Autumn arrived quietly. Mum and dad harvested pumpkins before frost do damage.

We make compost from organic scraps. This year wild watermelon grew in our backyard! This one was the biggest.

The next watermelon is medium sized. I hope to compare them side by side when we harvest.

Each watermelon starts out as these tiny bulbs.

Below is watermelon foliage. I will be looking out for these next year!

We carried pumpkins like the hefty one below individually. They are now in storage.

Another crop begins while one finishes. These below are a row of kumara - winter comfort food. (For family gathering only!) The leaves make a mild vegetable dish.

Valentine's Day Food (the devil made me do it!)

My plans are to comfort eat on Valentine's Day. I will eat too much chocolate then have some fruit.

Homemade chocolate truffles by ayalan, some rights reserved.

Small ganache tart with fresh strawberry by chotda, some rights reserved.

Tiramisu for two made by suziedepingu, some rights reserved. Suzie's blog.

3liz4's blog had a wine infused nectarine in honey panna cotta by 3liz4, some rights reserved.

Luisa Plums Summer of 2009 - 2010

Above are organic Luisa plums that ripens into yellow heart-shaped fruits.

Further Information

Edible Garden

Blueberries

Blueberries (Vaccinium genus) has anthocyanin, a blue pigment high in antioxidant.

There birds get first dibs at blueberries in front of my window.

Source

Blueberries NZ

The One Peach

The new peach tree also in my backyard has a single fruit this year.  I look out the window and see it swaying. Hold on, brave one!

Talk about James and the Giant Peach huh?

I lied. It is about as big as a golf ball in its organic wholesomeness.

Feijoas, come one, come all.

The feijoa season is upon us. I had three today! When my family moved to New Zealand, we had never seen feijoa trees before. The neighbours told us how the fruit is ripe when it falls. Now I know it's autumn when feijoas fall. They remind me of the move to New Zealand and guavas in Taiwan.


Whole feijoa and cross-section, by a HortResearch photographer.

Feijoa sellowiana is an evergreen from South America. The green ellipsoid tastes sweet, has a gritty texture and smells sweet due to its methyl benzoate. Nutritional data states the fruit is low in cholesterol and sodium, high in folate and is a good source of vitamin C. If you have interest in growing feijoa, check out the New Zealand Grower's Association in what you need.

Feijoa can be used in (source: Wikipedia Entry):

• Juices and smoothies,
• wine, cidar and vodka,
• yoghurt, jam and ice cream,
• stews and chutney, and
• find more in the Feijoa Recipe Book by Wyn Drabbles (ISBN 0-9582115-3-1)

I pick up the fruit, cut it in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. How do you eat your feijoa?

So Happy

I am stoked! Logged on to find my project provisional results. I passed. Did a little victory dance. This deserves some celebration. I will break open the vanilla with raspberry choc flake ice cream even though I'm supposed to be on a reduced dairy diet.

Below are sweetcorn harvest for this year.

Here is a close up

A potted little pine tree

The juvenile cone

A series of orange trees yet to be put into the ground.