Well, I didn’t TRY. On purpose. But I sure made an attempt. What I was trying to do was save him! He got too fat for his glass:
Fat Bastard in a Little Glass
But he kept eating! So he literally was stuck in the glass. I couldn’t get him out! He fit fine in June, when he grew a root. Here he is on August 19th, 2013:
See how he’s squeezing into this dress?
It was like Winnie the Pooh getting stuck in the mouth of that cave. I heaved and pulled and asked nicely, but Fatty couldn’t budge. It took me a month and a week to work up the courage to crack the glass. Continue reading “I Tried to Kill Fat Bastard”→
Every time I see a flower on a fruit tree or a garden vegetable, I get hungry. Maybe this is common knowledge, but I didn’t know until recently that where ever there is a flower on a plant that grows fruit, there will be a fruit! It’s like an awesome movie trailer of what’s to come. Or even better, the X on a pirate map of where the treasure is. Or even best, a beautiful flower that’s come to say, “I will soon be a tasty piece of free food for you to eat!”
When I was farming, we would weed the strawberries regularly, and take all the brown parts off of them in client’s yards so they would be pretty, or pot them up to sell. And I slowly noticed that the little yellow center of their happy white flowers would get bigger and make a dome. And sometimes I’d see pre-ripe, young, small strawberries that hadn’t turned red yet. But it took me a while before I saw the same little yellowish strawberry emerging out of the center of a flower. Holy crap! “Does each flower become a strawberry?!” Continue reading “Flowers Become Fruit: An Homage to Simon & Elaine’s Garden”→
I’m excited for you to meet Fat Bastard. He’s the size of a small tennis ball. Which means he isn’t the size of a tennis ball… He’s the size of a golf ball- and a half. He’s the size of a large plum… He’s his own man and his own size and he doesn’t need to tell you or anyone else about it. He’s the big fella at the party who just sits in the corner and is quiet most of the time and after things get going, ends up being hilarious, but still quietly. And only if he feels like it.
He came from our CSA box. That is a Community Supported Agriculture box. If you already know what that is, please *skip ahead to find out about who Fat Bastard is dating and his hobbies. A Community Supported Agriculture box (try to say that five times fast) (you totally can) (I just have trouble with it) (but practicing just now helped more than I expected) is a box full of vegetables from a local farm. Continue reading “Meet Fat Bastard The Live Avocado”→
You can click the first photo for a slideshow with a little story of Wilbur’s journey. Click only if you feel like it. No worries, either way.
He’s a bacon avocado, thus the little piggy name.
Wilbur was the first to root and grow of his 14 or so siblings and cousins. This is him on April 18th. He was born March 9, 2013.
By April 24th, he’d sprung up with vivacious little green leaves!
By May 5th, he was almost as tall as me!
And his leaves were perky!
And his roots were salsa dancing for Cinco de Mayo, despite having what looks like miniature styrofoam popcorn at each connection point. Every avocado in our house has them!
This encapsulates how big I felt he was.
And a few days before May 12th, I moved him to a larger glass, thinking more root space would be nice for him. But he got a little brown spot instead.
And today, he has yet to forgive me for making him homesick for his original glass. His leaves became droopy and a few tips turned brown too.
But he’s still tall and strong. I took him “for a walk” here hoping some fresh air might help.
His roots are still full and happy. And still have balls.
And over the past few days, he has grown new baby leaves up top and they are radiant! Happy Every Day Little Wilbur.
I’m embracing my thoughts. It’s a whole new world and I’m the carpet AND Jasmine. And Aladdin? Hmm. AND the monkey! Yay! Who is the tiger?
Anyway, I’m letting it all flow free and seed is what I woke up curious about. I’m collecting seed, but I don’t know much about it. Here is a fine mind ramble from Gamble that may come in handy later. It also may just scare/confuse you/me, so if you want to read something more sane, skip to the photo caption below. Also, many of these questions probably have answers. I was just having fun relishing in wonder this morning…
Seeds have protein, so wouldn’t strawberries have a bit of protein?
Is the protein in a banana in the seeds or the meat?
What do you call the banana part of a banana? Other than banana? Or meat?
What makes us eat certain seeds and not others? Cashews (big) vs. lemon seeds (smaller), I’d think we’d eat the smaller one… Is it just taste? Or texture? Or some other biological reason?
Many seeds are designed for animals to eat, travel around with in their belly, and poop out later to spread the seed. Some scientists think avocados were designed for bigger animals to eat, digest, and poop out the seed. Does that mean I am really over-stepping my boundaries as a small person every time I eat one?
Do all seeds have tannins like an avocado seed?
How come those large animals could process avocado seeds while to some smaller animals, avocado seeds are toxic?
When we chew seeds, doesn’t that kill their chance of survival?
And doesn’t that go against this idea of ingestion for poop seed sowing?
Is that why seeds and beans are harder for humans to digest?
Because chewed seeds are stickin’ it to the man?
Are you upset by that bad joke? Is that a joke?
I heard that when flax seed is eaten whole, we don’t get its full nutrients so its better to eat ground flax seed. But we end up chewing it when it’s whole, so what’s the difference?
But it’s true that when I eat whole flax seeds, so many end up in my poop fully intact. Seems like that would be good for them- why wouldn’t the flax seeds make that option appealing to us nutritionally?
Nuts, seeds, beans, peas, and legumes are all seeds. Why do we call them different names?
I’m bringing the guacamole to the party… in 13 years!
This is the 100 year old avocado tree in our back yard. Beautiful.
I just found out that it takes 5-13+ years for an avocado tree grown from seed to bear fruit! Whoaholymybatmanthatsalongtimegoodness!
That made me realize that if we all understood how long it really takes for nature to move, for a tree to run it’s natural course, and we were the specific person that tended to that tree for all of those years, we would respect them in a totally different way. If I cared for a tree for 12 years and it got sick and died that year, the year before it fruited, I would be so attached to it at that point that I would weep.
What I’ve learned so far about starting avocados from seed: Stab with toothpicks, stick in water, & love. Just like it happens in nature…
This is Wilbur. He’s my little bacon avocado. I’m excited that he’s inspired some friends to make their own avocado babies. And other friends across the country literally got their avocado seeds the same day I posted his first picture, with the intention to plant their own trees, before even seeing him! Avocados are great and they’re making our minds think alike! Creepy…
This is a wonderful company that my boss introduced me to when I was a farmer. I’m excited to start buying organic heirloom seeds from them! After watching this video, I feel so inspired to be in the sun, work in the soil, plant some life-giving food, care for it, and save seeds for the future…
