Being Monday today, I'm again joining the feature on Jodie's blog
here. This week Jodie wrote of the beautiful plant she has been given to plant in her garden, honouring the memory of her grandmother who died recently... a lovely idea.
My post is also about the garden. Firstly I'm showing the 3 passionfruit which I picked from the vine on Sunday. The possums and larger birds like the cockatoos, love to 'pick' my passionfruit before they ripen but they left these 3 for me :-) My vine grows in my 'natives' garden so no fertiliser with potash can be used as it will kill the natives so I only use Blood and bone and some slow release fertiliser formulated for natives. So why do I have a plant that adores potash which would help it fruit even more, growing amongst the natives that hate potash? I didn't plant it...2 vines came up out of some homemade compost that I spread around the bed. There is some more fruit on the vine which I'm keeping an eye on while it ripens.
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| We have 2 seasons for passionfruit here in the sub tropics |
The photo below is a purple-skinned sweet potato that I suspended in water several weeks ago so that it would sprout. Finally started sprouting late last week. I love that variety baked in the oven but you don't seem to be able to buy plants of it at the nursery.
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| After weeks of waiting, finally some green shoots! |
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| Suspended in the jar of water |
Years ago when I taught year 2, we (the class and I) put an orange fleshed sweet potato (kumara) in water and waited for it to sprout. The sweet potato vines I have growing now are 'descendants' of that sweet potato. The class loved it as it grew long and meandered along the long window ledge in the classroom. We've had some really good crop yields and homegrown do taste better.
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| Sweet potato vines acting as ground cover during the hot summer |
Now I mentioned possums before. The photo below came from a share on Facebook. Apparently the possum broke into a bakery in Hobart (Tasmania) and ate his fill of pastries. When caught red-handed, he was 'too full' to run away!
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| The pastries' thief; I guess that hole on the righthand side is where he broke in! |
Maria, I always remember having a passion fruit vine growing up. You may need to get yourself a net to protect those last few fruits.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for playing along Maria xx
I am so envious, I wish I could grow passionfruit like that. I have tried for many years and purchased many plants *sigh
ReplyDeleteI would love to be able to plant passionfruit but we have limited planting space. I kind of feel sorry for the possum being to full to run away...
ReplyDeleteHA HA HA HA!!!! THAT OPPOSSUM is HILAROUS! He looks like he'd be saying, " Another? OH NO NO NO... I just COULDN'T!" I'm sure it was not funny to the Baker who had defiled goods and a shop to open.
ReplyDeleteLea, unlike NZ, possums are a protected species here, so I guess this little fellow/lass? would have been taken to a wildlife centre to have a thorough check up to see if he/she would suffer ill effects and then released.
ReplyDeleteMaria, This is the first time I've planted a passionfriut and it's going ahead in leaps and bounds. Now I have to work out how to stop the wildlife here from accessing the fruit when it grows. Maybe some solar lights will deter them.
ReplyDeleteLove that last pic....gave me a great laugh to start my day. Maa
Your sweet potato vine has been very productive. Can imagine the school children getting enjoyment out of it... they'll remember that too.
ReplyDeleteJust loved the pastries thief - what a gorgeous photo! Bet he had a tummy ache :D)