Popcorn

 So Diane was out in the garden shed and we have all sorts of things going on in there - seed starters, compost bins w. worms, and even drying of our glass corn. 

 Well she noticed a kernel in one if the corncobs had a white spot on it.

 She thinks it got so hot - that the kernels started to 'pop', so she had an idea... she had read online how to pop popcorn in the microwave - so Diane threw a corncob into a brown bag and...

 

 so since we've picked all the glass corn. it's time to reseed another crop. I've used seeds that we dried from the corncob that was partially eaten.

  that was a few days ago and the glass corn has already started to sprout. 

Hurricane Iselle

 We survived Hurricane Iselle...

  Well it was more of a tropical depression than a hurricane. It still blew us a lot of rain and wind overnight here on Oahu. Looks like I won't have to water the garden for a week! :)

 Diane and I went through the yard and picked up stuff that had blown around, and tried to fix plants that have been windblown as well. Our tomatillos were really drooping. The soil was wet and it had a significant leaning towards the ground. The plant has been cut back twice, as it was well over 5' tall and just flowering but not fruiting.

 So Diane cut a piece off and... oh my gosh! we found it was fruiting!! She felt really bad about it. I've been stressing over the plant being healthy, and flowering, and adding specific fertilizer to it.. for months - but nothing has happened.

 It's a classic case of 'I didn't see it', because the fruit - its green - well the whole dang plant is green with yellow flowers. At some point the fruit will turn purple. It reminds me of our first cucumber pant. It vined, had huge leaves and tons of yellow flowers - yet no fruit. We checked it every day after getting home from work. nothing. Until one day Diane looked at it from the side and OMG! it was huge the 1st cucumber. How it got there and got so big without us seeing it, I have no idea.

 So after the cutting of the first plant, and putting down a tomato cage to help it stand up. we checked the other two plants against the wall. After looking at it for a few minutes I thought this one had nothing on it, but Diane then saw little pods...

    We have about 4 fruit growing! yay!

I can now say: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! 

Now to work on growing the Pumpkin and Watermelon. Still nothing. no fruit as I watch the plants die. I think these are not doing so well as we have these white bugs all under the leaves and around the new growth of the vines. 

  

Lillikoi or Passion Fruit

Diane's Lillikoi is vining very well. almost too well. As its getting heavy and the supports that we made are buckling under the weight of the pant. 

I was able to find some metal wire. So I wrapped it around the supports and pulled it back towards the garden shed. Where I then wrapped the wire around the wooden beam. I had tried doubling up string... but the winds we have now rocked it and it snapped almost immediately. 

 Here is the wire. I think its nickel and something. The spool doesn't say. I do have a Steel wire - but I thought that'll rust a bit faster. We have 4 supports for the lillikoi and so 4 long wires were measured, doubled, and then wrapped around the garden shed beam. 

Glass Corn and Other plants

 Diane picked the 1st corncob today and it was gorgeous!!  It was all purple and violets. So in looking at the plants - they are turning brown - we decided to pick whats left, well what looked to be ready.  Each glass corn was different, in shape, size and colors. 

 We now have them hanging in the garden shed drying with the husks pulled back and tied. We are hoping that these will be a beautiful centerpiece for Thanksgiving this year. 

 I've gone ahead and replanted 12 more seeds in hope that in 3 months we will also have fresh corncobs for the kids to pick and take home with them. The place where I got these from say that the corn is good for popping and making cornmeal.  

  And in this corner - weighing in at a whopping 14oz! Is an eggplant fit for a king! It's great to find gems hidden in the garden. All done without pesticides and very very minimal fertilizing. 

Purple Basil

Hurricane Bounty

Garden lull

Its August and most of the plants have had a great harvest.

 Now we are just seeding new plants like corn, and I threw in a few seeds I came across like Lychee, Lime, Avocado, Cherry and Plum. Some of the seeds were from the fruit we bought at COSTCO. It'll be fun to see if they sprout at all.

 Diane and I are taking walks at lunch when we can. We stopped over at Koolau Farmers and saw this on the shelf - Not sure if it was actually made to hold fertilizer - as some fell out of the holes when I filled them up. but it was - I thought - a neat idea. Time will tell if it works!

Our rosemary has really gotten out of hand. Diane was teaching me how to braid them and make wreaths. I have to say - I need to keep practicing as my wreath came out fugly compared to hers. :)