Dragon fruit little babies showing true character

Oh, these little seedlings really take their own sweet time. They are still in little pots, they are not strong, no readiness to stand upright. They just limp lazily. But their little true cactus look is beginning to show.., and the little tiny soft thorns......


December 2014.... germinating

February 2015..... true cactus look appearing

bangchik and kakdah

Putrajaya office

Growing dragon fruit from seeds

Most would grow dragon fruit from cuttings because that's the easiest and fastest. I wonder if any serious farmer would ever try growing dragon fruit from seeds. I know it's going to be a long journey.  I don't mind going through  until the seedlings are strong enough to be planted in the ground.  They will soon be in the office table. I know it's going a new craze..., with lots of huh hah..... Soon Ziela will nurse the little seedlings with spraying bottle..!!! as daily chore.

Germinating dragon fruit seeds

Scoop out the black seeds, filter out the flesh and jelly coating, 

soak for two days. 

Place them on damp tissue in clear container.

Within a week, most will sprout.

Dragon fruit seedlings

bangchik and kakdah

vegetable gardening at Seri Kembangan

Dragon fruits / buah naga by the roadside.

We were on the road again, meandering along East Malaysia coastal road. Weather was hot, sky was clear blue. There was this little stall that attracted us to stop. An old lady with her grandchildren made full use of shade under a casuarina tree. They were selling dragon fruits.

 Kakdah picked the good ones

These dragon fruits are known by many names:  

Malay Buah Naga

Vietnamese thanh long, Laos: mark mang gohn,  

Chinese huǒ lóng guǒ  

French:  fruit du dragon, cierge-lézard, poire de chardon, 

German: Drachenfrucht, Distelbirne,   

Hawaiian: panini-o-ka-puna-hou , 

Swedish: skogskaktus, röd pitahaya, 

Thai: แก้วมังกร (kaeo mangkon), 

Portuguese: cato-barse, cardo-ananaz, rainha da noite,  

Spanish: pitahaya roja,   

Other names are  :  Red Pitaya,  Red Pitahaya, Dragonfruit, Night blooming Cereus, Strawberry Pear, Belle of the Night, Conderella Plant 

 a lady with her grandchildren

 Kakdah selecting dragonfruits, but i wonder how she did, because they looked the same

 the lady said "add another one will make 2 kilo", as she eyed the scale.

five dragonfruits finally made 2 kilo.

The place was somewhere in Terengganu, 
a state facing South China Sea.
Terengganu has perculiar accent which I can't comfortably imitate. A friend Sulong manage to hide his true accent most of the time, but at times he punctuates conversation with Ganu Kite "ak"..., and slip of tongue with "makang". WanZul on the other hand is different, claiming a true Ganu Kite from Besut , but comfortable only with Kecek Kelate. Bangchik remains secretive of his background with his own blend of Kelate....... I remember an associate, Jalil who after all these years, picked Pahang accent so well, that nobody knows he hails from Kuale Terengganu. Jalil has only Dato Burn to beat as outsider residing permanently in Pahang. ZolJobshi sticks to his Perak accent while working in Dungun for almost 5 years now. Some can switch accents easily, most cannot. Yes, Malaysia a small country yet the accents are numerous.

It was RM8 per kilo. Kakdah in the end bought 2 kilos of dragonfruits.

bangchik and kakdah