Gardening in Fuerteventura

[Can the Man]

Thanks for the info GF, I taken them out and gone to the green waste skip, the hibiscus and yucas look quite healthy will keep an eye on them.

Hi John, where did you get the Yuka seed ?, and have just installed a poly tunnel here at home in Ireland and I’d like to try grow a Yuka. I’ve had them many times in Nestors and like e the flavour and texture.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Can - are you talking yuca or yucca?

Yuca is a root veg (cassava plant) whereas the yucca is the tall spiky plant that grows all over out here (you can eat some parts of it but I can't envisage it being served up in a restaurant).

Yuca 

Yucca 

I'm guessing WMG is talking Yucca. 

[Gone Fishing]

Unfortunately the dead flowers have fallen off before the fruit developed so the pic I'm including of fruit is taken from wiki. 





I understand there is a specimen in Villaverde that covers a whole wall and gets covered in bloom. If anyone can catch it and get a pic please post it on here.

Hi Tamara

Mrs GF bought a dragon fruit in the supermarket in El Cotillo in 2007 and said it was delicious.

We always look out for them, but can't remember seeing them there since.  :-(

   

[Can the Man]

Can - are you talking yuca or yucca?

Yuca is a root veg (cassava plant) whereas the yucca is the tall spiky plant that grows all over out here (you can eat some parts of it but I can't envisage it being served up in a restaurant).

Yuca 

Yucca 

I'm guessing WMG is talking Yucca. 

Hi Tamara, I mean the vegetable, when cooked in Nestors it is served roasted, and tastes a bit like a cross of a roast potato and a parsnip.

[windermeregolfer]

Good at Maths but not spelling   so sorry I meant Yucca

[Gone Fishing]

Just a thought - Has anyone tried growing Brugmansia aka Angels' Trumpets?

They make ideal plants for the garden if you grow them in tubs of loam rich compost and feed and water them on a regular basis.
You can plant then in a border but they tend to get a bit unruly and overbearingly tall.

We've grown them in our garden in Bristol most summers for the past 25 years and in a good year they grow nearly 2m tall with dozens of flowers at a time from July through to October. 
Because of the scent they give off, the bees and moths love them.

   

   

We cut them back in late October and store the roots, in dry sand, in the conservatory but some years they die if they get too cold for too long.
Another way to preserve them is to cut the woody stems into 30cm lengths and stand them in a bucket with a  10cms of water in the bottom.
Even if the water freezes the stems still seem to survive and will sprout roots and new shoots in the spring.

Using a combination of these over-wintering methods we've kept the same four plants, yellow, peach, red and white going for many years, although a few years ago we lost them all when they fell foul to some sort of fungal infection.

Currently started two new plants off that we recently bought in our local UK Lidl for a fiver each.

Well worth a go in Fuerte gardens and on patios and balconies.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Hi Gf
I grow the Blackcurrant Swirl - seems to vary in classification between Datura and Brugmansia, haven't checked lately. I've given up on the white ones I had as the blooms were only lasting a few hours, early morning, and had no scent - I think I'll try some fresh seed and see if another variety does better. Also had a yellow one but that was very susceptible to red spider mite for some reason and never really thrived in Tindaya, however plants I left in the communidad garden in Corralejo are still thriving! I've found I get better results growing fresh from seed each year rather than trying to keep the plants going. I love the blackcurrant swirl not just for the colour of the flowers but the dark purple stems. Each plant can easily reach 6' high and wide. They self seed and grow happily in the poor soil here and in my experience do better in the ground than in pots - they do survive year on year but the better growth and bloom is in the first season hence I start fresh each year. Different conditions/different results!

 



this year's new plants from seed (self seeded).                                                                           start of a new seed pod
  

another seedling that I'll transplant as not in a good place currently.


I have loads of self seeded seedlings of the white if anyone wants some before I pull them all up and will have some fresh new blackcurrant seeds later in the season, just let me know.

[Gone Fishing]

That blackcurrent swirl is a beauty.
Thanks for posting the photos of the various stages.

Have never had any plants self-seed in all the years we've been growing them. 
Then again, our growing season is quite short and the cold damp Weather in winter, not to their liking.
Your little micro-climate in your part of Tindaya must be ideal for them to germinate. 

BTW - we've bought half a dozen Calla lilies from Lidl recently too - Think they were 2 for a fiver (£9.50 each in The Range next door, for slightly bigger plants) - they'd probably do well.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Unfortunately the dead flowers have fallen off before the fruit developed so the pic I'm including of fruit is taken from wiki. 





I understand there is a specimen in Villaverde that covers a whole wall and gets covered in bloom. If anyone can catch it and get a pic please post it on here.

Hi Tamara

Mrs GF bought a dragon fruit in the supermarket in El Cotillo in 2007 and said it was delicious.

We always look out for them, but can't remember seeing them there since.  :-(

Saw them in Mercadona, Corralejo, today so bought one to give it a try. Absolutely no flavour whatsoever, very disappointing. 

Plenty of blooms still coming on my plant but no fruit setting.

 

   

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Can - are you talking yuca or yucca?

Yuca is a root veg (cassava plant) whereas the yucca is the tall spiky plant that grows all over out here (you can eat some parts of it but I can't envisage it being served up in a restaurant).

Yuca 

Yucca 

I'm guessing WMG is talking Yucca. 

Hey Can - Mercadona have launched a new snack, just for you