Image6: The succulent fruit freshly cut at the dining table (pic taken on Mar 01, 2012)
It had all started many months ago
Fate had played its hand,
That I was at the local farmer’s market
Spied a papaya seedling in a basket
Among many it held its own
It appeared somewhat taller than most
Why this was so I asked the vendor
‘ A special breed’,
he could only utter
If it can be so special, it’ll be a treat
So I bought it anyway
In the backyard to fend for itself, alone
Against vagaries of the weather
I did follow what the vendor had said
Doses of organic fertilizers to be made
Not too much, not too little
To be done at regular intervals
The first flowers appeared for a spell
Some remained, others fell
Tiny fruits emerged in sequence
Dainty little, making their presence
What do you know!
Progressed development slowly but surely
Turned out to be a ‘special’ eventually
Grossly or grotesquely elongated
Neither? But it was extra
long by normal standards
Plainly excited, or rather flabbergasted!
Two weeks ago the first fruit was harvested
Decision made as it showed spot s of redness
There were also 2 squirrels seen in readiness
Gallivanting, running up the trunk
Every so often
Eying my prized possession
I decided it was time
To pluck it for good measure
At 14 inches or 36
cm it was a treasure
And it tipped the scales at 2.5 kilos
It would be kept for a few days well packed
To allow ripening to take full effect
It may not win an award
I miss papaya... We have lots of trees at my mother's backyard and farm...
ReplyDeleteThat surely is a good one...
When we were young, I love it halfly riped and dip in vinegar and salt. Hehehe...
Pareng JJ
I love gardens, I love gardening. You've done so well with this, pulling us into the routine of planting and harvesting. Your joy at the bounty so obviously what makes gardening food such a joy. One can onlynwish the farmer and gardener do not go the way of the Dodo. There's humility and patience to be learned from tilling the soil and watching things grow. A gentle wisdom comes bye the bye too.
ReplyDeleteParengJJ,
ReplyDeleteWe need to just take papaya and no other expensive fruits. Rich in Vitamin C. It beats them all!
I too prefer the half riped. It is crunchy. I enjoy munching it!
Hank
You've said it Charles! Planting a tree or two is no effort. Should not be a bother. I prefer fruit trees rather than flowers. Flowers take more of our time!
ReplyDeleteHank
Hey, good luck with that wonderful tree, Hank.
ReplyDeletePamela
If I had a sunny window, I'd try to grow a papaya tree in the house, because of course they couldn't survive our winters.
ReplyDeleteI just love papaya, Hank, it is one of my favorite foods. Mango and papaya together make a delicious dessert. I can't quite imagine the salt and vinegar JJ described, but I'll take his word for it, because I love salt and vinegar on french-fries. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to have vinegar any more, the doctor said.
K
Wow that is quite the tree
ReplyDeleteThere at your sea
Grew quite huge too
And yeah trees are easier it is true
Had quite a few a while back
At my old shack
dude...those are awesome...thanks for the pics too...love papaya but dont know if i ever saw the tree prior...we used to grow oranges, bananas and limes when we lived in FL....
ReplyDeleteSure thing Pam!
ReplyDeleteThere are a few more matured fruits to be harvested within the next few weeks
Hank
Kay Ma'am,
ReplyDeleteYou can do what JJ did if the fruits are half-ripe. For those that you get at your Supermart these are already ripe. But you can just press lime over them. It'll give that special flavor. I hope lime is still ok with you.
Hank
wow..very cool...i love papayas...sadly no chance to grow one over here...but i have a shower gel with papaya flavor...and on cold and grey days, it helps sometimes...very nicely done hank
ReplyDeletenostalgia.
ReplyDeleteOMG! Beautiful! Lovely poem, and succulent fruit. Watch out for those squirrels. K.
ReplyDeleteWow fabulous! Impressive
ReplyDeleteAwesome, love it! :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE seeing your garden, Hank. You are such a wonderful soul!!
ReplyDeletexo
Wow!
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, I've never eaten a good papaya here--the one we get are obviously picked too green and are mushy and have little flavor. I envy you your grotesquely good fruit here, Hank.
ReplyDeleteI miss eating papaya...we had a lot of them growing in our backyard before..and yes, we can see them growing specially during summer ~
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the pics Hank ~
I am envious ~
That elongated one looks weird! But I do not mind having a tree that bears fruit like that.
ReplyDelete