Garden Update - August, 2018

Eldest Sis and Fourth Sis are BIG fans of the Chinese opera, a form of Chinese drama and musical theatre since ancient China. Every year, however busy, they would sacrifice some of their precious time to go back to Ipoh. To watch the once a year shows by Chinese opera performers from Hong Kong. Which are held in conjunction with the Hungry Ghost Festival around the seventh month of the Chinese calendar at the Kuan Tay Temple in Batu Gajah ( a small neighbouring town some 20 minutes drive away ). This year was no exception. They went back this past Saturday. And I followed. Though not for the opera shows. But for my small garden instead.

AT MY BACKYARD....

After MONTHS of hoping for possible harvests of its nutritious leaves, I finally gave up on the Madeira Vine ( Anredera cordifolia ).  I had it removed on Sunday. Though a bit reluctant, it was the wisest decision I had ever made. Or so I thought. It was almost leafless throughout its entire life. All it did was, flower non-stop and tirelessly! Until now, I still do not know what had gone wrong. ( Eldest Sis's one has lots of flowers too. But it has very bushy leaves at the same time. So, she is never short of leaves for harvest. How I envy her! )

The Thai Basil Plants ( Ocimum basilicum ) had grown to be very tall and strong. Their leaves were aged and tough. I gave them all ( three of them ) a good trim so that new, tender ones will form. The trimmed-off stems with leaves were given away to a neighbour who did not mind their tough texture.

I had pulled out all those space-dominating Sweet Potato Vines ( Ipomoea batatas ) that had trailed far out of the planter. And harvested their leaves to make a delicious, stir fried dish for lunch on Sunday. 

After the removal, I had a good-sized space to grow something else.

I had bought some Red Stem Malabar Ceylon Spinach ( Basella alba 'Rubra' ) from the morning wet market as vegetables on Monday. I used their old, fibrous and inedible stems to plant and fill up part of the empty space on the planter. Hope they will all root and grow! So that by the time I go back again, most probably this coming September, I would have some nice leaves to harvest and eat.

The remaining empty space, I had sown with some Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus) seeds. Hope to see their seedlings or plants the next time I go back. They are easy and fast growing root vegetables. So, perhaps radishes above the soil then?

The last time I went back, I had buried two pieces of shrunk Ginger ( Zingiber officinale ) scraps into the soil of the planter. I was happy to find that they had both germinated and grown into healthy and strong looking plants. They would supply me with some nice, spicy gingers in months to come, if everything goes right. Hopefully.

Mum's best-loved plant, Allamanda cathartica which was previously rooted inside a poly bag, was being transplanted onto the planter for the time being. As the poly bag had begun to tear apart. It has to stay there until I have gotten ready a permanent pot planter filled with soil for it. 

I have always hoped that the Butterfly Pea Vines ( Clitoria ternatea ) would grow a bit more bushy so that they could act as a privacy screen for my backyard. But somehow, that just did not happen. Instead, they produced quite a lot of flowers which I welcomed too and did harvest every morning while I was there. Big bowls, FULL every time! 

The planter looked clean and almost empty when I left for Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday. But in no time, it will be full again with plants. For sure!

I had replanted the shade-loving Gynura bicolor from stem cuttings on the other side of the planter which gets shorter, daily sun exposure. Hopefully, there would be some rain every now and then to boost their growth.

As for the compost-making pot ( You can read about when it first started HERE ), I had not added or done anything to it other than watering. Nothing suitable was at hand then.

AT MY FRONT YARD.....

I had dug up the last of the sweet potatoes on Sunday. ( You can read about the previous harvest HERE ) They read a total 1.3+kg when put on the kitchen scale. All of which had been eaten by me and my siblings on Wednesday. Except for ONE. The BIGGEST one. That weighed approximately 500g. Which I had purposely reserved for my one and only younger sister, Jane, who would be coming back from the UK this coming September. After completing her graduate studies at the University of Wales. Hope she would love it!

On Tuesday morning, I restarted quite a number of sweet potato vines with stem cuttings which I had removed from the planter when I dug up the last of the sweet potatoes days before. 

I had also sown some Radish seeds at a corner of the planter. Hope they would all germinate!

There were only three Turmeric Plants ( Cucurma longa ) still thriving on the planter. One good-sized and two retarded ones. More than ten had perished. Not a sign of them ever existed. Wish these three remaining ones ALL THE BEST!!!

All for now. THANK YOU for reading THIS! Till next time... BYE!