seedlings and seedlings

Seeds will be obsolete if stored for far too long especially in the kind of weather we are having in Malaysia.  One eggplant was allowed to grow and grow and finally turned yellow. It was so big. I scooped out seeds, and it could easily be thousands.  I germinated immediately, filling up 104-tray. There is no intention of selling them at all, and the whole process is to satisfy my earlier hypothesis that fresh seeds will germinate better.

So, as expected every single seed germinated...... 104!. The most I am going to use is 20 in the vegetable patch over the left side of the backyard.... The rest is for the neighbours and visitors, - kakdah's green giveaways, in a down to earth reply to modern cry - sustainable living. Kakdah may not have the capacity to champion 500,000 strong march down Kuala Lumpur for green living or stop jungle clearing campaign. And all she has is the green pencil to give some colour to the canvas in form of little seedlings giveaways....

eggplant seedlings

two rows of zinnia on the left,  a tray of spinach on the right

After years of  germination attempts,  we can almost gauge what's the outcome, given the age of seeds and weather conditions.  My way is crude, no lab, no meter readings.... just plain layman approach. Like an old fisherman who can tell storm is coming, not repeating weatherman's report on TV but understanding the tingling feeling at ear lobes..... hmmmm...hmmm... haha.

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bangchik and kakdah

mylittlevegetablegarden

Terung / brinjal / eggplant very skinny.

Terung or brinjal / eggplant / aubergine is another plant I keep growing.  The plant may look skinny but it keeps producing fruits. For the two of us, having brinjal for lunch once a week is enough. There are two brinjal plants growing right now.

terung / brinjal / eggplant

This isn't the first eggplant we grow over the many years, and I always notice that eggplants seldom look green and healthy, especially the leaves.

Terung dipotong

brinjal sliced.

As long as brinjals end up on the chopping board, 

it doesn't matter much if they come from skinny or lush plants.

bangchik and kakdah

johor

Comparing eggplants and lengkuas.

 

The eggplant, or the brinjal, or terung locally known, are growing and producing fruits. One has ended up in Kakdah's lovely curry, but the rest are still small.  The plants don't last very long, after a couple of fruiting burst, which could be 4 to 5 months from now, the plants will weaken. The leaves will be feasted by insects before the plants succumb to fate. But not before they have awarded us with bountiful harvest and lovely dishes. These plants love heat and worship the mighty sun as much as the sunflowers...

  

Another harvest: green and purple

six lady's fingers and an eggplant.

bangchik

putrajaya malaysia

The joy of a harvest.

tomato
second harvest on a plate

tomato
second harvest spread on the table 
~to be added in fried rice, fried noodles, soups and curry.

ubi kayu
on the dry yard. The tile is 1x1foot square
~can be boiled or sliced and fried into chips.

veggies from containers
now in a bowl..
~can be fried or steamed for a lovely dinner

eggplants, chili and spinach.

on a plastic plate.

~this will definitely lasts for a week

Those of us who grow our own vegetables appreciate the meaning of abundance. Gardening is about understanding the factors promoting growth, about elements causing unhealthy plants and lower produce. In the end, a harvest is a joyous moment. For the two of us, the harvest is plentiful, and certainly a joyful and gratifying moment. 

How's your harvest?

bangchik

Putrajaya Malaysia

Life, thats how it goes

1. An eggplant, 
with old leaves, fresh leaves, 
new leaves, purple fruit, blueish flower 
and new shoots

That's how life goes, replenishing the old in the most subtle way. The old leaves will get yellow and brown, and at this stage the leaves must have been deprived of anti aging elements and antibody to fight off diseases and pests attacks. They are so vulnerable. Then they will let go the last grip and drop one after another.

New healthy shoots will appear to replace the old ones, to manufacture food for other parts to feed on, to strengthen the stems, branches, to send nutrients to the fruits and to the flowers.

An eggplant 

is showing how life goes.

~bangchik

Putrajaya, Malaysia

The eggplant after the first.

 

Two eggplants

  

the fruit.

it does look a little bit awkward.

The first eggplant displayed deep  purple colour  as it grew big and matured. 

The first has ended in Kakdah's curry on one of the many Sundays. Now the two plants are busy sprouting light purple flowers and ballooning the fruits. Two good bugs in the form of ladybirds had made the eggplants their home. They crawled slowly on top of the leaves. I am guessing that these two bugs are doing me a favour by cleaning up the leaves of dust and minute pests.......Fertilizing is done by placing a spoonful of poultry pellet fertilizer six inches away from the base on weekly basis. 

a ladybird doing some cleaning,

another one on a different leaf.

Precaution is not to over-water them,  and water only the soil, not the stems and leaves... I do spray liquid fertilizer and immunizer I bought more than a year ago. For convenience sake, I spray every Saturday morning on the leaves , the stems and branches.

So far so good.

~ bangchik

Putrajaya, Malaysia