Leucaena leucocephala or petai belalang

So they say petai belalang are good as both nitrogen fixer and fodder plants. We have a number of seedlings ready to transform Seri Iskandar Home. Thanks to Tahir who had given away cuttings and seeds. We are planning to grow Leucaena leucocephala or petai belalang as hedge. I wonder how the hedge will look later. The soil in seri iskandar home isn't too rich, so Leucaena or petai belalang may be able to do nitrogen fixing. I am planning to regularly prune, and use leaves as mulch. Five seedlings are grown from seeds and 10 from cuttings.

Leucaena had been grown for many reasons, and mainly as fodder throughout  the world. The trees are planted in closely packed rows.

Leucaena leucocephala or petai belalang seedlings

bangchik and kakdah

vegetable garden

Spinach / Bayam are civilised lots.

We always put too much  spinach seeds. Probably because the seeds are too small and a little pinch already take 20 to 30 seeds.  When they germinate, our hearts warm up to the lovely sight, seeing new lives coming up,  racing up for a little space to breath. We should thin them down to the right amount for a given space. Most of the time, the joy seeing healthy seedlings is so overwhelming, and we let all of them seedlings stay and behave themselves. We can see how they let the healthier ones go up and get bigger but the rest stay low, growing at a slower pace.....  When we harvest the bigger ones, within a week the rest pick up speed and grow higher.

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So in a way, they do manage themselves, wait for their turn and stay as civilised spinach community....

bangchik and kakdah

vegetable garden

Growing papaya, leaves getting greener (update no 5)

Huh, still a week to go before all papaya seedlings will be brought to Seri Iskandar Home 300 km north.  They do look strong, stems are beginning to show light brown colour. I read a gardener's post about planting 3 seedlings in a hole, and wait until they begin to flower. The strongest female will remain and the other two has to be cut.  Hmmm... I feel bad about cutting off plants, but even if we don't cut them off, these plants are good at self sacrificing....., a phenomena I have seen countless times with spinach seedlings, when plants allow the strongest to shoot high, and the others close by stay low, dormant for a while....

Papaya seedlings, a lot greener now

Papaya seedlings

Previous updates:

• Betik, Papaya, five lobes. (update no 4)
• Growing papaya, different health level (update 3) 
• Growing papaya, the scrutiny ( update no 2)
• Growing papaya, a closer look (update no 1)

bangchik and kakdah

vegetable garden

Bayam or spinach

It is good to grow bayam or spinach in pots. It's visible, manageable and ornamental too. It does create interesting colour and healthy feel within the landscape of potted plants. I probably have to wait a week  for the first harvest. Yummy......!!

spinach in large pot

spinach in large pots

spinach

spinach

spinach

Spinach in small pot

bangchik and kakdah

vegetable garden

Betik, Papaya, five lobes. (update no 4)

Someone was saying, a female papaya plant will have more five lobe leaves than  three lobe,  Now I am beginning to see five love leaves emerging....

papaya seedlings

papaya seedlings

papaya seedlings

previous updates

• Growing papaya, different health level (update no 3)
• Growing papaya, the scrutiny ( update no 2)
• Growing papaya, a closer look (update no 1)

• 
  

bangchik and kakdah

vegetable garden

SERI ISKANDAR HOME, Muntingia calabura at the front

Visiting Seri Iskandar Home is always memorable. It is a house which we never stay even for a night when it was built more than a decade ago. We built a house somewhere , but work somewhere else, so that's how the story goes. Two tenants had stayed there and now we are ready to call it HOME. That will be our only HOME after retirement. We have a few years to get used to the place, a number of projects in store to get the setting right. The house does require a bit of facelift here and there. 

There is a tree called pokok ceri in Malaysia, but known scientifically as Mutingia calabura. For the moment the tree is wild, growing and branching at will. I am going to tame it, putting it to the right shape and size....... one of the first few projects, during long end of the year holidays.

pokok ceri or mutingia calabura

Seri Iskandar Home, getting old.

Our house is not far from oil palm plantation.

bangchik and kakdah

SERI ISKANDAR HOME

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

Growing papaya, different health level (update no 3)

It's a habit  to germinate more than required. I suppose it's alright since we can progressively pull out the weaker ones. Now there are more than 30 seedlings growing at the front yard.  Plants are definitely getting stronger now, enjoying the sunlight and the fertiliser ! Each on average has 6 big leaves plus a few young shoots.  Judging by the pace they are growing,  there should not be any problem to transplant in the new Seri Iskandar Home, some 300km north.

papaya seedlings

Papaya seedlings

Papaya seedlings

Previous updates on PAPAYA

• Growing papaya, the scrutiny (update no 2)
• Growing papaya, a closer look (update no 1)

bangchik and kakdah

vegetable gardening