Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Guavas, bananas, and lemons and a Giant Tree Fern (Hapu'u)

These aren't the greatest pictures, but I thought I would show some of the things I am growing.... This is a banana keiki (child).  It's a dwarf variety, so it won't get that big.  I can't wait until this variety produces - very sweet small bananas.


  
I made my "model" stand under the hapu'u so you could see how big they get.  Wild pigs LOVE these; apparently, so do horses, because when we moved the electric fence, the horse destroyed one in short order.  Doesn't it look like something a dinosaur would eat? She wanted me to take a picture with the banana keiki, so she could look "giant".  


Guava.  I need to pick these to either feed the chickens or make chutney.  They are falling on the ground, and I don't want to waste them.  

 The bananas aren't that clear. I will try to take a better picture earlier in the day.  This bunch is ready to pick.
Unripe lemons.  The same lemon tree will have flowers, unripe fruit, and ripe fruit all at the same time.  I am going to pick the ripe ones this weekend to make lemon bread.  



















Last, but not least, here is my taro, at least one variety.  This one is an heirloom variety which is light yellow and it keeps it's color when cooked.  Yellow poi, anyone?

9 comments:

Lisa Mi said...

Love the pics Nance! We've been neglecting the garden, but luckily all of the citrus, other fruit trees ant taro are still going. We're going to have to redo the planter boxes and raise them because the rubber tree roots from the hillside found the boxes and have taken over, squeezing out the nutrients and killing or stunting the other plants.

Grandpa said...

Those look very tropical! I have all of them on my farm, except the taro, which is obtainable from the farmers' market.
Lemon bread - is it just normal bread with lemon flavor?

NancyDe said...

Hey, Lis, Have you tried the chicken luau again? I am really wanting some - have to make some this weekend. I bet rubber tree roots are a pain in the okole to dig out.

Grandpa, you folks have tree fern, too - they are like a boar magnet. Lemon bread is more like a coffee bread, sweet with a lemon glaze. My kids like it.

NancyDe said...

Also, Lisa, where did you put your raised beds? Does Kula want to dig in them? Does the shock collar keep her out of it?

Chai Chai said...

All I can say is wow! It must be so nice to be able to grow such a healthy variety of foodstuffs.

NancyDe said...

The only thing is, both bananas and taro take 9 months or so to mature. It takes a long time to produce food. A stalk of bananas is WAY too many bananas, also. I tend to freeze them to use for banana bread and muffins. The guavas are good. I just ate one off the tree. Some people find taro too bland - but I love it.

Lee said...

Aloha Nancy, Wow! I really love you rplace and the fruit trees and horses. A dream of mine, but missed the boat, ha ha.
You are living not only in Paradise but a dream few can or dare dream....
Have fun and keep a song in your heart, Aloha oie, Lee.

Lisa Mi said...

Hi Nance - Haven't done the raised beds yet, we have to find a weekend when we actually have time, so I'll let you know. Luckily Kula doesn't dig the planted beds, she prefers digging holes in the grass. Most times she's sure that there's something under there. Right.
Michael redid our taro patch a little while back, so there's not enough leaves to make luau, but I gave in and bought some at Foodland the other day. At least they were already pretty clean, so it took less time to prep. Your recipe is the best! We love it.

NancyDe said...

Lisa, I need to redo my taro, too. So many projects....I was spacing out in my last two meetings, planning how to build a chicken tractor for my new chicks....

You are so lucky Kula doesn't dig - my dogs only dig where I dig - like they want to share in the joy (I secretly think it is Cinnamon, but everyone else thinks it is Melly).