germination for little backyard garden.

It's alright to act small for small backyard garden. I am referring to germinating seeds. It's kale or kailan, chinese celery or daun sup, red okra or bendi merah and pak choy.  I placed a pinch of seeds in each, in an attempt to see at least one seedling appear in each pot.

I am trying something different for a change. A portion of rectangular raised bed is reserved for all these, mixing them up with no particular pattern. It would be fun to see the wild side of vegetables as they try to grow, elbowing each other in a tight space...

red ladys fingers /okra/ bendi merah seedlings

zinnia seedlings

zehneria / timun tikus seedlings

clitoria ternatea seedlings / anak pokok bunga telang

seedlings

seedlings

seedlings

Out of the many, zehneria from cambodia, pak choi, zinnia, marigolds, okra had germinated earliest. Chinese cellery, tricolour amarant had been very quiet without any sign of germination.  I am going to mix them up in one vegetable bed. Call it intensive gardening, square foot gardening, or companion planting, all refer to plants grown closely together. That's the intention for the next project. Okra will give height, the rest will grow below. With zinnias planted together, I am imagining how the vegetable will look like, extremely colourful!

bangchik and kakdah

johor

Pak Choy in Johor

Pak Choy

coming to 2nd week now  

pak choy in pots (27 Nov 2011)

pak choy in pots, different view (27 Nov 2011)

pak choy close-up (27 Nov 2011)

bangchik and kakdah

johor malaysia

The old mulberry and the new pak choy.

Yes a new place and a new garden indeed, but at the moment contents are old plants brought here from Tanah Merah Kelantan. Somehow potted plants love the new setting, weather and shady environment created by two massive rain-tree....

The Old Mulberry

There is quite a history about mulberry. We first grew two potted mulberry plants in Putrajaya then moved  to Tanah Merah for a year,  and now in Johor.  It seems to grow well, sprouting flowers and berries but I notice a few bites at the leaves. It could be grasshoppers from the large field at the back of our house. It is alright, grasshoppers can take the leaves, we can take the berries.

Mulberry

Mulberry with bitten leaves

Mulberry 

The New Pak Choy

Pak Choy is one of the many veggies we would try here. Twenty five seedlings are coming to the fourth leaves. Next week, they will be transferred to bigger 5 inch diameter plastic pots. They will remain in pots til harvest. I don't think they can grow well outside with rains coming everyday..

Pak Choy seedlings

Pak Choy seedlings, 25 altogether.

Pak Choy seedlings.

There is steady progress on six rows of vegetable bed. Three completed and three more to go.  Eleven Roselle seedlings brought along from Tanah Merah are the first group of plants to be introduced into our vegetable plot, the rest will wait...  Our new garden is really a combination of old and new.

bangchik and kakdah.

Johor Malaysia.

Being artistic with potted vegetables.

 vegetable in pots

vegetable in pots

Today, I want to show the artistic side

of growing vegetables.

bangchik and kakdah

Tanaman dalam pasu: sekali imbas

(First time I put the whole piece in Malay language. Its about growing plants in pots / containers)

Bila orang mahu bergiat dengan tanaman, selesanya jika mula dengan pasu. Disitu kita berjinak, memahami ragam pokok, tanah, air, baja, sinaran matahari, serangga perosak dan cuaca. Kemudian bertambahlah koleksi pokok dan pasu.


Kebanyakan pasu yang kami gunakan adalah jenis plastik sebab ringan dan murah. Pasu seramik pula boleh dibeli dalam pelbagai bentuk, saiz dan warna. Koleksi pasu seramik Kakdah tidak banyak, tidaklah sampai beratus. Namun ada pasu seramik Kakdah yang sangat besar, hingga tak terangkat.



Kami menanam sayur ditanah dan dalam pasu. Pasu tetap menarik, sebab boleh dialih-alih mengikut cuaca dan citarasa.

 pak choy
Pokok ini menarik sebab cepat cambah dan tumbuh. Target awalnya hanyalah untuk peroleh 10 pokok sahaja. Waktu semai, dilebihkan biji benih dalam pasu semaian.., sekitar 5,6 biji dalam satu pasu semaian kecil. Kesemuanya bercambah, dan tidak sampai hati untuk buang anak pak choy yang lebih itu. Tidak mengapa, kami boleh makan pak choy hari-hari, pagi dan petang! Kakdah tidak pula merungut bila kesemua 55 pasu disusun atas railing verandah kiri dan kanan.

(foto dua hari lalu)

pak choy,  dalam pasu 4 inci.  semuanya 55 pasu.

(foto hari ini, gambar jam 5.30ptg.

 hari ini Kakdah selang selikan pasu, 
katanya kerana daun dah memanjang,
bersentuhan antara satu sama lain. 
Itulah fleksibiliti tanam sayur dalam pasu.

Stevia

Asalnya ada tiga pokok sahaja yang dibeli dari sebuah nurseri di Kelantan, RM5.00 satu.  Kami berterusan melakukan percambahan. Kini ada hampir 100 anak stevia. Target masih tidak berubah, iaitu 1000 anak stevia dalam tempuh setahun.

Salah satu pokok stevia hasil percambahan, dauntenya manis macam gula.

tomato

Ini cubaan pertama di Tanah Merah, dengan tomato cherry. Benih diambil dari lebihan tomato yang Kakdah guna untuk masakan.  Semainya banyak, yang nak ditanam cuma dua sahaja, jadi selebihnya letak dalam polybag hitam. Setakat ini yang dalam polybag pula lebih subur dari dalam pasu.

anak tomato dalam pasu seramik besar

anak tomato yang lebih, ada 5 semuanya. sebagai spare.

daun sup

daun sup

Ada banyak lagi sayur dan pokok dalam pasu, Antaranya sambung nyawa, mulberry, kucai, kangkong, kunyit, halia, bawang putih, bawang merah, pudina, oregano, basil, dan macam-macam lagi. Saja wujudkan hijau di sekitar rumah, untuk sedikit keselesaan dalam hutan konkrit, dan untuk segarkan nostalgia pernah hidup dalam kehijauan suatu masa dulu.

                  bangchik dan kakdah,  tanah merah, kelantan.                                    

55 pots of Pak Choy.

I counted with kakdah, so there we are, Pak Choy in 55 pots! Not long from now we are going to have Pak Choy bonanza: a fiesta of sorts, breakfast to dinner with pak choy.., and of course giveaways in the form of pak choy.

They are now in 4 inch diameter pots 
(picture taken on 25 April 2010)

pak choy in pots: the left verandah

pak choy in pots: quite a view!

double row of pak choy: the right verandah

 a few black pots for pak choy.

bangchik and kakdah
tanah merah home

Veggie Updates: lettuce, pak choy, and the rest.

Pak Choy still in tiny pots.

Pak Choy is relatively easy a veggie to grow, that they germinate quick, in chorus, as if the seeds agree among themselve to wake up with preset alarm clock.  Putting two or three granular organic fertiliser help the tiny seedlings to strengthen the stem and roots. Yesterday, all of them were transfered to bigger pots.
Sowing:  10 April 2011 

Germinating: 14th of April 2011   - (first pair of leaves)

Transplanting: 23th of April 2011 - (second pair of leaves)

Pak Choy

a row of pak choy at the verandah

pak choy in red pot

pak choy in black pot

Lettuce

Lettuce in  long container, 4 each

Five lettuce in white pots

Lettuce is an achievement. Luck was not always with me, all this while. Once, they had germinated well, but somewhere along the way dried up and died. Not this time..., extra care was taken to ensure that, they survive to the end....... Not many, just 8 in two long container and 5 in medium size white pots, so 13 altogether. Somehow lettuce has biological clock identical to Pak Choy, they germinated at the same time and the timing of new leaves emerging is identical too.

Sowing:  10 April 2011 
Germinating: 14th of April 2011   - (first pair of leaves)
Transplanting: 23th of April 2011 - (second pair of leaves)



Earlier post:

• Germinating, Lettuce, pak choy April 16, 2011

bangchik and kakdah

Tanah Merah

Germinating, Lettuce, pak choy, marigold, giant sunflower

I am off for another round of vegetable growing. Some seeds were bought in February this year, and left idle for two months. Giveaway seeds from gardeners/bloggers still not tried out yet. So last Saturday, I decided to try them out.

Germination, in trays. Newspaper on top. 

10 april 2011

 

Some seeds emerged first, the rest still taking their own sweet time. After rounds of germination, we appreciate that some seeds are very impatient, to see the light of day, some prefer to continue sleeping and will wake up a lot later.

 

Pak Choy

pak choy seedlings

14th of April 2011

 

pak choy seedlings

 14th of April 2011

pak choy seedlings

14th of April 2011

 

pak choy seedling - close-up

14th of April 2011

 

Lettuce

 

lettuce seedlings

 14th of April 2011

lettuce seedlings

14th of April 2011

lettuce seedlings - close-up

14th of April 2011

 

 Spinach

Spinach seedlings

 14th of April 2011

 I would go along with Kakdah suggestion to put them in pots. We bought 50 medium size white pots a few months back. These veggies will look nice in them. They will be placed at front car porch, to ease watering, fertilising and of course harvesting! It wont take long for these vegetables to mature...

bangchik and kakdah

Tanah Merah, Kelantan

Pak Choy 5th update ~ almost there

pak choy 
or 
sawi putih

pak choy in deep container

pak choy in deep container

pak choy in shallow container

1st posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy stage by stage.
2nd posting on pak choy serial: Pak Choy adding more leaves
3rd posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy third update 

4th posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy, the fourth update.

5th posting on pak choy serial: 

Week 1 ~ first pair of leaves

Week 2 ~ second pair of leaves

Week 3 ~ on average, 6 leaves. the leaves are increasing in size

Week 4 ~ the plants concentrate on increasing the size, new shoots are slow now. 

Week 5 ~ ready to be harvested

It doesn't take long for pak choy to grow and become big, and ends up for a lovely stir fried menu. Looking at pak choy in both pots, we can safely conclude that the amount of sunlight matters much to the growth. The shallow container which is placed at a sunnier place, performs so well.

We are going to harvest them soon,
using the Cut and Come Again technique .

bangchik

Pak Choy, the fourth update.

Pak Choy or Sawi Putih

deep container in the dry yard

pak choy 
in deep container

close-up of pak choy in deep container

shallow container alongside the house

pak choy 
in shallow container

close-up of pak choy 
in shallow container

an older batch of pak choy,
ready to be taken anytime

1st posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy stage by stage.
2nd posting on pak choy serial: Pak Choy adding more leaves
3rd posting on pak choy serial:  Pak Choy third update 

4th posting on pak choy serial:
 

Week 1 ~ first pair of leaves

Week 2 ~ second pair of leaves

Week 3 ~ on average, 6 leaves. the leaves are increasing in size

Week 4 ~ the plants concentrate on increasing the size, new shoots are slow now.

pak choy in deep container.
This container is well outside our garden. In fact it is in the dry yard where kakdah normally hangs the cloths. The area is enclosed with brickwall, about 5' 6" high with two swing doors at both ends. The floor is tiled orange. She can get to the area through the kitchen's door. Pests in the form of grasshoppers seldom get to the area. Therefore, dry yard is well away from pest. The plants are totally free from pest bites.  Since the pot is at the edge of roof line, sunlight is fairly reduced and we would expect plants to be a little bit lanky.
pak choy in shallow container
This container is placed alongside the house, within the canopy of the roof. Lawn is 5 feet away. There will be pests straying to the pot once in a while. Grasshoppers seem to like pak choy very much. The biting habit is evident, but still tolerable. Pak choy grow better at this location, because of ample sunlight.

bangchik