delicious valencia orange

I just ate a lovely Valencia orange. I planted this tree in August of 2009 and this is the first winter we have nice juicy oranges. I've pruned every winter and this year the shape finally looks good. We had a horde of aphids last year, but releasing a box of ladybugs seems to have helped. We also had leaf-miners, but I was able to squish them individually by hand and so far that has worked (the trees are still quite small). This has been a fair amount of work,  but it's a real treat to walk out into the backyard for a little snack.

cabbage in the winter garden

The winter garden has been doing well, though some little critter has been eating the brussel sprouts and cauliflower. The cabbage looks good; I'm eager to try the first head....

rich black compost

I just stirred the compost with a pitchfork. It's amazing how a collection of leaf clippings and table scraps get turned into rich black dirt.

tomatoes ripening in the compost bin

A few weeks ago I pulled up the old tomato vines so I could plant winter veggies. The worms in the compost bin are slowly doing their good work on the vines, but something interesting has been happening to the tomatoes. There were a few green tomatoes left on the vines, and over the past few weeks, the tomatoes have been ripening. I ate a few this morning and they were delicious.

happy to see a bee

Today I noticed about 30 or so bees milling around on the rapini plants. Going pesticide-free has so many benefits....

surprised snake! and good Fall harvest

    I've been a bit neglectful of the garden lately. When I looked under the tomato plants, there was a three-foot-long snake looking back at me. We were both surprised and gave each other space. She slithered away in a very interesting way. The first foot or so of movement was fast and made noise as she rustled through the dry tomato leaves. Then she slowed down and moved so quietly I couldn't hear her at all - very cool. I couldn't think of a better companion in the garden. I hope she eats plenty of mice.

   In spite of my neglect, the garden is still producing....

Pineapple Guava

The tomatoes are giving up for Autumn, but the pineapple guavas are ready now. These are native to Brazil, but they seem to be doing very well here in San Diego. You eat them by cutting them in half and scooping out the pulp. They are so sweet!

pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana)

pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana)