Yay!
June is definitely my favourite month on the gardening calendar here on this island.
June is definitely my favourite month on the gardening calendar here on this island.
It's "The King of Fruits" (durian) season and if you like me loves them, you will understand why.
During durian season, the island sees an influx of visitors. Some of these faces you see only during the durian season. They come, they camp, they pick, they collect and then they leave happily ever after until their next hunt for the thorny fruit. While this is often all in a day's work, for some it can turn into an overnight affair. Camping the night means there are more chances to gather the fruit as durians reportedly fall late at night or in the wee hours of the morning.
It's a very common sight to see people carrying a fruit or two in their hands or people cycling past with durians in their baskets. There are also the locals who pick enough to sell them to the visitors by going to the right plantations in search of the prized fruit. I haven't got around to camping under the trees and letting mozzies feast on me as I laid in wait to hear that much longed for thud under the tree. However I did find two fruits by chance. One was the size of my clenched fist while the other the size of a rock melon. These were durians the "professional pickers" will not even bat an eyelid let alone pick them. They were unripe but I still wore that "I picked two king of fruits" smile!
The time is here again and I've seen people coming to the island in the morning and leaving at night heaving heavy sacks or unloading trolley bags onto boats. I think it's worth the S$5.00 they pay for the return trip. After all these are organic durians; free from additives (pesticides, growth hormones, etc) that some commercial growers feed their trees with the hope that they will yield heavy and perfect crops. So if you pick a decent size one easily over a kilo that is enough to cover for the boat ride.
During durian season, the island sees an influx of visitors. Some of these faces you see only during the durian season. They come, they camp, they pick, they collect and then they leave happily ever after until their next hunt for the thorny fruit. While this is often all in a day's work, for some it can turn into an overnight affair. Camping the night means there are more chances to gather the fruit as durians reportedly fall late at night or in the wee hours of the morning.
It's a very common sight to see people carrying a fruit or two in their hands or people cycling past with durians in their baskets. There are also the locals who pick enough to sell them to the visitors by going to the right plantations in search of the prized fruit. I haven't got around to camping under the trees and letting mozzies feast on me as I laid in wait to hear that much longed for thud under the tree. However I did find two fruits by chance. One was the size of my clenched fist while the other the size of a rock melon. These were durians the "professional pickers" will not even bat an eyelid let alone pick them. They were unripe but I still wore that "I picked two king of fruits" smile!
The time is here again and I've seen people coming to the island in the morning and leaving at night heaving heavy sacks or unloading trolley bags onto boats. I think it's worth the S$5.00 they pay for the return trip. After all these are organic durians; free from additives (pesticides, growth hormones, etc) that some commercial growers feed their trees with the hope that they will yield heavy and perfect crops. So if you pick a decent size one easily over a kilo that is enough to cover for the boat ride.
I know of a couple that come almost every weekend. They form such a perfect team! During the course of their hunt, while one waits the other will run errands as sort of a break to stock up on drinks and food or to answer nature's call. Picking durians is no mean feat. Imagine camping under the trees fighting with the buzzing mozzies with your ears pricked for that sweet sound that will break the silence on those dried leaves and then racing to be the first to reach that prized fruit. However at the end of the day despite the mozzie bites and perspiration, the bags and bags of fruit they get to lug home outweigh everything.
This year, the harvest is expected to be less than in the past as the locals have reported that monkeys... (oh you cheeky monkeys! ;) ) have pulled down some of the developing fruits. Yes there's monkeys here on this island and let's just say they do like durians too :)) The sad thing for durian lovers is that in their excitement they pull down those unripe fruits too reducing the yield in the process.
What is so special about durians on this island? Imported ones from commercial farms can be had almost every other day. They seem to magically appear so frequently whereas the durian trees here fruit mostly in June and with some luck maybe a smaller crop in November. They are organically grown so they are as pure as can be.
While durians are cholesterol free, they are packed with sugars but I can always settle for those bitter sweet ones right? Bring them on... breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper and I'll gladly sink my teeth into these cottony creamy delightful treats. I like :))
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