Tag Archives: Air Potato

Belize, Farming

Catching Up!

It’s all go and we have started cleaning up the farm…the grass is down around the yard and Gnome is moving out to re-claim the land.  The weather is hot and dry (mostly) so it is perfect for getting out.  Having said that, there is a big rain this morning and we are waiting for it to stop (Why Oh Why Oh Why!!).

The farm is producing and this year we have three jackfruit trees with fruit; this one is loaded:

Jackfruit.

Gnome says that we should harvest some of these green so that we can have bigger mature fruit.  Preparing green jackfruit is quite messy because there is so much gummy latex.  Anyway, I will still do it since it is food after-all.

I had to sneak this one in.  I made bao!!  Sometimes I surprise even myself; I didn’t realise that my brain was stuffed full of so many recipes learnt passively from helping my mum out in the kitchen as a kid.  I am more Chinese than I actually think…Ha-Ha!!  Sometimes I am Scottish when I feel like it…well, when I make haggis.

Bao

Anyway, moving swiftly onto farm pictures.  These are a harvest of flying yam.  These grow as a vine so you don’t have to dig around in the dirt.  I am playing around with taking pictures as if they are for coffee-table books…can’t seem to get the sepia look that Panda does. 🙂

Air Potatoes.

More Coffee-table attempts:

Tomatillo
Tomatillo
Tomatillo

Hope the rain stops.  We are “sorting out” the o(possums) today because they are looking so sorry for themselves.  I will keep you posted.

Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Monsters Everywhere!!

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It’s that awful buggy time of the year again…June and July.  The Monster Mosquitoes are out to get you and they are biting through clothes and socks.  Despite all this, we still need to get out there.  But we sure are doing our jobs faster so we can run into the protection of the house (although, there are still mosquitoes in the house). 🙂

Anyway, on a more positive note, there are other monsters (better!) on the farm…

With the big over-night rains, practically over-night, all our plants have quadrupled in size.  There are Monsters Everywhere!!  Check out the size of the aubergine bush:

Aubergine Plant.

Oh, and it is producing such lovely fruit; we are eating aubergine everyday right now (steamed, stir-fry, oooh and deep fried in tempura batter is yum-yum).  This Black Beauty variety has a good firm texture unlike some of the other types that we have had in the past (we don’t like the spongy ones).

Our Aubergines.

This is the pumpkin…it was really struggling over dry season but now it has spread over the whole bed.  Unfortunately some of the newly formed fruits are rotting because of the excessive rains.  I guess you can’t have it all…

Pumpkin.

We are growing air potato in one of our raised beds.  They were doing nothing two weeks ago and all of a sudden, they are climbing.

Air Potato.

Air potato is a type of yam.  We rather like them because we don’t need to go digging around for them.

Air Potato Vine.
Air Potato.

This is the giant bamboo at the pond; it gone absolutely wild so Gnome will be giving it a hair-cut this week.  We are using some of the bamboo (they are 30 to 40 feet in length) as rafters for our new building.

Giant Bamboo.

Hope you are all surviving buggy time in Belize!  By the way, we do have Insect Repellent products so check on The Apothecary….

Belize, Food, Plants

Funny Looking Potato.

Munchkin.Another.Eating.ShotWe always have something new on our farm to eat.  This week it is the “flying potato.”

Flying Yam.
Flying Potato.

The latin name for this type of yam is Dioscorea bulbifera.  This grows as a large vine and produces a generous crop within four to five months of planting.  The yam can be picked and stored in a cool, dry place for a good couple of months without spoiling.  And the best thing about them is that you don’t need to go digging about in the dirt for them…you just pluck them off the vine…providing that you are tall enough to do so!  This is definitely a great food source for the Tropics.

Three Air Potatoes.
Three Air Potatoes.
Sliced Air Potato.
Sliced Air Potato.

To eat, simply peel and wash.  Then cook it like a potato: boiled, mashed, baked. roasted or what-ever takes your fancy.