Andromeda Botanic Gardens

There was a botanic garden up the road from our guest house in Bethsheba, Barbados and I HAD to check it out. There were some amazing tropical plants and the whole garden was so jam packed I felt like I was on the set of Lost or Jurassic Park! Below are a few of my favorites.

Barbados means, "Bearded Ones"  or "los Barbados," as aptly named by the Portuguese for the abundant Bearded Fig Trees native to the island. Its massive aerial roots, I guess, look like beards?

 

If any tree should have "bearded" in the name it's this next tree. The "Old Man Palm" is covered in thick, wool-like fibers that resemble human hair. The braids are courtesy of the garden's visitors.

 

There were amazing orchids growing out of coconut husks. 

 

And a ton of critters! Caterpillars, lizards and toads. Oh my!

We ate this a lot during the trip, Breadfruit. It's like a potato, starchy, and used the same way in say fries, soups, scalloped, baked or in the local "cou-cou" dish. It grows everywhere on the island.

 

Lastly, the grand daddy tree of them all, was the Talipot Palm. It's the largest fan palm in the world and only bears fruit once in its life, usually between the ages of 25-50 years old. It also bears the largest inflorescence, or flowers, in the plant kingdom! (In the picture the flowers are the huge white, fuzzy-looking palms). After one year of blooming and seeding this massive palm dies and we were lucky enough to see it in bloom!!  Checked it off the bucket list :)

Overall, it was an amazing trip and I highly recommend Barbados. We booked on Jet Blue and stayed at a beautiful and cheap guesthouse, Sea-U. Go. Everyone go to Barbados. If these pictures haven't made you want to go, the locals told us Rihanna will be there on September 5th.

Back in the New York Groove

To quote Lil' Kim, "I’ve been gone for a minute now I’m back at the jump off." I'm back! Barbados was absolutely amazing. Followed by my boyfriend's birthday and 4th of July, I've been super busy since the end of June. With all my running around though, my tomato crop has suffered. I'm disappointed that I neglected my new tomato, but now I can show you what NOT to do. Glass half full.

Once your tomatoes are starting to ripen it is very important to consistently water them. Plant cells have a very large empty space in them called a vacuole, which is used to store water. When filled with water, these full vacuoles provide structure for the plant. When your plant is droopy and shriveled from lack of watering, it's because the cell's vacuoles are devoid of water and, therefore, devoid of structural support. Makes sense right? If you inconsistently water a tomato plant the cells within the ripening fruit tend to expand and contract, causing cracks in what would be the delicious, fleshy, red fruit. This is what happened to my poor tomato:

If you can not consistently water your tomatoes during the summer, you can pick the greenish/reddish fruit before it is completely ripe and put it in a sunny window or a brown paper bag. This will ripen it without the danger of under/over watering and cracking. I have a new little guy popping out and promise to take better care of it!

Barbados

I'm heading to Barbados for the next week and will share all my tropical adventures when I get back!

Opuntia humifusa

Last summer when I took Herbaceous Plant Identification at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden I was shocked how some of our native to New York plants could be so tropical looking! For instance, the Sarracenia sp., or Pitcher Plant, are carnivorous plants that live in boggy/moist areas and seem better suited to the Amazon then to Eastern North America.

Opuntia humifusa, or Prickly Pear, is another example of a tropical-looking plant that is native to New York. It's a cactus and I am lucky to have one blooming right now! It has these wide, flat "modified stems" that lay down and shrivel during the winter. Here is the Prickly Pear at the BBG during the winter. It looks like the whole plant has seen better days and you better chuck it.

But wait! In the spring, the large stems swell with water and perk back up. Here is mine, perky and verdant about a month ago.

These are the flower buds starting to form.

And now! Ta-da!





Large, bright, lemony-yellow flowers. Absolutely beautiful! Here is the one at the BBG. Winter vs. Summer.

I suggest everyone go out and buy an Opuntia humifusa!

Basil-Cilantro Pesto

My friend Reilly recently harvested a bountiful amount of fresh basil and cilantro from his fire escape garden and wasn't sure what to do with all of it. I thought what better way to use these fragrant, fresh herbs than to make pesto!

To make this pesto recipe you will need a large handful of basil, an equally large handful of cilantro, half a lemon, two to three garlic gloves (depending on your love of garlic), sliced almonds, olive oil, and salt. Also, a very sharp knife and cutting board. We are doing this by hand people! First, make a small pile in the middle of your cutting board with about a quarter of your basil and cilantro.

Typically, when Italians make pesto by hand they use a tool called a mezzaluna, or half moon. This tool allows you to rock back and forth, easily slicing through your herbs. However, if you're like me, and don't have a mezzaluna, you can replicate this motion with your knife.

When you've thoroughly chopped half the amount of basil and cilantro, put your garlic cloves on top of your pesto pile and continue the rocking motion of your knife to incorporate. Then, sprinkle about 1/3 cup of slice almonds on your freshly sliced mound.



Making pesto by hand is a lot harder and more time consuming then just throwing your ingredients in a food processer, but the aroma you get from thinly slicing the herbs yourself is worth the sweat and calluses. When you have thoroughly incorporated your almonds and garlic cloves try to create a little pesto ball with your hands.

If it stays clumped and upright in a tight mound, then the consistency is perfect!

Transfer your mound to a small bowl and drizzle with olive oil, lemon, and salt to taste. Spread on a piece of good bread and enjoy with friends! Here's Reilly chowin' down :)

Other classic pesto combinations are basil/pine nuts/parmesan cheese, peas/parmesan cheese/garlic, arugula/pistachio/garlic, and cilantro/jalapenos/pine nuts. All delicious!





Williams-Sonoma Mezzaluna

Green Tomatoes

My little sister's favorite movie is Fried Green Tomatoes and it's all I can think about as I stare at my slowly growing, green tomato, resisting the urge to pluck it and fry it. I know it will be better juicy and red in a caprese salad, but I'm getting impatient for some scrumptious summer tomatoes. Isn't it a beauty?

 

And flanking it on either side are two baby tomatoes.

 

The other plants nearby are flowering as well and these little yellow flowers will hopefully get pollinated and become new tomatoes! Tip: If you are growing tomatoes indoors, try to gently shake the plant's stem so that it will self-pollinate since wind and insects won't be doing the job.

 

So far the tomatoes have been loving their sunny Brooklyn fire escape. However, it can get a little windy since it is on the top floor and some of the stakes were starting to blow over. My crafty boyfriend came up with a brilliant solution to tie the top of the stakes to the fire escape's railing, which has worked out perfectly!

 

Sun. Check. 

Rope contraption to stabilize plants. Check. 

Yellow Flowers. Check

3 baby tomatoes. Check

We are well on our way to having a plethora of juicy, red, organic heirloom tomatoes come July. Can't wait!

Baby Tomato

I HAVE A TOMATO! It's small and green, but IT'S A TOMATO!



I'll share more pictures this weekend because there are about four more baby tomatoes popping out.