Hot and spicy!

Chillies are really simple plant! Unfortunately pest love them so much! The plant is very easily attacked by mealy bug!

Mealybug females feed on plant sap, normally in roots or other crevices. They attach themselves to the plant and secrete a powdery wax layer (therefore the name mealybug) used for protection while they suck the plant juices. The males on the other hand, are short-lived as they do not feed at all as adults and only live to fertilize the females. Male citrus mealy bugs fly to the females and resemble fluffy gnats.

I have to check the leaves every week to see if any of them have set the colony! Every now and then I have to clean the pest using my hand as I try to minimize the pesticide but they come back sooner or later!

So far the chilli plant is surviving the attacked! Some of the leaves have changed to become yellow due to this pest but the plant look good so far! Every week I have ample of chillies to harvest! 

Red chillies in wet market cost RM20/kg or about USD 6++/kg. It's really expensive and I'm grateful to have the plant in the garden!

  

GBBD- June 2013

I'm early this time for GBBD of July month!

The sun is shining so brightly and it look like long summer here! It's been long since it rains but my plants are surviving due to my watering effort!

The ever flowering periwinkle! It has ayurvedic benefits!

I love the vibrant colour of cape honeysuckle! They have been invasive on my from garden but I'm happy with them!

Costus have been struggling for sunlight as the honeysuckle covered the area! I need to relocate Costus!

The self seeding Torenia is everywhere in my garden!

My yellow hibiscus!

 Some ants enjoying the nectar! Anyway my house have variety of ants!

Plumeria is flowering again but they have grown beyond my height!

 Wrightia is enjoying sun bath!

White hibicus is showing up too now!

Marigold is my favorites! They have both beautiful outlook and pest removal character!

Balsam is back for good ! :)

Can you see the spider? I use to see spider on this plant! Very strange! Grasshoppers have tested their teeth! The leaves have many medical benefits!
 

Indian vegetable

Due to my ignorance, half bed of my precious "ponnakani keerai" ( or I shall call them Indian vegetable since most people seldom have seen it ) are gone. Most of them was eaten by some kid of insects which left them in sorry state. I'm not sure if it's grasshopper or some other insect though....... Grasshoppers comes in variety of sizes and they are the manic in my garden!

I know it's good for grey hair solution and eye sight but I wonder if grasshopper have this problem too! ;)

Currently I have half of the bed which I have saved and they look good so far. I shall trim some for my cooking this weekend and the branches shall be planted back at the empty bed! That's sounds good!

Roselle juice again!

I have make myself more available in the garden than the past 4 months! ;) It's good news for me as the garden was so terrible during my absence or may be duing my ignorance time......

Last Saturday I harvested all the big Roselle fruits and make a bottle of juices! The picture above was taken after I harvested the fruits!

It's been so long since I tasted this juice! The taste is similar to Ribena juice! Drinking homemade juice with few ice cubes during the hot season is so good!

 Refreshing juice of Roselle!

I have fill them up in the "blackcurrent cordial bottle" and now the the bottle is almost empty after 3 days!   I shall plant more of the plant to produce enough juice for atleast a week!

Lime

I have only 1 lime tree in the garden. It takes so long to grow to almost my height. Almost 3 years I guess...... It has been fighting the damage done by numerous caterpillars all the time.

I give up on caterpillar attack sometime ago and made agreement with them.....You can have the leaves and I will pluck the lime....sound strange but i have no choice.

I have try spraying pesticide in the past but they return after few weeks and since this year I'm trying to minimize pesticide in the garden.... I have to do some other arrangement....Sometimes I remove the fat caterpillars if they seems to appear in large quantity though......

GBBD - May 2013

It's been some time that I never join the GBBD. I decided to push myself for GBBD for May month! At least I early this time around! ;)

I only have few plants flowering now! I shall try to get back to gardening....I mean the proper gardening ratehr than just watering the plant soon! ;)

The Adenium has been flowering profusly now!

Chillies

Some vegetables really can strive well without care! Chillies are one of those!

The little seedling that I transferred few months back have been flowering and providing me enough chillies for cooking!

Some I pluck while it's still green and some I let it turn red. The red chillies are more spicy......I read this somewhere last time!

I could only find the rod from my old clothes rack to support the plant! As my morning sickness and evening sickness.....whatever they call it........resides I feel more energetic to do gardening! I hope I will start new planting soon!