Monday, June 13, 2011

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!.

12 comments:

  1. Huiyo! I see that you're using drip irrigation technique on the papayas. Do you use the AB fertilizer as well? At what EC reading do you blend the solution?

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  2. What beautiful papaya, and nice to see the little ones. :)

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  3. The way to go! Your lawn looks good. I have removed my Philippine grass.

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  4. It's a really different type of lawn to the type we are used to

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  5. I envy you your green, green, lawn. I just have a thin strip of grass in between the street and our front fence. The children are so cute. Am I right to assume they are your grandchildren? - Bom

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  6. Wow, that is the very typical doting grandpa talking. They say here that grandkids are more loved than the child, i wonder if that is a saying also in Malaysia. You have cow grass, we have carabao grass here, i wonder if they are different. One mentioned Philippine grass, which I dont know either. I must learn about our lawn grasses. You have a wonderful 'my little vegetable garden' with fruits and grasses!...and kids!

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  7. Lovely papaya trees! :)
    And the grandkids too!

    Some good news on my end. I finally got my gardening started after delaying it for weeks no thanks to bad weather, crazy work commitments and lack of time.

    My kacang botol seedlings are a week old now and they are growing FAST! I haven't built a trellis yet. Must do this soon. How old/tall should they be before I move them to their permanent spot where I'm building the trellis. What type of trellis would you recommend?

    My bunga telang is also happily growing and doing well. They are about one foot tall now. Chilli seedlings have grown about one foot tall as well. Basil also thriving. I'm SO HAPPY!

    I planted bittergourd seeds too - and I see a little sprout peeking out, but they are taking a long time to break through the soil.

    The tomatoes and bendi are kinda slow though. Maybe the seeds are not quite working out. I also tried planting some papaya from seed, but it isn't sprouting. Hee hee, every day is like waiting for some surprise sprout to appear :)

    That's my garden report, Bangchik!

    Hope you and Kakdah are keeping well in Tanah Merah! :)

    Warmest regards from Putra Heights,
    Wandernut

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  8. ~mahfudz mn
    We use sprinkler for papaya and the lawn. Just water, organic fertiliser is applied separately.

    Rebecca @ In The Garden
    Thanks..., papaya is not ready to produce fruits yet. A few more months to go. Yeap, the little ones, our grandchildren.

    One
    Lawn needs fertiliser to stay healthy and green, and water during dry season.

    Sue@Green Lane Allotments
    It is called cow grass because cows love it. The grass crawl, and set out roots at every node, and establish itself as it spread.

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  9. Love the cool sunglasses pose!
    It is good to use hardwearing easy to grow grass - better to have a green lawn than lots of messy dead or dying patches.

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  10. ~Plant Chaser
    you are right, they are our grandchildren. If your lawn is small, its alright, that's enough to green the earth.

    ~Andrea
    Yeap, grandpa talking. Grandma will talk differently and definitely she has other favourite subjects. Flowers, dress, shoes, cooking will definitely be her subject ever since....
    Over here it's the same, grandchild seems to be loved more. I suppose that's just perception, since our own children are too old to be recipient of LOVE. Carabou grass should refer to the same type as cow grass. I guess Carabou is what's known here as Kerbau or water buffalo.

    ~easygardener
    Kids look alright for such pose. We may look funny to do the same thing. Grass pleases the eyes and make "my little vegetable garden" complete in a way....

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  11. ~Wandernut ......

    Nice to hear your gardening activity is picking up, with plants growing. If you dont mind, you can email photos so that the rest can see and feel your gardening enthusiasm.

    Trellis is definitely your choice. I once did rectangular kind of trellis, four stakes and joined up at the top for plants to climb up and crawl up there. I did inverted V too, much easier I would say, with a wood or bamboo joining the top of inverted V frame. We can also let them crawl up the fence....

    I happy to hear that you are really kicking with gardening...

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