Tanam Bayam - Spinach - a rarity (report 3)

The term succession sowing of spinach every 10 days really makes meaning, since we are witnessing such a fast rate of growth. Succession sowings will ensure continuous harvest of young sweet leafy vegetables.  In our case, three pots of spinach at different stages will do. The eldest son Yop was just offered electrical engineer job with National Electricity Board (TNB) and he would soon spread his wings to far away city. The youngest son Adik had just finished his studies and will soon leave the nest into hotel industry.  We cannot be too over ambitious with vegetable growing .  Only two mouths to eat.......


Spinach planting schedule. - Seri Kembangan 
Sowing: --------------10.01.2014
Report 1 -------------18.01.2014  Vegetable Gardening - a new start
Report 2 -------------12.02.2014  Tanam Sayur Sendiri, bayam or spinach.-report 2
Report 3 -------------20.02.2014

week 1

Spinach - Bayam, just tiny seedlings 17.1.2014

week 5

Spinach, a month after sowing 12.2.2014

week 6

Bayam - Spinach top view 20.2.2014

week 6

Bayam - Spinach  side view 20.2.2014

Spinach planting schedule. - Seri Kembangan 
Sowing: --------------10.01.2014
Report 1 -------------18.01.2014  Vegetable Gardening - a new start
Report 2 -------------12.02.2014  Tanam Sayur Sendiri, bayam or spinach.-report 2
Report 3 -------------20.02.2014  Tanam Bayam - Spinach - a rarity (report 3)


Popeye wasn't wrong in choosing spinach as his energy booster. And he could also have known the other benefits too which include: managing diabetes, preventing asthma and cancer,  lowering blood pressure, strengthening bones, promoting regularity of bowel systems and making hair and skins healthy. At least that's what the experts say..... and I am just a keen vegetable gardener dealing with simple vegetable of such rarity.

bangchik and kakdah

seri kembangan

Kangkung, a different story.

Huh, am I loosing my gardening touch?...........  the earlier attempt at growing kangkung through cuttings failed miserably. Call it zero success, zero luck, or total failure. Kangkung, a new story ends not according to the script.  The weather was extra hot the past few weeks,  and the little shoots suffered even under shade, wilted and died.

Early of the month, 6th february to be exact,  I had something on at Nilai, and on the way back with Nizwan, we made a stop at a nursery. The guy was about to go off for lunch when we arrived.  The nursery was at the end of Dengkil town towards Putrajaya. We went home with 3 medium sized cylindrical pots, potting soil and a packet of kangkung or water spinach seeds.

Now the new little seedlings are doing fine, 

and will definitely create a new storyline.

New pot, new 5 little  kangkung seedlings

New pot of slightly lighter tone,
also with 5 new kangkung seedlings

Kangkung had it's own share of memorable childhood storyline, 

and Annie remembered it well

_________________________

And after all, when I was very young and in school, my teacher once told my class that eating kangkung was a sign of being intelligent. According to my teacher's story, once upon a long long time ago, the Sultan of Malacca was invited for an audience by the Emperor of China. Malacca was a vassal state of China at that time and therefore the Sultan had no choice but to be present. 

The Ming dynasty's court protocols required all those in the presence of the Emperor to bow their head. Therefore, no one knows what the emperor looked like. The Sultan of Malacca had really wanted to see what the Emperor actually looked like and devised a trick so that he could do so.

For the banquet, he asked for uncut fried kangkung to be served at his table. So when it is time to eat, he lift the whole of the uncut fried kangkung above his head, tilted his head backward and slowly started munching at the vegetable dangling above his head from his fingers.

And of course he therefore got to see what the Emperor looked like as others bowed their head throughout the banquet. When the Emperor asked he ate the vegetable that way, the Sultan said "Oh, that's how we Malays of Malacca eat kangkung."    

The Emperor knew the Sultan was merely bluffing, but being a a nice guy that he was, he let it passed as he felt the Malay chap running small piece of land called Malacca was such a smart fellow. The Emperor had even decided to marry one of his daughters from one of his hundreds of wives to the Sultan. Well, it pays to be a smart guy like Sultan of Malacca. 

Refer   Life of Annie: How to outwit a Chinese Emperor using a kangkung

_____________bangchik and kakdah_____________

seri kembangan

Tanam Sayur Sendiri, bayam or spinach. - updates (Report 2)

Spinach / Bayam : we had done a bit of thinning to reduce the number of spinach.

Spinach planting schedule.
Sowing: --------------10.01.2014
Report 1 -------------18.01. 2014  Vegetable Gardening - a new start
Report 2 -------------12.02. 2014
Harvest: --------------07.03. 2014 expected
sowing to harvest: ------8 weeks  expected

Spinach originated in ancient Persia, eventually making its way to Italy in 827 and finally gracing European tables in the 1300s. Its appearance in early spring made this a fast favorite when other vegetables were scarce during Lenten diets. For this reason, spinach has the great honor of being mentioned in the first known English cookbook.
When Catherine de'Medici became the queen of France in 1522, she insisted that spinach be served at every meal because she loved it so. Today when you hear of spinach dishes referred to as "Florentine," that is because Catherine was born in Florence.   refer: National spinach day – Eatocracy - CNN.com Blogs

17th January 2014

Spinach, just tiny seedlings. 17.1.2014

12th February 2014

Spinach, a month after sowing....

Kakdah would take a few for meal 

until the batch gets too hardy before the 8th week 

________bangchik and kakdah________

seri kembangan

Vegetable Gardening - a new start

Seri Kembangan, Malaysia.

We dont seem to get tired of gardening. Kakdah clings to her orchids and ornamental plants, and I more into vegetable gardening.  We are coming to a phase of life, much different to what we are used to. The house is typical malaysian double storey. Space is very limited both at the front and back. We have to reduce the number of pots used.

I was flicking through the earlier posts on container gardening.  We had gone through several elaborate attempts on growing vegetables in pots such as  onions  ,   pakchoy,  kale / kailan,    daun sup,  cabbage,  etc.

the old kucai

Of the many vegetables we grew in Johor, we only take kucai along. Kucai never seems to stop growing, they grow quietly, they stay low and happy. Now  onions and spinach start to grow and be part of the ealier pioneers here.

bawang - onions in two small pots

bayam - spinach in large container

Yeap, we have a lot more seeds, but they have  to wait for their turn.

__________bangchik and kakdah__________

seri kembangan

Bakawali dalam pasu.

Our Bakawali had gone to many places, Kuala Lumpur, Pantai Remis Perak and  Felda Nenering as giveaways. I had been here in Pasir Gudang Johor for slightly over a year,  and within that short period the original single Bakawali plant had swell to almost a hundred at various stages of growth. It's a delicate plant with most exotic fragrant flower.  They never stop to amaze me.

Bakawali in pots 1 year old

Bakawali in pots 1 year old, had just bloomed

Bakawali in pots 1 year old

soft delicate young leaves of bakawali

young bakawali 2 month old

young bakawali 2 month old

young bakawali 2 month old

Bakawali, 8 month old

Bakawali, 8 month old

Bakawali, 8 month old

One thing I have not tried is putting Bakawali in the ground, probably around the trunk of a large tree. That would provide different adventure. However growing bakawali in pots is still the best with all the flexibility.

______Bangchik and Kakdah______

pasir gudang JOHOR

Ulam Pegaga dalam pasu

Pegaga 

Pegaga is as old as malay traditions. It's one of the easiest herb to find in the wild. It can adapt and will grow  better in gardens.  I even try growing pegaga in pots. The plant is primarily a creeper but it doesn't mind   growing in  plastic container.  Both of us don't consume a lot, just two or three leaves will do as salad.

For those who are keen on benefits of pegaga ( pennywort ), should read of this article:

The Pennywort herb is a member of the dill and carrot family. Also known as Gotu Kola, Pegaga or Centella, it boasts numerous health benefits. These include increased youthfulness and vitality, improved eyesight and memory, relief from pain associated with arthritis and relief from insomnia. 

Li Ching-Yuen, a Tai Chi Chuan Master, was rumoured to have lived for a staggering 256 years because of his daily use of Pennywort. Sri Lankan King Aruna was said to have given Pennywort the credit for giving him enough stamina to satisfy all 50 women belonging to his harem during the 10th century.

click here to read more >>>   Improve memory and increase vitality with Pennywort by: Shona Botes

Pegaga in pot

pegaga: healthy clean leaves

pegaga

pennywort - pegaga

pegaga - pennywort

and pegaga in pot would push it higher 

on ornamental value.

bangchik and kakdah

_________________________________

my little vegetable garden

periwinkle, the softest of pink.

Periwinkles grow at different places in our garden, Some are grown in the ground and some in pots. This particular periwinkle is special because it's colour is the softest of pink...

periwinkle

bangchik and kakdah

growing onions / tanam bawang

We are growing onions in pots; one rectangular pot and three round pots. Onions are always eager to grow. The moment the top sections were cut off and the onions put into soil, within two days  little shoots would appear. Why grow onions we may want to ask ourselves, I would say onions are easiest to grow. To keep enthusiasm of a new gardener, onion definitely is a must. It would make any new gardener happy to see onions producing leaves within days and the first set of leaves can cut off for omellette.

onions in round pots

onions: 3 in each

onions

6 onions in rectangular pot

6 onions in rectangular pot

It was quite early around 8.30 am. Sunday mornings offer ample freedom to view plants and take pictures as we like. Other days, life is on a faster mode.  There are always new things that we learned about plants. The other day I realised that our passionfruit vines (markisa) opened their exotic flowers later in the day around 6pm. The next morning, the flowers folded up. I suppose insects will help pollinating the flowers throughout the night. Our life is very much daytime, we may not realise there are insects coming out at night and sleep as soon as the sun is about to appear. Nocturnal.....

It was early, so the shadows were long.....

 I just played around with camera height to come out with a set of pictures about onions,

 fifteen altogether, 6 in rectangular pot and 3 each in the round pots.

bangchik and kakdah

pasir gudang 

Growing cabbage once again.

Cabbage is not too difficult to grow in tropical climates. I can safely say that because I had gone through the whole process last year in Putrajaya. Early this year I saw hybrid cabbage seeds which mentioned specifically it's suitability to be grown in hot climate, I quickly purchased a packet.

The seeds went through three different pots.  I did it that way for convenience, and it suits their need on space. Baby cabbage doesn't need 12 inch pot to start with!

• 2 inch pot: germination - up to 4  leaves
• 4 inch pot: first transplant - up to 6 leaves
• 12 inch pot: second transplant - til harvest.

April 2011
The four cabbages were fine in shallow pots... It's a short sun exposure. After midday, they bath in full sunlight for 3 hours, then slowly reduced, as the sun meandered through trees at the far end.

cabbage still a baby in 2 inch pot, 14.4.2011

cabbage in 4 inch pot , 25.4. 2011

May 2011
they are placed at the railings of side balcony. sun exposure is still 3 hours a day.

cabbage in 4 inch pot,  5.5. 2011

Early June 2011
Now cabbage heads are forming. They are placed at different location with   6 hours sun exposure. Whoever come to house will not miss them.
Because the leaves are large, overflowing the pots, people are asking " what's those, are they kale?"
"No, cabbage"
"What, cabbage can grow here?"

all the four cabbages in 12 inch pots, 8.6.2011

The last time we grew cabbages in Putrajaya, it took 4 months from seeds to harvest. So we are expecting a decent harvest in the middle of August. In the meantime Kakdah had just germinated the rest of the seeds.  A quick check today shows 30 little cabbage seedlings growing happily. Seeing them grow through the stages over 4 months is fun.

Being artistic with potted vegetables.

 vegetable in pots

vegetable in pots

Today, I want to show the artistic side

of growing vegetables.

bangchik and kakdah

Tanaman dalam pasu: sekali imbas

(First time I put the whole piece in Malay language. Its about growing plants in pots / containers)

Bila orang mahu bergiat dengan tanaman, selesanya jika mula dengan pasu. Disitu kita berjinak, memahami ragam pokok, tanah, air, baja, sinaran matahari, serangga perosak dan cuaca. Kemudian bertambahlah koleksi pokok dan pasu.


Kebanyakan pasu yang kami gunakan adalah jenis plastik sebab ringan dan murah. Pasu seramik pula boleh dibeli dalam pelbagai bentuk, saiz dan warna. Koleksi pasu seramik Kakdah tidak banyak, tidaklah sampai beratus. Namun ada pasu seramik Kakdah yang sangat besar, hingga tak terangkat.



Kami menanam sayur ditanah dan dalam pasu. Pasu tetap menarik, sebab boleh dialih-alih mengikut cuaca dan citarasa.

 pak choy
Pokok ini menarik sebab cepat cambah dan tumbuh. Target awalnya hanyalah untuk peroleh 10 pokok sahaja. Waktu semai, dilebihkan biji benih dalam pasu semaian.., sekitar 5,6 biji dalam satu pasu semaian kecil. Kesemuanya bercambah, dan tidak sampai hati untuk buang anak pak choy yang lebih itu. Tidak mengapa, kami boleh makan pak choy hari-hari, pagi dan petang! Kakdah tidak pula merungut bila kesemua 55 pasu disusun atas railing verandah kiri dan kanan.

(foto dua hari lalu)

pak choy,  dalam pasu 4 inci.  semuanya 55 pasu.

(foto hari ini, gambar jam 5.30ptg.

 hari ini Kakdah selang selikan pasu, 
katanya kerana daun dah memanjang,
bersentuhan antara satu sama lain. 
Itulah fleksibiliti tanam sayur dalam pasu.

Stevia

Asalnya ada tiga pokok sahaja yang dibeli dari sebuah nurseri di Kelantan, RM5.00 satu.  Kami berterusan melakukan percambahan. Kini ada hampir 100 anak stevia. Target masih tidak berubah, iaitu 1000 anak stevia dalam tempuh setahun.

Salah satu pokok stevia hasil percambahan, dauntenya manis macam gula.

tomato

Ini cubaan pertama di Tanah Merah, dengan tomato cherry. Benih diambil dari lebihan tomato yang Kakdah guna untuk masakan.  Semainya banyak, yang nak ditanam cuma dua sahaja, jadi selebihnya letak dalam polybag hitam. Setakat ini yang dalam polybag pula lebih subur dari dalam pasu.

anak tomato dalam pasu seramik besar

anak tomato yang lebih, ada 5 semuanya. sebagai spare.

daun sup

daun sup

Ada banyak lagi sayur dan pokok dalam pasu, Antaranya sambung nyawa, mulberry, kucai, kangkong, kunyit, halia, bawang putih, bawang merah, pudina, oregano, basil, dan macam-macam lagi. Saja wujudkan hijau di sekitar rumah, untuk sedikit keselesaan dalam hutan konkrit, dan untuk segarkan nostalgia pernah hidup dalam kehijauan suatu masa dulu.

                  bangchik dan kakdah,  tanah merah, kelantan.                                    

55 pots of Pak Choy.

I counted with kakdah, so there we are, Pak Choy in 55 pots! Not long from now we are going to have Pak Choy bonanza: a fiesta of sorts, breakfast to dinner with pak choy.., and of course giveaways in the form of pak choy.

They are now in 4 inch diameter pots 
(picture taken on 25 April 2010)

pak choy in pots: the left verandah

pak choy in pots: quite a view!

double row of pak choy: the right verandah

 a few black pots for pak choy.

bangchik and kakdah
tanah merah home

a glimpse at container gardening

 Three crude plastic container housing kale 
at varying stage of growth

 a close-up of kale in 
plastic containers

 I can offer three benefits of container gardening. 

Firstly, 

its flexibility, a chance to get away from the traditional vegetable bed on the ground. Containers can come in various sizes, small and big. Some can be hanged too, and some can be placed indoor. We can do experiment with plants easier, in fact container gardening offers opportunity to study and observe closely. Arranging them to our liking is easy. We can redo and redo, to suit the age of plants, blooming time etc. In my case, I can even try cooking oil plastic container, to gear up the recycling drive. 

Secondly, 

containers offer mobility. We can just shift them around to our needs, space available, the right amount of light exposure. As the seasons change, we can easily do re-potting or replanting to brighten up the place.

Lastly 

the control on pest problem is very beneficial. Most pests will not venture close to the house. Pests treat open space of the garden and lawn as their playground. Putting containers away from pests playing field will increase the chance of plants to survive pest-free.


bangchik