sanditas are still producing

Last season I planted a sandita vine (Melothria scabra) as an experiment to see how this little fruit tastes. The word "sandita" means "little watermelon" in Spanish, and the plant has been grown in Mexico since before the arrival of the Spaniards. The vine seems very hardy; the taste of the fruit is much like a cucumber.

Melothria scabra

worm in the compost

I took this video with a simple compound light microscope at 400x magnification. The first few seconds of the video are probably the most fascinating, but I found the rest interesting too. It's much better to watch in "full screen mode." Hit the little rectangle in the lower right of the video.  Hit "esc" to get back to regular mode. If anyone can reliably identify the species of nematode, let me know.

pineapple guavas make great quickbread!

The little pineapple guava bush has been producing well. Very low maintenance. We've been having delicious pineapple guava quickbread. Yum!

pineapple guavas and an orange from the yard

squash from the back yard

The squash vines take up more space than I expected, but the squash are well worth the effort.

cooked squash

caught in the act!

The figeater beatle, Cotinis mutabilis, is said to eat figs. When I see these huge members of the scarab beetle family, they are usually buzzing around the yard in their slow, lumbering way. Today, though, I caught one in the act of eating a dried fig. Though these beetles are destructive, I find their green iridescent green exoskeletons quite beautiful.

figeater beetle - Cotinis mutabilis

hornworms are back!

    A week or so ago, I saw the first hawk moth of the year flying in the garden. Hawk moths are large, beautiful flying insects with a lush furry appearance. Unfortunately, though, they portend the arrival of hornworms, the larval form of these critters. This morning I saw the first manduca sexta larva on the underside of a tomato leaf. The little bugger had already eaten a chunk of the leaf. I searched around the plants and found four more of these on the underside of the leaves.

    Note the tiny black "horn" on the posterior end, thus giving the name "hornworm" to these insects.

Manduca sexta larval form on tomato leaf

Manduca sexta on fingertip

Persian squash

   Today we ate the first of the Persian squash. I planted the seedling early this summer in the raised bed. Today the first squash was ready. It was delicious with a simple delicate flavor.
   It's been interesting to learn about squashes. The species Cucurbita pepo includes such varieties as acorn squash, spaghetti squash, yellow crookneck squash, and zucchini. Many squashes seem to be called different names in different areas.  I've seen the same fruit called "Mexican gray squash" or "calabacita" in local stores.

"Persian zucchini"