Blog archive: December 2011

Here in Malibu, December days are sun-kissed, the warmth on our backs encouraging bulbs to be planted and tender greens to be harvested. There’s still time for brassica seeds to be planted in flats inside the cosy potting shed, and so this week is all about Brussels sprouts, cauliflowers, cabbages and kale. Of course, once they’ve germinated they’ll want to taste the sunshine too, but for now, they’ll be very pleased to stay indoors, as the nights dip below 40 degrees.

However, the passionfruit don’t seem to mind. The daytime warmth keeps the fruit on the path to orange succulence, and the night time chill makes them stronger and keeps the insects at bay.

The passionfruit vine growing on the chicken coop is simultaneously bearing fruit and blooming, the flowers closely resembling beautiful and strange creatures from a 1950′s B-movie (but then, this is L.A. after all, so what would you expect!)

Week by week, the fruit grow rounder and riper. I look at them tenderly, and help them along their way with a little mulch here and a little chicken poop there.

I don’t expect to taste their sweetness for many a moon, but then, I wouldn’t really want to eat them as soon as they appear… after all, waiting is part of the fun!