Half The Haul

Day 356: Even as I write, I am enjoying one of the most bizarre fruits in my garden. This is but half the haul from my carefully hand-pollinated Five-Leaf Akebia vines. I have mentioned before that one must acquire a taste for this comestible, and in fact it took me several years to train myself in what, precisely, there was to appreciate from a fruit comprised mostly of hard, large seeds. The handful of friends I've tried to instruct in consuming them have not had my patience or persistence in learning to eat something well outside the norm for Western palates. In other words, I couldn't talk anybody into seconds. Too bad! That just means more for me. This year's crop is exceptionally sweet, and I am not quite sure if that's because my taste buds have become sensitized or because I didn't water the vines and simply let them grow unattended through what was a very dry summer. That said, when the pods ripen and split to indicate that they are ready to pick, they seem to do so all at once. I managed to get through about 50 last year without wasting a one, but this year, I was more conservative in the number of flowers I pollinated.