Hi Bill Thank you very much for your very nice and detailed description. I am looking to replace the lychee in the front yard because nobody in the family likes it in that spot. We need a nice and colorful tree that will take the freeze, it is okay about the berries because it would be in the front yard and not near my dogs, they can be trying new things sometimes. It will be between 2 oaks, so I guess I will have to go and measure the spot to see if it is big enough for this tree. It is a sunny spot in the summer, it gets more shade in the winter. It will get water from the sprinkle system. And I will look into Floridata for more info. This is the spot that I am trying to fill, and if anybody has any suggestions about another tree that might fill my needs, your ideas will be more than welcome. Thank you. Silvia

Hi Christit Welcome to the Florida forum! I am glad to know how successful you become in your gardening adventures, we all learn something new every day here. It is a great place to be with all the gardeners. Long time ago I lived in Oregon for about a year and have very good memories picking wild berries.:) Silvia

Bill, I found one of the tags of either one of the 2 persimmons that I had, Ichi-kei-jiro. Checking at the different non-astringent varieties, the only ones that I ever considered, the tree can give you fruit the same year or in 5 years, also some are biennial. The one that I have left, produced fruit in about 4-5 years. Having 2 like I had before is probably the best bet. The yard long beans in this salad would be great, I used freekeh grains but you could use anything you like like farro, quinoa, bulgur, etc. I also put chopped herbs of choice. The dressing is the perfect touch. Tahini dressing: 5tbsp tahini paste 3tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 1/2 tsp dried mint 1 large clove garlic, crushed 1 tsp maple syrup. Whisk the ingredients and serve with the salad, it is even good the day after. Silvia

Hi Carmen, we were both very busy! I only took time off to feed 2 hot dogs to my dogs, they were hungry too! Did you see the hamburgers and hot dogs in the picture? just few people ate them, they were already full with other food, there were trays leftover and potato salads galore, also pasta salads. There was some very good hummus made with sumac, I got to try that and most sweets were left except for the meyer lemon bars that I made, I cut them small enough for just a bite. And your rice with pigeon peas was very good and I got to eat that. One of my neighbors made a delicious pasta and shrimp salad that was in the fridge. Carmen, next time we will do a program with hours and everything. Willy was talking to the chief of police tonight and he said that next time let them know and they can help with parking if needed, that everything went nice and smooth and since a lot of the neighbors were invited we were all happy.:) Did you meet the friends from the farm? next time that I go there we can go with Maxine, I will let you know. Silvia