LOOK AT THESE BANANAS!!!!

In just two weeks, the bananas are flourishing :o) I can't wait to taste these babies!

10-31-09 What a beauty! It's all about the progress :o)

The banana inflorescence shooting out from the heart in the tip of the stem, is at first a large, long-oval, tapering, purple-clad bud. As it opens, the slim, nectar-rich, tubular, toothed, white flowers appear. The ovaries contained in the first (female) flowers grow rapidly, developing parthenocarpically (without pollination) into clusters of fruits, called hands. The number of hands varies with the species and variety. The fruit (technically a berry) turns from deep green to yellow or red, and may range from 2-1/2 to 12 inches in length and 3/4 to 2 inches in width. The flesh, ivory-white to yellow or salmon-yellow, may be firm, astringent, even gummy with latex when unripe, turning tender and slippery, or soft and mellow or rather dry and mealy or starchy when ripe. (http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/banana.html)

10-31-09 Bananarama!!!!!

Just 21 days later, our banana has sprouted her first banana bud -- holy cow!!!! From this water-gathering bud, the tree saves water and nutrients for the growing bananas...

10-10-09 Banana

As of 10-10-09, the banana tree to the far left here is looking healthy, strong, and tall; she's also producing young bananas which can be seen in her surroundings...no fruit yet!

10-31-09 In just 21 days, our Husky Cherry Red has 2 baby tomatoes...

10-10-09 Husky Cherry Red Tomato

This husky red tomato plant is just a baby here, and this is what she looked like as of 10-10-09

10-31-09 Cinderella-magic...look at this thing grow!

Calabaza, larger than a softball in just ONE WEEK!!!! To fertilize her, Ben had suggested all vines at the garden could use the help of some organic seaweed kelp extract...so, we bought some from planet natural, a company that sells mainly organic and natural products for all gardening needs :o)

10-24-09

Calabaza, here, about the size of a tennis ball, maybe a little bigger :o)

Morning dew...there's nothing like it!

Papaya poem 10-31-09

Papaya poem 10-24-09...

Up close and personal...

Avocado Comparison 10-10-09 to 10-31-09

Avocado...mmmm! Local, beautiful, and oh so good!

And how does our Papaya look as of 10-31-09?

She bears even more fruit than just 21 days prior...the tree is simply happy and sustaining herself quite well with a little help from our kids at Troy: they water, weed, and fertilize with organic compost...and don't forget, we also mulch, mulch, mulch!!!

10-10-09 Papaya-study...

Our Papayas at the Greenhouse Project are flourishing...here's a view from 10-10-09; as you can see, small fruit are budding and a fragrant flower protrudes from this amazing tree

How does the Ross Sapote look as of 10-31-09?

Amazing what a little love and tender care can do!

Let's compare...10-10-09

Our Ross Sapote had been attacked by a hungry beetle or perhaps another little critter...here, Kimbrick weeds around the delicate plant as we lay the groundwork necessary to try and bring her back to life (we also sprayed her with a mixture of water, listerine, baking soda and soap -- a natural pesticide that's not going to hurt the plant but makes it an unattractive place for little critters to hang out).