Black Mission Fig by Dana

When we moved we had to rearrange 

our plants in our garden.  Today Darnell noticed

 that our Black Mission Fig tree has produced it's first fig. 

***Awesome***

DarDan's garden

Black Mission Fig Tree

Plant Sale by Dana

On October 11th Darnell and I went to a plant sale hosted by Merritt college.  While we were there we met a gentleman from Vista, California who has an assortment of rare plants and fruit trees from around the world in is nursery.  It was really cool, we bought Apple mint, Chocolate peppermint, Native Wild Grape Vine and Cerinthe Major Atropurpurea.

Herbs and Veggies by Dana

Yesterday I picked fresh herbs and veggies so I can make spaghetti. Here's the pictures

Iko Iko Bell Pepper, Apple Pepper or (Habanero Pepper), Greek Oregano, Holy Basil, Parsley, English Thyme, and Sweet Basil.

I sauteed the peppers with garlic and onions

Then I added my sausage and herbs

I let the herbs and veggies cook with the sausage so the flavors could intermix together then I added my ground turkey 

As everything was cooking away I added my seasonings and last but not least I added home made spaghetti sauce which Darnell made from fresh tomatoes.  Some from our garden and some he gets from the crop swap he does every Monday

Home made spaghetti sauce

Finished product

Passion Fruit by Dana

Yesterday Darnell told me that our passion flower plant was producing a fruit, I was excited to hear that.  So this morning I got up and took a picture of it.  

In researching the health benefits of the passion fruit I learned that passion fruit is rich source of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and fiber (research info from nutrition-and-you.com Power Your Diet) 

Playndirt crop swap on the Terrace at the historic Berkeley City Club, Berkeley, Ca

Playndirt crop swap on the Terrace for members at the Berkeley City Club in Berkeley, Ca. Crop swap was held during the monthly member mixer that included wine tasting. Pictures taken during set up, more pictures to come. #plyndrt #playndirt #cropswap #huntingtonpark

Chilacoyote Fig Leaf Gourd

About 1 year ago while working on a garden project for our Introduction to Horticulture class at Oakland's Merritt college, I found a Chilacoyote under some overgrown roses. At the time I didn't know what is was, that was until Joe, another classmate showed up and identified it, he then cut it up and distributed the seeds to other classmates. Joe planted his seeds and you can now see the results, his first Chilacoyote fruit has developed.

Monarch Butterfly

This past Monday a young couple participated in my crop swap by bringing Parsley. To my surprise there was a Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar roaming about. After some research I needed to feed it by getting a milkweed plant that it can feed on. If you want some Monarch butterflies then get some milkweed to attracted them.