Garden Friend

While I was out in the garden this morning, this little guy was out and about. What a little cutie, and a good little bug catcher too!

Aloe Blossom

One thing that I like to have in the garden is the Aloe Vera plant. It comes in quite handy to sooth and heal stings, slight burns, cuts and so on. And it not only works well on humans, but my animals have benefited from the plant as well.

One of the larger plants has started to bloom, as you can see in the photo. As this is actually the first time I have experienced an aloe blooming, I will be watching and photographing.

It is worth mentioning that, if for some reason you cannot grow or do not want to grow an aloe plant, you can purchase pure aloe gel in health food stores. In fact, I usually keep a bottle in the fridge when I need more than what my plant could supply. And, storing in the fridge makes the gel even more soothing, especially for irritated areas, sunburn, insect bites, etc.

New Guide Coming

I just completed a guide for the company, Crisis Education. Pretty interesting information that they are offering. Check it out at:  https://www.crisiseducation.com/

I will post when the guide is released!

Avocado Sprouted

After well over a month, the avocado pit that I have been trying to start, just sprouted. Hopefully avocado trees are slow growers, as they do get quite large and I'm really not sure where it will go.

Actually, this is my 4th attempt at trying to get one of these things to start, so in reality, I wasn't expecting too much this time either. Well....surprise!

I have tried burying the pit loosely in soil, sticking toothpicks into it like a small tripod, then standing the pit in shallow water.....nothing was successful. This time I left over half of the pit exposed, putting only a little of the bottom into the pot of soil, then kept a clear plastic cup over the top of it. It worked!

Pineapple Patch

The pineapple patch has a mix of producing plants and young plants. Some of these plants were started from the tops of mature pineapple fruit by cutting the tops off and setting in shallow water or on top of a soil filled pot,  allowing them to take root, then add to the patch. Other plants, however, started as "babies" from the adult, producing plant, similar to the way a spider plant produces babies.....only not quite as many.

It should be noted that a mature plant will produce only one pineapple in its' lifetime.

Coconut Harvest

It has been coconut harvest time at parent's place. The palms were full this year and the coconuts just keep coming!

The worst part is taking the husk off. It is the most labor intensive part. But, after the coconut itself finally comes out, it gets easier!

After we drilled 3 holes in the end to drain the water (and save it), simply tap around the middle or the equator of the coconut, and it will crack. Usually quite nicely. The white meat is then broken out of the shell, usually in chunks and pretty easily too, once you get the knack of it.

Good, sweet,  homegrown coconut! Next, some fresh coconut candy.......

Drying

Been doing some dehydrating once again. Peppers and tomatoes from the garden, The colors were so vivid as the foods were drying.

So, what did I do with the results? The peppers have been stored in a dry containers, while the tomatoes were stored in oil. Some tomatoes that were crispy, chewy dried, will be ground up for tomato powder. (Yummy for a dip ingredient!)

I also recently got my third dehydrator. Will post soon on how it goes. Last summer I really got hooked on cheese making and dehydrating. I can't wait to experiment!