Planted this today on the south side of the Jaboticaba tree.

These are the Gem Squash bush/vine seeds that I planted today at the base of the Jaboticaba tree. On the left (north) are the bush seeds and on the right (south) are the vine seeds. What I found super interesting about these seeds is that it looks like they have been colored with food dye. The bush seeds are colored pink and the vine seeds a cyan/green color. I assume that this is to help us identify the seeds if we accidentally drop them or mix them with some other seeds. Clever idea.

Both the Gem Squash Vine and Bush are pushing through the mulch. This image is from the vine. They both look identical at this stage.

Good progress on the gem squash. This image shows both the vines and the bushes which are currently indistinguishable.

No sign of any flowers on these vines and bushes but they are growing well.

The shade cloth went up in the subtropical area today so all the plants tagged in this note are now getting around 25% of the sunlight they were getting before.

Gems are growing insanely fast and looking super healthy but still no sign of fruit or flowers.

First sign of blossoms on the Gems.

Metrics:

• First Blossom: ✔

Compared to the last time we tried to grow these they seem to be on steroids. I'm wondering if it's the sulfur that's helping them.

The gems have almost completely covered the Jabotica they were growing around.

Ping pong ball sized fruit now being seen.

Found a couple like this. About half the size they need to be.

Our first harvest of gems. Cooked them in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes. The second image is after 10 minutes in the pressure cooker and it wasn't quite done by then. The third image is after 20 minutes with the seeds scooped out and butter in the middle. It was delicious. This is 83 days since they were planted.

Metrics:

• Harvest Count: 6
• Harvest Start: ✔

Harvested another. This one's for you Lauren!

The image of the 2 cooked gems with butter is from dinner this evening. Those 2 gems were picked two days ago. I rarely set my expectation/hopes high for something like this and even with high expectations they were still exceeded by the amazing taste of these vegetables.

Metrics:

• Harvest Count: 1

Picked another 7 today and ate some of them this evening. Did not disappoint. Delicious.

The second image shows one of the gems that's a different color. I think that this is Gemini F1 Hybrid (bush habit) and the others are from the Star 8001 (vine).

Metrics:

• Harvest Count: 7

Found another 4 that were ready. Scooped the seeds out of three of them before cooking with dinner.

Metrics:

• Harvest Count: 4

Metrics:

• Harvest Count: 3

After three weeks of being away many of these gems have ripened. When cutting them open they are more yellow inside than the pale yellow/green they were before. They taste just as good. I collected the seeds from the three large yellow ones that I cut open today. I think that these are going to be the most viable of the seeds I've collected so far.

Metrics:

• Harvest Count: 13

Found a couple more today. This is one of them.

Metrics:

• Harvest Count: 2

Found three more gems while working in that area today.

Metrics:

• Harvest Count: 3

Found another

Metrics:

• Harvest Count: 1