[euge]

And my first stab at onions in this evening's light:



Maybe 10 pounds or so. Next crop will be different story.

Nice job on the leeks pinnah. I failed my first try at them.

[theoman]

I haven't started growing stuff on purpose yet, but there's a good crop of nettles growing on the property where we're building a house. I picked a bunch a couple weeks ago and made enchiladas.

Phil, I saw a few pages back that you're wondering what to do with poblanos. I wish I could get poblanos (I did find something similar from a middle-eastern market). I used to roast them and use them as a base with tomatillos for veggie green chili. Works alright without the tomatillos, too.

[phillamb168]

I haven't started growing stuff on purpose yet, but there's a good crop of nettles growing on the property where we're building a house. I picked a bunch a couple weeks ago and made enchiladas.

Phil, I saw a few pages back that you're wondering what to do with poblanos. I wish I could get poblanos (I did find something similar from a middle-eastern market). I used to roast them and use them as a base with tomatillos for veggie green chili. Works alright without the tomatillos, too.

www.tradewindsfruitstore.com/ will ship to europe!

[bo]

Pablano = Cheese Chili Relleno with Verde sauce.

[kylekohlmorgen]

Here are some photos I took back at the end of February:

Each one of the spikes on the fruit is a flower.  After the fruit flowers the fruit grows bigger and the spike transforms into a hexagon shape on the side of the fruit about the size of a quarter.  Once the hexagons are flat the fruit is as big as it's going to get.

The flower spikes follow a curving row from top to bottom of the fruit kinda like a barber pole spiral.  In the top photo you can see that there are seven flower spikes in a row.  That pineapple (was very yummy) ended up being about the size of a 2 liter soda bottle.




This second photo shows the flowers better.  It was a white pineapple (Kona Sugarloaf variety), a bit smaller than the one in the top photo.





Your pineapple has three hexagons per row.  The hexagons are pretty much flattened out.  It's as big as it's going to get.  I suspect it is more of an ornamental than an eating pineapple.  It will probably change colors sometime in July-August.

Your plant will probably not produce fruit any bigger that the one you have.  If you are patient you can start a top and get a big fruit in two years.  A (what they call) 5 gallon pot (actually closer to 3.5 gallons) is the perfect size to grow a pineapple in.  Fertilize a couple of times a year and it will GROW.  Do not fertilize after you see the center part of the plant turn red and the baby pineapple appears.

You can probably by a yearling sucker at a garden shop or online if you are not the patient type.

 
Click on the photos to zoom in.

Took those in February?

I'm moving...

Read through the whole thread, and now I'm inspired! We've picked out a good spot for the garden, just have to fence it off from the pooches. Hops are already in the ground, they just need a trellis!

[punatic]

Once your pineapples get established (pretty quickly) they will be able to take care of themsevles.  Their leaves are long and spike-like.  I wear eye protection when I work on my pineapple patch.

[redbeerman]

  I wear eye protection when I work on my pineapple patch.

Better safe than never, I always say

[morticaixavier]

  I wear eye protection when I work on my pineapple patch.

Better safe than never, I always say

or as the burning man motto goes 'Safety Third!'

[pinnah]

I haven't started growing stuff on purpose yet, but there's a good crop of nettles growing on the property where we're building a house. I picked a bunch a couple weeks ago and made enchiladas.

Nettle enchiladas?  wow, interesting.  Kind of like spinach enchiladas?  Do tell.

Phil, you might read the poblano thread, some good stuff in there.

Picked a bowl of strawberries last night.  fun to eat them by the handful.

Cheers.

[redbeerman]

We actually have enough cherries this year where we're not competing at a loss with the birds!  Too lazy to net this year, maybe next year.

[punatic]

We actually have enough cherries this year where we're not competing at a loss with the birds!  Too lazy to net this year, maybe next year.

Ditto, except it's lychees here.  Bumper crop of lychees this year, even with the birds taking a share. 

Can you say lychee melomel -> and lychee eau de vie?

[erockrph]

We actually have enough cherries this year where we're not competing at a loss with the birds!  Too lazy to net this year, maybe next year.

Ditto, except it's lychees here.  Bumper crop of lychees this year, even with the birds taking a share. 

Can you say lychee melomel -> and lychee eau de vie?

Lychee melomel sounds interesting. Lychee pyment with Gewurztraminer grapes sounds even more interesting.

[punatic]

I like my lychees straight up. 

However, I am a big fan of riesling pyment from kiawe (Hawaiian mesquite) honey.  Subtle and complex... yum!

[theoman]

Nettle enchiladas?  wow, interesting.  Kind of like spinach enchiladas?  Do tell.

Yep, exactly like spinach enchiladas. The texture was a little different, but partially because I think I squeezed too much liquid out of the nettles after I cooked them. I could've told you they were spinach enchiladas and you wouldn't have know the difference. You could easily use nettles anywhere you use spinach. Some picking advice: pluck the section of the top 3 leaves. The stem is soft enough there to use it all. Don't pick plants that have flowered. Supposedly they create some chemical after flowering that can irritate the urinary tract. Oh, of course, use gloves. To cook, dunk in boiling water for at least 30 seconds. I did about 1.5 minutes to soften enough for the enchiladas. Want a quick little adrenaline rush? That first bite of nettles after cooking. It's hard to believe that a little boiling water will get rid of the sting. 

[phillamb168]

@$!(*&% birds ate all the ripe blueberries! I never even got to see them!