Dealing with mother nature

Pictured here is a Caribbean Red papaya and some purple beans - they loose their purple colour when cooking them. Just as I thought the winter is over, we're expecting another round of arctic weather coming our way tonight. I've been looking at the grey overcast skies with great expectation, hoping for a few drops of rain, but nothing so far. Ahead of the arrival, we've been experiencing gusts of wind probably up to 40 mph. It knocked over some of my grow houses, negating months of rooting, hardening off and growing cuttings. By Wednesday evening temperatures will drop into the 30's, probably killing the Sanchezia's and maybe even my Catura Coffee plants.

It also knocked the best looking Caribbean Red papaya clear off the tree. Just as well I discovered it before the raccoons ! The papaya is not ripe yet, it is showing some signs of ripening, so I can just hope it ripens inside before it either rots from all the fruit fly stings or from being devoured by fruit fly larvae from the inside ! The plant from which it came is not looking too good either, hope the remaining fruit doesn't all fall off, or the plant gets blown over - its already leaning like the tower of Pisa. At least I was able to pick enough purple beans for a tasty side dish. The Kentucky Blue wonder pole beans are starting to show signs of rust (they're supposed to be rust-resistant!) and mildew. Gardening in the sub-tropics is fun and yet frustrating at times.