which is ranked at 9 to 10 on the "heat" scale, which goes from 1 to 10. If that's what it is then I would regard your plant as purely ornamental!
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Thanks, Caroline,
Just as well they look pretty ;D
This year we didn't need to plant Cucumbers as they came up from the compost!
We've just picked the first cuke from the 3rd bed in which they've germinated!
cheers
fermi
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This year we thought we would experiment with growing sweet potatoes. I dug these up this morning.
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Very impressive! (wish I liked the taste as much as "real" potatoes)
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The trick is not to think of them as potatoes, which I suspect is how they are treated in the UK. I like kumara (i.e. sweet potatoes) in a 50/50 mash with potato and lots of garlic, around a roast of lamb, or BBQed. For the latter, boil in their skins, then cut into slices and char-grill with a little olive oil. Delicious.
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Asparagus officinalis, ESPARRAGO, ΣΠΑΡΑΓΓΙ
This plant was in the area of the Royal Botanic Garden, Madrid where there were examples of plants grown for commercial reasons.
I don't think there is an article in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN mentioning this kind of Asparagus but while searching I came across this article which will interest those who want to grow fruit and vegetables
SYNERGISTIC GARDENING(PARTII) by Jenny Bussey
THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 8, Spring 1997
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Hilary, Here in Sussex we picked our first asparagus of the year yesterday, for supper last night. We're having an unseasonable warm spell - warmer here at the moment than Greece! - and it's suddenly shot up just in the last very few days; it's starting two or three weeks earlier than usual.
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ΚΑΛΗ ΟΡΕΞΗ
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Thanks, Hilary; they were delicious! Here's today's crop, which went to our neighbour Derek
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Strawberries, Fragaria x ananassa
Strawberries are in season, at last some variation in the five a day fruit
My mother sent me the kit for the tapestry cushion cover as a birthday present, I kept seeing adverts for these kits in magazines and fancied making at least one.
The nursery rhyme is from my children's second hand book of rhymes. I am sure the girls nowadays don't mind washing the dishes and would rather be looking after the pigs than sit at home sewing, sewing, sewing.
Strawberries are mentioned in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN number 89, July 2017
A VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA, PART 2:
PRIVATE AND COMMUNITY GARDENS by Valerie Whittington
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From a purely negative point of view I don't think she'd stay healthy and maintain that figure on the diet prescribed. She'd probably end up diabetic and fat, with all that sugar and cream, and no exercise. :(
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Our strawberry season is already over. I love your embroidery. I have a patern which includes spring flowers and the Crupina crupinastrum is in it. I intend to do it Sometime when I have time to relax. I used to do 'Lefkara lace' during the siesta hours, as a form of enforced rest from long distance running in my younger years but now my fingers are not longer nimble I stick to easier things.
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For those who are interested in embroidery there is a short YouTube film in English called Lefkara lace and the same one in Greek called LEFKARITIKO KENTIMA
Among my mother-in-law's things there was this tablecloth embroidered with what looks like a simple version of Lefkara lace
I use the tablecloth once or twice a year on high days and holidays
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Finally our Physalis peruviana are ripe enough to eat.
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Standing in to do watering of pots at a friend's house brought the added job of harvesting Redcurrants - 5lbs from just two bushes. I used to have both red and black currents in my former large garden but never had a crop like this in nearly 20 years🤔
I think the spell of very wet weather we had in late May/early June helped to swell the berries.
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Wow! What are you going to do with all these fruit? They vines are always available in the nurseries in the early spring but I learnt the hard way and no longer buy them. They do well up on the mountain villages.
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At the moment they are in the freezer because as I said they came from a friend's bushes. I shall no doubt be given some and so perhaps some Jelly making in on the horizon!
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Our persimmon are beginning to ripen, though personally I don't like them.
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Same here John - the birds enjoy them though. 😊
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The birds here don't seem to care for them either, they prefer our guavas and pomegranates, which is annoying because those I do like. >:(
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Very strange - this year several of my pomegranates split open on the tree but the birds don't bother with them....
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I love this wonderful custom we have here in our village. It has been going on for years. It is the exchange of vegetables and fruits grown in our gardens/yards. The things that are mostly grow this time of the year are Aubergines, peppers, chilies and courgettes. The courgette flowers are the most sought after as they are used for light lunch. The flowers are sold in bunches in the shops. They are filled with rice, grated carrots, zuchini and mint and then either cooked on the hob or steamed. I was presented with a bunch this morning by my Syrian friend, and also with some veg. In exchange he got a good morning , a thank you and a happy smile.
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My sisters came up from Melbourne to pick olives - we managed about half the crop before they had to leave (with lunch in between!).
They tell me that it came to 17 kilos.
They also collected a few pomegranates and medlars
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi. What are you going to do with your olives?
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Hi Fermi. What are you going to do with your olives?
We're not doing anything!
My sisters have the harvest and are going to preserve them in different ways. They just tried some that a Greek friend preserved in rock salt which they decided were very good and not as onerous to prepare! We'll get a few jars returned to us. We'll look for rock salt to try with our remaining olives.
What sort of preserving do you do, Charithea?
cheers
fermi
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When I lived in Cairo , the olives were disappointing. One type, prepared in one way and take it or leave it. The link here takes you to a list of the main varieties in Italy. And this is before we even think about how to prepare them.
https://www.eataly.com/us_en/magazine/how-to/a-guide-to-olive-cultivars/
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Rock salt has been the customary way of preserving olives here too as long as I remember Fermi. Preserved olives were a must in every household to have around for the 'fasting periods'. My mother and her younger sister were very strickt on what was permitable to eat during those religious periods. My sister, who is now 83, has been doing the family olive preserving. I have been the 'monkey' on the olive trees to reach the shiny olives. My sister does some with the rock sold to use them for making olive bread, the others pickled in vinegar, my preferred olives, and the other traditional way of selecting fresh green olives, hitting them with a stone, keeping them in water for about 7-10 days, changing the water every day to get rid of the bitterness and then in brine. They are served with lemon, oil, garlic and dried coriander. Last October she taught our London born and bred nephew how to cure his olives.
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David, I like Italian olives very much. We were in Bologna for my sister's 80th birthday and her husband insisted on buying and trying out the Italian olives. He said they tasted better then ours. He also likes Kalamata olives. I was always instructed to bring back olives for him on our trips to Greece.
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Some of our vegetables. They are not plentiful like in most vegetable gardens but I am happy with what we have. Grown from seed. Australian beet, Cyprus tomatoes, Florence fennel, hot peppers and oregano bought in a small pot from the village nursery.
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The latest crop to be harvested is broccoli!
Not huge heads but enough for a meal,
cheers
fermi
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Best like that- small- enjoy! Tomato season here but Blackbirds causing havoc 🙄
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Firmi the broccoli we grow in Cyprus is normally greeen or slightly greyish. I like the purple colour. We managed to grow some a few years. The flower heads were not nice and compact like yours. It seems here that the climate is best suited for zucchini , large marrows and aubergines.
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In Italy anything from the "cabbage" family will have various local names and they all tend to get mixed up anyway. Consequently, it can be a real problem to understand exactly what you are going to get in a restaurant! In Rome, if you are offered "broccoletti", dig deeper. Are you being offered:
cut up Green Cauliflower (cavolfiore verde)
https://ilsicano.com/99-medium_default/broccoli-siciliani.jpg
cut up Broccolo Romano
https://www.ortofrutticolalamapaola.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/prodotti_broccolo-romano3.jpg
Broccoli siciliani
https://www.biosolidale.it/public/articoli/brsi_0.jpg
Broccoletti Romaneschi
http://www.ortodigiobbi.com/agricoltori/media/com_hikashop/upload/broccoletti.jpg
or
Brocoletti Cima di Rapa?
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/191511690365-0-1/s-l1000.jpg
If you haven't tasted pasta with either broccolo romano or cime di rapa then, sorry folks, you haven't lived.
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Hi David,
Brocoletti Cima di Rapa is something we first discovered a few years ago.
I found a packet of seed which we'd saved and sowed it quite thickly thinking that the viability would have diminished over the intervening years. Looks like every seed has germinated! We'll have to thin out vigorously!
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi
Cime di Rapa can come with a health warning. The long fibres play havoc with the digestive system in some. If you are having them with pasta and you are susceptible, there is an easy solution. Drain them well and refry them in olive oil with garlic and chilli. Then put them in a blender and render them into a pesto-consistency paste to mix with your pasta.
I tend to cook them with very little water. If you prefer the boiling method, save the water to cook your pasta in!
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What an interesting subject the broccoli turned out to be. While doing my degree in London years ago, I worked 3 evenings a week in a Sainsbury supermarket. After an hour of passing items through the check out I used to get bored so and I would try and find things to keep me going. I remember telling customers that the 'Broccoli' florets obeyed the Fibonacci rule! David, I have tried all the types of broccoli except Brocolotti Cima di Rapa. I eat most of my vegetable raw or lightly cooked so that would not be cooked by me. I am posting some photos of our vegetables. The ones with all the greenery is my nephew's vegetable garden. His late father used to grow veg in his London garden but my nephew has never ever dug a hole to plant anything. He has returned to Cyprus and to our surprise he has taken to growing veg. He is very proud of his success.
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While photographing the Cerinthe I thought to send a photo of our pomegranate trees that are full of fruit. Every year we share our fruit with the birds but the last few years the tree rats are having most of the fruit. I can not cut them yet because they don't mature until October and since I don't like putting down any poison I just complain a lot. Finally a photo of our two pumpkins.
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These photographs were taken on the third week of August on the Troodos mountain area. The fruit of the Rosa canina (Troodos Botanic Garden) is ripe and the otherCastanea sativa seen in Kyperounta are still growing. Both are wonderful sights for me as they Chestnuts don' grow at our low altitude and the Rosa canina although it grows here never reaches the beauty of the ones up the mountains.
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Our Strawberry guavas, Psidium cattleianum, are beginning to ripen.
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Hi David,
Brocoletti Cima di Rapa is something we first discovered a few years ago.
I found a packet of seed which we'd saved and sowed it quite thickly thinking that the viability would have diminished over the intervening years. Looks like every seed has germinated! We'll have to thin out vigorously!
Just picked a few Brocoletti Cima di Rapa, young Silverbeet (Chard) and coriander to cook for our dinner
cheers
fermi
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They look so fresh. Soon we should be able to buy fresher looking veg. Enjoy them.
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Not the fruit but the flower of one of our Dragon fruit. The bees certainly seem to appreciate it.
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Dragon fruit !
Something to look up early in the morning !
I was thrilled to find I even had a photo of them, long unidentified
A market in Vienna in October 2006
The Dragon fruit are those bright red things on the bottom right of the photo
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Those are the ones, Hilary. Have you tried them?
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No we have never eaten Dragon fruit but every time we go to Spain, note the optimism here, we eat Chirimoya,, the green fruit next to the Dragon fruit in the photo.
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Yes, I know the Cherimoya, often referred to as Custard Apple. There are also Star fruit in your photo that we used to get in Singapore, they sometimes appear in shops over here but we haven't bothered with them. One fruit from Singapore that I would like to get, but have never seen outside the Far East, are Rambutans. Our daughter was 4/5 years old when we were there and she loved them.
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When I lived in Malaysia rambutans were amongst my favourite fruit too. For some inexplicable reason, the fruit in Kuala Lumpur was nearly always sold unripe, even on the street stalls selling ready-cut portions to eat on the go. On the coast it was a different story with beautiful ripe, juicy and tasty fruit available everywhere.
The nearest taste I can get to rambutans or lychees here are nespole. Funnily enough, they too have a large seed and little flesh. Wondering if they were related I googled it. Nothing came up but there is a page, in Italian, where the nutritional values of the two fruits are compared. Unexpected pair of fruits to compare!
https://fruits.nutriarena.com/it/rambutan-e-nespole-benefici/comparison-69-55-3
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David, nespole was a new one on me until I looked it up and found they were loquats. We have a couple of trees in our garden. When you were in Malaysia did you ever acquire a taste for Durian? We always knew when they were in season as the streets of the city centre reeked of them, people carrying them were not allowed on public transport.
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Hi John,
Durian do smell, don't they. Not allowed in several places in Malaysia, I recall. Hotels being one of them. I did eat them on occasion and the taste was okay. I have to be honest, overall, tropical fruit (in my humble opinion) is not a patch on Mediterranean/European fruit. Mangos and pineapple would be the exception. I wouldn't be without cherries, peaches, melon in summer and oranges and crisp, sweet, juicy apples in winter - whoever "invented" floury apples?! Ugghh!!! . Just imagine, after a week lost in a desert, stumbling across a fridge. Using every last ounce of your strength to heave the door open, you come across a sweet, ripe water melon. Which tropical fruit could match that?
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Not exactly fruit of the day, but some of the ones that we have on our trees at the moment.
We have already been enjoying the Figs, Strawberry guava, Pomegranates and Passion fruit.
Still to come are the Guava, Persimmon, Avocado and Mango.
We have a good crop of Medlar but hardly ever bother to go to the trouble of finding ways to get them to ripen.
Our Walnut produces very few nuts as the temperature at this altitude is not to its liking, they much prefer the climate higher up the mountain.
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For some reason we've never had much luck with green peas. Usually when we sow them they get eaten before or as they are germinating.
This year we sowed about half a dozen of 3 different varieties - only 4 survived!
So we actually have been able to harvest a few pods for the table.
They are Sugar Snap varieties so the whole pod can be eaten,
cheers
fermi
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We usually plant a bed of Broad Beans ( also called Fava Beans) but this one came up from the compost which we added to a raised bed for some Chinese Pistachio seedlings
cheers
fermi
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I sympathise with you Fermi. You sew seeds and look forward to having some tasty veg and the snails, birds or tree rats eat them. We share our 'produce' with all kinds of creatures and don't mind so much but this year I thought it unfair that our enormous Avocado tree had finally produce large fruit and we only managed to eat two of them. The rest being high were left to fall off the tree but we got instead the large seeds with some flesh on them. Luckily the Hass variety is not so popular with the birds. I have managed to grow coriander. I think I put the seeds in the ground at the right time and hence the positive results.
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We have had more walnuts this year despite the drought. The tree almost died last year as it was attacked by insects and some of the branches fell off but it manage to pull trough and produce fruit. The other picture is of Pecan pies using our home grow pumpkin and our pecan nuts, The crows and magpies eat the pecan nuts but we got enough for our pies.
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I have struggle to reduce photographs for the forum using my new computer and finally in desperation I got my old one out and got the job done. Here are some photos of our dragon fruit.
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We have a ginormous Avocado tree that John has grown from seed. It casts shade in a large area at the top of the garden where I try to grow plants that need some shade in the summer. Every year it produces many, many small avocados which we eat, although it takes time to skin them. it also produces some large avocados but high up on the tree. We see them but can not get hold of them. The birds eat them and the large seeds fall to the ground. This year it has produced a few large ones within reach. It will be a fight who will get them first. I took a photo using my ipad..
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I hope you enjoyed the Avocado this year