San Pedro Cactus Blooms

September 6, 2021

...fore the pandemic. This morning it decided to put out at least 12 flowers all at once. When I woke up at 6:30 a.m. a cloud of bees was working the nectar and pollen. Around 9 a.m. some figeater beetles (Cotinis mutabilis) showed up. Figeater beetles like cactus fruit so I’m guessing they were attracted to the smell. The green parts of the plant contain mescaline which is used in Andean traditional medicine. It also makes an edible and (non-psyched...

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What does the loving landscape look like?

Mrs. Homegrown

April 16, 2015

Back to the Garden, Gardening

18 Comments

...planted thickly with climate appropriate plants, often with an emphasis on fruit trees and herbs. Though it is human dominated, it is not hostile to other life–birds have places to roost and bathe, and lizards can sunbathe on the pavement– and it can host a great diversity of plants, which pleases the pollinators. The photo below is a corner of a larger garden, but could just as easily be the design of a small yard: Moorish Garden at Tohono Chul i...

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Our Grape Arbor is a Stacking Function Fail

Mr. Homegrown

July 23, 2015

Gardening, Pests

40 Comments

...ermentation going. It’s like something out of my inner Martha Stewart’s worst nightmare. A poster by Benjamin Dewey. Available in his Etsy store. I wish I had a conclusion to this post with a miraculous solution, like say specially trained roof Chihuahuas. I don’t. I do wish that the non-fruit producing Vitis californica vine that grows along our northern fence could be swapped with the prodigious one on the arbor. If fruit grew on the fence vine...

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The Fine Art of Determining Peach Ripeness

Mr. Homegrown

June 6, 2016

Fruit Trees, Gardening

4 Comments

...ess to a few tools that can make ripeness determination easier such as this expensive gadget that measures firmness or a brix meter for determining sugar content. These tools could only be justified if you were planning on growing, shipping and selling fruit. More useful for us backyard growers is this gallery of peach fruit color stages. I’ve been picking them a little on the green side and letting them ripen inside in order to stay ahead of the...

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I picked a peck of pickled peaches

Mr. Homegrown

April 8, 2016

Food, Food Preservation, Fruit Trees, Gardening

4 Comments

...to his pickled green almond recipe (p. 103) West notes that immature stone fruit such as peaches and nectarines can be pickled in the same way as green almonds (almonds are a stone fruit too). If you don’t thin this branch it will break off. I’d share Kevin’s recipe with you but he’s a fellow author and you really should own his book, Saving the Season. It’s the classiest food preservation book out there. Plus Kevin could have me killed and pickle...

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