Lawn and effort to improve soil

We did try hard to improve the look of our lawn at Seri Iskandar home. Organic fertiliser, biomass waste of palm oil, cow dungs were used every time we spent weekends there. The lawn look alright for the moment, helped by the regular rainfall at the tail end of monsoon season. For the next two months rainfall will be a lot less, the grasses have to handle themselves. We would come back once or twice every month.

The improved lawn.

the shadow of heavily pruned mango tree

our own nitrogen fixer: little mung beans or kacang hijau.

I am trying to see the impact of mung beans on soil health, since they are nitrogen fixers. 13 leucaena (petai belalang) seedlings are growing steadily and they too are nitrogen fixers. We will be back on 19 - 22nd of february to see the progress.

bangchik and kakdah

seri iskandar home

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.

ASSESSING THE LAWN: six months after

It's slightly over six months now, since we first embarked on spot turfing project at Tanah Merah home.  Cowgrass is endemic to Malaysia, therefore it should find it natural to grow and spread. Every time we cut the grass, fertiliser will be applied, the normal granular NPK. The lawn stays green and healthy. I think give it a couple of years, there should be enough organic matter of dead leaves and grass chips for the lawn to survive without additional fertiliser.

Freshly cut lawn, with 4 papaya in the middle

 The four papaya are growing alright, almost in chorus, adjusting themselves to similar height and growth. The other day I saw little white flowers, but they dropped off, probably that's their way of learning.  The seven roselle plants were just cut to make way for okra/lady's fingers/bendi/kacang meo.

Lawn and papaya at lower angle

Farah and Ramli came along with Adlina, Adli and Alia and spent the whole weekend with us. Kakdah was very happy. Adlina is now 4, Adli is 2, and Alia is 4 month old ~ the three grandchildren.

Adli,Adlina,Alia

Adlina,Farah,Adli,Alia,Kakdah

Adlina and Adli went along to Rantau Panjang.

Adlina, on the lawn, in front of grandma orchid house.

Cowgrass will not offer clinical finish, immaculate kind of lawn.  But it is adequate for our home, to add green as background to our little vegetable garden. It should look decent with regular cut twice a month, but the busy schedule may push grass cutting low in the priority list. What's more important, Adlina can give a special pose!.

assessing the lawn: 5 months after

No trace of spot turfing.., it's all full , every square inch.
Mowing done three times already, twice with my dependable electrical Bosch combitrim. The only time I get Rusli to help was when it rained the whole week, the grass was long. Bringing the electrical grass cutter in the rain is almost like committing suicide. Rusli has petrol powered grass cutter, so he came and did it.

It is not exactly all cowgrass, There is always some other types of grass, or weeds or creepers within the little lawn. We do weeding from time to time, the obvious would be pulling out thorny mimosa and lalang. But overall, it is still alright to call the lawn "cowgrass lawn", all done within 5 months, well ahead of the kpi (key performance indicator) which is 6 months.

Lawn, after 5 months.

Four papaya plants getting stronger, and  7 roselle plants getting older at  far right. When lawn is green and full, we can just spread picnic mat, and bask for extra tan... aha!

bangchik and kakdah

Tanah Merah home.

Earlier post on lawn:

• assessing the lawn: 4 months later March 28, 2011
• Lawn in the making with new kpi December 3, 2010
• Preparing the lawn November 25, 2010

 

assessing the lawn: 4 months later

The lawn was in terrible shape the last two months, with no rain for a stretch of a month. Automatic irrigation system I am having, cant cope with ever thirsty grass. Luckily the much awaited rainfall came last week, and the grass smiled.
How time passed.  November last year, roselle and papaya were  the first to be introduced in into our little garden in a very bare compound. Cow grass was planted towards the end of November.   I did a few posts at the early stage of  the lawn ;   Preparing the lawn  November 25th 2010 followed by  Lawn in the making with new kpi   on  December 3rd 2010.
Yesterday, Rosli came to cut the grass. It wasn't easy for him, with poly pipes of irrigation system spread all over the lawn.

The lawn four months later

 lawn trimmed short

Roselle on the left, papaya in the middle and some climbing plants by the fence

 Rosli , cutting the grass.

Papaya will take a year to mature and bear fruits. 

We have to wait....

Lawn, the last four months

November 2010

20.11.2010, still bare and empty

Roselle and papaya just planted

November 2010

20.11.2010 vegetable bed ready, lawn still bare

December 2010

 4.12.2010 a week old lawn, spot turfing as we call it.

January 2011

 7.1.2011, grass and roselle were enjoying the monsoon rain.

February 2011

8.2.2010 the driest month, the lawn showing it, yellowing.

The Lawn now.

a neighbour Eri, gave a remark yesterday, "baru nampak berseri!", referring to the lawn, roughly translated as " now the lawn sparkles!".


bangchik and kakdah

Lawn in the making with new kpi

One fine afternoon Rusli came in a Hilux, heavily loaded with cow grass.  His two workers helped putting the cow grass all over the compound, except where ulam raja, roselle, banana, little papaya seedlings, lemon grass, karapole, lengkuas, lemon plants, limau kasturi and limau purut are growing. They know  without telling that the raised vegetable bed are not to be grassed. He brought in more cow grass as the guys were busy digging and putting the cow grass in place. It took them 3 afternoons to complete the job. Kakdah served them coffee, tea and cucur kodok on the first day.

It is called close turfing if the grass is planted closely with no gap in between. In our case, it is called spot turfing.

 a view of spot turfing

 a view of spot turfing
Kakdah told the workers to leave one wild grass in the compound.  That grass can reach up to the height of 6 feet with fancy flowers. It is never known to spread through roots, only through seeds. I suppose we can handle that wild grass safely.

another view of spot turfing

Within six months the whole compound should be totally green, and that is the kpi (key performance indicator) for the new little vegetable garden in Tanah Merah, Kelantan. Weather, nature, and the grass itself will surely come in to help us realising that dream..., a little effort to re-green the earth.

earlier post:

1. Preparing the lawn Thursday, November 25, 2010

bangchik

tanah merah, kelantan Malaysia

Preparing the lawn

Lawn provides healthy green looking surrounding. We enjoyed such compound in Putrajaya, but Tanah Merah home is bare and red. Putting a row of  10 ulam raja, a row 7 roselle and 3 banana babies had provided some strategic early  landmark. The effort is not enough to turn the whole place green. A good and healthy lawn has to be the way.

Cowgrass has been my favourite which is rumput pahit to kelantanese. I was discussing with Rusli a local landscape contractor about turning the bare compound into a good lawn. The rate he is looking for is RM3 per square metre. Believe it or not, the rate was exactly RM3 per square 20 years ago when I was involved with a little bit of landscape work in Pahang. So not all things is on the rise.

Cowgrass is quite recognizable as we drive along the road and and look on the road side. Most football fields has cowgrass except for stadium which require the upper end variety of grass.  Recently I scooped a few patch of cowgrass as I walk to the fringe of the housing area. Just for fun, lets see if my fingers can turn the lawn green too. ...

a patch of cowgrass  (rumput pahit) at the back of the house.


bangchik