Dragon Fruit aka Pitahaya or Hylocereus

Locavores,  "Here be dragons......."

Hylocereus in bloom

This is the season for eating your dragons if you are lucky enough to have one of eating age (2 years from the nursery plants available in local Central and SoCal nurseries). 

Hylocereus polyrhizus

This is one of the magenta (or red) fruited ones. It came from Whole Foods @ 7.99 a lb this month. On the left the outside of the fruit is visible--red with green tips, about the size of a large artichoke. The taste is somewhere between a strawberry and a kiwi, or a watermelon and a pear. (Think it varies from white fleshed-hylocereus undulata -to red and pink-undulata and yellow--not to mention the  terroir. )

Why grow it? It's delicious, subtle and interesting. Found it best a bit chilled with a squeeze of Meyer lemon. Lime or lemon overpowers it. Pitahaya is spectacular in a salad with slices of kiwi and pineapple. (Recipes can also be found at ww.penangfaces.chanlilian.net.)

It's a cactus, it's low water, it grows easily around here, and is another native of the New World like chayote, red runner beans you can grow in the backyard almost anywhere in SoCal. (Consider: what if there are no grocery stores open after The Big One?) Anyway--pitahaya is local, ecological and at $7.99 a lb--worth growing.

That's not all you can do with it.

Young Dragons

The peelings of dragon fruit can be made into wine (hence, terroir)



• 6 lbs ripe dragonfruit fruit

• 2 lb sugar

• 6 pts water                                                            

• 1 crushed Campden tablet

• 1-1/2 tsp acid blend

• 1 tsp pectic enzyme

• 1 tsp yeast nutrient

• 1 pkt wine yeast



Single flower



Put water on to boil. Meanwhile, carefully trim the greenery from the fruit, wash the fruit well, and chop it coarsely. Put chopped fruit, acid blend, sugar and yeast nutrient into primary. When water boils, pour into primary and stir until sugar dissolves. Cover with a sanitized cloth and set aside to cool. When at room temperature, add crushed Campden tablet and stir. Recover primary and set aside for 6-8 hours. Add pectic enzyme, stir, recover primary, and set aside another 6-8 hours. Add activated yeast. Stir daily for 7 days. Strain through nylon straining bag and squeeze juice out of fruit pulp. Transfer liquid to secondary, top up if required and fit airlock. Rack, top up and refit airlock every 30 days until wine clears and no new sediments form during a 30-day period. Stabilize, sweeten to taste, wait 3 weeks, and, if no renewed fermentation, rack into bottles. Like most wines, it should improve with age. [Keller's own recipe]Jack Keller @ wine( http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request212.asp)

Pectin –what’s that? Pectic Enzyme is recommended for all fresh fruit wines. Add it to the juice prior to fermentation to enhance the clarification process. See http://www.eckraus.com/ENZ110.html).

Santa Rosa plum (W)

Campden tablet is used to destroy molds and bacteria. Amazingly enough (joys of the internet) there are winemaker kits for backyard fruit. (see eckraus above). Used to make a sort of May wine from excess Santa Rosa plums.

This particular plum tree was very  slow to bear. So slow that it was threatened with being replaced. Trees hear better than you might think.... in any case, the following year,  and years after it bore tremendous crops of plums which were turned into a fizzy, pink, rather brut wine with a very short shelf life. (No campden tablets available.) Goes to show this oldest of human activities--fermenting excess fruit--is not too challenging . If the Haphazard Gardener can do it, anyone can. 

W

So tame your dragons into a barrier fence, or grow them it big pots, eat them in a creme brulee', or make them into wine.  

 

                                         

                                     

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Vermiculture Revisited with a side on Procyon lotor/update 5/15/12

Gardener’s adventures with red wriggler worms last year….they ate about 520 lbs. of garbage before rain and cold did them in. .


eisenia foetida




They’d have doubtless survived in a proper worm house. Sooo…. This year we created a worm palace--- a conventional  worm house with a spigot at the bottom http://www.homecompostingsolutions.com/wormbincomposters?gclid) enclosed in a , locked , screened  raccoon proof  enclosure.

 Raccoons (procyon lotor) hunt in part by their acute hearing---they can hear the worms crunching away at the compost, and it drives them mad mad mad with worm lust.

                                                image W
Let’s stop for a word from our sponsor here about raccoons. Never underestimate the intelligence, tenacity or daring of an urban raccoon. Once found a mother and 6 kits inside my room eating my cat’s food.

image W

Clapped my hands to shoo them out. Mother R calmly abandoned the kits, 5 of whom escaped out an open window. One kit couldn’t make the leap up to the window sill---too fat. Nothing phased, he shinnied up the wall and out. Not scared of me at all---they just don’t like loud noises---- no doubt due to ears so keen they can hear a worm burrowing underground.

image w

They plan to take over the planet if we continue to mess up. “Raccoons are noted for their intelligence, with studies showing that they are able to remember the solution to tasks up to three years later. (W) In other words these guys have “culture” and teach their off spring where the goodies are to be found.

image W

They are charming  but — désobéissant.  They’ve rid the garden of snails and keep it snail free, despite a snail- breeding border of agapanthas.

 Snails used to eat the dahlias as they emerged from the ground—not any more. If you sense a love/dismay relationship here with the raccoons---that's it .  Used to feed them. Ended up with about 30 showing up every night for the hand out. Nipped my ankles when I was too slow with the food. Quick ending to  raccoon soup kitchen.

Raccons with their Elephant Child curiosity have been known to dig up a dahlia tuber, simply to examine it. (Dahlias are edible—according to Aztec lore--, but resinous, like eating a very strong retzina) . To keep the raccoons away from newly planted bulbs, sprinkle the ground with chili powder (very cheap at Big Boxes in wholesale size jars). Chili gets on the very sensitive raccoon * fingers, and stings— though they hate it, it is non-toxic and non-lethal..

Having raccoon proofed the worm house , and carefully installed the worms according to directions, you are good to go. Almost immediately the worms begin producing worm juice, which you can use at once on your pet plant. Meanwhile the blessed worms are eating your shredded junk mail not to mention banana peels, coffee grounds etc. If worms did nothing but eat junk mail we could love them.

Guards against ID theft. Better than flossing.

So far the new worms, stunningly housed (is Architectural Digest out there? )
are doing exactly what they should be doing----  eating 5  to 10 lbs of garbage a week.

Teenage male raccoons run in gangs—and “cover a territory of 3-20 miles” (W). Does that sound  familiar?

 Raccoon mothers are single parents, like bears and a lot of other ladies. Raccoon domestic life is affectionate ; the mothers purr and chirp to the young , are careful guardians. … until it’s time to make the juveniles  leave home, get out there and fend for themselves This becomes  a horrible, noisy process

 Talk about tough love and 'failure to launch’. The young ones simply can’t believe their cosy, loving mother is throwing them out into the cold cruel world. They  complain bitterly, sounding like aliens from outer Space. Mom snarls back and nips them to get them going. It’s awful for everyone. (Families of raccoons for many years lived nearby in an old tree house—got to witness the whole telenova  several times.)

 Would be worm raisers, raccoons are Public Enemy #1. Those ousted  juveniles are ravenous until they get a new  territory figured out, because Beastly Mean Momma will not let them stay where they were. Plan accordingly.

Update on vermiculture 5/15/12- Worms are creating the most wonderful compost ever seen. Also producing worm juice which our orchids seem to like a lot. All worms survived and multiplied this winter, thanks to worm palace. We could actually use another worm box at this point, but the one we have is a total success.

Report from Greco-plant auditions-what worked, what didn't

                                                           Growing baby purple artichoke from seed.
                                                                               

Growing artichoke from seed is reported in garden books  as   a problem---Why ? Beats me. Garden  myth!  Not actually even very  good at growing stuff from seed , but this was easy. Seed came from 3 different organic seed houses (Baker’s, http://rareseeds.com/; Territorial  www.territorialseed.com and Island Seed (Goleta,CA). Soaked the seed overnight, planted the first batch in plantable pots inside.

Everything grew-Violet de Provence, Violette di Chioggi, Violetta Precoce , and Purple of  Romagna. Most of them are now about 2  ½ feet tall. Violet de Provence is outgrowing all the others. Not too surprising as his native heath resembles our climate  more than those of  the other varieties. Used soaker hose to keep the ground moist.

Chioggi from seed in ground

Once it warmed up, planted more of the same seeds in the ground, having soaked them overnight (June). These also came up without a problem.

Fennel.

. Never grew fennel before. It turned out to be easy, long bearing, delicious raw or cooked. (http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roasted_fennel/. It comes in 3 kinds: Florentine, Bronze and vulgare. Grow the first 2 to eat and vulgare for the swallowtails. Florentine fennel is the celery like vegetable, Bronze an herb used much like dill, (and also is reported as a host for the Anise Swallowtail).

                                Black swallowtail on bronze fennel

He's not a pretty baby but he won't eat your tomatoes. However, what swallowtails like best is fennel vulgare. That's the one you see blooming all over the hills of the Central Coast.

 Use Florentine  fennel  like celery. Easier to grow than celery in this climate, though celery might be a really good winter/spring  crop here on the Central Coast.

                               Long Island celery- easy for them!

This is normally the time to start winter cole crops from seed.

Broccoli—had good luck with Veronica ( 85 days) which seems to use a little less water than conventional broccoli. However, given the weather cycle, won’t plant cole crop seed until late August which still gives the veg 2 hot months to get started.

 Ideally, plant some now and some later. Later, you can use starts which means you don’t have to be such a dedicated farmer. Best in this garden was Veronica (also known as Romano).

                              
                                   Glamorous Veronica

Qualified success: the roof garden. Only the real desert plants were happy—barrel cactus, agaves, etc. The sedums fried.

The roof garden depended entirely on rain water. The sedums would have to be watered every 2 weeks to survive in this climate. If it’s from the Sonora Desert—it’ll do fine without water, otherwise no.
                                     

Unqualified success: new terraces planted with dwarf citrus using grey water.

Scarlet Runner Beans:
                                         
                                                    w image
Ours came from 6 seeds. We have been harvesting about a 2 lbs. a week from these plants. They get watered once a week unless we have a scorcher (100° or more)


Harvest when they are about the size of a mature French Filet bean.( http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/french_green_beans_with_butter_and_herbs/) Or let them mature a little into lima bean size, then steam them, serve with butter. Or let them dry and give every child you know Magic Beans for Christmas.

                              
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Coming up next: Vermiculture Revisted

Return of the Native/ East Coast Farmer's Markets & Other excitements

                             Drought proof aloes (Chihuly -MFA,Boston)

Farmer's Market, Falmouth, Cape Cod

Been wandering in the flesh-pots of Cape Cod and Long Island, with a side trip to Boston and the MFA there. Chihuly, the extraordinary glassmaker was having a major exhibit. Check it out at http://www.mfa.org/. As you can see he has completely solved the water problem. Cape Cod is basically one big fish-hook shaped sandspit. God knows how the Pilgrim Fathers managed to grow anything at all. The Farmer's Markets on the Cape have beautiful lettuce, kale ( learned how to cook), herbs, peonies, rhubarb and lots of stuff for tourists to buy- lobster buoys,straw hats,fish prints (some very good) and lighthouses for your refridgerator.

                                                      Amagansett
 The North Shore of Long Island, on the other hand, is still farm country once you move away from the coast ( wall to wall summer houses, mostly very opulent-think Malibu on steroids --- but you already knew that.) There are vineyards looking very prosperous, fields of potatoes and other edibles.

                                               Montauk geese

                              Roadside stand, Long Island near Perponix

Small fishing is still viable --clams, mussels and lobster as well as lots of fish-haik, sea bass, flounder.



Potato field

 Both Cape Cod and Long Island are filled with very small towns such as we only encounter on the Disney Channel. Everyone really does know everyone else, and whether X actually managed to make it home last night, and if not, where was X and with whom?

 There's a deep patriotism and pride in the local people serving in Iraq and Afghanistan--- and an intense communal grief if one is lost --- the whole town turns out for the funeral, a street is named for the soldier.

The past is present in a way that it simply isn't in the West. So many of the towns are lifted straight from the English coast, Falmouth, Truro, Yarmouth, and Wellfleet. New England, indeed.

Urbane farmers and backyard gardeners along the Central Coast now dealing with climate changes---both hotter and colder--- can take heart. We can still grow almost anything here. It just may take more attention and ingenuity than we are used to expending. If the Pilgrims could learn to farm on Cape Cod, we can adjust to the climate changes. The longer colder weather gives us a chance to grow more stone fruits, berries and lilies. The cooler spring with more rain encourages us to grow more leafy vegetables for a longer season. It pays to be horticulurally adventurous. 

Why plant chayote or sunchokes ? And how do you grow them anyway?

                                    Sunchoke (Jerusalem Artichoke)
                                                      

Chayote growing

Think biodiversity!

Plant these now --sunchokes Helianthus tuberosus and chayote Sechium edule

The sunchoke, (Jerusalem artichoke), is a variety of perennial sunflower grown for its edible low-starch tuber which looks  like a small potato but tastes like a water chestnut raw, or an artichoke heart, cooked. Not only do they taste good, they help keep blood sugar levels from gyrating around. (see sunchoke.org.)

Sunchoke tubers can be planted in the garden  early . They do best planted in soil that has warmed to 50°F. Nurseries don't seem to carry them, so find the tubers at the Farmer’s Markets along the Central and South Coast, or at Whole Foods. Grow them the same way you would a sunflower (with a seed shaped like a potato!)

"In warm-winter regions sunchokes can also  be planted in winter. They require 110 to 150 days to mature." (from http://www.harvestwizard.com/tags/sunchokes)

Note : use a potato ricer to turn them into mashed sunchokes. Use the Cusinart to slice them thin and make an au gratin dish of them---scalloped sunchokes. The point of both these approaches is to avoid having to peel them.
Sunchokes are a good crop for the haphazard gardener. They grow  easily, and being a member of the sunflower family grow tall –six feet—and grow medium sunflowers if you don’t get around to eating all  the tubers. 
 

For a really  exhaustive treatment of this veg, see http://www.gardenersgardening.com/jerusalemartichokes.html 

Sunchoke has a romantic history---Champlain found the Native Americans on Cape Cod eating it, and took it home to France in 1605, where it has been loved* ever since. This is one vegetable that actually sort of fends for itself. 

Chayote (Sechium edule) has a legion of charms, but the most urgent reason to try it now is that it might escape the mildew** that has been ruining our squash, zucchini and gourds along the coast. Normally, plant those 3 seeds and stand back--but not in the last 2 years.

If chayote escapes  mildew, it's a winner. Certainly if grown on a trellis, it's decorative. Chayote's  a well-loved staple in Central America and Mexico. One vine can make 200 chayotes---zucchini, move over. The nice thing about chayote is it can be used in almost any zucchini or squash recipe.

“ Choyote is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae along with melons, cucumbers and squash…(W)”  …The leaves and fruit have diuretic, cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory properties, and a tea made from the leaves has been used in the treatment of arteriosclerosis and hypertension, and to dissolve kidney stones….”

All that and humble  too. Likes about the same conditions as a dahlia. Depending on when you plant it, the fruit will ripen in the fall. Here's a recipe for chayote soup that's  lovely: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/chayote-soup/Detail.aspx

And here's how to grow them:

"Planting and spacing. Set a whole chayote fruit about 4 to 6 inches deep, fat end

down and at an angle so that the stem end is just level with the soil surface. Sow seeds or fruits 10 feet apart. Chayote is a vigorous climber; set a sturdy trellis or support in place at planting. Do not allow maturing fruit to come in contact with the soil; it will spoil and germinate while still attached to the vine.

Water and feeding. Give chayote even, regular water; do not let the soil dry out. Add aged compost to the planting bed before planting. Side dress chayote with compost tea every 4 to 6 weeks during the growing season. ..."

Companion plants. Pumpkin, peppers, squash, corn. Do not grow chayote with celery, mint, or snap beans." (from  The The Encyclopedia of Vegetable Gardening by Brenda Little, SilverLeaf Press, Sandyhook, Utah 2006)

Little was an Australian garden journalist and author.

Couldn't have said it better myself....but she forgot to tell you to plant two for fertilization purposes.

Having grown both these beauties---they   Really are  Easy!

* Sunchoke won a prize in Nice c. 2002

 **Several garden books claim it is disease free. Let's hope so.