What's up in the garden

The garden has become pretty prolific this year. It's just about the end of the season for the Carambola (star fruit) but have had lots and the neighbors got their share. 

The papaya is really taking it's time, both trees. The one in the foto is tied to the wall due to being top heavy and heavy rain.

Two banana plants and they both have about as many bananas as in the foto. They too are taking their time. They grow in such a large clump I can't remember if they are the small super sweet ones or the  regular ones

The lime trees are also very slow and produced very little this summer. The first year I couldn't eat them all soo neighbors got some. Fingers crossed this year because one tree is full of flowers.

The Hoja Santa is huge and new plants are popping up around it. The roots send out runners. Asked my Canadian neighbor if she wanted one and she said "No Way" ..... they will take over your garden. Still haven't tried cooking with the leaves. You can wrap just about anything in them and then grill or bake them. Supposed to have an almost root beer flavor. Wiki gives these as possible flavors - eucalyptus, licorice, sassafras, anise, nutmeg, mint, tarragon and black pepper.

Mystery garden

So I guess I need to start with the mystery. I've planted so many things on this end of the planter that haven't come up at all I just about gave up. Leaving it fallow wasn't an option so I grabbed some more seeds, planted them .... and now I forget what they are. It's easier to take care of plants if you know what they are but I know they are not leafy because I've had no luck with leafy. Probably not very large or I wouldn't have planted so many. Guess it will remain a mystery until they get bigger.

The Carambolas are amazing. Neighbors went away with 3 large bags and sold them right away. I like them but way too many for me ...... and another crop is ready for picking.

The Banana plants have a second crop and I think these are the small super sweet ones. There is a flower in there somewhere because I saw a Humming Bird checking it out the other day. This is actually the third crop but because the second was on the lot next door a neighbor beat me to the harvest.

The Palm at the bottom was growing about 3 inches from a neighbors house and they were worried about their foundation. It was 2 meters high then and I bought it for 200 pesos. Now it's 4 meters high and produces more and more of these seeds and flowers that attract tons of bees/wasps. For some reason my not very expensive camera goes out of focus on closeups so I tried my IPhone that I recently found would zoom. It did pretty well though not easy to use .... but that is a bee/wasp at the top. Those little green coco's eventually turn red and drop to the ground.

Mystery veggies

Carambolas - Star Fruit

Banana's - Platanos

Palm flowers

Back to the garden

Last year Linda gave me about 3 each of three different kinds of bananas, all very small so we didn't know which was which.  I planted a couple in the back corner behind the limones. They turned out to be the big ones and soon became trees shading the limes and everything else. Just had to cut them down but saved their babies for other locations, the neighbors and the lot next door. 

The small one in the second foto already had a crop of the sweet small ones but now the plant just outside my lot has got a bunch. You have to wait until a few have a touch of yellow before you can cut them so we'll see if I or the neighbors get to them first.

Star Fruit has finished it's season, Moringa has flowers but no fruit yet, Peas (Chicharo) are up but very slow, Cherry Tomatoes going crazy as well as Beefsteak, all leafy vegetables are just leaves and not very big, Radishes are just leaves with no root

Not quite ready but not secure from hungry kids

The two remaining on my lot - Moringa on left

First crop a month ago

Indigenous girl with kinda traditional dress and traditional Coke

Most of the kids wear shorts and a Tea or school clothes so this was different

Gardening again

I had so much luck with cherry tomatoes last year in these raised beds I had to try it again. Had to pull up and/or transplant a bunch of tropical ornamental plants but this is food that you can eat!! Everything I was growing in buckets made a fast start and then died like they dried up?  Actually the green onions are growing in a bucket but are stunted.

I brought another large bag of coco-peat and mixed it with my compost soil for about 3 inches of good soil turned in to last years dirt.  I'm using that plastic screen over the beds to keep both dog and cat out. Dog like to excavate cool soil and the cat just using it for his bathroom.  So lots of cherry tomatoes on either end, some pepinos (cucumber) in the middle and some green onions here and there. The pepper plant I bought at Home Depot and it's doing well.

Last year the Carambola (Star Fruit) only had one fruit.  Even that was not bad for a tree only a year and a half old.  This year it looks like it may be over 100. There's 4 major branches full of fruit like this and 3-4 branches above filled with flowers.   I may have to support some of them as the full branches droop way down.  Now I have to get the girls to stop eating them green.  Even with the little bit of yellow you see they are still very sour.

The Neem (only one now) is in flower with lots of seeds ready to drop.  Very aromatic with the many small white flowers. Before long I'll either be pulling up baby Neem or trying find places to plant them.   I had thought Neem to be rather exotic but actually it's everywhere in this area.  Even one on the Melaque Plaza.

Now if the Avocado and the Chico Zapote will produce just one fruit blossom.  Both trees are healthy, same age as the Carambola but very slow to develop. . 

Rearranging the garden

Both lots on either side of me are vacant. One is for-sale for too much and the other I met the owner once but don't know who he is. I say that because growing stuff here is so much fun and I just don't have the room with 2 lots. Bananas, limes, star fruit (carambola), Chico Sapote, papayas, sugar cane, various vegetables, flowering shrubs and decorative palms.

The papaya was tired with only small fruit so I replaced it with the small palm that has been hidden under the huge bananas in the back corner.  In front of the palm is the new Moringa which I've been interested in for awhile.  It's grown a few inches there but I'm surprised how tender the "trunk" is.   It will out distance everything around it in a few months but still too young to flower this year I think.   I cut the large sugar cane and shared with neighbors so only smaller ones left.

The second foto was an attempt to show the Star Fruit flowers but they are 3 meters high so couldn't get close.   Makes me wonder how I'll reach the fruit in a few months. The tree is not strong enough to support a ladder.   Will have to consider a pruning plan to keep every thing in reach.  I had one fruit last year and looks like I'll have many more this.

Carambola in the center and higher than the 3 meter wall.   Last Neem in a bucket below it.  Buckets on the left are various veggies.  In the low foreground is my Avocado that has done nothing for 2 years.  It looked sick a few months ago and leaves were weird and falling off.   I sprayed it and all the leaves fell off.   Within a week it had all new leaves and the whole tree was growing like crazy.   Would love to someday have my own Avocados. 

Finally the Laurel tree which used to be totally root bound and less than a meter high when I bought it from a Gringa that was leaving Melaque.  I actually split the pot and have two Laurel plants/trees almost identical. 

Finishing up this week

At least I hope so. I filled up one planter to make someone in the family happy. Moved the palm from behind the star fruit, colorful plant from the far corner and a fern that was root bound in a pot. Still haven't been to the nursery.

The palapa step and tile floor are finished and the dog seems to prefer laying on the tile than than on damp ground. Hopefully this means less digging in the yard to make a cool place. You can see bricks in the planter and plants to discourage the dog. Made more space for the bananas and star fruit. One of the bananas has babies already

The long needed large garage-shed area now has the roof on and is about to get a cement floor. It's 5x5 meters so will cover my car if I choose to use it. It's main use to to cover the well and pump and be a protected wash area. Longer life for the washing machine and a place for a covered closeline when it's raining.

First planter

Palapa floor and step

Bananas and star fruit

Almost finished garage and bodega

Call me a Gardener

Well I'm trying. Been collecting dry material from the yard and around the neighborhood, finally found a place I can buy cheap cow manure and am building a compost. Four bags of manure (like below) for 20 pesos ... I gave him 40.  Mainly I'm just short of plain soil to add to the mix. I gained a bit of soil today digging for new plantings and using compost for fill.    I can enrich the soil for plants that are already in but eventually want a few raised beds for vegitables and need decent composed fill.

I planted one banana a few weeks ago but it suddenly turned brown so I got about 5 more from neighbors. Left the old one in to see if it would recover. This time all with compost fill and fertilizer. Should be the very small sweet and the Chiquita style

The other trees are from a florist up the coast. Very glad my Avocado is coming back after a sloppy transplant. There was nothing but the "trunk" a week ago.

There are too many kinds of Sapodilla/Zapote/Sapote to figure out what kind of fruit this tree will produce ... but supposedly it will reach 20-30 feet some day. just have to keep it away from my dog who likes to excavate everywhere I water.

The Almond tree in front on the street survived hurricane Jova (had to plant deeper) but I'm not sure it will survive the neighbor kids. Two branches are missing on the lower level. Almonds (almendras) are an odd tree and not really a favorite but so many people use them on the street for shade I thought I'd give it a try.

Start of compost

Two lime trees in the back of the garden

New bananas along with 3 more

Almond on street that kids keep breaking branches

Chico Zapote caged from dog

Star Fruit

Coastal Avocado