My little vegetable garden

Chili Centil: waiting for the first harvest.

2012-02-01T00:01:00.007+08:00

Continuity of chili growing from Tanah Merah to Pasir Gudang. Seeds from ripe chili taken along to Pasir Gudang. A simple rule of thumb with chili centil is a month as seedlings, another two months in vegetable bed, then they are ready for the first harvest.

Now, it is another 17 days to go.

Sow:- 10 Nov 2011
Germinate 17 Nov 2011
Transplanted 17 Dec 2011
Expected harvest 17 Feb 2012

chili centil, another 17 days to ripen

chili centil. with onions at the back

chili centil

Soil had been thoroughly mixed with compost and organic fertiliser, a few inches below the surface. I sprayed liquid fertiliser twice and that's it. The plants don't really grow big and tall..., but they are managing, healthy looking..., and ready for the first harvest 17 Feb. Onions placed in between rows are growing alright, and to a certain point, I think they had ward off potential pests away. While weeding yesterday I saw one, a single white fly, darting lazily. I know, the battle is about to begin.

earlier posts:

Growing Chili centil in Johor.

Monday, December 5, 2011

BANGCHIK AND KAKDAH

pasir gudang, Johor

daun sireh or betel leaf

2012-01-29T00:01:00.010+08:00

Sireh or betel ( Piper betle) is primarily a climber which requires a pole or a tree. Kakdah however includes sireh among her hanging plants. So instead of climbing up, sireh or betel is hanging down. Yea, it is not the way sireh should grow, but it is alright, sireh isn't complaining.....

Chewing betel is a habit among the older generations, grandmother era. Not many do that now. However sireh /betel manage to get the limelight during Malay engagement and wedding ceremony. So sireh is a plant well sought after for such ceremony....

{It goes by many names: The betel leaf is known as Paan in Assamese /Urdu /Hindi /Oriya /Bengali, and Tambula and Nagavalli in Sanskrit. Some of the names in the regions in which it is consumed are: Vetrilai (Tamil), Tamalapaku (Telugu), Vidyache pan (Marathi), veeleyada yele (Kannada), Vettila (Malayalam), Plū (Mon), Malus (Tetum), Maluu (Khmer), Plū (Thai: พลู), Bulath (Sinhalese), Malu (Tokodede), Bileiy (Divehi), bulung samat (Kapampangan), daun sireh (Malay), daun sireh/suruh (Bahasa Indonesia), Papulu (Chamorro), Ikmo (Philippines), Pu (ພູ) in Lao, and Trầu (Vietnamese). } .. wikipedia

sireh emas

The variety is sireh emas.

A gift from Fauzi and Noor. So that will definitely rekindle memories

of our short stay in Tanah Merah Kelantan.

bangchik and kakdah

Pasir Gudang

Johor

green leafy vegetables in our little garden.

2012-01-27T00:01:00.004+08:00

Leafy vegetables, leafy greens, sayur hijau all refer to the same thing. Plant leaves are eaten as vegetables, either raw as salads or cooked; stir fried, stewed, boiled or steamed. I love growing leafy vegetables because they do provide exciting view, green, thriving and soothing. Seeds are cheap and we can grow by hundreds. Most grow so quick that in a matter of weeks they are ready for steady harvest.

bayam

It is always bayam to us here. We can get them cheap at the market, but growing bayam ourselves is something else. It is always nice to have bayam right at the backyard ready to be cut for a lovely lunch or dinner. Sometimes it is called amaranth tricolour. A friend said, one should buy seeds only once, then after one should keep saving seeds when the plants flower and produce seeds. The seeds are black in colour, so small that a pinch could contain hundred of seeds.

They are slightly more than two months, and now they are already flowering. That's bayam, at after two months, they are considered old or ancient.

bayam

ulam raja

We never miss growing ulam raja. It is quite strong against pests and wind. Picking the shoots for fresh salad never kill them, in fact will promote development of side shoots, turning the plant into bushy ornamental herb.

ulam raja

kangkung

kangkung, or water spinach is known as poor man's veggie. It can propagate by cuttings, but the most usual way is by seeds. And like the above veggies, kangkung will bloom and produce seeds in a short time. This veggie is unique, because once it sets, it will keep growing and crawl where ever it wishes. Heavy pruning will give the plant a fresh start all over again.

kangkung / water spinach

water spinach

The three leafy green will always be with us, placed somewhere at the backyard. I am eyeing at other leafy greens to be included here. The one foot square vegetable bed, will be an adventurous site to trying as many as I can squeeze.

bangchik and kakdah

pasir gudang JOHOR

roselle after two months here.

2012-01-25T00:01:00.013+08:00

Any new vegetable gardener should include roselle in the list of plants, simply because of it's zest to keep growing. While other plants could be struggling, roselle will just keep growing, displaying deep green leaves and dark red stems and branches.

The row of roselle is so dense now, becoming really bushy. It keeps me wondering if I am guilty of putting them too close or the plants simply love the environment here and keep growing. Kakdah finds it difficult to get to the fruits in the bush. She had taken a few, to add taste to one of her menu.

The other day a friend asked for a roselle seedling. Luckily I have one extra from previous planting, in polybag. It is good to see people trying to grow plants. I had just finished germinating 10 new roselle, so within a month the new roselle seedlings will need a plot to grow.

Row of roselle: pink flowers are quite visible

row of roselle

roselle, dark red stem

kangkung, basil and roselle far back.

roselle, the side

roselle: some insects love the leaves

roselle, the shoots

roselle

bangchik and kakdah,
johor

Earlier Post on Roselle in Johor

ROSELLE after a month here

Growing cabbages in Johor

2012-01-23T00:01:00.009+08:00

The four cabbages are Ok..., leaves getting bigger. I did regularly posts on cabbages following their phases and stages in Putrajaya. We had grown them in Tanah Merah and now Pasir Gudang Johor.

two month old cabbages

Kadir, Syed and Sharifah's son is the one that will water our plants including cabbages whenever we had to be away. I had not personally said thank you to him yet..., and I guess it's like mutuality of understandings, words don't matter much. His boyish smile will warm anybody's heart... yea, that is Kadir, the young part-time gardener whenever we had to be away....

bangchik and kakdah

Pasir Gudang JOHOR

Long red chili have a go.

2012-01-21T00:01:00.007+08:00

The bigger space I am currently enjoying offers room for multi-adventure in vegetable gardening. But one thing I am very much aware is when so many type of vegetables are grown, there is a need to keep up with things. Every vegetable ha its own special need and growth rate. There is also a need to answer the question "what's next". Because the end of one veggie should coincide with next veggie seedlings ready. A gardener is a leader visualising what lies ahead in long term plans. And at the same time a manager too, coping with daily chores pests, watering, fertilising, mulching and harvesting. And also a community member as we share harvests with neighbours.

Long red chili have a go.

mencuba chili merah panjang

There is KipMart in Pasir Gudang on the way up to Masai. KipMart is such a big supermarket. Everything is available there. And the most interesting part is the veggie, fruits and fish sections. One day Kakdah bought a few long red chili. I opened one, took the seeds out and germinated them straight away. No problem, they dutifully let out roots and shoots. Wonderful, one chili has so many seeds enough for tray type 74.

red chili seedlings

chili merah panjang atau chili besar.

The seedlings are still in tray type74 . I didn't count, but at a glance there should be at least 70. They will get to the ground soon, as seedlings grow to eighth leaf. Not all will be used up. I wonder if Azmi and Sanusi is interested. Otherwise the extra will be squeezed in the one-foot vegetable bed.

bangchik and kakdah

Pasir Gudang, Johor

OF THE TWO BASILS

2012-01-19T00:01:00.011+08:00

We had grown two different type of basil before. One with whitish flowers and the other slightly purplish. There is a new type of basil in the garden now, very dense bonsai-like basil. It is not flowering yet.

Bonsai-like basil

The other basil: with purplish flowers

The other basil: not as dense

I asked Kakdah about the differences in smell and taste. She said just a slight difference...., with a hint of lemon grass in one and not the other. Yea, smell and taste are two aesthetic elements of life , so difficult to describe.... and yet we know the differences, the level, the intensity, the aroma.

bangchik and kakdah

Pasir Gudang, Johor

THE FATE OF GRAPE VINES.

2012-01-17T00:01:00.005+08:00

It used to be two grape vines in Tanah Merah, our former house. They had to endure 9 hour long distance travel. One died, and the other survived. The sole survivor is still in the same large pot, growing up steadily. It is enjoying the new place and weather. It has interesting growing habit, sending out Y-tendrils, and the moment it touches something solid, it will hold and wind slowly. Thereafter the tendril gets bigger and stronger changing its colour from light green to red. It behaves almost a snake holding on to victims, tightening up, squeezing out every little bit of air and energy..

the fate of grape vine

pohon anggur

Other plants like cucumber and bitter gourd display different styles, tendrils seem to grab and wind things quicker. It is understandable because their life-span is short, so they have to make full of the short time available to go high up, kiss the sun and produce flowers and fruits preparing for the next generation. Grape vine can take it's own sweet time for the fact that it is programmed to last for decades.......

grape vine: upper part against red brick column

Grape vine: tendrils red in colour

grape vine: the bottom part and the pot.

Grape vine is said to last for over 120 years. After 20 years, vines start to produce smaller grapes. In some places, vines are kept for 400 years, not as productive as young vines, but definitely a vintage, a heritage to pass to the next generation. My concern now is when would the first set of flowers and grapes be....

bangchik and kakdah

pasir gudang, JOHOR

Vegetable Garden maturing

2012-01-15T00:01:00.066+08:00

It's slightly over two months since we arrived here, Pasir Gudang Johor. Weather is getting slightly drier, no more daily shower around 5pm. The other day, cloud swelled heavy, indicating it's readiness to rain, then some how wind carried the whole heavy cloud away.... surprising. Neighbours Syed, Sanusi and Sahul mentioned about Jan and Feb being very windy, pointing out that Pasir Gudang International Kite Fest will always be held in February. This year, it is 15th to 19th February.

Our Vegetable Garden is really maturing now. A few weeks ago, roselle and lady's finger bent almost flat to the ground, as wind blew hard. But the next morning they sprang up like nothing happened. Wonderful to know how plants endure wind, sun and rain again and again. They are designed to survive. Judging by the number of seeds most plants produce, they really are programmed to last to the end of time.

vegetable bed, okra, ulam raja and keladi

vegetable bed viewed from top left

sweet corns and pineapples

bayam

Keladi

okra / lady's fingers / bendi

Lady's finger flowering

Bayam has been harvested many many times, more for the neighbours than our own kitchen. Lady's fingers were attacked by black ants a week ago, and of course I fought back. Now lady's fingers are growing happily and first harvest will happen tomorrow. Two months had passed, vegetables are maturing, harvest is daily chore for kakdah...... and our neighbourhood is blessed with fruits of labour..... gardening.

bangchik and kakdah

Pasir Gudang

HAPPY NEW YEAR: Another Gardening Adventure

2012-01-04T12:50:00.005+08:00

First day of the year had passed. The weather changed from rainy to sunny. While taking extra precaution to ensure plants had enough water, I forgot about myself. I was down for days with flu. Kakdah who was not affected , then assumed the responsibility to water plants twice a day.

Now there is a little bit change around the house. The large raintree has to go. The massive trunk and roots had pushed the roadside drain, displaced the alignment, leaving the drain broken and failed in its function . The roots had travelled too far, that some had knocked down pathways. After consultation with the neighbours, it was decided to knock two large trees down.

Most plants are flowering sweetly, with leaves so green. I was discussing the other day with friends, why plants in Johor grow so healthy. In fact most landscape contractors in Malaysia get their plants supplies from Johor. There are so many large nurseries in Johor starting from Muar to where I am staying now Pasir Gudang. It is all about weather here being kinder. It is never too hot. Evenings are breezy and cool. There is always clouds to soften burning afternoons.

flowers so sweet

the large raintree that has to go down

flowers white and yellow

leaves of raintree

the broken drain had to be repaired

it is hot.., but they keep on working

men and drain

the new irrigation system

Izmar and friends

the tubes for irrigation system

200 gal water tank ready.

We will have new irrigation system ready soon. Water tank and tubes are here already. Izmar from Kuantan came with the whole family to have a look at the site. He will come back within two weeks to help us out with the new irrigation system, as days get hotter and weather gets drier.

Happy New Year.

bangchik and kakdah

Pasir Gudang Johor

More vegetables to add.

2011-12-27T00:01:00.003+08:00

Germinating indoor is useful during rainy season, where one can guarantee seeds let out roots and leaves popping up, and not washed away by rains. Seeds are queuing up, taking turn to see the light of day. Roselle, ulam raja, chili centil, lady's fingers, keladi, basil, kangkung and cekur had gone to the ground, doing well so far. Spinach and brinjal are still in germinating trays. Lettuce and cabbage are in bigger pots now.

SPINACH / BAYAM

CABBAGE / KUBIS

Cabbage

Quite a coincidence, everytime I set out to grow cabbage, only four manage to survive. Once in Putrajaya home, another in Tanah Merah. As if cabbage seedlings understand that I only have four large shallow pots to keep them. Fresh mixed soil is ready for them and by middle of the year,

they should be ready for harvest.

LETTUCE /

LETTUCE

Lettuce

These are from the same variety I grew in Tanah Merah. I wasn't as

ambitious as Tanah Merah days.

Only 8 lettuce this time.

BRINJAL

The last one to germinate, with yellowish leaves.

BRINJAL seedlings, bowing to the sun.

A friend recently mentioned about not having green fingers, and another friend asked about three sisters concept and how to grow markisa from seeds. I wish to elaborate what is green fingers all about. About growing markisa, a click on the label, will lead to my previous adventure. In fact I have transplanted 4 markisa brought from Tanah Merah. The four seem to be doing fine.

The other day, we were discussing about transformation, through rebranding perspective. I am looking at my big backyard, visualisizing changes that will appear, with quickwins, harvests and giveaways. Transformation or rebranding exercise is about planning and seeing it through. My backyard garden is like a lab. The way forward should be realistic, and as a gardener I appreciate the two limiting factors; time and stamina, as I keep on visualising the eventual look of my little vegetable garden in Johor and as I keep germinating more seeds, and as I keep adding plants to the vegetable bed....

-bangchik and kakdah-
Johor Malaysia

carpentry work for garden use.

2011-12-22T00:01:00.009+08:00

It is all about putting ideas together, and seeing it through. Carpentry work is my other passion. Who need 20,000 dollar equipment set to assemble wood and nail tight for a rough garden table. Just a saw, a hammer, a crowbar, a T-square, a pencil, a measuring tape, nails, and definitely some pieces of wood. The end product may not look commercial like ikea/parkson/giant/court mammoth/house of deco/ version, but it sure is useful to put pots, scoops, garden scissors, fertiliser, pails.... It is a garden bench with trademark bangchik

When I set it out, it will be done in a day..... with lot of nail banging, and ocassionally kakdah had to come out to hold wood, or whatever when my two hands were occupied. She is so used to it, but I wonder what neighbours thought of loud nail banging........

garden bench

The other day, the contractor came to set up iron T posts and cloth lines.

I persuaded him to get a few wooden pallets from the construction site nearby.

He drove his van and brought back 5 wooden pallets.

A sketch, a few hours work, loud nail banging,

and the carpentry work is ready

wooden pallet is something like this

how i wish it to be known as bangchik's design

garden bench, lower shelf

garden bench

I manage to get two garden benches ready.

A little bit rough, but it is alright.

Kakdah had already mentioned about

sloping garden rack for her orchids...

Yes,

another weekend,

another carpentry adventure.

bangchik and kakdah

Johor Malaysia

ROSELLE after a month here.

2011-12-19T00:01:00.004+08:00

We were told by neighbours that Aziyan and Jalil who previously stayed here planted so many roselle. They mentioned about juice shared among neighbours. I suppose soil and weather suit roselle well . Now, how our roselle grow, green with side branches, definitely healthier than Putrajaya and Tanah Merah days. They get very bushy.

ROSELLE 18 DEC

The other day, Kakdah bought a sack of onions. Those with shoots were placed beside roselle. It would not disturb roselle's growth, who knows onions peculiar smell may push some pests away.

ROSELLE 18 DEC

Three Right vegetable Bed

Three rows, first is roselle, second reserved for chili centil, and the far right for eggplants/ brinjals or known here as terung.

ROW OF ROSELLE 18 DEC

ROSELLE 11 Dec 2011

ROSELLE 1 Dec 2011

bangchik and kakdah
Pasir Gudang, Johor

Growing Chili centil in Johor.

2011-12-05T00:01:00.014+08:00

We brought along fresh chili centil from Tanah Merah..., kakdah took out a few from the refrigerator for her menu. It's almost a month now, there are still some available. Within the first week upon arrival in Johor, I took out fresh chili centil seeds and germinate the usual way. Soak for an hour or two, then wrap in damp kitchen tissue until they rooted.

It's almost two weeks now. After a month, they will be placed in bigger pots. Serious farmers would normally put one month old seedlings out into the field, but I would rather wait until monsoon is over towards the end of January.

Sow:- 10 Nov 2011
Germinate :- 17 Nov 2011
Transfer to bigger pots:- 17 Dec 2011
Transplant:- 17 Jan 2012

Chili Centil seedlings (27 Nov 2011)

Chili Centil seedlings (2 DEC 2011)

Chili Centil seedlings (2 DEC 2012)

A few days ago, responding to Azmi's question where I got chili centil seeds,

I said I will spare a few seedlings for him. I am exploring who else is keen in gardening around here, to spearhead another serious agro adventure in Johor Bahru. Growing chili preferably.....

bangchik and kakdah

Johor Malaysia

Preparing New Vegetable garden

2011-12-01T00:01:00.064+08:00

I thought within the overflowing enthusiasm with no ending spirit of dare to dream, one ought to be cautious about these limiting factors: TIME and STAMINA. I only have weekends to really go into gardening. After-work is so short, that by the time I moved two or three loads of topsoil, sun has gone down. So, how much I can do with garden work, is very much time dependent. STAMINA is another factor. I have no intention to outsource garden work to deal with the two limiting factors.... in a way very much accepting the current rate of progress. Someone said, the journey up the mountain is long and memorable. Preparing vegetable garden plot is almost like hiking up the tallest mountain.... tough, tiring and yet memorable.

Now is December. I thought the vegetable garden plot is almost there, taking basic shape, enticing creative energy to recreate, reformulate and to keep redefining the eventual look of the whole garden. I would settle for loose overall concept which effectively allows flexibility on the final look.

Material

Top Soil 1 lorry load
Sand 2 lorry load
Bricks: 500 pieces
Compost 30 bags
Burnt Soil 30 bags
(Tanah Bakar)

Equipment

Wheelbarrow 1
Spade 1
Straw hat 2 (one for me, one for kakdah)
Gloves 2 pairs
Watering hose 50 m length

Timeline

Arrive in Johor: 5 nov 2011
Start garden work: 7 nov 2011
Finish garden work: 7 jan 2012
Automated watering system : 15 jan 2012

Plants/Vegetables

Roselle
Ladys Finger
Kangkung
Ulam Raja
Pak Choy
hibiscus
three sisters
clitoria ternatea
cili centil
cekur
keladi tetawi
ubi kemili
ubi badak
ubi itik

Three rows of vegetable bed 80% ready (22 nov 2011)

the vegetable plot, in a different view (27 November 2011)

vegetable garden plot: another view (30 Nov 2011)

vegetable garden plot: a bigger view (30 Nov 2011)

vegetable garden plot: a low view. (30 Nov 2011)
Quite visible, kangkung, tiny lady's fingers and roselle

Lady's fingers and kangkung (27 November 2011)

Watering
For the moment it's going to be manual, by watering hose. We are considering an automated watering system sometime in January when weather starts to get hotter. Our vegetable garden is designed in grid form to ease shifting to automated system. The target is to get the vegetable beds, "three sisters" plots, and flowers corner for kakdah, ready within a month.

November: manual
December: manual
January 2012: automated system.

the other side of the house (27 November 2011)

Lovely sunrise, a good sign to start a day. (30 Nov 2011)

I should have asked materials to be delivered in batches....

rather than the whole lot. It is disheartening to see

mountain high heaps of soil and sand. It doesn't seem to get lesser

bangchik and kakdah

little vegetable garden Johor Malaysia

Pak Choy in Johor

2011-11-29T00:01:00.003+08:00

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

Roselle in Johor

2011-11-25T00:01:00.004+08:00

Roselle is the first to be in the little vegetable garden plot. The seedlings were brought from Tanah Merah. I managed to squeezed in 11, with one left as spare just in case any one failed.... Roselle is not so fussy about soil. We have enough experience over roselle in Putrajaya and Tanah Merah. We did notice about red bugs as angels of death, swarming over roselle towards the end of their healthy lives in Putrajaya and Tanah Merah... Lets see if red bugs around here can smell the eleven plants growing at the back of our house.

ROSELLE IN JOHOR

Work on six rows of vegetable bed is still in progress. I can't wait until all is ready, therefore 11 roselle plants were planted as early quickwin. I guess to keep enthusiasm going there should be adequate number of quickwins spread along the journey. Applicable to gardening or any long term projects.

Definitely 11 roselle is the biggest so far, compared to 7 in Tanah Merah and 5 in Putrajaya. With 6 rows of vegetable bed, we can make sure that roselle remain as permanent feature, rotating from one row to another over the many years.

A sure promise of juice and jam within two months..

bangchik and kakdah

Little Vegetable Garden in Johor

Courtesy visit to the Palace

2011-11-24T00:01:00.007+08:00

A courtesy visit to the Palace on 15th November 2011, last week. Very beautiful palace indeed, fringed with green. The session was in relaxed mood. It's an ocasion on 15th December 2011 we were discussing about.

The Sultan of Johor was very concerned about preserving Johor heritage especially buildings and culture. If we drive along Johor Bahru we can sense the atmosphere of such heritage like Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque, Muzeum and Palaces.

Blue is the royal colour for Johor State, and HRH reminded us not to be too excessive with blue for 15.12.2011 ocassion. While it is alright for carpet to be blue, HRH doesn't expect napkin, table cloth, etc to be all blue.

With HRH Sultan of Johore 15th November 2011.
(from left: zulkifli, shab, HRH Sultan of Johor, bangchik, suzana,and johaini)

bangchik and kakdah

Johor Malaysia

The old mulberry and the new pak choy.

2011-11-23T00:01:00.000+08:00

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.

What's in store for the new garden.

2011-11-16T00:01:00.006+08:00

Coming to a new place, one will have to assess what's in store for gardening adventure. Over here space is definitely big for gardening. Vegetable garden will remain small for sustainability. For the two of us, we dont really require big harvest. It should be enough for home use and ocasional giveaways to neighbours. So it looks like 6 rows of vegetable is enough. We are planning for 3 different spots for climbers, with steel trellis.... permanent feature for the garden.

Potted Plants

Potted plants are recuperating well after such long journey,

and in a way fills up the emptiness

of not having a vegetable garden.

Kakdah likes this evergreen plant....

Fern, easy to look after

An ordinary orchid

New seedlings

Ulam Raja, Kangkung and Ladys' Fingers come out nicely and now at second pair of leaves. We will let them grow bigger and stronger in pots before putting them in vegetable bed. Lettuce, chili, clitoria ternatea, cabbage are joining the queue...

20 ulam raja seedlings.

Kangkung and lady's finger seedlings

Getting Vegetable Garden ready

Additional soil brought in for vegetable bed

Monsoon and Flood

Soil is very clayey,
with a tendency to hold and retain water.
Water will take sometime to move to the drain, hence a little flood.

Flood, just temporary before surface water gets into drain

Water drained away within a few hours

So water is going to be a problem. We are planning to raise the vegetable bed a little higher to avoid being completely submerged during rainy season. Two lorryloads of soil should be adequate. Sand which will come soon, will be added to improve drainage and texture of garden soil. I only have weekends to handle all these.... That will take a month or two.....

bangchik and kakdah.

New Place, New Garden.

2011-11-12T17:30:00.015+08:00

The longest journey in decades, starting off around 10am, arriving the next day at 3.00am. It was leisure driving, 750 km altogeher, numerous stops along the way. It's tiring, but it's alright. Over the many years, we probably have done millions kilometers of driving.. So, 750km from Tanah Merah to Johor is little...

The very next day, clitoria ternatea, sunflower and ulam raja were germinated in small brown pots. Being fresh seeds, ulam raja sprout within two days.. The other two stay quiet. Then kangkung and lady's fingers were soaked and wrapped in tissue. They are OK now...

Most potted plants are here in Johor, getting used to new environment. It's cooler around the house than Tanah Merah. Two large raintrees almost covered the whole sky.....

Plants in new environment in Johor.

YELLOW ORCHIDS, facing the road

ORANGE ORCHIDS

PURPLE ORCHIDS

POTTED PLANTS in a new setting

DELICATE BROWN LEAVES

BROWN ORCHIDS

HANGING POTS: at the back of the house

Kakdah's plants hanging in a different house.

and quite visible on the ground is future vegetable bed, clearly marked.

Three rows of vegetable bed half way through.

The space at the back of the house is massive......

I will need sometime to create new litle vegetable garden in Johor. Not too ambitious, just enough to keep the spirit going. It is going to be exciting.....

bangchik and kakdah

Saluting them, bidding farewell

2011-11-02T00:01:00.014+08:00

Should farewell be all about sadness, hugs and tears? Not necessarily. I went around the garden before sun broke loose it's monsoon anger...... with Nikon D90, to assess how they feel about us leaving. The plants I mean.

~The world of orchids ~

That is Kakdah's world, orchids and orchids.

They come in all sort of colours, shapes and sizes.

When they bloom, Kakdah is happiest. I wonder if it should work vice versa.

Pic 1 ~ yellow orchid

Pic 2 ~ yellow orchid

Pic 3 ~ yellow orchid

Pic 4 ~ light purple orchid

Pic 5 ~ another orchid

Pic 6 ~ orchid still in buds, protruding out

Pic 7 ~ colourful orchid, Kakdah's delight.

~ Cardinal Vine ~

An ordinary flowering vine from childhood days, less seen now, but given some prominence in our garden. They are flowering again and again ~ clear bright red little flowers with white filaments in the middle. When they climb high into the sky, looking so brave and happy, they probably are singing along with Freddie Mercury (Queen) on that heroic number, we are the champions.

Pic 8 ~ cardinal vine flower among pokok daun kesum

Pic 9 ~ Cardinal vine, filling up the air.

~ Lantana, the brightest ~

No other flowers can beat lantana on being showy and bright. No scent, just being fashionable . I remember how the late Negeri Sembilan's Tuanku Jaafar went on describing the Malays... "colorful, most flamboyant". Lantana describes that well.

Pic 10 ~ Lantana, bright orange and yellow

Pic 11 ~ Lantana, teaming up.

~ Periwinkle; being simple ~

Another simple flowering plants, periwinkle has that soothing healthy looking leaves with non stop flowers . Being so ordinary, not many like to keep periwinkle, that most end up as wild flowers in villages and outskirt of towns. But as I keep reminding Kakdah..., "it is alright to live with the ordinary, because taking off all the dressings of modern life, indeed we really are very ordinary", as humble as a periwinkle.

Pic 12 ~ Periwinkle, light purple

~ Ulam Raja ~

indeed like a forest in the garden. How many of our lunches had been accompanied with delicious salad of ulam raja. How many times the little boy from the front row of houses came and said "Mak mintak sikit ulam raja" or translated as "Mom ask for ulam raja". And how can I forget the memorable voyage of ulam raja seeds to London (click here: ULAM RAJA against all odds: a story from London).....

Pic 13 ~ Ulam Raja bush with winged beans at the back.

Keeping in tune with Mr Mohamad's wise words, Mr Shab's J factor where every thing has to JIVE in, in a JIGSAW puzzle, Mr Jalil's worry with golf balls having minds of their own and young Mr Faudzi's grasp on reality of life, I look at the garden and keep wondering if farewell needs to be teary hugs and kisses........

bangchik and kakdah

Tanah Merah, Kelantan

Three days without water, how does it feel?

2011-10-28T00:01:00.009+08:00

How does it feel to be without water for three days? We never know for sure because we are blessed with rain almost every day. Imagine what life would be in desert if left alone for days. But how can we imagine hunger and thirst without experiencing one. How can we imagine love if we never had one. We can go down the list: poverty, pain, anger, sadness, joy....... etc.

Tanah Merah was without running water for three days recently. Yeap, River Kelantan still flowing, rain do drop almost every other day but tap was completely dry. Since modern life is made so dependent on tap water, anything wrong with the distribution system will affect us. The other day, the big pump broke down, replacements had to be imported, so tap was dry for three days. They did send tankers to ease hardship, yes a basic emergency procedure. But modern life itself can't effectively cope even with good recovery efforts........ Since there was only two of us in the house, we went on low consumption measure and rationing usage. Our neighbour at the front with 8 children would suffer more.

I remembered how Melaka in 1991 had to go through it's worst water crisis when Durian Tunggal reservoir dried up after a prolonged drought. Millions of dollars had to be pumped in to handle water crisis; diverting water from other states, and sending planes up to do cloud seeding. Melaka Water Board finally had a new boss ...........Without trying to be too judgmental, we do accept that history of mankind was punctuated with crisis, fallen heroes, rising stars, and scape goats ......

Then another problem appeared right in front of us. Our own fertigation system! So I resorted to manual mode, rationing water to just once a day. Huh, how they cried, yellowing every leaves they had, ripening every chili they held, to survive on low water mode. It should take longer than three days to see us humans succumb to starvation ..... Like us, chili plants are fighters too. Trying to emerge as winners against all odds, is still within their DNA make-ups. To survive against drought, to stay sane, to stay relevant is to see the light of tomorrow......

pic1 ~ chili leaves yellowing, chili ripening, thirsty.

pic 2 ~ chili so small, yet potent.

pic 3 ~ Kakdah picking ripe chili from 90 plants

pic 4 ~ chili plants looked so healthy 2 weeks ago

A lady from the far end, asked for 3 kilos. She runs a restaurant nearby. I didn't know how much Kakdah charged that day. With Thailand still suffering from flood which effectively reduced vegetable imports across the border, Kakdah should know how much to charge. A full time housewife, but there is no stopping for her to know the rule of supply and demand. She has mental record of her chili sales...... I wouldn't ask.

bangchik and kakdah

Tanah Merah Kelantan

Markisa and Okra

2011-10-25T00:01:00.012+08:00

I never thought such combination would work: markisa and okra together. Markisa is a climber, and will climb to the sky. Okra is destined to stay low with beautiful flowers and fruits. Of many vegetables I have grown, okra is most demanding. I have to see okra everyday, because the fruits grow by inches. We pick okra every morning, 3 for us, the rest for the neighbours.

I managed to put up simple triangular trellis for markisa to climb and for okra to grow at the bottom. The woods were taken from Hafi's place some months ago. It was only last week that I manage to put them up.

Markisa/passionfruit: tendrils holding on

I could have allowed markisa use fence to climb, but having trellis on my side is best. It would be easier for me to look after markisa and of course, do fruit picking when ripening season comes. Markisa grows well so far, earlier with simple yellowish leaves, one on each side of the main stem. Now markisa is showing it's true character, producing long tendrils and leaves branching out into three. They look very much like okra leaves.... How can I forget the single markisa given by Azura some months ago, a gift that manage to multiply. Razali has a few climbing crazily over his fence. So there we are, the connectivity made possible through markisa, a little gift from Azura.

Okra / Lady's fingers/Bendi

It's markisa I am looking for. Okra is temporary. By the time okra is about to die, markisa is almost ready to bear fruits..... In transformational leadership approach, it's like setting the road map to ultimately pick markisa fruits and while waiting, okra/lady's fingers/bendi acts as one of the many quick wins to keep positive momentum going and to maintain the right enthusiasm throughout the long wait.

Now I don't have much time to see the rest. By 1st November they start packing, and by 4th the latest, we will be in Johor Bahru already, a new place, a new page, a new garden.

bangchik and kakdah
Tanah Merah, Kelantan.

Update:

SMS from a friend of Shah Alam days: The road diverged in a wood, and abangchik has chosen the one less traveled by, and it makes all the difference.
Email from a friend of Ipoh days. Wah! petani modenn la ni! elokla tu beras pun nak naik harga!
SMS from a friend of Seremban days: Malae2 gini.... Org dok kebung doh... Esok pulok laa.
SMS from a friend of Putrajaya days: ke JB?.... kali ini sy benar2 pasti
SMS from a friend of Tanjung Malim days: Deepavali = Depalari = Depa lari ke JB.

on the road again....

2011-10-21T11:15:00.001+08:00

I do not know what Willie Nelson had in mind as he swung that number on the road again...., strumming, smiling to the masses. It's the same old song, taking the country crowd to the brink of ecstasy.

Willie Nelson - on the road again

I look at the garden again, it has not picked up well...., having gone through many weekends without both of us. It's only weekend that we can spend a little bit more time. Days getting shorter now, sun closing down just after 7pm...... By the time I get home, plants are ready to sleep. I am tired too..... Something odd happened yesterday. The pump stopped working. Chili plants grieved........ and many came to cheer them up, Hj Hem, Effly, Rockzany, and Adziem. Hj Derani boys came too, crawled over ceiling to check for broken wire. In the end Azwar put a new pump. The plants smiled as their roots were bathed lovingly..... with water and fertiliser.

So Shab was right in J factor..... the mutuality of things, comradeship, about being honest and giving out only the best, and about how things must jive in like jigsaw puzzle. Jalil was right too about Sun Tzu and the 13 chapters....., and another friend with blue ocean, Kotter's 8 steps putting life on different perspective. But I am still a gardener, having roselle, balsam and ulam raja as friends.

But days are getting lesser..... before I bid farewell to the place, the darling of all places. Tanah Merah. Sungai Kelantan must have known about my short stay here, as it flows lazily from Pergau to the sea. I wonder what Tokgawa Ne would say, knowing the friendship could develop far deeper. Life is never long, so is my stay in Tanah Merah, Kelantan. Of course I will come back as a much older man.......

Gardening is like going through life on a fast mode, You see births upon births. You see generations in front of you, almost like a civilization of 1000 years in human term. A gardener orchestrates a civilization of plants, bees, butterflies. But gardener is also a component of the whole thing, a subset of things rather than the overall encompassing master of musical drama. I hope Bob Geldof didn't include Tanah Merah, and the new place I am going to, in his haunting song, I don't like Mondays......

Bob Geldof Boomtown Rats - I dont like mondays

How could I convince Bob Dylan, rolling stone should not be echoed in all its extreme negativity, as if world is about to end the next day. It's just how things should behave, as the stones roll, as rivers meander, as plants grow and die, to perpetuate what's known as life....... It's earthly. It's short, no permanence. Like a rolling stone should sound as sweet in a positive mood....

Bob Dylan - like a rolling stone

Freddie Mercury -we are the champions

So I will be on the road again. Only, I wont be singing with Willie Nelson happy country mood. How can I forget the tune of Boomtown Rats, I dont like Mondays, and looking after number one. Who can beat Freddie Mercury on being extremely dramatic and heroic..... as he kept pointing to the sky in we are the champions, a song sung by millions, and being melancholic as he hummed on Seaside Rendezvous putting chilling message as we stroll along Kelantan river.

I know, I will tell friends here to take the lead what's historically was entrusted on Serdang's UPM. It's alright to take responsibility to the limit in all sincerity, setting up the stage that has been left unattended for decades. Raden can't argue, how can he?

I sincerely hope Singapore in all its modern extravaganza, will accept me as it's neighbour. I have nothing to offer, except for rainbows on my left and green on my right. I will put rainbows in the sky and paint the earth greener.

So I will be on the road again.......