shiukopuppy's Blog
shiukopuppy's posts about: honeydew
Jul 19, 2007 | 2:37 AM PST
Tags: guava , grapes , nashi , Pomegranates , almond , coffee , avocado , berries , lime , Lemon , strawberries , water apple , lychee , durian , mango , star fruit , papaya , honeydew , dragon fruit
There are varying climates in Australia, but I currently live in a temperate area. I'm growing the fruits that need winter chilling but I'm dreaming of the fresh fruit of hot summery places! There are things that I just can't grow here or at least not grow well. Especially right in the middle of winter! It's heartbreaking to taste the fruit in the shops and even sadder when the fruit has come a long way and suffers in flavour for it.
Rambutans here are overpriced and old. I used to eat fresh mangoes, dates, pomegranates, papyas and honeydews when I lived overseas. I even ate durians. The shrivelled tiny star fruits in the shops here are unappetising. Lime and lychee drinks - not financially viable! Bananas are expensive because there was a typhoon in the banana growing areas. Earlier this year I visited a fruit farm and spice gardens in Malaysia where I tasted dragon fruit and my new favourite is the wax jambu or water apple. Above is me at the farm gesturing to a plant that I forgot what it was!
So you can see that I love to eat!! This is a major motivator in the garden. Hopefully one day I can garden in a tropical setting. And I comfort myself that I get to grow a lot of my current plants that would not survive in the tropics. As spring is nearing, I am checking all my fruit/trees' health.
GUAVA: Died back completely this winter, but I read somewhere that they recover well.
GRAPES: Still can't figure out how to prune them - it has been a few years of struggle..
NASHI: Had some rust or something last summer. I have dealt with that. It's about to bud-burst!
POMEGRANATES, ALMOND, COFFEE, BERRIES: Still very dormant
AVOCADO: Looks cold and sad!
LIME: Going crazy, looks to be outgrowing its container
LEMON: Not looking very motivated..
STRAWBERRIES: Now they are working very hard :)
