Wow! Success! We harvested 14 dragon fruit, and they were delicious! It was a bit of a waiting game to work out when to pick the first one, as we were unsure of the variety.
We eventually picked it on 12 April, 43 days from pollination, and although it was probably slightly over ripe it was amazing!
After that first one, we were more confident judging ripeness by colour, how ‘loose’ it was on the stem, and firmness which seemed to be around day 41 to 42. We enjoyed every single one!
We also enjoyed home grown mango! Unfortunately only 2 fruit made it to maturity, but they were amazing to eat! Protecting them from the frost over winter really helped the tree grow and produce fruit, so we shall certainly be doing that again this winter.
We successfully incubated more quail earlier this month, and with 14 in the brooder box it was getting quite disgusting! We found a great guinea pig/rabbit cage in a roadside collection, strengthened it up and converted it to a great little brooder for the quail. Rather than keeping it inside (a brooder sure does get smelly with 14 quail in it) this one is kept outside in a protected area.
They were so excited to be able to run around, have a big stretch and especially have a dust bath!
So far so good with a lot of the dragon fruit! We had one flower the first night, 8 the second night, 9 the third night, and one on the fourth and final night of flowering. A total of 19 flowers!
Here you can see one flower bud that will not be viable, the the others look good!
We hand pollinated each night, using a soft paintbrush by brushing the pollen off the stamens and the petals where it had dropped to, and then brushing it into the stigma. In our enthusiasm, we went out too early the second night and the pollen hadn’t yet been released, but when we went out a couple of hours later there was plenty of pollen on the lower petals we could brush up into a container.
From early in the mornings after flowering, the flowers were covered in bees! this must have helped the pollination process too!
Now, nearly two weeks later, three unviable fruit have fallen off, but the remainder are swelling very nicely!
Last year we were very disappointed to loose the few dragon fruit flowers that had grown for the first time, but are really hopeful for this year! After annual setbacks due to frost, we had to move them again from the raised beds and planted them in large pots just on the edge of the verandah, and they are thriving! They have grown so much, and several now have multiple buds…watch this space!
Even if some of them fruit, we will be thrilled! Especially as we have lost a few things towards the end of this hot Perth summer…..
The hot weather has continued, with several days above 40- the hottest so far being 44.5! We have a few allocated ‘sanctuaries’ where the wildlife can have some respite from the heat- one being the ‘billabong’ which we established not long after we moved in.
With that level of heat, we have lost a few plants and others are struggling, but there are a remarkable amount that are coping well, including veggies that keep on producing- zucchini, tomatoes, pumpkin, chilli, scalloped squash and beans- we have had heaps of these!
We have made a few batches of sweet chilli sauce and kasundi- both family favourites!
tomatoes and chilli prepped for kasundiyummy tomatoes, chillies and spices bubbling away– we have had plenty of home grown veggies for dinner! Some of the squash get overlooked and are then big enough to stuff and bake
The hot weather has brought out some rarely seen animals – like a Boxer Bark Mantid, one we have never seen before, and a very large trapdoor spider which unfortunately drowned in the pool on its evening explore.
Well, we have had a few hot days at our place in December, with today topping at 44.3 degrees Celcius!
With the hot weather comes a much increased risk of bushfire, something we are very aware of and plan for accordingly. Previously, we used an old McCormick tractor and towed a water tank and pump on a trailer. The problem with this was that it was difficult to start, and difficult to manoeuvre on McCarthy Park 2 with it being so long and heavy.
So, we have a new fire fighting unit! We bought a 1970 FJ45, which now has the water tank (an IBC), pump and generator on the tray, so it is much easier to start and drive around on our property.
This has given us a much safer and more manageable way of fighting small spot fires that may occur on our property.
It has been a busy, though strange, spring. Perth has seem hot days, windy days, cold days, rainy days…. and sometimes all four in one day! The gardens and the bees have sometimes struggled with the changing conditions, but overall are going well.
We had lost a queen in one hive a while ago, and the newly purchased queen did not survive or stay for some reason. This is where it is very useful having two hives, as we were able to transfer a frame or two of brood from the strong one to the weak one. We had to do this a couple of times, but eventually they did produce a queen, who is now laying prolifically!
We haven’t had a honey harvest so far this season, but it won’t be long before we do!
The orchard has gone well generally, with some good harvests of nectarines, peaches, loquats and plums, though unfortunately one of the nectarines we transferred from McCarthy Park 1 (see There is never nothing to do!) suddenly split and was rotten inside.
This, plus a plum and an apricot going the same way, are disappointing nearly four years after transplanting! The rest are going well though….
a few avocados, hopefully will develop beyond pea size!Hopefully a few develop into fruit!
The dragon fruit are loving their new home too, after some trials and tribulations- fingers crossed we finally get some fruit develop this year. Moving them to the verandah certainly helped to protect them from the frost, so this spring they have taken off!
Despite the variable weather, there has been plenty to harvest from the pumpkin palace as well as the aquaponics.
Pumpkin Palace early November…. now harvesting heaps!plenty of things to eat and preserve!
We harvested some of our turmeric this week, which grows really well in the aquaponics grow beds. We chopped up some for the freezer, and the rest was dehydrated and ground into powder. It smells divine!!!
just a little bit of turmeric!sliced and spread ready for the dehydratorwow, what a wonderful aroma and colour!ready for easy use!
We have really been enjoying it in a hot cacao (with soy milk) drink, as well as our cooking.
