fruits

All the Jungle Feels

Banana plants are often seen as wild-looking trees that give off lush jungle vibes in a landscape, but they can also be grown successfully in containers outside or as houseplants inside. The trick is giving them conditions they love (hint: plenty of sun) and choosing the right varieties for your space and climate.The common name “banana plant” is applied to a bunch of different species in the genus Musa, the bananas and plantains. The genus contains some 70 different plants, most of which aren’t edible or just not very pleasant to eat due to their large seeds. A hybrid called Musa × paradisiaca is said to be the parent of most edible banana cultivars.Edible bananas, the result of domestication and selective cultivation by humans, have been around for a long time. Research has indicated that the cultivation of bananas, now one of the most common crops worldwide, began around 7,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. There are now estimated to be well over 1,000 different cultivars out there. Banana plants are often confused with palms (hence their misnomer “banana palm”), but they actually form part of the order Zingiberales, alongside plants like ginger and Strelitzia (bird-of-paradise, another popular houseplant). And while they’re usually referred to as “banana trees,” they are classified botanically as herbaceous perennials because they never form a woody stem (aka a trunk) the way a tree does—the “trunks” are actually succulent stalks (pseudostems).Banana “trees” are characterized by their massive foliage, which are quite fragile. In banana trees kept outdoors, the leaves usually look torn and shredded, but this doesn’t bother the plant itself. Because banana plants die off after blooming but produce plenty of offsets (also known as pups or shoots) before doing so, mature ones that have been left to grow wild will often consist of a bunch of different stems growing together.

How to Plant a Strawberry Patch from Bare Roots

If you’re looking to start a new strawberry patch, bare-root plants are a great way to go. They’re cost-effective, easy to establish, and come in a much wider variety than potted strawberries do. You can also plant them earlier in the season, giving your garden a head start. Here’s your guide to planting bare-root strawberries for big yields. How to plant bare-root strawberries Step 1: Soak the roots. Before planting, I like to separate the bundled bare-root plants and soak them in water to rehydrate them. This is an optional step, but I also use this time to add a little bit of liquid kelp (seaweed) to the water to give the plants a solid start in the garden. Bare-root strawberry plants laid out on the soil in between drip tape Strawberry bare roots soaking in a diluted kelp solution in a purple bucket Kelp contains high levels of natural growth hormones (including cytokinins and auxins) that stimulate cell division for healthy root and shoot development. It also has an array of trace minerals (including, but not limited to, zinc, manganese, iron, and copper) that support photosynthesis and nutrient uptake. Kelp is fairly mild as far as supplements go, and it won’t burn the roots or overload your plants with too much of a good thing (when used at the proper dilution ratio) All that to say: If you have access to liquid kelp (my favorite brands are below), it’s worth using it to give your bare-root plants a boost! Soak the roots in a few inches of liquid kelp solution (following the recommended dilution on the bottle) for no more than 30 minutes. Try to keep the crowns above the solution so they’re less likely to rot. While the roots are soaking, prepare your planting site. Step 2: Prepare the soil. Select a spot in full sun—if grown in the shade, strawberries will produce little, if any, fruit. They are fairly tolerant of most soil conditions as long as drainage is good. This is important! When I purchased my strawberry bare roots, the farm recommended that the soil comprise: 60 percent topsoil 30 percent stone grit, such as coarse sand (not play sand), pumice, perlite, or pea gravel 10 percent compost You’ll notice in this picture (with a newly planted crown) that my soil is pretty gritty. The top 6 inches of my raised strawberry bed is a loose mix consisting of topsoil, compost, pumice, and sand. Close-up of a strawberry crown planted in gritty soil Strawberry plants don’t like to sit in compacted soil that stays too wet, as it can lead to black root rot. So if your soil is on the heavier side, be sure to amend it with ingredients that’ll provide proper drainage. Since you’ve already incorporated compost into the soil, there’s no need to add fertilizer at this point. Step 3: Dig your holes at the right depth and spacing. Your plant spacing will depend on the type of strawberry you have and what you want to get out of your garden. I’ve written about the ideal strawberry plant spacing, but in general: Day-neutral strawberries should be planted 10 inches apart Everbearers should be planted 12 inches apart Junebearers should be planted 18 inches apart You want to make the hole deep enough so that the roots hang straight, without bending one way or another. This prevents J-root, a condition in which the roots are too long for the planting hole and end up pointing upwards (looping into a “J”). Some bare-root strawberries may have excessively long roots (up to 12 inches), but that doesn’t mean you have to dig a 12-inch-deep hole. You can trim the roots to about 6 inches to make them more manageable for planting. It’s easiest to stick a trowel in the soil, then wiggle it back and forth to enlarge the hole. This creates a perfect narrow slot for the plant to slide into while its roots stay pointed down. Then, remove the trowel and backfill the hole with your hand. Hand holding a bare-root strawberry as it's being planted in soil with a trowel Step 4: Plant your strawberries. Strawberries are fussy about being too deep or too shallow, so when planting, make sure that only the roots and the base of the crown (a short, brown, thickened stem above the root mass) are covered with soil. Diagram showing the soil line where a strawberry crown should be planted Pat the soil firmly to eliminate air pockets and ensure the roots have good contact with the soil, then water thoroughly. If the soil settles too much and the roots become exposed, cover them with more soil so they don’t dry out. If needed, you can mulch the bed with a couple inches of clean straw to suppress weeds, though I usually wait until the plants start growing and I start watering more regularly. If you planted your strawberries early and there’s still a chance of hard freezes, you can cover the bed with frost cloth or add a thin layer of straw over the crowns. (Just be sure to remove the straw once temperatures warm up and you see new leaves emerging from the crowns.) Within two to three weeks, depending on weather, you should start to see new leaf growth. Continue watering as needed but be careful not to overwater during the season. A newly planted strawberry crown with new spring growth Once your plants are growing in nicely and starting to flower, add a thin layer of straw mulch (if you haven’t already) to keep strawberries off the soil.

Plant strawberries far apart if you’re on a budget

If you’re on a budget and you’re not in a hurry to get your garden filled out, planting strawberries far apart is a more economical option. This method works with strawberry plants that produce runners, so the plants propagate themselves without any extra work on your part. They’ll multiply over time and produce baby plants for free, which means you don’t have to buy as many in the beginning. When you plant strawberries farther apart, you plant them across the entire future strawberry bed, leaving upwards of 2 to 3 feet of space between plants. You’ll have a lot of bare ground and you’ll need to be patient, but your patience will pay off once the runners grow in. After their first year, most strawberry plants have between three and six baby plants on each of their runners. If left alone, these baby plants will root themselves and mature into adult plants. But if you want to fill in the empty spaces in your garden bed more effectively, it’s best to move and transplant the babies where you want them. Once the baby plants are established, the runners dry up and fall off. These new plants will eventually produce their own runners, thus creating even more baby plants—so you can see how it’s pretty simple to let a strawberry patch grow in on its own. Most varieties of strawberries send out multiple runners, which are more properly known as stolons. The word “stolon” comes from the Latin word stolo, meaning a shoot or branch springing from the root. Runners are long, leafless stems that run horizontally above the ground and have baby plants at the ends, which are genetic copies of the mother plant. These tiny clones form adventitious roots (similar to the stems of tomato plants) and grow into the ground surrounding the mother plant, eventually becoming new plants. Most varieties of strawberries send out multiple runners, which are more properly known as stolons. The word “stolon” comes from the Latin word stolo, meaning a shoot or branch springing from the root. Runners are long, leafless stems that run horizontally above the ground and have baby plants at the ends, which are genetic copies of the mother plant. These tiny clones form adventitious roots (similar to the stems of tomato plants) and grow into the ground surrounding the mother plant, eventually becoming new plants. Runners are produced by nearly all Junebearing strawberries, and some everbearing and day-neutral strawberries.

Don’t Make This Mistake When Growing Strawberries

Not all strawberries are equal—and if you’ve struggled with getting a good harvest, it may be that you’re growing the wrong type of strawberry altogether! Here’s what you need to know about the three different types of strawberry plants and how to choose the right one for your climate. The first couple years after I moved to Central Oregon (which felt like a frozen tundra after 15 years of living in Southern California), I experimented with growing strawberries. I knew there were hardy varieties but I didn’t know exactly which varieties would do best in my new garden, and so… I grew them all. I had Junebearing, everbearing, and day-neutral strawberries (many dozens of plants attempted over two years) and most of them were lackluster in both size and production. (The ones that still had flowers after our late spring freezes, anyway.) What I realized after several disappointments was that all strawberries were not equal—and I was often growing the wrong type of strawberry altogether! Here’s what I learned so you can avoid the same mistakes that I made. Understanding strawberry types When I say “types,” I don’t mean varieties (I’ll get into those later). I’m talking about the three main types that strawberries are categorized as: Junebearing (also known as short day) Everbearing (also known as long day) Day-neutral Short-day strawberries initiate flower production when day length is 10 hours or less, and switch to runner production once day length and temperatures increase. Long-day strawberries initiate flowers when day length reaches 12 hours, and day-neutral strawberries are not sensitive at all to day length—they’ll flower over a range of light periods. Understanding strawberry types When I say “types,” I don’t mean varieties (I’ll get into those later). I’m talking about the three main types that strawberries are categorized as: Junebearing (also known as short day) Everbearing (also known as long day) Day-neutral Short-day strawberries initiate flower production when day length is 10 hours or less, and switch to runner production once day length and temperatures increase. Long-day strawberries initiate flowers when day length reaches 12 hours, and day-neutral strawberries are not sensitive at all to day length—they’ll flower over a range of light periods. While all of these types can generally be grown the same way as far as soil, light, and water are concerned, they have distinct differences in how often they bear fruit. Understanding these differences can help you choose the best varieties (cultivars) for your garden and maximize your fruit production each year.

13 Fruits and Vegetables That Help You Fall Asleep Faster and Stay Asleep Longer

Are there certain foods that help you sleep better? Science says yes—and you might even have some of them in your garden or kitchen already. These 13 fruits and vegetables (plus a highly revered medicinal herb) contain sleep-promoting compounds like magnesium and melatonin that naturally make you sleepier. As a parent and a night owl, sleep is one thing I crave but usually don’t get enough of, and I don’t think I’m alone in this. A change in routines can mess up our natural circadian rhythms, and these disruptions (from “losing” an hour of sleep in spring to transitioning back to school in fall) are tied to how our bodies produce melatonin, the hormone that regulates when we feel sleepy and when we feel awake. Our internal clocks are controlled by the sun but are designed to adjust to seasonal changes gradually. When sunrises and sunsets suddenly shift by an hour overnight, or we stay on our phones in bed long after nightfall, our clocks are sent for a loop. Short of reading something reeeaaaally boring before bed (my husband used to keep the full text of the Constitution on his nightstand, haha), is there anything you can do to drift to sleep easier each night? Yes—and you probably have them in your garden or kitchen already. Certain foods may help you sleep because they contain compounds that naturally make you sleepier. These fruits and vegetables contain small amounts of melatonin (as well as other sleep-promoting chemicals, like tryptophan and magnesium) that help you settle down, fall asleep faster, and stay asleep longer. They’re not a cure-all for insomnia, but incorporating a few of them into your evening meals or snacks could make bedtime a bit more restful. Kiwi Recent research on kiwifruit has found that this small, oval fruit can improve sleep. In that study, people who ate two kiwis an hour before bedtime fell asleep faster, slept longer, and had better quality sleep. While the reasons are still unclear, it’s believed kiwi contributes to sleep with its high serotonin levels, ability to address folate deficiencies, and several antioxidant properties. Cherries Cherries (especially sour cherries like the Montmorency variety) are one of the only (and highest) natural food sources of melatonin. Studies have shown a boost in circulating melatonin after consumption of cherries, though sweet cherries have half the melatonin content as sour cherries. When the fruits are not in season, try a glass of cherry juice instead. (Dried cherries, on the other hand, have been found to contain no melatonin.) Bananas Bananas are a good source of vitamin B6, which raises serotonin levels (the relaxing neurotransmitters that affect your quality of sleep), as well as potassium and magnesium, which help relax overstressed muscles. (If you’re unable to sleep because of restless leg syndrome, a magnesium deficiency is often the cause.) The fruits also contain the amino acid tryptophan, which the body converts to serotonin and melatonin. Pineapples With even more melatonin-boosting benefits than bananas, pineapples are a sweet choice for easing insomnia or jet lag. A study that measured the amount of aMT6-s in the body (a marker of circulating melatonin) found an increase of 266 percent in melatonin after test subjects ate pineapples (compared to a 180 percent increase with bananas and a 47 percent increase with oranges). On top of that, pineapples aid in digestion if tummy troubles cause you to toss and turn at night. Oranges Oranges can increase the melatonin in your body by approximately 47 percent, but that’s not the only reason you should eat them. They’re also a great source of B vitamins, which help with sleep in a number of ways: reducing anxiety and depression, improving the regularity of the sleep/wake cycle, and aiding in the synthesis of serotonin, dopamine, and GABA (the chief sleep-promoting neurotransmitter in the brain). If you have orange trees in your yard, you can take advantage of these same health benefits by steeping the flowers to make orange blossom tea as well. Avocados Avocados are high in magnesium, which is sometimes referred to as the sleep mineral. When you’re short on this essential mineral, you may find it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Adding magnesium-rich foods to your diet helps promote slow wave, or deep sleep, as magnesium is a natural relaxant that helps deactivate adrenaline. As a result, you wake up feeling more refreshed from a good night’s sleep. Kale At the risk of sounding trite, kale is actually really good for you—and good for your sleep. That’s because kale is loaded with calcium, which helps the brain use tryptophan to manufacture melatonin. The same goes for all the dark leafy greens, especially collards, spinach, and broccoli. (If you grow broccoli at home, don’t discard the greens—broccoli leaves are edible!) Lettuce If you needed a good reason to choose salad over soup with your dinner: lettuce contains lactucarium, a milky secretion that has sedative properties and is commonly referred to as lettuce opium. It’s found in the stems of several lettuce species in varying amounts, including garden lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and a group of wild lettuces that grow as edible weeds (such as Lactuca virosa and Lactuca serriola). Tomatoes Tomatoes are rich in the phytonutrient lycopene, which helps you stay asleep. Your body can absorb lycopene more easily if it’s heated in a little fat, so simmer a pot of tomatoes on the stove with a drizzle of oil and a handful of basil. Holy basil Speaking of basil, one medicinal variety of the herb—holy basil, also known as tulsi—has long used as a holistic remedy for sleep troubles. This isn’t the sweet basil you sprinkle over your pasta or the cinnamon basil used to spice up Vietnamese meals. Holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is known to calm the mind, lower cortisol levels, and treat depression. It’s a sacred plant in Ayurvedic medicine but is also a common herb in Thai cuisine, where it’s known as Thai holy basil or kaphrao. So how can you get more of it in your diet? Aside from adding it to Thai recipes (where the spicy, peppery, clove-like taste enhances all those rich flavors), holy basil leaves can be dried and used in tea. Steep the leaves in hot water and drink a cup before bed to help you fall asleep. Carrots Carrots are packed with alpha-carotene, which is closely associated with better sleep. In fact, they’re the most potent source of the powerful carotenoid, followed by pumpkin. Consuming carrots in their various forms (raw, cooked, or juiced) may lead to an easier time falling asleep when counting sheep is no longer an option. Soybeans (edamame) Don’t pass up the edamame next time you’re in a Japanese restaurant—in their natural state, soybeans are an excellent source of calcium and have a high concentration of tryptophan. Emerging studies have also found that soy isoflavones (estrogen-like compounds in the plant) may contribute to longer sleep duration (at least seven to eight hours a night) and better quality of sleep. Sweet potatoes Is this another reason you always get so sleepy after a full Thanksgiving meal? Sure, the tryptophan in turkey is part of it, but eating a side of sweet potatoes can boost levels of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter that slows down your brain and reduces stress and anxiety. The tubers also happen to be great sources of magnesium, potassium, calcium, and vitamin B6. These nutrients help relax the nerves and stimulate production of serotonin and melatonin, so you feel sleepier.

Banana Flowers Are an Unexpected Superfood You Should Start Eating

When it comes to superfoods, you probably think of things like kale, broccoli, blueberries, and acai berries. But I bet you’ve never heard of banana flowers as a superfood! The large edible blossoms from banana plants are actually used like a vegetable, and surprise—they don’t taste like banana fruit. Have you ever seen a banana plant in bloom? Its flowers are among the most unusual in the plant kingdom! A fact that many folks aren’t aware of is that these flowers are also edible and considered a delicacy. Banana flowers are widely used in Southeast Asian cooking, as well as in other parts of the world where banana plants grow. If you’ve never tried banana flower before, you should. Let’s have a look at what these strange blooms actually are, how to harvest them, and how to prepare them! What are banana flowers? Also known as a banana blossom or banana heart, what we call the banana flower is found on both wild and cultivated species of banana plants (Musa). The large flower bud actually consists of the male part of a banana plant’s bloom, as well as a cluster of dark reddish-purple modified leaves (called bracts) that protect it. The bud is large and teardrop-shaped. When a banana plant flowers, it produces a long stalk called a rachis, which hangs downward. The flower bud, which can be quite large and weighs up to a pound, dangles at the bottom of this stalk. Located above it are the female flowers, plus their ovaries: clusters of developing bananas, also called “hands.” (As you might’ve guessed, individual bananas are known as “fingers.”) While most banana blossoms you’ll find are purple- or maroon-colored, pink and yellow banana blossoms also exist. These flowers are found on ornamental species (such as Musa ornata), wild species (such as Musa velutina), or cold-hardy species (such as Musa basjoo). While all of their flowers are edible, the plants themselves are not as common (or are grown in climates that are not conducive to flowering), so you don’t see often pink and yellow banana blossoms used in cooking. Are banana flowers edible? If you peel away a banana flower’s typical purple-red outer bracts and lighter pink inner bracts, you’ll find a pale, soft core. As with an artichoke (which these flowers are pretty reminiscent of), the outer bracts of the banana blossom are technically edible, but not worth the trouble. They’re just too tough. Other parts, however, have a more pleasing texture and can be eaten: The pale heart The pale inner leaves The elongated florets You’ll find recipes for these different parts of the banana flower wherever in the world banana plants naturally grow. They’re surprisingly versatile, and every culture has its own approach to them! What do banana flowers taste like? Surprise: Banana flower hearts don’t taste like banana. They’re actually kind of bitter, especially the less tender parts, but this bitter flavor is easy enough to eliminate by soaking the flower components in water with some salt and lemon juice. Once you’ve soaked the banana blossom parts, the heart will have a neutral flavor and soft layered texture. Its taste and mouthfeel are often compared to something like palm hearts (the soft edible core of a palm tree) or bamboo shoots (edible young bamboo sprouts). It’s flaky and very lightly crunchy, and used more like a vegetable than a fruit. The florets (male flowers) located between the bracts also taste quite mild, although they have somewhat of a sweet and floral aroma.

Picking Avocados: Best Way to Tell If an Avocado Is Ripe

If you grow your own avocados, you might be wondering… when are they ready to pick? It’s not as simple as giving your fruit a squeeze while they’re on the tree. Because the thing is, avocados actually ripen OFF the tree. Here’s how to tell when your avocados are ready to pick (and how to ripen them faster). How to tell when an avocado is ripe The best way to tell whether your fruit is ready for harvest is to pick one nice, large, dark avocado from your tree, and then leave it out on the counter at room temperature. At this point, the thing is rock hard. You can practically use it as a pestle for your mortar, or even a weapon for self-defense. Have you ever dropped an unripe avocado on your toes? Oy, it’s not pleasant. If the fruit softens evenly within a week or so, then the rest of your avocados are good for the pickin’. If the fruit turns rubbery, shrivels up, or tastes bitter, then it isn’t quite ready yet. Keep checking every other week by picking one fruit at a time until you find an avocado that ripens to the right consistency and flavor of your liking. Once your avocados come into season, continue picking them regularly so they don’t over-mature on the tree. How long does it take for an avocado to ripen? The period from when an avocado is picked from a tree and when it’s perfectly ripe and ready to eat is called “softening.” The softening process takes anywhere from a few days up to a week, depending on room temperature and storage conditions. If your avocado is still rock hard after 10 days, chances are, it hasn’t fully matured yet. How to ripen avocados faster You can speed up the ripening process by placing your avocados in a paper bag, which helps them ripen sooner by trapping the natural off-gas that they generate (an odorless, tasteless, active plant hormone called ethylene). Avocados are climacteric fruits (right up there with apples and bananas), meaning they start to ripen off the tree through a process of ethylene production, which occurs when starch converts to sugar. This stage of climacteric signals the peak of ripeness for an avocado. If you want to speed it up even more, you can stick an apple or banana inside the bag (or any other ethylene-producing fruit, such as peppers, peaches, tomatoes… whatever you have on hand).

Why a Banana Plant is Actually an Herb AND a Berry

Did you know that what we call a banana tree is not a tree at all? Or that a banana is actually an herb AND a berry? Learn more bizarre botanical facts about this misunderstood tropical perennial plant, which can actually be cold-hardy down to zone 5 if you choose the right variety for your climate. I’m not much of a banana person (unless it’s cooked in rum and butter, though that combo will make anything taste divine), but I loved having banana trees around when I used to live in zone 10b. Among the many trees that grew in my Southern California garden years ago, there was an abundance of bananas flourishing year-round, all in different stages of ripeness. A few of them even grew over my hammocks and infused such a balmy and tropical feel to the setting, it was easy to forget that we lived in the city with foghorns blowing from the Port of Los Angeles every day. Even though I call them “trees,” they’re actually plants—and to be more specific, banana plants are herbaceous perennials. In other words, herbs. They’re one of those things in life that aren’t what they seem to be, the way tomatoes are technically fruits (not vegetables) and dandelions are herbs (not weeds). Bizarre botanical fact #1: A banana is an herb. That’s right—a banana plant is technically a large herb, distantly related to another garden rhizome, ginger. While most people think of basil, parsley, or rosemary when they think of herbs, it’s easier to see how a banana can be an herb if we look at more “exotic” herbs like lemongrass, horseradish, and wasabi. A banana is considered an herb in botanical terms because it never forms a woody stem (or trunk) the way a tree does. Rather, it forms a succulent stalk, or pseudostem. The pseudostem begins as a small shoot from an underground rhizome called a corm. It grows upward as a single stalk with a tight spiral of leaf sheaths wrapped around it. Banana leaves are simply extensions of the sheaths. Bizarre botanical fact #2: A banana is also a berry. During the flowering stage, an inflorescence (also called a banana heart, as it emerges from the heart of the plant) appears on the end of the stem. It is usually a long, tapered, tightly wrapped, deep purple bud. Bizarre botanical fact #3: Banana anatomy was coined by slave traders. A hanging cluster of hands on a banana plant is called a bunch, with each bunch holding 7 to 14 hands of bananas. As you likely guessed, individual bananas on a hand are called fingers. Bizarre botanical fact #4: Modern bananas have been bred to be sterile… but they DID have seeds at one point. A plant produces a single crop of bananas and then dies, propagated only by new shoots from the corm. Each of these shoots (pseudostems) goes on to live for only two to three years, but because the corm can survive for many years, the banana plant’s reproductive process is unique for a fruit. Bananas are bred as parthenocarpic plants and don’t require any pollination to produce fruit.

Why Bananas Split Open By Themselves

If you grow banana trees at home, you may have noticed your bananas splitting open on the bunch. Why does this happen and how can you stop it? The answer is simpler than you think—and it’s the same for store-bought bananas where the peel may crack by themselves. Banana trees are one of my favorite additions to an edible landscape, an exotic visual that I certainly miss from my old garden in Southern California. The large leaves provide shade and the stalks produce delicious fruit (otherwise known as banana “fingers”) year-round. In fact, the word banana comes from the Arabic banan, meaning finger. (The earliest banana was only the size of a man’s finger!) And while they’re usually referred to as trees, bananas are technically plants—or more accurately, herbaceous perennials. Yes, a banana plant is an herb! In a home garden, banana plants are very low-maintenance, attracting few pests and requiring no pruning (just remove the stalk after you harvest the entire banana bunch). But one issue occasionally comes up: cracked skin on bananas. Why does this happen and how you can stop it? Why bananas split and get cracked skin The reason your homegrown bananas are splitting open on the bunch is usually because they’re overripe. Bananas should be harvested when they’re still green, and then left to ripen on the counter at room temperature. How do you know when it’s time to harvest? Check the fingers (the individual bananas): As the fruits mature, the fingers get fatter but stay green. About four weeks after the fingers stop growing, they should be ready for harvest. The bananas should be plump and firm, and the little flowers on the end should be completely dry or rubbed off easily. When at least 75 percent of the bunch has reached this point, cut off the entire bunch and let the bananas ripen off the tree. There may be a few bananas that are already turning yellow, and that’s okay. As long as the majority of the bunch is still green, the chances of those bananas splitting (before you’re ready to eat them) is slim. If you let the bananas continue ripening on the tree, they’re more prone to splitting open (and becoming kind of dry and cottony in consistency). The fruits can be eaten when they’re partially green, though most people wait until they’re yellow or even mottled with brown spots. During the ripening process, the skin changes from dark green to light green to yellow as the starch in the fruit is converted to sugar. Bananas that are fully brown on the outside are actually at peak sweetness—though this is when they’re usually composted, cooked, or frozen to cook with later. Another reason banana skin may crack open is temperature. While banana trees like consistently warm, humid weather, they suffer under temperature extremes. The peel may split when exposed to high temperatures combined with high relative humidity. This physiological disorder affects certain varieties of bananas and can occur if there’s a sudden heat spell in your garden, or if you get lots of rain in a short period of time, or if you leave your bananas in a sealed plastic bag in a warm room (creating a greenhouse effect). This study points to the sugars in the flesh pulling moisture from the peel, causing bananas to split at high relative humidity. The peel-splitting phenomenon also affects store-bought bananas. Though they’re usually stored on the cooler side of room temperature to ripen, the peel may start to crack if the bananas were exposed to higher temperatures during transit or processing.

The Real Difference Between Mandarin Oranges vs. Clementines

Do you know the difference between mandarin oranges and clementines? At first glance these two palm-sized citrus fruits may look alike and even taste alike, but there IS one key difference that may surprise you. Learn more about mandarins, clementines, and other small orange fruits that resemble them. Mandarins and clementines are two fruits that look very similar to oranges, but are smaller in size. There are lots of small, round, and orange citrus fruits available, and it can be tough to tell the difference between them if you don’t know what you’re looking for. What’s a mandarin? What’s a clementine? And are either of these the same thing as those bags of Cuties or Halos you see in the grocery store? (Yes, actually—those adorable little oranges sold under the Cuties and Halos brand names are clementines.) But while mandarins and clementines have many similarities, you might be surprised by what makes them different. Read on! Types of orange citrus fruits The way we typically use the term “orange” refers to the large, round, sweet fruit we know and love, but botanically speaking, an orange is the fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae. There are many different types of orange citrus fruits, so let’s take a look at the main ones below. Orange: Also known as a common orange or sweet orange (these are the navel, Valencia, and blood oranges you see in stores), this fruit has a thick rind, bitter pith, and sweet-tart flesh. It’s believed to be a hybrid of a pomelo and a mandarin orange. Mandarin: This is an original species of orange from where the common orange descended. (Yes, it’s the grandmother!) Mandarins are typically smaller and sweeter than oranges, with a slightly flattened shape. They also have thinner and looser skins that make them easier to peel. Tangerine: Tangerines refer to a group of several distinct mandarin-pomelo hybrids. Sometimes, you’ll find tangerine-grapefruit hybrids labeled and sold as tangerines as well. They have slightly tougher skins, and their flavor is a little less sweet. Tangelo: This distinctive fruit is on the larger side of all the small oranges, and is believed to be a hybrid of a Citrus reticulata variety (such as tangerine or mandarin) and a Citrus maxima variety (such as pomelo or grapefruit). So, you can see where its name comes from. It’s generally more tangy than a mandarin, and has a characteristic “nipple” at the stem. Clementine: This is the smallest type of mandarin orange and a couple of them can fit in the palm of your hand. It is super sweet and seedless and has a very thin rind and pith. The loose, leathery skin makes it much easier to peel than most other mandarin hybrids. Satsuma: This mandarin-pomelo hybrid has a higher proportion of pomelo in its genome than other types of mandarins. It’s a semi-seedless variety that originated in the Satsuma province of Japan and is considered to be one of the sweetest citrus fruits. It’s also the most tender and easily damaged type of mandarin. Mandarins vs. clementines Did you notice anything interesting about the list above? Mandarins are the ancestor of the group, while clementines, tangerines, satsumas, and even your everyday oranges are all part of the mandarin family. Mandarins are thought to have originated in China, and wild mandarins can still be found today in the Nanling Mountains of Southern China. The botanical name for the mandarin is Citrus reticulata. In Latin, reticulata means “netted” and the name stems from the net-like interlaced pattern made by the pith (the spongy white portion between the flesh and the rind). The clementine (Citrus × clementina) is a smaller and seedless variety of mandarin that was cultivated by Clément Rodier, a French missionary in Algeria (for whom the fruit was named). It’s actually a hybrid of a Mediterranean willowleaf mandarin orange (C. × deliciosa) and a sweet orange (C. × sinensis). Now, if you remember that a sweet orange is actually a mandarin-pomelo hybrid, that means the clementine is a hybrid of a hybrid! (A tad confusing, I know.) Appearance Mandarins and clementines both have smooth, glossy skins with a deep orange color. They have a round, slightly flattened shape and are smaller than oranges, though clementines tend to be a little smaller of the two. Both fruits have thin, loose skins that are easy to peel in one piece, making them very popular with kids and as on-the-go snacks. They also tend to separate into segments more easily than an orange. Texture and taste Mandarins come in both seeded and seedless varieties, but clementines are always seedless (or practically seedless). Nutrition Small but powerful, mandarins and clementines have very similar nutritional profiles that pack an impressive health punch. Both fruits are rich in vitamin C, though clementines contain slightly higher amounts. A single clementine provides up to 60 percent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C, while a mandarin provides about a third. The fruits are also good sources of folate, potassium, fiber, and antioxidants, and are known to strengthen the immune system and promote gut health. Even their flowers have benefits: orange blossoms can be steeped in hot water to make a healing orange blossom tea that aids in digestion, sleep, and anxiety. While it’s hard to quantify whether mandarins—or clementines—have more vitamins and minerals than the other, it’s safe to say both of these fruits are beneficial to your diet.

How Sweet It Is: Yellow Wonder Alpine Strawberries

I grow a few different varieties of strawberries every year but the underdogs of the garden—and the ones I always look forward to finding and picking—are my Yellow Wonder alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca). Alpine strawberries don’t get all the fanfare of market strawberries (which typically produce large red berries), but these Yellow Wonders are just… Alpine strawberries don’t get all the fanfare of market strawberries (which typically produce large red berries), but these Yellow Wonders are just about the most perfect patio plant you could hope for. Green, lush, prolific, and full of petite, melt-in-your-mouth berries bursting with a flavor that’s hard to pin down. I liken them to cotton candy, but with added notes of pineapple and rose. They’re complex and intensely aromatic. They’re full of sweetness and lack the tartness of commercially grown strawberries which, in my opinion, prove that bigger is not always better. Unlike other types of strawberries like Junebearers, which love to spread, most cultivated alpine strawberries don’t sprout runners. Where you plant them is where they’ll stay, making them ideal for small spaces such as balconies and borders. They concentrate all of their energy into their fruits, which also grow smaller than cultivated market varieties—no more than an inch long with pointed ends, and almost conical in shape. The plant itself is a compact perennial, growing 8 to 10 inches tall with bright green foliage and delicate white flowers. To chefs, alpine strawberries are sometimes called gourmet strawberries because of their refined texture and taste. You’ll probably never find alpine strawberries in a supermarket, because they’re simply too fragile to make the trip through modern processing and packaging. The berries go from green to ripe to overripe in a blink, and their flesh is softer than what you might be more accustomed to. But pick them at the right time, when the flesh has a little give and the fruit readily separates from its green cap, and one bite of an alpine strawberry will make you want to rip up your other strawberries and plant only alpines in their place. Today’s alpine strawberries (also known as woodland strawberries or wild strawberries) come from the Fragaria vesca berries that were indigenous to ancient Persia. Some archaeological evidence even dates them back to the Stone Age, when humans were first documented as having eaten them. Alpine strawberry plants are day-neutral, meaning they start to flower and fruit in spring and keep producing until the first hard frost. It totally delights me to pick a handful of berries in June (which usually never make it back into the house before I gobble them all down) and then to see the plants still laden with berries in October (and sometimes even November!). They concentrate all of their energy into their fruits, which also grow smaller than cultivated market varieties—no more than an inch long with pointed ends, and almost conical in shape. The plant itself is a compact perennial, growing 8 to 10 inches tall with bright green foliage and delicate white flowers. I’m partial to yellow alpines because I’ve found that they’re a little sweeter than red alpines, and their pale color, combined with an unusual shape, makes them a standout against my red garden strawberries. As a bonus for those who have to fend off birds in their gardens, it’s said that birds usually ignore yellow berries because they think they’re unripe. The plants reseed very easily and I’ve often taken a few overripe, nearly-dried berries that were hiding in the foliage and pressed them into the soil elsewhere in the garden. Let them go through a cold winter and in spring, a few strawberry seedlings will sprout in their place. You can also save alpine strawberry seeds (from homegrown plants or, if you’re lucky, out in the wild) by collecting them from the skin and freezing them for a month to condition them. Afterward, store the seeds in a cool, dark and dry place and sow in spring or fall. Strawberry plants are perennials. They grow year after year but fruit production starts to decline with age, so they should be replaced every five years or so. If you’re growing them for fruit, treat them like a crop: the more space or larger container you give them, the more productive they’ll be. But you can also plant them as an ornamental or an edible ground cover, and enjoy the fruits as a perk!

Edible Feijoa Flowers

I have a beautiful old feijoa tree in my yard, and every spring it attracts flocks of starlings that dance through its leaves. The starlings are hungry for the hundreds of candy red flowers that appear before the fruits set in late summer. I liken these flowers to nature’s litter — swaying in the breeze,… I have a beautiful old feijoa tree in my yard, and every spring it attracts flocks of starlings that dance through its leaves. The starlings are hungry for the hundreds of candy red flowers that appear before the fruits set in late summer. I liken these flowers to nature’s litter — swaying in the breeze, dropping from the tree, and covering the ground with soft, fragrant petals that brighten up the brown bark mulch. The flowers also feed the hummingbirds, butterflies, scrub jays, and squirrels that frequent the garden each day. With the onslaught of fruits that I get in the fall — thanks to prolific pollination by the birds and the bees — sometimes I wish they’d eat a little more! The flowers have fleshy white petals with showy scarlet stamens; they remind me a bit of fuchsia flowers. Pulled apart, the petals look like sea shells with their lightly textured exterior and rosy red interior. Botanically, feijoa (Acca sellowiana) is an evergreen shrub from the Myrtaceae family that can be espaliered or trained into a hedge, but mine has slowly grown into a large tree with a single trunk. It’s a few decades old and has grown to bear resemblance to an olive tree (very Mediterranean looking) with its gnarled trunk, silvery green leaves, and egg-shaped fruits. It’s incredibly drought-tolerant as well, since the only water my feijoa receives is from natural rainfall… and we haven’t had too much of that lately. If you live in a warm climate (zones 8 and up) and want a low-maintenance fruit tree that’s also bird- and bee-friendly, a feijoa is a great pick! Feijoa flowers are one of my favorite edible flowers. A lot of flowers are actually edible, but whether or not they’re palatable (on their own, not just as an accent) is a different story. Feijoa flowers are unusual in that they’re succulent and sweet like marshmallows, with hints of the pineapple/kiwi/mint flavor inherent in feijoa fruits. I’ll often scatter a few flowers over a salad when I’m feeling fancy, or throw some to my chickens with the rest of their greens.

Lemon Harvest

For such a little tree, this thing sure pumps out a lotta lemons every winter! I harvested a hefty basket of lemons last week, and I didn’t even put a dent in my tree. I’m not sure how many pounds were harvested, but it did require two hands to haul the basket from the garden… For such a little tree, this thing sure pumps out a lotta lemons every winter! I harvested a hefty basket of lemons last week, and I didn’t even put a dent in my tree. I’m not sure how many pounds were harvested, but it did require two hands to haul the basket from the garden to the kitchen (and an extra set of hands to pick up all the lemons that kept tumbling out!). If I had to guess, I’d say this first round yielded at least 60 fat, juicy lemons. And winter’s not even over yet… nor have all my lemons fully ripened. One can only make so much lemonade, lemon bread, and lemon curd in one season, so for the next two weeks, I’ll show you a few different ways to preserve these fruits at home. You don’t need to be a canner or a cook, but you can still have that bright lemony flavor long after the last lemon has been plucked.

A Banana by Any Other Name

Commercially grown bananas are green, hulking, 8-inch-plus behemoths with nary a spot on their smooth, firm skin. Homegrown bananas—at least in my home—are half that size, and so cute and plushy that you want to poke a finger into their freckled skin like the Pillsbury Doughboy. While some sources say that bananas lose texture and… Commercially grown bananas are green, hulking, 8-inch-plus behemoths with nary a spot on their smooth, firm skin. Homegrown bananas—at least in my home—are half that size, and so cute and plushy that you want to poke a finger into their freckled skin like the Pillsbury Doughboy. While some sources say that bananas lose texture and flavor as they’re left to ripen on trees, I don’t always agree. After eating many a store-bought banana that has ripened off the plant, that first tree-ripened (or more accurately, stalk-ripened) banana from my backyard tastes like a creamy marshmallow. (Though bananas do occasionally split open when they’re too ripe, so I try not to let them get to that point.) In fact, my favorite campfire dessert is a banana, split in half and stuffed with mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and peanut butter, then wrapped in foil and roasted over a fire. Talk about creamy. But I digress. It didn’t seem so long ago that I was looking at a bloom of beautiful banana flowers. Banana berries (remember that nifty tidbit?) soon appeared, and seemingly overnight an entire bunch had ripened and I couldn’t eat all the bananas fast enough.Long before settlers in the Americas ever tasted a banana in the 16th century, the fruit was cultivated throughout Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. But the banana of the time was far from the perfect Chiquita banana we see today. The early banana was small and modest, about the size of a man’s finger. It is believed that Arab slave traders, who also traded ivory and bananas, coined the crop banan, the Arabic word for finger. So, it makes sense that an individual banana is referred to as a “finger” on a “hand” of bananas. But long, long before those farmers and traders ever hawked bananas, the Greek philosopher and botanist Theophrastus (a student of Aristotle) recounted a folk legend of three wise men who sat under the shade of a banana tree and ate its fruit. This myth led to the now-obsolete botanical name of the banana, Musa sapientium, which translates into “banana of the sages.” This wisdom carried over into other cultures, too. According to Hindu legend, the banana was the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. After the Fall of Man, Adam and Eve covered their naked bodies with banana leaves rather than skimpy fig leaves (as we know them). To this day, a banana is often referred to as a fig (or figue) in the West Indies. Carl Linnaeus, the father of Linnaean taxonomy, classed one form of the banana as Musa paradisiaca, an archaic scientific name that translates into “banana of paradise.” Early European names deriving from the Middle Ages include apple of paradise, fig of Eve, and fig of Adam, as well as the French fig du paradis (fig of paradise). But as they say… a banana by any other name would taste as sweet.

Valencia… Limes? No, Not Really

I’m sure you must be looking at this picture, thinking, “Obviously, this is an orange tree.” And you would be correct. But last year, I didn’t have an orange tree. I had a tree filled with bright green orbs all over, and I plucked them all at this stage, thinking they were limes. Don’t laugh. When I moved into my house last summer, most of the fruit trees were not in good shape. The previous owners had said the mulberry was barely fruiting, and the avocado tree — despite being at least a couple decades old — gave them less than a dozen avocados. So when I bit into my “lime” and found it dry and bitter, I blamed it on poor fertilization. Or poor watering. Or maybe it was still a little unripe — never considering that maybe it was still a lot unripe! After I harvested all those awful limes, after I squeezed them over fish tacos and dunked them into beer, I found out that the tree was, in fact, a Valencia orange tree. And the few fruits I had left on the tree because I couldn’t reach them eventually ripened to a brilliant orange color, with the sweetest, juiciest flesh inside. This year, I finally have an orange tree! Perfectly round, tender fruits dangle like Christmas ornaments from tree branches. Winter citrus always perks me up after feeling a little sad that the bounty of summer has passed. Now that I’ll have a real harvest of oranges soon, I need to start conditioning my arms for all the juicing I’ll be doing!

Feijoa Madness

We have a mature feijoa tree in our garden which bloomed beautiful, white, edible flowers through the summer and is now dropping fruits by the bucketload every day — and I’m not exaggerating. My mornings are spent gathering fallen feijoas, usually dozens scattered all over the ground. I’m surprised there are still any fruits left on the tree.The feijoa (also known as pineapple guava or guavasteen) falls when ripe and is sweet-tart in flavor. It’s about the size of an egg and indeed feels like an Easter egg hunt each time I fish for feijoas hiding under our mulberry tree or in our succulent pots. My first bite reminded me of kiwi… somewhat gritty and sour, but the riper the fruit, the more tender and sweet the flesh becomes.