Setting up the first phase of Seri Iskandar Garden.

We spent 2 weeks recently over in Seri Iskandar home, a house built almost fifteen years ago but we never stay even for a night. The feeling is still like coming home.   The inside is empty, surprisingly all lightings, pipe fittings, built in kitchen cabinets and bedroom wardrobes are still in good conditions.  A dream house some years ago, and now we coming to stay for real.

Kakdah was busy with her curtains and getting the basics going. New big refrigerator, washing machine and gas stove were purchased. It's like a young couple getting basic infra into their first home....... We realised things are costly now.

While kakdah was busy inside, I stayed outside assessing what's need to be done. Some seedlings had been prepared and carried all the way from seri kembangan, 300km away.

Garden and Lawn

Before: 2  mango trees, 1 lime tree (limau kasturi), 1 henna tree (inai), 1 big clump of lengkuas or galangal, and 1 clump of  lemon grass.  And there is colony of cherry trees at the front gate which probably grow through birds dispersal. The rest are all patches of grass growing on poor soil.

After: Both of us discussed, and agreed to allow only one mango tree, so one had to go.  I did it in stages, trimming branches and upper parts, before finally coming to the main trunk.  . Mansor brought in 10 bags of decomposed cow dungs, 5 bags of palm oil refinery waste from Pengkalan Bharu for soil improvement.  I put in a number of plants to form skeletal framework to the garden.

patchy grass on poor soil

soil improvements done in sections

soil improvements done in sections

a peek through old mouldy front fence gives eerie feeling

limau kasturi / citrus microcarpa  at the backyard

Ceperai/ champeria manillana    

3 papaya seedlings

papaya close up with coconut husk as soil cover

3 papaya seedlings

4 pineapples seedlings

3 companions : asin-asin, keladi and ginger

It's the eventual retirement house, so we will keep coming back to get used to things around here, the house, the garden and the neighbours.  Newly introduced plants like pineapples, asin-asin,  keladi or yam/taro/caladium, papaya, cemperai, lemongrass, Leucaena leucocephala/petai belalang  and Napier grass. are tough and they dont need a gardener to babysit them on daily basis. We will keep returning to the old house on regular basis, once a month at least, until I finally retire.

It's really a rare 2 weeks long vacation.

bangchik and kakdah

Gardening at Seri Iskandar Home.

Vegetable Gardening - a realistic approach.

We had been very expressive with vegetable gardening over the years, when space wasn't the issue. It's so tempting to push for exquisite garden concept. It's so satisfying to let out creative energy, when one has full control over space and content.  If the lack of time to do watering and frequent outstation trips are the issue,  the technology offers solution in form of fertigation method, and automatic watering system. Gardening is sweat and fun.... all the way 2009 - 2013 and now 2014.

Gardens are not made 

by singing 'Oh, how beautiful,' 

and sitting in the shade.

Rudyard Kipling

Putrajaya Garden days 2009 2010
Putrajaya Garden days 2009 2010
Putrajaya Garden days 2009 2010

Coconut husk as edging

bitter gourd

Tanah Merah Garden, Kelantan 2011
Tanah Merah Garden, Kelantan 2011
Tanah Merah Garden, Kelantan 2011

potted plants at Tanah Merah Home

Four papaya, our Tanah Merah Home compound

Roselle seedlings in polybags

Rooftop Gardening - Chilli

Rooftop Gardening - Chilli

Rooftop Gardening - engagements

Pasir Gudang Garden 2012  2013
Pasir Gudang Garden 2012  2013
Pasir Gudang Garden 2012  2013

Pasir Gudang, Garden set up

Pasir Gudang - a row of roselle

Pasir Gudang - new seedlings

Bawang dalam pasu

Bawang dalam pasu, Roselle dalam polibeg

Cilli Farm - 

Grandchildren posing in Chili Farm

Pineapple Garden

A row of cabbage in pots

Amaranth

rows of vegetable bed

Rows of vegetable bed

sireh as hanging plant

Watering system

Pokok ubi kemili

Zinnia

Seri Kembangan Garden 2014

Seri Kembangan Garden 2014

Seri Kembangan Garden 2014

Now it's 

container gardening only

onions

onions

mulberry shoots

Available space, budget and time

more or less determine

the final look of a garden.

bangchik and kakdah

seri kembangan

Garden Design and Concept.

I thought I knew a few things about gardening, but given a task on someone else garden or plot, DESIGN slowly becoming scary. First it is not my specialty. Second some of the things asked  are beyond my gardening knowledge.

Mother used to say, you don't wait to be a millionaire to give and donate.  So lets see what's the request from a blogger friend through email.

Your passion towards a greener earth is most admired. I may not have a green thumb but I share your passion for a greener earth. I hope to seek your advice on this garden project that I'm planning for my soon to be opened kindergarten. I wanted to turn a 24 meter-run of wall with planter box into a beautiful wall garden and edible garden for the children to enjoy.   Attached is a photo of the wall and planter box. I may have the passion but lacks the knowledge and so I hope it is not too much trouble to bother you with the following questions :

 1- The width of the planter box is only 30 cm with a depth of 25-30 cm, what type of edible plants can be grown in such a small planter box. I hope tomatoes and green beans can be among them.  2-How do I grow creeper plants to cover the wall without having to share the small planter box with the edible garden? I worry that the soil, direct sun and space in the planter box may not be enough to be shared by the creeper plants and the edible plants.  

3-My goal is to have the wall covered with easy-to-maintain creeper plant that is thin layered and would not block the sun required by the edible garden that I plan to grow in the entire 24 meter planter box. Do you think that is possible? and if it is, what creeper plant will that be and how do I grow it?  

4- For the edible garden, can I use one type of soil for different type of plants such as herbs, leafy vegetable, tomatoes, cucumber, green beans, cabbage and etc? what soil will that be and can I get it from any nurseries? Where can I find varieties of plant seeds or seedlings? I do have a longer list of questions, but I will refrain myself till I get your reply :)  

Anxiously waiting for your reply.

planter box waiting for  "green touch"

Suggestion:

1. Most vegetables can be grown in 30cm wide planter box. For immediate impact spinach would be good for children to shout and yell because spinach is quick. Tomato and brinjals may add colour to planter box. But of all vegetables, cabbages would definitely steal the show.  I tried cabbage before, growing them them in pots. With cabbage, everyone will stop and ask questions.... haha.

2. Creeper: I know pokok duit-duit which crawl on coconut trees. On brick wall, I suppose creative addition of cocopeat may encourage such growth.

3. That creeper plant (pokok duit-duit) doesn't get itself rooted to the ground. It's born as aerial plant.

4.  If I were you, I would retain the original soil but add compost and organic fertiliser. Most gardening supplies can be purchased from nurseries, including seeds.

Gardening is an adventure of success and failure. So lets not worry too much, as long as we can be passionate about, things will get better and we feel happy about the gardening adventure.

_________bangchik and kakdah_________

pasir gudang johor

Cambodia: integrated farming project.

Cambodia must have suffered from too many wars. Thank God, everything looks alright now, politic is stable, people are busy, economy is really developing. The other day four of us, We, Na and Khir visited Siem Reap, Cambodia for 3 days 2 night staying at Myhibiscus Hotel and  which is run by Malaysian company from Shah Alam on 10 year lease.

There was this school named "darul ulum" which is financed by a foundation that became our focus. A friend is keen to finance the running of hostel for five years as his community social service. I was roped in to look into integrated farming that will promise sustainablity. At least students will learn about gardening and chicken rearing. Fresh vegetables grown by themselves would be good for their diet and late afternoon gardening work out will flex both their muscle and mind. The school is far from anything else, almost to the border of Thailand.

I just wonder whether I am qualified to offer help on integrated farming. All I have is passion, nothing else. I studied Civil Engineering at degree level and Construction at masters level. Gardening is something that I learn through the so called university of life,  just at the backyard. No certificate, no diploma, just pure passion. To that school in Cambodia, I am offering passion!

Within a month, the whole integrated farming will be drafted. It's going to be organic, manual no automation. I wonder if any of the readers like to share their experience in such endeavour............

1. integrated farming

The space is big, it is going to be a farm definitely more than a garden. I have to collect inputs and ideas to come up with suitable integrated farming project design. There would be pathways, drains, a store, a section for poultry rearing, another section for vegetable and fruit trees. The area should be accessible to vehicles for loading and deliveries. A decent pathway right through to the hostel would be neat and welcoming.

a large empty space to be converted into integrated farming project,
with hostel at the far end, half completed.

2. Furniture for the hostel
We went round looking for furniture, tables desks and beds. There was this long street, with furniture shops one after another. Musa a Cambodian associate suggested buying a large uncut timber, then someone will cut  it into planks and assemble the furniture as requested. Huh, so interesting approach! Musa said it would a lot cheaper that way....

simple table and chairs

simple wooden bed

3. Bricks
We never use hollow bricks in Malaysia...., so definitely I was quite amused to see hollow bricks being widely used in Cambodia.

bricks for construction

4.  Myhibiscus Hotel and Resort (formerly Angkor Monarch Hotel)
We stayed in Myhibiscus Hotel. The room was alright, swimming pool at the front, food and hospitality was excellent. Very affordable indeed.  I noticed a familiar vine zehneria of  cucurbitaceae family. I grew zehneria before in Tanah Merah but sadly had to leave them when we moved to Johor.

hotel staircase: I love their ethnic repetitive motif 

a fruit of zehneria vine. malaysians call it timun tikus

Before the end of the year, students staying in the hostel would have something interesting to do in the afternoon: grow vegetables and fruit trees, rear chickens, and learn the basics of organic integrated farming.  Soon they would learn about sustainability. The four of us would have to return to Cambodia once or twice to roll out the project. I am still looking for ideas.....



email : mylittlevegetablegarden@gmail.com
bangchik and kakdah
pasir gudang johor

Garden Design and it's outcome

We can come up with the most beautiful garden design, but to see it through, digging, moving the earth, germinating and planting is hard work. Tiring, but it's fun and rewarding. I came to Pasir Gudang Johor late last year, and the space at the back of the house was so tempting. A simple sketch was drawn and the rest is a journey of backyard gardening....

my little vegetable garden layout

......................... N o v e m b e r   2 0 1 1 .........................

setting out with strings

new garden bed with edgings

new garden beds taking shape

......................... D e c e m b e r   2 0 1 1 .........................

roselle growing up

new home made  garden work bench.

......................... J a n u a r y   2 0 1 2 .........................

small rectangular bed

small rectangular bed

square bed with pineapples and sweet corns

......................... F e b r u a r y  2 0 1 2  .........................

big rectangular bed

watering system

watering system

......................... M a r c h    2 0 1 2  .........................

small rectagular bed, highlighting Keladi.

bucketful of kale.

......................... A p r i l    2 0 1 2 .........................

square bed with ubi kemili / ubi keling

......................... M a y   2 0 1 2 .........................

Markisa / passionfruit sign of success

......................... J u n e      2 0 1 2 .........................

small rectangular bed, overhauled for next planting

open bed,  with roselle and  lady's finger

2000 chili project at far back.

small rectangular beds, the right side

the rest on the left side

How time flies......

........... b a n g c h i k      a n d      k a k d a h ..........

j o h o r