When this state introduced beetle appeared in my yard late last summer it afflicted a African Yellow Yam in my south bed.....not too many though. This year however it has begun attacking vigorously the few Air Potatoes I have here after years of my fighting them. What worrisome is that last year they affected several of Andy Firk's edible yams, and one of my student's edible yams in Temple Terrace. Paul Zmoda has VERY similar damage (though he has not yet seen them in the act) on Passion Flower and Virginia Creepr, which is in the Grape Family...and Paul has a vineyard. I LOVE my edible yams and my three kinds of grapes....I sure hope this beetle (from Nepal I think) does NOT destroy crops other than Air Potato! John

Here are some of Jon and Debbies "EcoFarm Replicating Onions" that I got from them at the Twilight Market maybe 1.5 years ago. These were two single plants from my front yard that I planted in a back porch container garden about 5 months ago....I need to move them due to the avocado tree starting to shade them. They've multiplied well, and like both Jon and Debbie said they never die back and VERY rarely flower (mine have never bloomed), so I am divided both clumps into 15 plants and placed them in a container garden in the full sun south bed. Good onion flavor in the leaves. Thanks for my newest perennial allium for me here in south Tampa. John

As long as I've had it (1.5 years?) my Everbearing Mulberry was chronically afflicted with thousands of mealy bugs/scale, but I am pleased that cutting it down to stubs, treating them with neem leaf tea, and covering them oak leaves inside a drainage pipe has cured it. Now taller than me, ready to bear again, and free of pests!

Today I made my fourth ever (and biggest) batch of harissa based on this recipe, but I copied others and added some black pepper. I also used a LOT more garlic, plus added a yellow onion. To add sweetness, and to feed the fermenting bacteria, I added two frozen Raja Puri bananas. I used about 4 dozen "Filipino Mexican Tree Peppers" so this batch will be HOT! I used my Ninja blender to puree it all.

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dipsandsauces/r/harissa.htm

I discovered harissa last year at a local Lebanese restaurant.....love it on pita bread with Greek yogurt. Since I now have "Filipino Mexican Tree Peppers" coming out of my ears, today I will make my fourth batch. There are MANY recipes but here is a basic one. I make mine HOT!

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dipsandsauces/r/harissa.htm

At my house, 6 3/4 inch so far....LOTS of local flooding but my section of Paxton Avenue is okay but west of me it looks BAD ( a UPS truck BARELY made it through!) and Pearl Avenue behind me is flooded. I hope all are okay. But I bet most of our gardens are liking this deluge, with more to come! John

Moringa Hot Sauce: I started today something I thought of late last summer....a nutritious sauce based on moringa kimchi. Today I packed a quart jar with a mix of fresh moringa leaves, chopped raw onions and garlic, chopped "Filipino Mexican Tree Pepper" with some sea salt plus a little brown sugar to feed the bacteria, and put it in the fridge to take out a month from now. I'll put it in the blender, add some coconut oil and roasted sesame oil, blend then put back in the jar. I expect this nutritious sauce would be good in a Thai stir fry or as a dip for pita bread.