Fruit

New for 2019 in our Sunnyvale garden: Sugar Baby melons. They are round “picnic” or “icebox” watermelons perfect for small families and as the name suggests, small enough to fit into the icebox. They weigh in at between 7 to 10 pounds and are 7-8 inches across. They have either a dark green with slight dark veins or medium green …

In 2019 we planted 8 types of melons (including Honey Rock) in our Sunnyvale garden. For Christmas, Marie had given me a ‘Fruit pack’ of seeds. The Honey Rock melons are up to six inches in diameter with a tough, coarsely netted skin and sweet, flavorful salmon colored flesh. The plants are vigorous, producing five to seven fruits per plant …

With spectacular flowers and tasty fruit, you gotta try growing this passion fruit. This variety is named after Nancy Garrison, a Master Gardener in Santa Clara County. The vine was found in front of an old farm house and handles the cooler winters of our region. Passion fruit is widely grown and valued throughout the tropics and subtropics. Most Passifloras …

2018 was a year for a bumper crop of Santa Rosa plums from our 4-in-1 grafted dwarf plum tree. Each plum is small so there is not much fruit pulp. So I decided to make a plum compote. it is a simple recipe. Ingredients: 1 pound of plums (quartered; include the pits) 1 cup sugar / honey half cup water …

During our Thanksgiving dinner at Shauna’s home, Linda and Brad mentioned that they had a lot of persimmons. I joked that they would ring our doorbell and leave a box of fruit. Linda corrected me: She wouldn’t ring the doorbell. They left us a box with 36 large Hachiya persimmons. Dehydrating persimmons is simple. Wash the fruit. Core the top …

In spring 2016 my brother Adam came up from southern California with a 30-inch tall Panache Fig tree from his garden that he transplanted into a 10-gallon pot. The Panache Fig (aka Tiger Fig) has a yellow and green-striped skin with a strawberry-colored flesh. Unlike our Black Mission Fig, the Panache Fig does not have a spring crop. Because it …

In March 2016, on a whim, I bought a pineapple plant for my Sunnyvale garden. I know. I transplanted it to a larger pot but made the mistake of a too shallow pot. It grew a little and eventually in July we harvested our pineapple. If I was thinking of serving drinks in it, I would only need a shot …

“The sweet fruition of an earthly crown” – Christopher Marlowe Here it is mid-October and the first rains of winter are falling. The pomegranates split open very quickly when wet. For tips on growing: See Pomegranates

In 2016, our Black Mission fig tree is having a bumper fall crop. Here is the first partial harvest. I am not sure the reason why. About ten years ago I planting a young tree in a tall ceramic pot (about 20 gallons). I have been watering the fig tree more regularly (using drip irrigation). It has also received more …