The question of food persists

     How much of my own food can I produce from my small yard or rather, how much can I produce without investing large amounts of time or money (both of which I don’t have)?

     I planted citrus trees when I bought my house but the Meyer lemon tree has been the only consistent producer. I don't know if the reason is that my little trees already suffer from citrus greening. 

     I also grow a kaffir lime (the leaves season SE Asian cooking), lemon grass, basil and rosemary.  These have been the hardy ones.  

     Only 1 season did I have a good crop of cukes that synchronized with my dill before the dill plants, as they always do, were munched to the ground by giant swallowtail caterpillars.  I made refrigerator pickles that year.  

     I’ve finally figured out tomatoes for my ability level: 5 gallon buckets with a bag of cheap soil and only grow cherry tomatoes since they seem to outpace the pests and the elements. This season I was successful enough to have plenty of fresh tomatoes; enough to oven roast 3 batches which gave them some extended life in the fridge.

     My hens give me plenty of eggs for a protein source. 

     The wildest success has been the calabazas, a type of squash used in Latin dishes, that I grew using seeds gleaned from a chunk of squash purchased at the Latin grocery store.  

I think I should have entered this one in the county fair!

     The squash are so big and numerous and last so long, I need to ramp up my creativity in preparing them.  Last year I downloaded a recipe for Persian pumpkin stew that I will try when this season’s calabazas are ready to harvest. 

     I have a big papaya tree covered in blooms and tiny fruits but how can I sneak the papayas past all the Florida bugs? 

     I always get a few volunteer butternut squash and cucuzzi gourds, used in Italian cooking, hold promise for next year.

     My friend, Tanya, was an inspiration to grown pineapples from the discarded tops of store-bought pineapples.  Her little front yard is a veritable mini-plantation: she harvests about a dozen a year.  I grow mine in pots but don't have enough yet for consistent harvests.

     And what about those gandules?  The pigeon peas froze last year right before they were big enough to harvest but the plants didn’t die.  Now they are taller than me but will they produce again or do I need to start over?

     I am most excited about growing a moringa tree.  

     National Geographic recently wrote about this nutrition packed plant that grows in some of the poorest parts of the world and its potential impact on malnutrition.  I got my seeds from a friend who had traveled to Nicaragua with someone devoted to educating people about this plant.  It may be years before I can start munching on my trees but, as they say, those years are going to pass either way.  Might as well plan for the future.