Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Unintended companionship of Okra, Roselle and Winged Beans.

okra flower facing the other side.
and a light blue winged bean flower quite visible somewhere at the bottom.

okra flower, another view, 
the stem is entwined by winged bean.

a branch of roselle, far away from winged bean.
on the far left is a portion of coleus leaf.

the main stem of roselle
caressed by winged bean.

roselle getting hooked by winged bean

The whole thing is an accident. They are grown for convenience, with space constraint in mind. I did an earlier post highlighting  the Legend of Three Sister.

Now the companionship is getting more pronounced. Surprisingly, the two roselle plants and a single okra are growing so well. The root nodules of winged bean must be feeding them with much needed nitrogen.
I hope the timing is perfect for meaningful coexistence, before winged bean runs wild and over run its companions. Of course we can intervene, and start pruning and reduce the little branches of winged beans that may hurt and suffocate the companions.
  


my little vegetable garden - bangchik

11 comments:

  1. An unlikely trio that is beneficial to all. Very cool.

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  2. That is a most beneficial relationship with the beans giving the nitrogen to the okra. What a great pair!

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  3. What a great combination, with the beans giving out nitrogen. Will think about how I can combine beans with other plants in my garden.

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  4. Three's a company in this instance, ya? Your roselle is doing great. Mine died on me.

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  5. Such a beautiful (and functional!) trio. Lovely pictures. :)

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  6. Looks like a good arrangement to me! It is good that they complement each other. They look very green and healthy. I guess you may be right, the winged beans might just decide to take its place as the main occupant!

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  7. Hahaha Bangchik, i am about to say your winged bean might outgrow the others which might not be able to see light at all, when you said it. My mother's area at home is like that, but not much intervention is done. Sometimes it's the squash and sometimes the gourd is there suffocating the smaller ones. Even the pineapple was so stunted but did not die. In her garden, it is really survival of the fittest. Hahaha. I love the color of your roselle.

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  8. Nice flower for the two in this trio. Thanks to Mr Winged Bean... He's the hero!

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  9. ~Poetic Shutterbug.
    They enjoy each others company, but I am worried about winged bean overrunning everything else.

    ~tina
    That is the tallest Okra we ever had, made possible through caring support by winged beans around its neck, and feeding nitrogen as well.

    ~greenearth
    a light weight kind of beans will be very suitable for such companionship. Winged beans too heavy and dense. In our case, winged bean has its own trellis. Only the side branches meander a little bit to hold hands with okra and roselle.

    ~malaykadazangirl.
    Leave it to themselves, their natural instinct will surface, and the fittest will survive. I do have to make sure winged beans don't suffocate the rest.

    ~One
    So sorry to hear about roselle in your garden. Give it another go...

    Thanks. ~bangchik and kakdah.

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  10. ~Rebecca @ In The Garden
    They are beautiful together. Soon, passersby will be in big surprise to see the flowers and beans hanging down okra stems and branches!

    ~kitchen flavours.
    On its own, I am sure winged beans will be happy dominating the rest. I do have to prune here and there, to make sure winged beans toe the line.

    ~Andrea
    If I have acres to garden, I probably do it your mom's way. In a little garden like mine, every plant has to be disciplined... haha.

    ~Aaron.
    I guess plants have been helping one another in many ways. Like banana giving shade to little plants that hate scorching sunlight.

    ~Stephanie.
    Both produce similar flowers, always at the nodes facing sideways. Both open and drop the same day. They differ only in size and colour.... Oh, I thought it is Madam Wingy Bean!... a heroin, haha.

    Thanks everyone, have a great day. ~bangchik and kakdah, Putrajaya Malaysia.

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