I have hardly been here to blog, lately! Well, for good reason. Summer is turning to fall, and there is so much to harvest, hanging on the trees right now...
I think that I unfortunately shall bore you with a light inventory of what has been in store, over the past few weeks.
First of all, pomegranates! There are so many, and I had no idea! In fact, most of the trees I've found would stay full until the insects devoured every last one of them. I know this, because of my formal policy of asking politely to pick, before I take. I generally get permission from the pomegranate tree's owners. And see, what they say is, "oh yes, take as many as you want. They're so difficult to pick out, that I just don't bother."
Hrum!? Don't bother? Man, people in this society... It's such a wonderful fruit. Tasty, rich and wholesome, and very versatile! You can eat it alone, put it over a salad, stir fry, or tons of other things! It is very adaptable. And really, it's not even that hard to pick apart! You do a few and get good at it. Just cut it open, and then fill a bowl with water. Pick it apart in water (it's easier, for whatever reason), and run it through a strainer. Done! Five minutes of your life wasted. You know, they're two for six dollars at the market right now! Insane. Best price you'll find them for at the farmer's market is a dollar each, and that's at the end of the season. Right now they're two a pop.
So, I have literally gone through dozens, already. My source trees aren't even half empty. I just keep finding more, and more, and more. Pretty soon I'm going to have to open up my own booth at a farmer's market and sell the ones I can't eat, just so the damn things won't go to waste!
So anyway, that brings me onto other good things. Last week, I revisited an old fig tree that I became acquainted with about three years ago. I missed the last two years' harvests, but was determined to go back this year. It is a mission fig tree, which is probably the sweetest and best harvest of all the types I see in the valley. This tree towers probably a good thirty feet in the air, yet has the appearance of a big bush, rather than a tree. Its diameter is quite substantial too, though I couldn't make a number out of it. So, that being said, this old and firmly rooted fig tree produces the largest figs I have ever seen in my life. They actually rip themselves open by the shear water weight inside them! They are amazing. I put about ten into a blender with some kefir for a smoothie the other day. So good! They're not the sweetest, but it's because of their size, and the fact that the tree isn't nurtured as good as it could be.
That's actually the problem with most fig trees in the valley. If people knew what gold they were sitting on top of, they'd water them at least, maybe give them a little food to help push along the production of the fruit, and bam! They'd have amazing fruit on the tree. See, we don't pay attention to what's right in front of our noses half the time. Strange values we have in this society.
Taking care of a fruit tree is not like taking care of a garden. You don't have to till the soil. You don't have to weed it. You don't have to even water or fertilize it more than once and awhile. It's a really easy thing! Once it's up and running, you've just got to give it a little TLC every now and then. But people just don't care about them, and it's strange to me.
Finally, I must report on some other pickings. I discovered a handful of Jujube trees in the valley! Three in one yard, which are again, ROTTING ON THE TREE, along with a pomegranate, pear, and some other fruit tree I couldn't identify. The owner wouldn't let us go in the yard because of his dog, but there were so many hanging over the side of the fence that we were able to fill my entire bag with poms and jujus without even putting a dent on those branches. I'll go back to harvest more on Friday, probably.
And for the first time in my life, I've tasted the fibrous goodness of a guava, in all its natural glory (the only other time I've tasted such a thing is in those silly sugar-loaded, pasteurized super-market fruit juices) and fell in love! I nabbed about four or so, because they're only just now getting ripe. It looks like I'll be able to visit the trees again when they get riper, and hopefully the owners will be happy to have me clean up their trees for them.
In Gardenia, where some of my lady's family resides, there is a large Asian population. I like the neighborhoods there, although I don't think I would want to live in that neck of the woods. I suspect that when the original Asian families moved into those neighborhoods, they brought with them fuyu persimmons, because there are several sprawled throughout the backyards. I am thrilled by this, because I have good reason to go out there and pick them. Although they tend to be only around $2.50/lb at the farmers markets, they are quite abundant on trees (as much as a typical apple tree), and they are just getting ripe now.
Anyway, I can't keep rambling on about all of this. I am just overjoyed in harvest right now. I hope that you and I can some day share these beautiful things of nature together.
Love,
ft.
