Going bananas ... also

I was in the middle of composing this entry when I read Angel's Going bananas post. Since I've already titled mine "Going bananas", I just added "... also."

Angel's bananas are different from mine. Her's are edible, mine are not (no double entendre intended). Anyway...

It all started when I asked Mom to look for a particular ornamental bananas. As always, mistakes were made and a different type of banana was bought. We've identified it later as the Blood banana (Musa acuminata 'Zebrina'). On the next trip to the garden store, another type ornamental banana was bought, the name of which I still do not know until now. As for the one I am looking for, well it's still out there waiting to be found.

Some of the Blood bananas in the upper garden. The one on the right have plenty of suckers, baby plants ready for transplant.

After these ornamental bananas have been transplanted to the upper garden they've adjusted and  practically felt at home, growing and multiplying faster than their edible counterparts. Since they have plenty of room to grow, might as well let them grow in number for now.

The still unidentified ornamental banana in bloom and with pups and fruits.

From a couple of mother plants there are now several clumps of Blood bananas found in different parts of the upper garden. As for the other "unnamed" ornamental banana, it's just doing what bananas are suppose to do, silently multiplying. In no time it too will be scattered in the garden just like its "blood" relative.

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P.S.

Thanks to Angel and Autumn Belle for identifying the other "unnamed" ornamental banana. It is called Musa velutina. Its common names include "Pink Fruting Banana", "Purple Banana" and "Pink Velvet Banana" among others.
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The forbidden fruit

The forbidden fruit is not exclusively found in the garden of Eden anymore, it is also found in our garden (and maybe in yours too).

Just outside our humble house in the farm, growing close to the patio are trees that bear a type of fruit that I so love to eat, the pomelo (Citrus maxima or Citrus grandis). And these particular trees produce an excellent quality of pomelos. But now this is a fruit that I could only touch but could no longer eat. How come?

My doctor cautioned me to refrain from consuming grapefruit (Citrus × paradisi) products (fruit, juice, etc.) because it may interact with my prescription medication to lower my blood cholesterol level. There's something in the chemical make up of this fruit that affects the metabolism of some medications rendering them dangerous. This culprit has not been pinpointed to a certainty yet but one suspect is the chemical furanocoumarins. And what has grapefruit got to do with pomelo?

The grapefruit is a hybrid which came into existence by crossing a pomelo with an orange. Since some chemical compounds in grapefruits like furanocoumarins are also found in high amounts in pomelos, it can be assumed that consuming pomelo is also a big NO, and this assumption is supported by some online literatures. So rather than second guess and endanger my earthly existence, I would rather err on the side of caution.

For several years now, every time I go on vacation to the farm our pomelo trees beckon me to come and partake of their fruits, especially those that are hanging low and at an arm's reach. Weak as I am, their seduction draws me to touch and admire their fruits only to turn back and slowly walk away from these luscious temptations.
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Fruitless

This year our summer income generator failed to deliver. This is not a big surprise since what's left of our mango trees have not completely recovered from the severe damage brought by a devastating storm that passed through the farm late last year.

As I've mentioned before, our mango orchard is dwarf in size compared to commercial plantations. Despite that, if the conditions are right, the trees are able to produce plenty of fruits that come harvest time the income our small orchard generates is enough to sustain the farm's financial needs for a couple of months.

Some of our mango trees before the devastation.

This year not a single fruit was in sight from the trees that survived. The pictures below were taken when I was in the farm last February. Typically by that time the trees should be teeming with flowers and/or tiny fruits. But as you can see bare trunks are more prominent than leaves. As to how many more years before these trees become fruitful again is anybody's guess.

That is the thrill of living in a tropical country where on one day the weather is a friend and on another an enemy. It's how you deal with it that matters. And all those open spaces between the trees are saying that the time is ripe to plant new mango seedlings in preparation for the next generation.

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