28 days later

Ok, so it wasn't exactly apocalyptic, but 28 days is a long time to leave your garden, especially in a tropical climate. I felt a bit like Sleeping Beauty after that 100 yr stint when vines grew all up her castle....isn't that what happened?
All in all, i was pleasantly surprised. Having learned the hard way twice before, this Non-Sleeping, or rather Sleep-Deprived Up at Crack of Dawn Farmer Beauty was not going to siesta while the Voracious Vegetation Dragon devoured her garden. I was super diligent about leaving this time. A garden requires mucho preparation before abandonment: extra weeding, heavy mulching, pruning, etc. I even wrote out a numbered list for our caretaker to ensure that nothing would be overlooked.

Joyfully, this was the first time i didn't cry upon returning to my garden!
As usual, ayote squash sprawled like suburbia over garden paths, oregano plants, even the compost pile.

Humongous chayote was dripping off the vine: i filled this basket in seconds!

The chicken coop is shrouded in a weedy fortress!

Exciting surprises awaited me as well:

After 8 months, my gandul (pigeon pea) finally bloomed, and pods developed--

Aren't they gorgeous?!

For whatever reason, I've had a heck of a time getting cucumbers to survive, despite the cozy, shaded mounds and artful climbing fences I've constructed. However, I leave the farm for 3 weeks and a mysterious, hearty cucumber plant shoots up in an unfertilized rocky strip of soil along the concrete wall.it's already FRUITING!

Probably the most dramatic of all, the much-anticipated LUFFAS! these suckers are already an easy 12 inches long, the vine over 10 ft!!

Countdown to all-natural scrub-a-dub!

Los animales are a whole other post...stay tuned.