Papaya Leaves

One of the most interesting leaves I've seen on a plant. The water beads on the leaves fairly easily after the rain we just had.  This has to be one of the more easily identified plants out there.  sometimes it can be difficult to tell what the plant is by the leaf if it is more generic but the structure here is pretty specific.

Other specific leaves I can think of are maple, burr oak, onion, fig, and pine.  These are of course probably because of the widespread knowledge of what these plants look like due to either how common they are or, as in the case of the maple, how famous.

In contrast, it can be hard to tell some trees just from a leaf shape. Although the size is different, if you looked at the shape alone of basil, live oak, thyme, and pepper plants, they all look about the same shape. Kind of what makes this leaf so striking and not easily confused with something else

Adorable Little Russet Potato

So cute!

I've never grown potatoes before but I thought I'd give it a shot.  This guy was sticking out of the ground a little so I went ahead and pulled him up.  He had a brother who was no bigger than my pinky finger tip so I buried him again to hopefully keep growing.

So far my garden hasn't grown a lot of food but I'm tickled pink to get this guy.  Who knows how much more is growing under the dirt.  Only time will tell and the plants aren't entirely died back yet so there's a chance for more potatoes in my future.

So far the other plants that have grown well and were usable are:

Bell Peppers (several small ones, way better than last year)

Green Onions (they've kept going and are now almost double in number)

Basil (still growing and have used in several dishes that needed it)

Kabucha Squash (although no fruit, we've made squash blossom quesadillas)

Still waiting to see if the carrots or corn plants will be at all productive.  There are currently 2 cobs developing still but very small and the carrots are visible but barely a root.

Claude’s New Lower Branches

For healthy growth a cacao tree needs to have many branches from the main trunk.  This is the lowest branch Claude has put out so far.  I don't want to mess with it too much although it would be nice if it grew out straighter than this.  I'll take it though.

There are several other locations where there may be new growth.  We've been monitoring this one for months now and it's finally taking off so there's hope for the others as well.

In citrus trees this would probably be viewed as a sucker but I don't think that's the case here.  A couple up top may be though.

As you can see in this photo, the trunk is really starting to look like a trunk with the rougher bark and brown color.  Points along the trunk and main branches will be where later flowers will be able to form and hopefully make cacao pods.  Can;t wait!

Claude Continues to Grow

Claude continues to grow.

Shortly after repotting I decided to take him outside for some sun.  The sun wasn't so bad but the wind kicked up and took out a lot of leaves.  he just wasn't prepared for it.

He's since bounced back nicely with all of these leaves being new.  He's also sprouted a new branch down low which is what I'd been hoping for for some time now. He needs some good branching so that he can produce fruit eventually.  I spoke with a chocolate grower who told me to make sure he's got good branching and eventually I'll need to cut the top off to encourage more outward growth.  That's going to be a stressful event.