Papaya has to go ....

Well, the tiny papaya fruits did not grow to term - had half expected it. I had heard but didn't quite believe that papayas grown from the seeds of the fruits that we eat are usually infertile or if there are fruits, they will never grow to term because they have been treated by the producers. So the question is how had the producers rendered the plants infertile and my guess is that the fruits have probably been subjected to low dosages of radiation. That is scary if I am right - just imagine how much of these radiation is ultimately absorbed into our bodies.

You can see in the picture the tiny papayas that remained at that size until they drop. Looks like I will have to cut them. Maybe I am wrong, the papayas do not grow because the female flowers have not been fertilized.



On the other hand, the okra I grew from commercial seeds have yielded many okras for my dining table. I simply steam them for 6 minutes and garnish them with fried shallots and light soysauce. Simply yummy.



Two ripe okra pods whose seeds will be planted when the present 5 plants die out.




The sweet potato flowers look such a sweet lilac. Wonder if they can be eaten?

Pest Galore!

They are pests but still, I am amazed by them! Some of them are so absolutely tiny yet they exhibit the most intricate detailing. In them I behold Mother Nature in all her artistic glory!

These green aliens are awesome - they have tails that look like they have a stabilising function like a car's spoiler (as if they are moving that fast) and a seemingly aerodynamic shell for a body and that frilled fringe - WOW!


Another species of aphids - white ones look like some spun mousse dessert!

Bird Shit ..... NOT!

Leaves disappeared overnight! Whole plants too! And the cause of it is this caterpillar camouflaged as bird droppings. Since my garden is so small and I am not using any pesticide spray I handpick them off the leaves when I see them. And I try to do it first thing in the morning before they devour the whole plant!







The other pests include aphids on the papaya and tomato and the scaly insect farmed by the black ants on the okra! See the black ants hard at work :(