Thread: What's in your garden?

Originally Posted by Mendip

My wife makes some kind of steamed egg dish full of these ants eggs

I checked in the local market yesterday, the ant eggs are selling for B50 for a small plate. Very high protein and low carbs, should you feel the need.

BTW, you know they eat those cicadas too?

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

I went to help her and they were attacking me like crazy. So that was a new experience.

Yesterday one of the puppies was dancing and squealing around the garden. Once I caught her I found one of those bastard red ants firmly clamped on to her soft underbelly. It was difficult to get off and left quite a red mark.
I understand that these ants play an important part in the ecosystem, they eat a lot of insect pests. That is not the first thing that goes through my mind when I feel a nip and look down to see an army of them on my gloves.

^^ Ants eggs are surprisingly succulent. Very popular up our way , not cooked, just mixed with chilli and fish sauce. I have heard they are also good in an omelette.

One of the better bugs and worth a try.

what is this? anyone know

Originally Posted by Looper

They explode in a festival of flowers and baby agaves called pups at the end of their life and then die

Blossoming starting from the base up

^^ Looks like a lychee tree...

^ my thought also but for the life of me i cannot remember planting one there and it looks nothing like our other one, i suppose time will tell

Originally Posted by Looper

Blossoming starting from the base up

Sunny Easter weather brought the bees out to feast on the Agave flower festival

Get stuck in

Got a liberal lathering of pollen for their trouble

This is probably a Garden crested lizard. They are common and the colours and markings vary. At this time of year some of the males are in their red-headed colours. I think this is a female and her plump belly suggests she is carrying eggs.

^I love those little water dragons

I caught one once and kept it for 2 months

It wolfed down anything I threw in the tank... spiders/moths/flys



What is not in my garden (shed) anymore is this monster room 101 coont

I would see him sometimes when I opened the door and he scarpered

Took 2 months to catch him with this trap

Fooking monster of a thing

Originally Posted by Looper

Fooking monster of a thing

Spoke too soon.

Think I might need a bigger trap.

Soursop fruit. Maybe?

At friends' place on Sunday, beginning their durian harvest





To the export market withing three hours of picking; convoys of Yang Lui and Wan Hai refrigerated trucks on the highway north from their warehouses here

Money growing on trees. From last year:

Durian is Thailand’s top export earner, outranking rice and rubber
June 13, 2022

Thai durian has outranked rice and para rubber as Thailand’s top export performer, with export volume last year estimated at about 187 billion baht, compared to 100 billion baht for rice exports and 90 billion baht for rubber, according to the Centre for International Trade Studies at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
In Chanthaburi province, 91% of this year’s crop has been harvested, of which 87% has been exported.

This tree almost died a few years back. I had to move it for the pool install. It was about 2 feet tall at the time. I kept at it watering it to save it for my wife. Then I noticed a small Jack fruit show up then another and another. Now has 20 on it.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Soursop fruit. Maybe?

could be but they look like they are holding the shape shown, more lychee shaped than the elongated or twisted Soursop fruit

Originally Posted by dirk diggler

A friend of mine has a durian farm in NST. Serious money as long as strong out of season storms don't knock off the early flowers.

indeed, Mrs side of the family have over 200 rai of durian around Chan but mostly out toward the cambo boarder - costs a lot in labour through the year and then a huge return in just over 1-2 months.

Originally Posted by Stumpy

Now has 20 on it.

you'll need to remove most of those so it can mature one or two, it's the same with pomelo they fruit too much and if you leave them all they don't produce edible fruits.

Originally Posted by malmomike77

you'll need to remove most of those so it can mature one or two, it's the same with pomelo they fruit too much and if you leave them all they don't produce edible fruits.

Hahaha. Never gonna happen. You know Thai women. They will all grow big. I just laugh. For me no worries. I don't like the stuff. Same with Durian.

you can smile and say told you so in about 4-5 months

Originally Posted by malmomike77

you can smile and say told you so in about 4-5 months

Yep. Convincing Thai folks to prune and cut off fruit loaded trees yields better quality is hard. About 2 years ago I went out and cut back a lime tree. Just like I used to do with Lemon and navel orange trees in California. My FIL and Wife freaked out. Funny though. That lime tree produces really large and juicy limes.

I did convince my wife to prune the Noi Na trees back last season and the fruit this year looks great.

It's a process.

Originally Posted by Stumpy

It's a process.

it is and the pruning means you can reach the fruit without pissing around with bamboo poles etc.

Originally Posted by malmomike77

you'll need to remove most of those so it can mature one or two, it's the same with pomelo they fruit too much and if you leave them all they don't produce edible fruits.

Our Pomelo tree has 7 fruits on it for its first offering.

Based on the ripeness inspector - one of our squirrels - time to cut this one down today