The very unusual Cannonball Tree Couroupita guianensis – a wonderfully unique flowering fruit tree growing on East Coast Beach, Singapore. The flowers are about 5″ wide and develop in massive 12 foot-long bunches. The fruit is about 8 – 10 inches across, and apparently has a very unpleasant odor. The tree has been regarded as sacred in India for thousands of years, and the bark, leaves and fruit have been used medicinally as a disinfectant; even believed to cure diseases like malaria.
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This yellow pepper started rotting in just the right place so I cut eyes and made a Halloween Pepper.
Tomato seeds sprouting inside the fruit
When the few remaining grapes in the bowl are staring at you, it’s time to throw them out.
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One of the fun things about gardening is that you can never predict the exact outcome of a planted seed. Even seedless things insist on having seeds in them sometimes. Such was the case with the mother of this watermelon, apparently seedless, it had only one. This series of photos were taken on Sept.19th, 25th, Oct. 25th and 27th, and Nov. 16th (2008).
If you can grow tomatoes in Texas, I figure you can grow anything. If the plants manage to survive Summer’s 105* F heat they will still not produce tomatoes on those leggy vines until November.
One day in July when I was outside tending to yard work, my neighbor came shrieking out of her yard with a tone higher than her usual typically high octave that native Texan women have. All the fuss was about a tomato presenting itself in her garden, and she was mighty excited about it. She told me that someone told her that someone else told them that throwing used coffee grounds on the base of the plant will do the trick. I had heard about putting coffee grounds on rose bushes and do know the goodness that composting provides, but for fear of attracting snakes, rats or scorpions into my yard – which I’ve never seen but apparently they exist here – I have not kept a compost at all in this garden. I’m not fond of the idea of Snake Surprise. Anyway, coffee grounds have regularly been sprinkled on the tomato patch since July, plus this particular plant was propped up onto a bird bath stand. It’s November on the verge of frosty nights and the fruits are looking quite healthy. Next year the tomatoes will have the advantage of this years’ supply of the ol’ Texas coffee-ground-trick a lot earlier in the growing season. I can hardly wait for next year’s giant tomatoes to appear in June.
Hispanic workers loading trucks with grapes for transport, Southern California
Awesome Sunflower seed-head, 12 inch diameter, and healthy Cantaloupe, Lewisville TX
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Scarlet Runner bean vines overtake this abandoned barn in Denton Texas
The best heart-shaped items reveal themselves when I’m not searching for them at all.
After two weeks away, one of the first things I did was inspect the garden, most curious about the cucumbers, because it’s the first year they’ve survived this far into the season. There I was at midnight, feeling around in the dark, and found a cucumber that had grown from 1/2 inch long to 8″L X 3″ wide during that short time. I expected to find a virtual Jack And The Bean Stalk situation this morning, but all the other cukes are average-sized. The heart-shaped cookie cutters I placed around some veggies have fallen off, so will have to try again; now able to monitor the progress of growth.
The Black Sheep Grape
