Awwww, I've been waiting for pictures ever since you said things are blooming all over the place! I've been rewarded!
Jungle Heights (The Restoration ) part 1
Everything looks just beautiful Randy, blooms galore! I am enjoying the pictures very much.
Strawberry Papaya is a fairly smallish almost red fleshed papaya, very sweet. It is a favorite here in Hawaii, even with the large variety we grow. I believe there are quite a few different types of "strawberry" papaya now - I have no idea what mine are, but they are very good!
I tried to find a picture in plant files but was unable. Any suggestions on what else I could type in? One of the local nurseries had them on sale 50% off and I thought the leaves were neat looking though i don't grow papayas.
Aloha,
I believe the strawberry papaya are of the Solo variety, try "Sunrise", or "Sunset" for your google search.. I believe Solos are bisexual papaya, so you don't have to grow out a lot of plants in order to get fruit. Someone will probably come along with much more knowledge than I - ours just grow with the gene pool probably totally mixed up!
Jen
Okay, just ran out and picked one, this is the shape of my fruit...
And here is what is looks like inside. Guess you all know what we are having for breakfast this morning...Plenty of seeds available! Not sure if they will be true to type though...
Makes my mouth water....
For comparison, here is one of my four and a half pounderers - as you can see Frank scratches this one up a little trying to get it down - it's far too heavy for me to harvest with the fuit picker attached to a bucket! The large one is not a red fleshed one...but very sweet flavored too.
Jenny, you don't think the seeds from the strawberry Papaya will come true?
I bought one of those huge Papayas last weekend, it was 5 1/2 lbs...I'm going to save the seeds from that too. I was making chicken soup, and I put papaya in it. and peanut butter, and Heiniken beer, and lemon..and....................
I want to go Christi! whiiiine....your garden looks every bit as lush as mine!
Patty, was that the dombea that is blooming? I remember you liked it because it's pink. My shrub is as tall as I am now..How is it that all these innocent looking knee high shrubs end up gargantuan?
Rj, I really have no idea if they will come true as I ruthlessly weed out baby papaya - you can have too much of a good thing you know! I really meant to say that I have no idea what mine might have been crossed with in the garden - if indeed they have been crossed...as the strawberry seems to be a bisexual plant, perhaps they haven't been crossed with anything. Want to try some?
Found out something interesting this morning - I have been waiting ages drying out some monster seeds for both you and Katie, they have seemed to dry out very slowly. Well, this morning I was cleaning off some more seed for a back up and I saw (for the first time due to my old eyes, I guess) that the seed acually has an invisible membrane around it, maybe thats why they have been taking so long! I have popped the membrane off the new batch so it will be interesting to see if these dry any quicker. Perhaps this membrane is what dissolves when the seed goes through the birds - LOL. All I know is that the birds do a wonderful job planting papaya!
Is your monster papaya that you bought this weekend a Mexican or Hawaiian type? That beats any weight that we have had - the soup sounds delicious - almost African with the peanut butter in it! 51/2 lbs of papaya is a lot to eat just out of the shell!
Hey Randy, recognize anything?
PK
This is where the swing sat in April.
RJ....please either post or dmail that soup recipe...it actually sounds yummy (except the beer but I'll trust you on this)
Here is the soup. I try something new each time...definately the beer added to it
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/rjuddharrison/7947/
Wow Christi..everything is HUGE! wish I could come and see.
Yes, Jenny- you can wash off the gel on the papaya seeds, and you have these pin head sized seeds left. I've tried it before, but have gone back to drying them as I think the gel or dried gel helps the seeds protein in some way..that's the unscientific opinion.
I think I overdid the greenhouse decor..looks like Mardisgras..but ..hey..it works for now.
RJ I LOVE that mask at the top - such detail...
How about 2nd weekend in November?7-8-9
Have to hurry because Dallas will have the first frost by the end of November.
Where is David? and fairey nymph?
David is actually in the same location, Faery is at the top of the arch on the deck. She sort of blends in. That weekend sounds good, though it will depend on if I'm needing to shove stuff in the green house or not. If I recall, it was about that time last year you were here visiting and we were sweating....we are suppose to have a cool down this week..70's and 50's ...brrr...I'll be going to the attic to get the winter stuff out...I so don't like winter.
Thanks Chantel! The face is fairly new, and it's already seen several locations in the garden.
The strawberry papaya is saw at the nursery had a sign and it said self-pollinated. Is that a good thing?
That would be soooo much fun! Don't know if I will have a PC this next two weeks or not. Home on Halloween!
Yes that's a good thing as in, it must not take a male/female type reproduction as alot of Papayas do.
uh huh..that would be fun...I'm thinking flying..but...road trip would be fun too
Randy...leave it to you to make lemonade out of life's lemons! You've done a wonderful job! And I bet you just really love the comments of an evening when you are entertaining out in that lovely jungle and everyone ooohs and aaaaahs over the changes!
All this papaya talk reminded me that I have a rather large one up in the fruit basket! I tend to not go to that end of the kitchen when still caffine deprived upon waking, so I need to move it closer to the coffee pot tonight so I will remember to have it for breakfast!
Those strawberry ones sound delicious Jenn! I don't think I have ever had one...hmmm, must do some searching next time I am in Hono.
Yokwe all,
Shari
Hi Shari...aaah..glad to hear from you...that reminds me I need to finish my giant papaya.
Almost 1 year ago you were here visiting!
Interestingly I've always said to plant the seeds when it's real warm, but ...I'm noticing I have will little papayas sprouting all over the place...and it's cool and dry...so..one more theory to throw out!
Christi, will dmail you....
Here is the Faery
This message was edited Oct 21, 2008 11:16 AM
She is on top of the arch and really blends in.
Aloha,
I just LOVE that faery Rj!
The papaya seed sans membrane dried in one day - what a difference! I will be sending you both membraned and non so that you can experiment to see if it makes a difference!
Shari, sending you some Strawberry papaya seeds when they are dried.
Christi, I know you are off on holiday, but your garden looks so very lush!
It's great isn't it..? Carol loved it too, and now there's one outside her study area.
Do I get strawberry too?
RJ!!! "70's and 50's ...brrr" - puh-lez!!! We've down in the 30's at night...talk about a nosedive in temps...geez...mad rush to get everyone neemed and INdoors...UGHHHHH!
RJ, I have been away from the Tropical Zone Gardening forum for a while. It's been busy around here. I was so glad to hear that your garden of wonders is being redone after that terrible hurricane. The more power to you, my friend. It looks wonderful already. Imagine when it starts growing and growing, it will return to its former glory, only in a new incarnation. Congratulations.
I have just had a touch of a run-in with a nursery guy this morning. He had this gorgeous yellow bougainvillae, 8-inch pot, about 2 feet high but startling yellow. My wife loves yellow. I thought to myself: "Let's get ourselves some brownie points and buy this wonder.".
He wanted $35 for it. I am not about to pay that for such a plant. I told him I could get an identical one directly for the producer in Homestead (about 80 miles from here) for only $7 each and no tax. While I am there, I'll get a few more and make it worth my gas. We'll have a nice Sunday outing and bring back bougainvillae galore. The nerve, asking $35 for that. You've probably all seen pictures of me. Do I look stupid?
At any rate, I am very glad you are getting back on your feet, RJ. I'm now off to another thread in the TZG forum to see who else is doing well.
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
Randy you have a beautiful set up. What's the difference between the Ae-Ae and the Manini? I really have fallen in love with all things bananas this year.
I need to post more of my tropical questions in this forum, you folks have this stuff down pat.
Yep! Strawberry papaya too!
Aloha keonikale!
Aloha Jenny! It's getting cooler in our part of the world so I'm back to where it's nice and warm all winter (in my mind anyway) :)
-John
Hi John, thanks...would any of the Hawaiins like to answer Johns question? Carol? Hmmm?
I don't think there is a difference...but...I can't be sure. I just know that it is forbidden by Pele to ever sell the one, or any of the descendants of the one gifted to me.
Thanks Sylvain..wow..35 bucks for a bougy!! but a yellow one..oooh...I can't recall seeing a yellow one before...yellowish with other colors..but not all yellow. I saw you went on another cruise...boy...there are some great cruise deals out right now...I've seen 99 dollar cruises out of Galveston and Fort Lauderdale. It sure is tempting...matter of fact I'm seeing online temptations galore...and it's the beginning of the christmas season not the end.. The retailers are ready to shed some blood I think, and move merchandise...all but that greedy 35 dollar bougy guy!!!
eeeewww..Chantel...that's nippy! We are having 10 rated days right now on a scale of 1 to 10.
80/60...the most perfect temps...hmm...sounds like the Alohahoya Botanical Gardens temps...talk about nice temps!
Rub it in Shari why don't ya! LOL. It's also cooling down fast here. All of my tropicals except one are in now and the plants that are staying outside in the cold and in pots are snuggled against the house. Now just waiting for the big frost before brining in my bulbs.
That is my scheduled activity for the weekend ...is pressure wash inside/out the green house...and toss all the summer storage out. booh hoo...is winter over yet?
Don't we wish. At least you have a greenhouse. I need one. lol. We have rain for the rest of the week with a chance to have flurries mixed in. I need to get my 4wd hooked back up again. Winter is coming and coming early.
Jenny you spoil me! But I sure as heck won't say no!!! Thank you!!!
Rub what in Pep?? I wouldn't be so cruel as to remind everyone that I have no winter temps... my lovelies don't get chilled. But they do get wind battered, rain soaked, salt infested and crushed by falling coconuts and palm fronds. And that is year round. So what would I be rubbing in darlin?
Howdy Polarbear!!! So what is everyone doing for Halloween this year? Randy, you gonna have a party in the new garden? Is there such a thing as a Halloween cruise? Sea monsters and the Flying Dutchman, that could be fun!
Yokwe,
Shari
LOL.
Nothing for me on Halloween. Just staying home. :~)
Ya know, I love boogervilles, and I love yellow. If I could find an 8" pot of yellow bouganvilla for $35, I would consider it a bargain! I guess the value of things are definately relative. I have fushia, white, pink and this lovely salmon color called "afterglow", but a yellow! Wow.
Gorgeous, Shari! Randy your garden looks lovely! Sure wish we were having a "re-union" this November! Christi, have a good trip to Corpus, sweetie!
To get a yellow mix - right outside my fence I have my fushia bougainvilla, and the yellow alamanda peaks through the fence to mix it up - this pic doesn't do it justice, but when both are in high bloom it is glorious.
