The Very Last of the Hachiya Persimmons

For this year, these are the last of the Hachiya persimmons on our tree.  I really like the look of the persimmons after all of the leaves have fallen off the tree. The birds enjoy the fruits, but there are some of our neighbors who feel all fruit growers should harvest the fruit all at once.  I bumped into the neighbor who volunteered to come over and take down the remaining persimmons.  I offered to pick them myself and brought them another bag full...but I left a few still on the tree for the birds. The following day six crows tried to eat the remaining fruits and I feared for my tree branches, so I harvested the rest of the fruits to make into persimmon bars and cookies.

Busy with Christmas and planting Garlic

Between the rainstorms, I have been trying to get my garlic crop in for the winter. I noticed that the garlic cloves I planted two weeks ago have now sprouted well. I also am trying to get my fava beans in. Some of the favas have germinated on their own: fava beans that had fallen last spring and not been picked up have now grown to be about a foot tall. Most of the fava beans were harvested last year, however, so I need to also get those into the ground so we can have another good crop next spring.

I'm still harvesting my Hachiya persimmons. The tree was overloaded with them. We leave some of them on the tree for the birds, but use the rest (or give them away). I've been slicing the hard persimmons, which are too astringent to eat that way, and drying them in my dehydrator. They sweeten up as they dry and make a great dried fruit snack. I also have been making pan after pan of persimmon bars, frosted with a lemon glaze. Yum.

Wisteria Pods are Bursting!

This Sunday was a gorgeous day in northern California.  I worked outside in the garden for a bit.  We have a lovely wisteria that has grown up into a privet tree.  I kept hearing a cracking sound coming from the wisteria and I thought that a squirrel was cracking something up there, perhaps branches or nuts.

Later on, I watched the wisteria from our deck. At the same instance when the cracking sound happened I saw a wisteria pod falling through the air and to the ground. I realized that the temperature outside and condition of the pod had made it the perfect time for the pods to burst and send seeds flying--the hopes for more wisteria in the future.