Sunday, July 31, 2011

There's a pumpkin in there!

Good afternoon, Pumpkinistas!

I am very happy to report that I have one pumpkin that has fruited in Huntington Beach. It's about 30-40 pounds so far, and I am, of course, hoping to beat the curse of 500 this season.

We shall hope and see...

Sunday, July 24, 2011

There were many ripe coffee cherries on the trees when we arrived.

Close up view of the ripe coffee cherries.


 Michelle sampling a ripe coffee cherry.

 After picking the cherries, they are pulped, fermented overnight and then dried.


Horses grazing in the pasture, coffee trees on the right.

View from the back patio

Back from Kula, Maui!

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

As I mentioned previously, I've been on vacation. Lauren, Michelle, and I went to my dad's place on Maui for a few days of R & R. This season, however, as you can see from the photos, all of the coffee "cherries" seem to ripen at once. So, we all picked and processed a lot of coffee during our stay. Plus, there was a coffee competition held on the Big Island just before we arrived and the Shim Farm took top honors for Maui. This meant a few more deliveries than normal. The good news is that I was able to send some coffee seeds home to Southern California, and I just planted them the last couple of days. Hopefully, I'll have some coffee tree seedlings in a few months. We were able to go to the beach, do some shopping, and introduce Michelle to her relatives that live on Maui. It was tough to come home.


Time for an Update!

Good evening, Pumpkinistas!

I have been on vacation and have finally had some time to post these images from mid and late June. The vines are doing well. I have culled the weakest of the trio, and will be reducing it down to one soon. At last count, there was one male flower ready to bloom, and a few female flowers just beginning to form.