A Walk Around The Homestead 11/1/2016

I had a happy surprise today in the garden, so I thought it was time to show you how things are growing out there.  We are getting towards the end of rainy season, which means that we're still plenty wet.  I love not having to water my containers, as it's unusual if we don't get at least a little shower once a day.  Then the sun comes out and dries everything out.  In the dry(er) season (Dec - May), we may go two or three days without rain, which means I have to keep up with watering the plants I have in containers because the sun is so hot that even though we'll still get a couple of inches of rain per week, it's just not enough.

I bought this Barbado cherry when we first got on island a little over a year ago.  It has blossomed several times, but not set fruit... so I was happy to see some growing.  Once it gets going, it should produce nearly year-round.

This was my truly happy surprise this morning:  The Strawberry Guava that I bought at the same time as the Barbados Cherry is blossoming!  I have been waiting and waiting for signs of fruit, and it makes me giddy to see the beautiful flowers.

I have tried several times to root cuttings from a friend's Mulberry Tree.  Happy to report that the last attempt appears to have worked (it truly was the last attempt, too, as she moved off island and the military housing neighborhood she was in is now completely closed!)

And we all know how I feel about my figs.  They are looking beautiful!

This is my green-stem Malabar Spinach plant.  It's so long!  I just keep weaving it between my railing posts and it seems to be loving life.  We love the leaves in smoothies.

This tomato was one of the volunteers I found that sprouted up shortly before I got back on island in August.  It really started to take off once I repotted it.

These are some sunflowers I planted from old seeds.  I didn't expect any of them to sprout.  I'll need to transplant them soon so they have more room!

Lots of bees out doing their orientation flights this morning!

The dragon fruit has really grown by leaps and bounds.  This is a native yellow variety, and I've been told I won't need to hand-pollinate it.  I just hope it flowers soon!

This is luffa that also sprouted from old seeds.  I decided to put it next to the chain-link fence so it can spread its wings.  We'll see how it does, as I've never grown it before (successfully, anyway!)

I've got several Poona Kheera cukes that sprouted, so this one is on the same chain link with the luffa. I grew some in the dry season without much luck, so I'm hoping these will do better.

I just cut back this lemongrass last month and it's already grown even more.  This all started from a $1.69 bunch of stalks I bought at the commissary and rooted.

And this prehistoric looking monster of a plant is called Naranjilla, which means 'nectar of the gods'.  It has the nastiest thorns ever (which the Baker Creek catalog failed to mention) so I moved it from a pot on the deck into the pathetic raised bed.  We'll see how that goes.

And this lettuce is an experiment that seems to be doing well.  It is Jericho Lettuce, which supposedly is more heat tolerant than most.  I've had it in a protected place away from direct sunlight and it seems to be doing well.

I would like to start some pepper seeds and see if I can't grow some jalapenos, but other than that, I don't have any major plans for the garden.  It is definitely still an experiment in this humid 'paradise'.