Garden Update ( Edibles ) - May 2019

Life has been really, very busy for me after my recent, usual, No Internet, No Phone Retreat at a nearby Buddhist Society in Ipoh. I had let my online shop open for the nine days I was away, thinking there would not be any orders coming in as usual. How very wrong I was! When I finally turned my phone on, checked my inbox after the retreat was over, I was taken by surprise to see that I had a total of ten new orders from two shops, all of which required quite some time to complete. Thank goodness though they were all finally completed and had been shipped out yesterday, except for one which I should be able to complete by Tuesday.

For the past few weeks I was away, it seems that nature has been kind to me. It has taken quite good care of my small garden in Ipoh.

At My Front Yard ....

The Sweet Potato ( Ipomoea batatas ) vines which I am growing for their sweet potatoes have not only covered the whole of my approximate five feet by five feet, front, ground level planter, but spread out to the concreted area next to it. They look healthy and strong. Hope there would be some nice sweet potatoes for harvest again ( like the last few times ) in a month or two time.

The volunteer Thai Basil ( Ocimum basilicum ) plant still looks strong and healthy, like the last time I saw them. It continues to flower non-stop. I think I can expect to collect lots of seeds soon.

I am not a believer of the Feng Shui thing. But when I was told that growing blue flowers in the southeast direction gives good Feng Shui to the house sometime back, I was tempted to try. Without much thought, I had my potted Blue Multi-layer Butterfly Pea Vine ( Clitoria ternatea ) moved to my southeast facing car porch from my backyard then. I let it trail up the car porch's awning pole. So far, it is doing fine and has grown a lot bigger at its new home location. Meanwhile, inside the same pot as this vine, the Red Stem Malabar Ceylon Spinach ( Basella alba ) seems rather unhappy. Its growth is somewhat stunted. Not sure though if it is because I had given it too much of a shock when I had a lot of its leaves harvested sometime back or because of the new location or because of other reasons.

At My Backyard ....

- ( Long Ground Level Planter Area )

The Blue Single-Layer Butterfly Pea Vines ( Clitoria ternatea ) continue to conquer the Telecom's wire pole right outside the backyard fence. They are becoming more and more noticeably bushy each passing week. This morning when I was there to take pictures of them, a cute, little sunbird was hopping from flower to flower. I thought I had managed to capture it in at least one of the pictures but I later found out that it was nowhere to be spotted. So, I guessed it must had flown off before I actually pressed the camera's button. ( Sigh )

Somewhere in the middle of my long planter, there is a little but rather lush jungle of mixed edibles like the Ginger ( Zingiber officinale ), Thai Basil ( Ocimum basilicum ), Turmeric ( Cucurma longa ), Green Amaranth ( Amaranthus sp. ), Sweet Potato Leaves ( Ipomoea batatas ) and Red Stem Malabar Ceylon Spinach ( Basella alba ). Hope I can find some time to cook next week so I can harvest the leafy ones especially, before they become too old and tough to be eaten.

At one end of my long planter, the shade-loving Sambung Nyawa Ungu or Okinawan Spinach ( Gynura bicolor ) plants are still doing alright. But their colour is not as beautiful as before. Probably because the sun gets to them sooner every day at my northwest facing backyard these days.

Meanwhile, adjacent to the Gynura bicolor plants, the two Daun Kadok ( Piper sarmentosum ) plants have sent out a lot of new, big and beautiful leaves. My friend came over this morning. She showed interest in tasting them after I described to her how heavenly they tasted the last time I cooked them with ginger, eggs and tomatoes. So, I had all the nicer leaves harvested for her to bring back when she left.

- ( Potted Ones )

The Chilli ( Capsicum annuum ) plant is looking very sick now after multiple attacks by mealy bugs. All of its flower buds and lots of its leaves have prematurely dropped. Though I am not going to do anything to get rid of the pests, I am praying hard it would pull through again just like the last time. I am not giving up on it unless it itself, decides to. Wish it well!

The poor Rambutan ( Nephelium lappaceum ) seedling has yet to recover from transplant shock after I had it transplanted from another pot sometime back.  I wonder if it ever would.

I love the Kafir Lime ( Citrus hystrix ) best. Though it has yet to give me any fruit, its nice scented, beautiful leaves never fail to make me happy. How wonderful it would be if I can enjoy them in delicious vegetarian Tomyam! Oh, but if only I know how to cook it!

The four Pumpkin ( Cucurbita pepo ) plants in two big earthen pots have climbed up the fence. One of the plants already have a few male flower buds on it now. I am hoping to see some female ones soon so that fruit set could be made possible. Pray, pray and pray!

Thank goodness, the Curry Tree ( Murraya koenigii ) growth has finally ' accelerated ' quite a bit recently, after a really long, somewhat stunted period. It is looking quite happy now. So am I! 

And so is its neighbour, the Aloe vera plant!

The Japanese Melon ( Cucumis melo ) seedlings seem to take forever to grow big. Some of their leaves have been eaten by some unknown pests. I am not optimistic they would give me any fruit but I pray they would somehow!

I had sown some Pumpkin ( Cucurbita pepo ) seeds from kitchen scraps in a few empty pots for their micro greens before I went for my retreat last two weeks. Some of them have now germinated. I think they would be good enough to eat in less than a week time. Hope I would be able to find time to prepare my meal with them then.

Eldest Sis ( Big Sis ) had given me four most precious ( precious, to me at at least ) White Bitter Gourd ( Momordica charantia ) seeds which she had saved from her kitchen scraps the last time I went to her house. I had them sown at one of my empty pots before I went for my retreat the other day. Two of them have now germinated. Hope they would grow up soon and give me some most desired fruits which are quite hard to come by here in Malaysia.

I had also sown some Radish ( Raphanus sativus ) seeds in an empty pot the other day before I went for my retreat. Three of them have now germinated. Wish me luck they would give me at least three radishes!

I had two Madeira Vines ( Anredera cordifolia ) transplanted into an empty pot from my long planter sometime back. Only one has since survived and is looking good now. I will make a simple trellis for it to climb soon. I am growing it in a pot because it easier for me to control where it shall climb on. I do not want it to be like the ones that used to grow on the long planter, climbed up the fence and intermingled with the Butterfly Pea ( Clitoria ternatea ) vines, thus making works difficult during harvest time.

The self-seeded Thai Basil ( Ocimum basilicum ) that grows on the cracked concrete spot next to the pot of Kafir Lime ( Citrus hystrix ) are almost three feet tall now. I never fertilize nor care for it. But it still grows big and strong. How amazing!

All for now! Thank you for reading this! BYE!