Found the mulberry tree! Food forest garden

I had the weekend off, so I took advantage of the nice weather to clean up the old garden, harvest some garden food and eat seasonal veg.

In the apartment garden, I've got some tomatoes and peppers still growing, as well as thr lime fruits maturing. The lime trees keep getting a black fungus on the leaves like soot. They also have been infested with white hairy bugs that I can't seem to ever get rid of. The same bugs were on our old Desert Rose bonsai no matter how many times we bathes in in peroxide or alcohol or just plain water and new soil. With that said, I'm not sure how much longer the lime trees have until they end up like our old bonsai.

Basil plants before a watering

With some Yellow squash, I made fritters mixed with flour, Ener-G egg replacer, nutritional yeast, salt, black pepper, onion & garlic powder. I also add a little miso paste and water to the mix and pour it in the skillet like batter. I serve these with chili crisps.

Yellow squash fritters 

While we've been cleaning the old garden, we came across some Ripe figs! They were delicious. 

Ripe Cold Hardy Fig

My second batch of fritters this week was with fresh cabbage and kimchi mix. I used plain flour, Ener-G egg replacer (not totally necessary- I just have it on hand), nutritional yeast (just makes it a bit cheesy), salt, black pepper, miso paste, onion & garlic powder. These were the best fritters I have ever made. These are really versatile, I've made them a million different ways. You can use zucchini, Carrot, potatoes, and probably any vegetable! I'm a southern woman, so anything fried is tasty to me.

I ate these with chili crisps again- chili crisps go on everything these days from Fried Kale to boiled potatoes.

Cabbage & kimchi fritters 

During the weekend off, I also went out of town to buy a Jackfruit. I wasn't on a mission to buy a Jackfruit, but, I had eaten a durian recently and felt like it was about time to endulge in another big tropical fruit that I don't always have access to eating. 

It wasn't the ripest it could have been, but it was pretty dang good.

Like I said, while we have been cleaning up the old garden, we picked a couple of Ripe figs, but we also managed to harvest more mulberries and pears 🍐 

Last week, I found my mulberry tree amongst the jungle of weeds. The only reason I realized what it was, was because of the berries on the tree. Otherwise, I'm sure I would have chopped it down completely! I'm not even sure when I transplanted this mulberry, and where I got it from! I'm sure it was a twig when I bought and transplanted it. Considering it's been nearly 5 years since I've planted anything at the old garden, I'm sure the mulberry has been growing little by little for the last 5 years, hiding and carefully becoming big and beautiful to produce its first batch of berries.

Mulberry tree growing berries in October 

Mulberry tree that grew for years with 
No care & maintenance

The mulberry survived amongst invasive
Ivy, thorns & other plants, growing 
Tall to reach the sun.

Second harvest of pears this year

Of course, I always like to stop by the fall scene every time I visit the grandparents. The gourds and colors are so inviting. 

September garden harvest & crunchy leaves in Fall

I have a love-hate relationship with Fall. Everyone gets that seasonal feeling in them- a mysterious urge to walk off... to go hide by a tree, feeling the crunchy leaves...

Fall has its perks: Little camp fires with cozy seating, changing moods that urge transformation or revelations... I've learned a lot about myself many times in how I have reacted and behaved in the Fall season. If you start a new school years with different or more peers in August and September, that's the same feeling...so, maybe there's an association there.

But, I encourage you to feel that uncomfortableness, if you have that seasonal urge as well. Garden plants tend to wither, wilt, and brown. But, the fall flowers will bloom vastly to say one last goodbye and hoorah! 

That's what I feel when I harvest these foods and enjoy some time outdoors, to say a final hoorah...

Garden harvest of squash, pears, cucumber

This was one of the second batches of beans and squash. 

Squash & green bean harvest

Vegan, coconut based pumpkin pie 🥥 🎃 

Kieffer pear picking

Cold hardy fig trees, fruiting

Sunset in September 

"The Grandkids" Scarecrow family decor setting

His name is Pumpkin head 🎃 

The Fall blues can set in, but give in to the temptation of decorating to help your shifting mood as the seasons change...dedicate a space that represents this change.

Fall decor setting

March & April Favorites (flowers, food, & festivities)

I hope all you gardeners are out there getting prepped, starting seedlings and germinating seeds. I'm going to start germinating radish, lettuce, tomato and peppers seeds. I want to be able to till some garden spaces too, but this weather is not consistent. One day it's freezing, then thr next it's nearly 80, and then will rain and continue that cycle every week. 

All that to say, Spring always has its quirky weather, but seeing all the flowers and trees blooming makes it all worth it. Here are just a few photos of the Spring garden this past March, and a few seasonal dinners! 

Scilla flowers

The Crocuses, scilla, and daffodils are always the first to bloom, and I should be seeing the blueberries, peach, pear and plum trees blooming this week.

Purple crocus

Some seasonal favorites for Spring dinners is root veggies and leafy greens. This is baked cauliflower, tomato, lettuce, vegan caesar dressing. 

One of my favorite dinners is a baked sweet potato and chickpeas with fried spinach on top and agave and balsamic vinegar glaze. Notice I always top everything with chili flakes/oil...it's a guilty pleasure.

Another spring favorite was the vegan shepherds pie for St. Patrick's day. 

Another essential spring ingredient is asparagus. We baked some tofu, asparagus and mushrooms over top of rice. 

This April, I germinated radish and basil seeds. I wrapped the seeds with a moist paper towel that went in plastic bags. I tried to germinate lavender, cilantro, dill and lettuce seeds but that was a bust. I decided to directly sow lettuce seeds in pots. We'll see how it goes. I'm at trying to have a small container garden at my apartment. 

I checked on the old forest garden a couple days ago, and there's some pears, peaches, and  blueberries growing fruits. 

This forest garden is a little out of control, and it needs taming as I have let this garden become invaded by thorny bushes, mimosa and maple trees. I'll try to cut back all these bushes and mulch the old hugelkuktur beds. I noticed there was a lot of animal activity here, so I'm sure the birds and rabbits will get to the berries before me. 

Last night, I was given some free cucumbers. So I pickled them in a sweet brine like gherkins. I used salt, sugar, pickling spice, dill, and vinegar. They were pretty tasty, and gets me excited for all the summer veg to preserve!