new veggie...
sown direct on bed
This patch is the earliest we worked on. Four baby papayas to start with early last year. One died. Two remained there, and the third was shifted to a different location, much closer to the house. The third grew and produced good and juicy papayas all this while. The other two on the original position grow at much slower pace, not too high about 5 feet, and fairly thin.
Then one day I made a decision to pull the two out. The place simply not suitable and we dont wish to frustrate the plants further. For half a day, I worked on that patch, by turning the soil over and mix it up with half-done compost after pulling out the two papaya plants.... Kakdah gave the two papaya shoots to Mai, her friend on the other block. Boiled papaya shoots is a delicacy as salad.... slightly bitter but nice.
Pak Choy, Choi Sum and Taiwan Sawi were chosen to fill up half the patch. The other half holds compost leftover for a while.
There we are, making crucial decisions on plants we already have and those we haven't grown yet .... That is a lot tougher than deciding which branch to prune. Very tough, to commit on something which cannot be undone later.
Then one day I made a decision to pull the two out. The place simply not suitable and we dont wish to frustrate the plants further. For half a day, I worked on that patch, by turning the soil over and mix it up with half-done compost after pulling out the two papaya plants.... Kakdah gave the two papaya shoots to Mai, her friend on the other block. Boiled papaya shoots is a delicacy as salad.... slightly bitter but nice.
Pak Choy, Choi Sum and Taiwan Sawi were chosen to fill up half the patch. The other half holds compost leftover for a while.
There we are, making crucial decisions on plants we already have and those we haven't grown yet .... That is a lot tougher than deciding which branch to prune. Very tough, to commit on something which cannot be undone later.
We have to lose them early.the soil is very hard 8 inches down,
the papaya roots simply cant push through.
My daughters Papaya are still doing ok here in UK
ReplyDeleteThat is a big stem!
ReplyDeleteI love reading about all the things you grow. You always show me some new things! Happy Gardening!
ReplyDeleteI have not eaten papaya shoots... bitter? Should be ok to try one day (me!). I hope the papaya tree will find a good place to root at Kakdah's friend's house. Oh, it has been so hot in the afternoon nowadays. I have been watering my plants twice a day!
ReplyDeleteIt is good for the daughters JOANNE, to have papaya doing fine. Ours are not bad actually, but the soil is too hard 8 inches down.
ReplyDeleteThe stems about 4 inches in diameter. Quite big JANET.
JENN, so blotanical or blogs cramp us in a much smaller place, to be able to see plants we seldom grow and see.
It is hot these few days... It was awfully wet the last week or so, see how weather play tricks on us small time gardeners, STEPH....
Cheers,
~bangchik
Now it's all about looking forward to the next crop. You've had good germination.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry your papayas weren't thriving, but it looks like the veggies are enjoying their new bed.
ReplyDeleteI'm always moving things around in the garden. Experimenting seems like the best way to figure out what grows best in each spot. The same plant that struggles in one spot, thrives in another.
JO and GARDENGIRL... I am really looking forward to the next crop. But I know, the battle will continue with caterpillars!!... Yes, Gardengirl, part of the fun is to try new things, see whats best.
ReplyDelete~bangchik