Category: Uncategorized
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Active Composting Weather Nearing Its End
Sure, I could just mow the grass/“weeds,” but it’s far more useful to add the nitrogen rich material to my compost piles. Instead of using a machine to chop the grass/”weeds” down & leave them to decompose on the ground, I do what I’ve come to call “hand mowing.” It’s basically weeding, but over…
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A Spirit Visit?
Recently while looking for branches to air layer on the mango tree planted by my great grandfather many decades ago, I stopped in my tracks when I noticed several vines of “jumbee” (pronounced ‘joom-bee’) hanging from the ancient tree. Jumbee/jumbie beads, also known as rosary peas, were introduced to me decades ago by my Caribbean…
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Air Layering or…Magic
Following behind Granddad in the garden on any given day, you’d be likely to look up & catch a glimmer of the sun reflecting from a tin foil covered tree branch. I asked him once why we were wrapping the trees in tin foil. He said, “We’re making new trees, Sweets!” I couldn’t understand how…
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Crew Update
I’m happy to report that The Crew (a.k.a. our worms) have settled into their mango-shaded sanctuary very well. They quickly munched through a shocking amount of bedding. Now that I see what they’re capable of, I will nearly double the bedding depth when I reset the bin in the Fall. They love fruit & anything…
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Proud Tree Hugger
Before I even knew what a “tree hugger” was, I knew I was one. Being around trees- better yet IN trees- makes me happy. Witnessing the effects of global deforestation, including the dramatic destruction of the landscape around the farm, I wondered what- if anything- I could do. I decided that my response to the…
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Fermented Plant Food
Comfrey (a.k.a. “boneset”) is a perennial herb used in herbalism as a topical salve for wounds & to treat inflammation from broken bones & sprains. In the garden, it has long been coveted as a fertilizer. Comfrey has a long tap root that allows it to dig deep below the soil surface & mine for…
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Planting With the Moon
If you believe in the Ancient wisdom of planting with the moon phases- and there’s plenty of experiential evidence to support this– then now (in the waning moon) is the time to plant your root crops. In the days following the recent full/Pink Moon, I planted yacón- also known as “Peruvian ground apple” (I imagine…
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Papaya Pancake Recipe
My love for all things papaya has already been professed [https://mahabafarms.us/2024/04/15/papaya-the-tree-that-keeps-giving/]. In case you’re ready for your own tropical fruit obsession, I’ve shared the making of my papaya pancakes in the video below:
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Surprise Leftovers
It was a strange winter. The temperatures never dropped to what I am accustomed to & when it did, it didn’t last long. That meant that the cool season crops I’d hoped to grow this winter didn’t stand much of a chance. That didn’t stop me from seeding & re-seeding the beds when there were…
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Papaya: The Tree That Keeps Giving
I’ve come to appreciate papayas on a new level. The tree is low maintenance & ornamental; often mistaken by the novice for a type of palm tree. The papaya tree produces fruit abundantly year round in south Florida. My disdain for waste has forced me to discover creative & delicious uses for the fruit. Papaya…
Mahaba Farms 