Early Autumn Harvest Photos

With two children in our lives, we are finding it difficult to find much time for the blog.  Please forgive the brief  posts, and enjoy the photographs.

Most of the photos are from our Zone 1 gardens to use Permaculture lingo.

This time of year, the peppers are finishing up and ready to be harvested.

Odin is helping to process a Luffa Gourd. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffa

Shiso has been allowed to self seed and now is growing in most of our vegetable gardens.

Peppers, Aubergines, and Shiso out compete the weeds and taste great.

We have our composting toiled fully operational now and in daily use, creating amazing HOT COMPOST.

Steve and Barbara lent a helping hand this summer and we closed off another section of cleared jungle for a chicken run.  With 30 birds, the first run is a dust field now and needs to be replanted with a Nitrogen fixer, maybe alfalfa for the chickens to eat.

More Aubergines, yum-yum!

Well that is it for now.  More to come as time allows.

End of Summer Update

Summer has ended and our harvests are plentiful. 

Odin Indra was born on August 28th on the island of Faial.  All went very well for mother and baby throughout labor and delivery.



Tomatoes from around the globe of all different shapes and sizes continue to feed us daily.  Our hot peppers are turning red, giving us a perfect mixture of sweetness with heat.  The Thai Basil is awesome with curry!



Sweet Leaf Basil and Eggplants complement our mediteranean cuisine.  Basil adds a nice aroma to the baby as well.



Butternut squashes with a dab of local butter hits the spot.



Pickle making season is here and we have ample cucumbers and hot peppers to brew up some wicked-tastey medleys.



Solanaceae is one of our favorite families of plants for a good reason. They grow so easily and taste so good.  Eggplants and tomatoes never get boring.

Summer Garden Update

This summer we have been blessed with fantastic Sunshine and ample rainfall to keep all the springs bubbling.
After a dismal Spring and lengthy winter, our gardens are making a fantastic return.

One of our tomato gardens this year has been planted with a German cultivar known as Strawberry Tomatoes. They are meaty and sweet, similiar to a watermelon. Their unique shape seems to keep Blossom End Rot from taking hold, as all the rain is diverted into a single point and allowed to fall free.



Our new retaining wall is planted with LemonGrass, BitterMelon and Congo WaterMelon.



Our Arugala Microgreens garden has Hungarian Wax Pepper and Japanese Eggplant interspersed for late summer harvesting.



Chinese Water Spinach is thriving in our new plot. First we built a stone wall and then backfilled it with compost and wood ash, afterwards we diverted a natural spring to keep a fresh supply of water in circulation.



Magnus and Soraya guard the Black Beauty Eggplant plot. In the distance can be seen the Hot Pepper patch.



Our ButterNut Squash are nearly ready for harvest. It is one of our favorite meals when combined with local Flores Butter and Honey.



More to come as the summer unfolds and time permits.

Summer Harvest Season

Finally all the hours of preparation are paying off.

Our garden space has doubled since our first year here and now we are supporting our food needs entirely from our garden!

Long Beans


"Susan's Seeds" Tomato


"Golden Hubbard" Squash, encased in plastic to keep the young bunnies at bay.


Thai Hot Peppers