pineapple progress

Pineapple is growing slowly. More leaves are adding on. I found some tips in growing Pineapple from website :http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-pineapples.html

A few things you should know about pineapple plants:

Pineapples don't need much water. They have very tough leaves so they don't lose much water through evaporation. They can get by on very little.
Pineapples don't need much soil or high quality soil. They belong to the family of bromeliads, and like all bromeliads they do not have a big root system.
Pineapples get a lot of their water and nutrition through their leaves.
Pineapples like slightly acidic soils, which is what most gardens have anyway.
Pineapples grow in full sun, even in the hottest climates, but they also do well in dappled shade.
Pineapples grow very happily in pots or tubs.
What pineapples do not like is
soggy, waterlogged soils,
having their leaves burned with concentrated fertilisers,
frost.

I read somewhere that the leaves colours indicate the health state of the plant. I'm not so sure if mine is doing well but I think I have to put more hand on this plant. Oh yes, do some weeding too!

Serai after a hair cut

Serai or lemongrass has been growing quietly at a corner of my garden. On and off I take some for my cooking. They look like a big bunch of weed or "lalang" from far!

I love the aroma of cooking chicken with them!

I did tidy the plant last weekend. A few hair cut and clean up the weeds around them.  

Butterfly pea

Butterfly pea plants have been invasive in my garden as of now! All the seedling are welcomed here!

 I just love the flowers so much! They have very striking blue colours !

This is how the seeds look like. The other day my neighbour took about 20 of this seed pods! She just enjoy looking at the flowers!
 

Pucuk Manis - an update

young shoots after the harvest

I can recommend Pucuk Manis or sayur manis to anyone who is very busy but still want to harvest some vegetables from own garden. Just plant the stems on the ground and see how they grow vibrantly under the hot sun!

The leaves are packed with Vitamin K , B and C. Also with some protein!

GBBD - AUG 2014

The weather is better now. It's raining on and off! I'm happy to see the changes . I guess the plants are happy too!

I had too much trouble with the snails until a nursery guy where I buy soil give me some snail poison. I saw about 60 - 70 snails died the next day! Phew! that's a lot! I feel like a mass killer! It's not a good solution but I have no choice! All my seedlings, vegetables gone eaten by the snail. I have tried so much option but in vain. I think the soil that I bought had so much of the snail eggs that they manifested my garden!

Anyway for GBBD August I have few new flowers. I bought it last weekend.

Butterfly pea flowers have been flowering profusely! They really add colour to my garden!

This purple flowers are really tiny but so beautiful!

House-plants produce little white flowers too!  It reminds me of lilies!

For more blooms around the world, feel free to visit http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/

Indian vegetable - an update

This vegetable known as " Ponnakani keerai " in Tamil. Grasshoppers seems to love the leaf so much! They constantly attack and munch them! For the moment I don't have any intention to chase the grasshopper away as I still get some leaves to harvest.

Taken from : http://solaiachiskitchen.blogspot.com

"There are two varieties of this keerai – local and ‘foreign’.  Native variety is a super green plant. In Tamil we call the foreign one as seema ponnanganni. All of us would have seen that little bushy pink plant in parks and gardens planted as borders.

Uses
The word ‘Pon’ is the vernacular name of the plant ( Ponnanganni) means ‘gold’. This plant is thus as valuable as gold. Fried in ghee with a little pepper, salt and taken for 48 days it promotes the beauty of the body, imparts a golden glow, cools the eyes.

Lean people can gain weight and strength by eating this green leaves, cooked with Thoorr dhal, and ghee.

 Regular intake of this green thrice a week increases production of breast milk in lactating mothers.

It improves the function of the liver.

If eaten with white garlic, Ponnanganni cures chronic constipation. Piles also can be cured.

Some people have ‘hot’ body. Such people can take two ounces juice of this plant mixed with 4 ounces of goat or cow’s milk. The body then gains strength.

Ponnanganni juice  30 ml mixed with goat’s milk (30 ml) may be taken empty stomach early morning. This reduces body heat and nourishes the body. If goats milk is not available, use cow’s milk.

Ponnanganni in any form – food or Thailam is good for the eyes.

After reading the above blog, I decide to have it everyday! ;)

Mulberry

Mulberry is very juicy fruit. It has a sweet taste when ripen. Usually the plant provide some fruits now and then.

Last month I trim them down. They look so leggy at that time. It sent out a lot of young shoots.

Little that I realize that there were hidden fruits on below them! If you see just like that, you won't see the fruits!

Last week I thought of doing some weeding and this is what I found! There were so much  of fruits! all ripen and some already drop down. I got a bowl full of mulberry fruits! It's my first time to harvest this much fruits!

I decided to make mulberry juice! such a tasty juice especially during this dry and hot season!