Foreign Friday. Volksvreemde Vrydag

Tamarillo/Tree Tomato (Solanum betaceum)

The first thing I noticed when I bought my tree tomato in May 2013 was the pungent smell. Okay, to be honest; this is the real story... I desperately needed the bathroom after a visit to my favourite nursery. Luckily I had the cute little tamarillo (synonym for "tree tomato") to show for it, but I was worrying that the trip back to town would be just too long! Then suddenly the car was filled with an overwhelming ammonia scent. Oh please no! I thought for a split second that I had a minor case of the number ones in my trousers! Haha no; I didn't wet myself, but my brother had rubbed up against the tamarillo leave, which released the faintly revolting smell. That is the memory I will always associate with tree tomatoes.

Jun 2013 - The infant tamarillo/Baba boomtamatie

The little tamarillo tree did well all through our cold but temperate winter, although it grew more in leave size than height, but then...

Photo only used to indicate the tamarillo's height

... the tree shot up and reached for the sky! I could literally almost see it growing overnight during the spring of 2013 and summer of 2013/2014. It goes without saying - I was well chuffed!

And would you know it - within the space of one short year this happened:

Apr 2014 - Flowers and little tamarillo fruit/Blomme en klein boomtamatie vruggies

Here I am, middle spring 2014, and picking tree tomatoes like it's going out of fashion. I am over the moon with the growth rate and quantity of fruit produced by this great South American plant! Not even a year and a half on and I've already picked 1kg of fruit, with lots still ripening on the tree. Yay!!! 

Fat and juicy tamarillos/Smullekker boomtamaties

The only problems I've had with my tree tomato are water and wind. Yes, the elements don't always play along in a garden. The berg wind tried to destroy my tree a few times, maar 'n boer maak 'n plan, so I planted a thick dowel stick in next to it and tied the tree to it in two places. I used stockings and rubber to tie the tree with, so as not to chafe the soft stem. The water problem was partially due to the elements but mostly due to my infrequent watering. Note to self - when the tamarillo leaves turn yellowish it means the tree is too dry! Luckily a tree tomato is a very forgiving plant and snaps right back into tip top shape once properly fed and watered. 

Which plant or tree has really impressed in your garden these past few months? #SouthAfricanUrbanGardener

Botanical Name: SOLANUM BETACEUM

Common Name: Tree Tomato, Tamarillo

Volksnaam: Boomtamatie

Native to: Andes region in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Chile

Date planted/sowed: Late May 2013

Ease to grow: Extremely easy, fruits abundantly

Costs: R20.00 for the tree and about R20.00 for compost as well as R20.00 for manure

Notes: Plant in a spot where the tree is protected from strong winds as it is a top-heavy and fragile plant. Water well every second day in summer and regularly in winter during dry spells.

Looking back on my Autumn Garden. Terugblik op my Herfstuin

It's now the fourth day of winter here in the southern hemisphere. The weather only changed dramatically today, unleashing cold and wet conditions over the Garden Route. Therefore, I thought it an opportune time to look back on the goings on of my backyard veg patch in the last month of autumn.

The Witkiem broad beans sowed middle April are going strong; reaching for the sky they are. The Carentan leeks look beautiful. I'm very chuffed with them. The Sugar Ann Snap Peas are also doing well, but a little bit less so than the broad beans. I'm worried that they're still so small and straggly, but the granny assures me this is normal. It's "bush" peas after all. Let me show you what I mean:

Carentan leeks left and Witkiem broadbeans to the right/Preie links en boerbone regs

Sugar Ann snap peas in the bottom left hand corner/Erte links onder

Something that's not doing as well is the kale. I sowed the Black Palm kale just a day later than the peas and broad beans, and yet they are barely 5cm tall. I don't know if it's due to the general scarcity of sun in their neck of the woods in the cooler season or something else. Maybe snails? I'm hoping against hope that the kale is just a slower grower than the broad beans or peas. Some of the latter are situated in parts of the veg patch just as plagued by shadows as the kale. Oh well, at this moment I can just hold thumbs I guess. Does anyone have any idea what I could do to aid the kale's growth? Or is this quite normal for cold-season kale growth?

A teeny tiny kale plant/Eina-klein boerkool plantjie

The tamarillo is doing splendidly, as per usual. The bergwind once again tried it's best to destroy the tree tomato, but it's still standing. Askew, but still alive. The angle with which the tree is growing is actually aiding fruit development, or so I read. This is because the tamarillo makes side branches when at an angle, and these side branches also produce fruit. My tree is full of big, beautiful tree tomatoes. I'm thinking a Foreign Friday entry would be appropriate once I actually harvest some of them. Just look how gorgeous they are:

Tamarillo fruit/Tree tomatoes/Boomtamaties

Another vegetable which didn't do particularly well this time around were radishes. This was a bit surprising as I've found radishes to be so easy before. Well, not anymore! This time almost all of them had long, leggy red roots instead of orbs of peppery goodness. I didn't sow them that long after I worked chicken manure into the garden, so I think the soil might have been too fertile, or the manure still too strong. That, or it was simply not sunny enough. I did manage to harvest one meagre hand full though. It went straight into my Sweet Potato Winter Soup. I will share the recipe at a later stage.

A handful of radishes/Handjievol radyse

Some inroads were made into solving the shade problem. Well, maybe solve is a bit of an exaggeration. I chopped down another cordyline in order for the morning sun to touch my garden a few minutes more. I tried to saw through the tree trunk, but it was not to be. In the end I had to chop it down. I felt like a veritable Huntsman as the wood chips went flying and the axe went deeper into the tree. It took ages, but I conquered! 

Halfway there with the cordyline

Doing it the green way... sweat and aching muscles followed

A while ago I also sowed coriander and Little Gem lettuce in my biggest container. The lettuces don't look as promising as I would want, but the coriander is going strength to strength. We don't really eat coriander leaves, or what the Americans call cilantro, in my home. The taste is way too "volksvreemd" for us, but I sowed it for the seeds. It gives such a great taste to meat and our national favourites; droëwors and biltong (pickled dried meat similar to beef jerky).

Coriander popping its head out/Koljander plantjies pop orals uit

My Cape gooseberry bushes fill me with joy at the moment. I haven't had any success in the year I've had it. Admittedly the wind destroyed my first bush. Just as it recovered, the sun scorched it almost to nothingness. I subsequently moved the container, and it looks happier now. Happier and producing a husked berry here and there. The real success is the volunteer Cape gooseberry which turned into a giant, almost untameable, bush in the backyard veg patch. I've tried to minimise its encroachment into my vegetable area without removing the bush. So glad I didn't take it out; it is Covered in berries! I have dreams of making Appelliefie Konfyt (Cape gooseberry jam), or just munching on the little golden beauties. Can't wait! 

Little Cape gooseberries galore/Appelliefies in oorvloed

Backyard Farmer Contemplations. Agterplaas Boer Denke

As the autumn season draws nearer and nearer to a close, I thought it appropriate to reflect on my autumn garden. There isn't too much to show harvest wise, except the abundance of sweet potatoes, but let me share with you the goings on in my corner of the Garden Route:

Black Hungarian peppers and Bishop's Crown peppers/Swart Hongaarse en Klokvormige soetrissies

Bishop's Crown peppers in the backyard veg patch

Black Hungarian peppers in the backyard veg patch

Now that the weather is cooler but still warm, the peppers have come into their own. I think I got the green peppers too late in the season to produce, but the Bishop's Crown peppers have stolen the show. Such pretty vegetables, aren't they? Another pepper that has done really well (despite attempts at annihilation haha), is the Black Hungarian pepper. I got these critters from the kind folks at Organic Seed SA. The peppers turn a deep, glossy purple and is really quite mild. Even people who dislike hot food will love this one.

Tree Tomato/Tamarillo/Boomtamatie vruggies

What were only dainty little flowers on my Tree Tomato two short months ago, developed into plump fruits in the meantime. I can't wait to sample some of these fruits. Not only are they delicously strange and exotic, but they are also packed with vitamin A and C. I think they are a valuable and easy-to-grow addition to any South African garden.

Despite hectic berg winds, hail and the occasional downpour my autumn garden is coming along nicely. I hope to share the progress with you next time :-) 

Autumn Backyard Garden. Herfs Agterplaas Tuin

My garden is in its transitional phase at the moment. Some summer vegetables are still producing, some are barely clinging on, most are dead, and I am itching to start planting autumn and winter veggies. 

Preparation is key to planting in any season, so I started by working over the bed where my butternuts were, and added some beautiful black gold. Yes, I did go for that turn of phrase because the alliteration has such a nice ring to it... Okay; the 'black gold' I'm referring to in this instance is chicken manure (chicken poo). I bought it at one of the only truly organic chicken farms in the Garden Route area; Red Barn. Go and check it out for yourselves people. The owner doesn't use any nasty antibiotics or chemicals and her chickens are free range in every sense of the word. The bed is nearly ready for the onions I will be planting there in April. I must still just pull out the miserable tomatillos and add some sand. This is how the bed looks now:

Chicken manure added to Onion Bed/Hoendermis by Uiebedding ingespit

 ... and this is why I said "miserable tomatillos":

My one and only tomatillo/Die som van my tomatillo oes

I can proudly say not everything is a miserable failure at the moment. Some plants actually still produce, even if the harvests are mostly meager. The star in my little Garden Route patch is still the pepino, as ever. I have also harvested volunteer cherry tomatoes constantly, but I can't take much credit for these. They are virtually indestructible! We are also enjoying the occasional bunch of Contender beans. The granny picked another 300g the day before yesterday, and we just had it in a gorgeous sweet curry with potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and meat yum :-)

Harvest:  450g pepino + 150g cherry tomatoes + 2x cucamelons

Let me take you on a quick tour of the rest of my garden...

The Delicious Monster starting to fruit/Vrugte aan die Monstera deliciosa

Our Delicious Monster (Monstera deliciosa) plant is clearly not past its fruit-bearing age, as I previously thought. I cannot wait for these babies to open up and ripen!

Cherry Guava covered in fruit/Klomp klein vruggies aan die Aarbeikoejawel

The little Cherry Guava/Strawberry Guava (Psidium cattleianum) tree is such a star. It has loads of little guavas, just 6 months after it last bore fruit.
 

Two hiding cucamelons/Die Mexikaanse Suurkomkommertjies kruip goed weg

I might have done exactly all the Wrong things as far as the cucamelons (Melothria scabra) go this year, but luckily I spotted a few small ones hiding behind dense leaf coverage. Yes, I will try them again later this year, and this time I will do it right!
 

Bell Peppers/Die klokvormige soetrissies begin dra

I have a suspicion these bell peppers might already be a strange hybridisation, as the granny used to grow all types of capsicums in close proximity. My motto: who cares, as long as they taste nice, hey?
 

Tamarillo flowers/Boomtamatie blommetjies

Since I bought my Tree Tomato (or tamarillo as Kiwi's call them) in May 2013 it has literally reached for the sky. The tree is now taller than my 6ft1, the leaves are humongous and yet I haven't picked one single fruit from it. Is this normal? I wouldn't know, but my granny certainly had a mouthful to say about it. I'm sure the words "pull out" have entered her mind. Luckily disaster seems to be averted, as I have spied some petite flowers up top. Is this a sign of juicy tamarillos to follow?
 

Another Black Hungarian Pepper/Nog 'n Swart Hongaarse Soetrissie aan't vorm

This will be the second little Black Hungarian Pepper to be harvested. It might have been more if I didn't accidentally destroy most of the plants. An honest mistake due to it looking suspiciously like yet More purple tomatillos... whoops!
 

Yet another ripe pepino/Nóg 'n boomspanspek is gereed om te pluk

Not much more to say about this one. Yes, the pepino is officially the gift that keeps on giving :-)
 

The Beds. Die Beddings

Visions of abundant harvests and a lush garden filled me with all kinds of ideas. Getting those ideas implemented was another story entirely. Hours of back-breaking, sweaty work. Taking out old trees and shrubs, cutting back others, composting, removing pesky flower bulbs, working existing beds over... no one ever said gardening was easy work, I guess! And so the real work began...


Task 1: Compost, weed and dig over Vegetable Patch

Backyard Vegetable Patch/Agterplaas Groentetuin

The vegetable patch wasn't as much work as anticipated, as Ouma used it the year before for her tomato and bean crops. It only needed slight weeding, a deep digging and composting. A few Marigolds, or Afrikaners, provided colour and would hopefully deter some pests when the vegetables are established. The only other plants in the veg patch were Curly-leaf Parsley, Italian Parsley and peppers/capsicums that we over-wintered.

Next in the range of exotic edibles to be introduced in my garden were Pepino or Melon Pear (Solanum muricatum) and Tree Tomato (Solanum betaceum). The Pepino has nothing to do with a pear, but tastes like a strange cross between melon and cucumber and resembles a tiny, fleshy melon with greenish to yellow skin and purple stripes. I got three plants as a gift from a kind lady working for the competition hehe. The plants didn't have any soil on the roots, so I was very worried about it's chances, but more on that later.

The Tree Tomato or Tamarillo, isn't a type of tomato but rather an egg-shaped yellow to orange fruit, borne on  a large shrub with big, pungent-smelling leaves. It tastes like pure passion fruit to me. The taste of summer. I can't wait for this baby to start bearing fruit! Both the Tree Tomato and Pepino are natives to Peru, so well suited to my exotic edibles garden.

Task 2:  Prepare spot for Cherry Guava

Out with the old...

It's always sad to see a plant go, especially one that is doing well, but if you're as pressed for space as I am it is a necessary evil. I don't even know what kind of plant it was, but we always just called it a "Vlas" or "Flax". Anyone perhaps know the correct botanical or common name? Luckily the old "Flax" kept the soil friable and moist, so it wasn't such hard or time-consuming work before my Cherry Guava could go in:

... in with the new; my very own Cherry Guava/Die Aarbeikoejawel in sy gatjie

Task 3: Preparing the broad bean bed

Seeing that winter was upon us, I was already behind on getting some winter crops into the ground. Luckily I read on the Adelaide Gardeners blog that if you delay your broad bean sowing until mid-winter they will only start flowering in spring, and therefore set more beans. This is because the warmer weather would encourage flowers all over the plant, and not just on its tip. I was banking on that to be true, since I would have to sow my broad beans well into winter (sometime in July). I decided on a narrow bed previously filled with Inca Lilies and ferns for my broad beans:

Broad bean bed/Boerboon bedding

Boy, oh boy, did that little bed give me problems! Not only did I have to dig out some sizable roots of the Acer Negundo tree in the one corner of it, I also had to battle with countless Inca Lily roots and bulbs. The bloody pests! It seems like the smallest things always give you the most hassles. Die klein jakkalsies nè! The soil was quite friable, but needed extensive digging to remove as many of the lily roots as possible. I also composted heavily, as I wasn't sure to which extent the Acer tree would've depleted the soil. Practice makes perfect I guess.

Task 4: Removing a Yucca and revitalising an old bed

The whole Yucca-debacle started when our next-door neighbours complained about the thorny Yucca near the boundary, before they took matters into own hands. They cut off all the branches facing their way, thereby creating a sad, lop-sided tree. My mother did the rest, and cut the remaining branches off, but now we were faced with the massive task of removing said stump:

Mother helps digging the Yucca out/Ma help om die Yucca recurvifolia uit te grawe

I am not kidding when I say the thing must have weighed half a ton! My brother and I could barely move the stump together, after hours of digging and wriggling it loose from it's hole. In the end the stump had to be removed with a car and steel cable. It just had to go! I had huge plans for this small bed. Something involving a Num-Num perhaps? After two devilishly difficult days this was the end result:

Future Num-Num bed? Toekomstige Noem-Noem bedding?

 Task 5: Creating a Tomatillo and Squash bed

The last sunny position of any note available in my garden was the section between a big Ice Cream bush and our braai area (divided by a rough wooden fence). Here I had to do really deep digging, as the bed also contained a flowering plant propagated by tubers. Tubers I'm fighting to this day! The big Pelargonium bush was moved out front in the bed where the Yucca used to be, and the bed was also heavily composted. I was thinking of doing some companion planting; maybe 3 or 4 tomatillos up against the wall, a few borage plants in front of them to help along pollination, and 2 or 3 butternut squashed crawling over the front section? Is this bed even big enough? We shall see...

Tomatillo and butternut bed/Tomatillo en botterskorsie bedding