Growing nopales

I finally have nopales!  For the longest time nothing happened with the nopal pads that I planted.  I knew they had roots because they were attached to the soil but nothing was growing.  Then in May, new pads started to grow.  I was not sure if I was supposed to cut some or if I needed to let it grow.  I have cut only a couple of pads and I had not cut anything from the plant that is on the ground.  I am extremely happy to have the opportunity to eat a fresh, free nopal from my garden.

 

Growing Chaya Plants

I started growing chaya in October of 2006. Lisa, a very nice and generous gardener gave me cuttings of two varieties of chaya.  I was excited to plant them in my garden since chaya was widely used in Mexico, the country where I was born.

I planted both cuttings directly on the ground, in what used to be my vegetable garden.  Back then, I had mainly plants with flowers to attract butterflies and hummingbirds and vegetables.

These were the chaya plants after only one year in the ground.

 

I do not use commercial pesticides in my garden and I use organic fertilizer.  I compost so I am able to use it in my garden.

I am working on my new website where I sell cuttings and chaya plants.  It is www.chayaplants.com

I am going to post instructions with photos on how to grow chaya.

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Venta de estacas de chaya en mi nuevo sitio de internet:  www.chayaplants.com

Tambien estoy vendiendo te de chaya que he hecho con hojas secas de la chaya.  Mucha gente la busca para tratar de controlar la diabetes.  Yo no la he usado en forma medicinal, solo como alimento pero si la gente desea tratar, pues me da gusto ponerla al alcance de la gente que la busca.

Dried chaya leaves for tea

I have been selling cuttings of Chaya plants and people have been asking me if I also sell chaya powder or dried chaya leaves for tea.  It is time consuming to pick the leaves, wash them, and then dry them so I do not know if I am going to have enough time to do it regularly.  For now, I am selling some on Ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/usr/modayhogar

I also have Chaya cuttings and Chaya plants for sale.

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Ultimamente, he estado vendiendo plantas de Chaya y la gente me ha preguntado si tambien tengo a la venta hojas de Chaya para te o las hojas en polvo.  Me toma mucho tiempo el escoger las hojas, lavarlas, y despues secarlas pero al fin lo hice.  Por el momento, estoy vendido unas hojas para te en Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/usr/modayhogar

Tambien tengo plantas de Chaya a la venta.

I gallon bag of Chaya leaves for sale. They are dried and could be used for tea or to put on smoothies.

Cotton and chaya

I got some goodies from the garden!  Chaya, of course, pigeon peas and cotton.  I have been saving the cotton from previous years and I think I have enough for one pillow. 

 

Beautiful Sunshine keeps me company in the garden.

Finger bananas

 

Pigeon Peas and Chaya

Some of the small chaya plants. The original 2 plants I had did not have little thorns but some of the new plants have little hair on the stems and it hurts if you touch it. 

Growing Nopales in the USA

One of my favorite vegetable is Nopal, or cactus pads, like they are known in the USA.  They are very common in Mexico City, where I grew up and I used to eat them every week.  My favorite nopal dish is one where they are cut in pieces, boiled and then used in a salad with tomatoes, onions, cilantro and oil,vinegar and spices.  This salad is sold at the market and it is delicious.

I rarely eat nopales here in Florida because you can only find them at Mexican groceries and there are not many near my home.  Well, the other day I offered to spay a female cat that a family was feeding.  When I returned the cat to them, I asked them if the plant they had in the front was a nopal that you could eat.  The mom said yes so I asked her if I could have some pads to cook.  She gave me a dozen and I happily cooked half of them.  Then I started thinking how great it would be if I could have a plant in my garden and I could just go and cut some whenever I wanted to.  I researched how to grow them and the info on the net said it was easy, just to let them form a dry "scab" on the place where they had been cut from the plant and after a week, put them in some sandy soil.  They said not to overwater them and to place them upright.  I did it and today I saw that they had roots!!!.  I planted two in the garden and I am keeping one in a pot just in case something happen to the other ones.

 

Usually nopales have a lot of thorns but this variety had only small ones.  I do use gloves when handling this ones because I do not want to end up with little thorns in my hands.

 

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Another reason to plant lots of chaya and other flowering plants.  The bees need lots of flowers to stay healthy and we need bees if we want to continue to eat vegetables.

A wonderful talk by Marla Spivak:
http://www.ted.com/talks/marla_spivak_why_bees_are_disappearing.html

Marla Spivak researches bees’ behavior and biology in an effort to preserve this threatened, but ecologically essential, insect.

   

Peackocs and other wildlife in the garden

When I started the garden, I made sure to put plants that were hosts to butterflies and that attracted birds. I never imagined that one day I would have all kinds of wildlife visiting us. There are butterflies, birds, the pair of doves that make their nest here year after year, raccoons, opossums, armadillos, cats and now there are 3 peacocks. These peacocks roam the neighborhood and they go from section to section and stay there for a few weeks.  They have been in our block for 3 weeks and they mostly hang around my garden because I have more plants (and weeds) than the rest of the neighbors. Unfortunately, the peacocks ate most of the Monarch caterpillars so we won't have many butterflies this month. We were able to rescue some and we are keeping them indoors until they hatch.

Create a Glamorous Pool Party Spot

 

Create a Glamorous Pool Party Spot

Pool parties aren't only for children anymore. With a tiny investment in solutions to update your back yard and with some work, you can create a glamorous delightful pool area to throw a grown-up pool party which will be the envy of one's friends.

 You can help develop a beautiful awning for you pool which enables you to create a cool, shady area in your pool with graceful coverage that includes depth to your backyard.  A pool sail can be bought inexpensively at online sites, for example http://www.thelashop.com

 Updating your patio will likely help you develop a glamorous environment for your pool party. Add some planters or create landscaping to incorporate foliage and flowers. Doing so, removes the starkness of most pool areas and offers the feeling of being in nature, rather of that of a city pool.

For those who have a gazebo, you'll be able to turn it into an oasis with the addition of twinkle lighting or a mirror ball, which can be found at http://www.thelashop.com for under $50. You can also add a pop of color by having some new patio umbrellas, which be used as shady areas for your friends, as well as changing the pad color on the Gazebo with an all the new Gazebo colors. Add to that some new cushions and spray paint your patio furniture and you may have a patio set that appears brand new. All of these things might be color coordinated with each other, creating a warm and inviting space.

Through the night you can add some tiki torches plus much more twinkle lights around your garden to create light for the guests and, with the use of some citronella, keep the bugs away.

One of the best things you can do to create the go-to party spot around your pool, would be to invest in an outdoors kitchen, such as a nice grill along with a refrigerator. A small dorm fridge, stashed somewhere where it's not exposed to the weather, eliminates the necessity for ugly coolers and ice that melts and makes your drinks warm in a matter of hours.

Adding some outdoor speakers helps to create a wonderful atmosphere. By strategically placing wireless outdoor speakers around your pool, you'll have a "surround sound" music experience, adding a lot more sophistication than the usual boom box or iPod dock brought outside. These speakers are made to withstand the elements and can even be shaped like rocks to blend in to your garden.

Look in the local party supply store or discount store for floating candles and high end plastic party ware for example cups and plates. You can now color coordinate your party supplies, no more red or blue plastic kegger cups. You can get sophisticated looking plastic wine glasses, martini glasses and margarita glasses that seem to be like the real thing, without the worry that they would be destroyed by a clumsy guest.

With some investment in the correct supplies, you can make your swimming pool area and garden, the spot for parties among your pals. The goal would be to create a grownup environment. Save the inflatables and pool noodles for children's parties. Make your pool area a sophisticated space to enjoy summer afternoons with your friends.

 

Garden July 2013

This is how the garden looks now that it has been raining frequently. It is fuller and greener.  There are not many flowers since I keep on trimming some plants.  I do not want them to get out of control like last year.

I started planning a garden makeover.  I started by getting rid of some plants that seed a lot.  I also planted more chaya plants in pots.  I do love eating chaya leaves and I want to start sharing them with neighbors and friends.

I have been researching products and I cannot wait to improve the look of the garden.
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Asi es como se ve mi jardin ahora que estamos en temporada de lluvias.  Todo esta mas verde.  No tengo muchas flores pues he seguido podando las plantas para que no crezcan demasiado pues eso me paso el ano pasado y perdi el control.

Estoy planeando cambiar algunas cosas en el jardin y he estado investigando productos.  Estoy tratando de erradicar las plantas que hacen muchas semillas pues despues tengo que estar arrancandolas para que no invadan el jardin.  Tambien he puesto mas plantas de chaya en macetas.  Me encanta comer las hojas de chaya y espero tener mas plantas para poderlas compartir con mis vecinos y amigos.

 

Pool area in need of makeover