Garden fears

Every time the flash storms return, I get rather worried about my garden. Will it be too much for the plants? Will it leach all the nutrients out of the topsoil? Do I need to dig some of them up and bring them into shelter? A couple of species have definitely had to be brought in and these are my spearmint and rosemary cuttings. I didn't realise that both their troughs were flooded and now 1 of the spearmints has given up its ghost and will be joining the compost heap. The 3 rosemary cuttings still look okay, but I'm taking extra precaution because I've killed 1 previous cutting before and now that these have successfully rooted, I'm gonna do everything I can to protect them. The reason I took them out was because we had been having quite a long break from the monsoon storms and they needed some sun. Then along came these storms.

The compost bin is no longer, I decided to put the pile out in the open to reduce the smells. Got a rusty wire netting from my Mum and wrapped cardboard all around it, plus a layer of cardboard to keep the rain out (but I forgot to cover THAT with a polythene sheet so now it's wet and sagging).

I am also preparing the patch of ground between the main bed and the "watermelon plot" (although the seeds never sprouted and have been replaced with coneflower seedlings and young capsicum and chilli plants) for cultivation. After the municipal grass trimmers came, Ray and I dug up the irritating concrete slabs and broken shingles that are buried smack between the thin 4" topsoil and the clay subsoil. Our entire area is like this, so every foot of land has to be tilled. Once this is done, we get our electrical goods cardboard boxes, slit them up and cover the area to be cultivated. This forms an effective weed barrier (blocks out light). I'm hoping it won't take more than a couple of months for them to die out, although we do have some pernicious grass runners.

There's not been much harvest since we got back from our Hong Kong vacation, and I just about thought my okra had gone on strike, but today we counted quite a few new buds, which will certainly blossom into delicious pods within the next couple of weeks. I am not regretting this venture into gardening, it is satisfying and educational (for me) and the kids enjoy spending time just hanging around the back when I'm there. Now to get their father to come out and get his hands dirty.

One of my favourite words - Harvest!

I've harvested (and eaten) about 20 okra pods so far, but this is certainly my first batch of Kailan (Chinese Kale) grown as organically as possible in long troughs with compost-mixed soil.

I'm wondering why they don't look anything like the Kailan we get from the markets, stems are thinner and leaves are, well, rounder. But a tip from some elders last night - Kailan can be eaten whether big or small, if you don't harvest them soon, the worms will be feasting on them next. So I'm taking them and we will feast on them before we leave for Hong Kong (for a long-awaited holiday) this weekend.

Image captured by Rayzel Lim

Any Progress is better than none

We now have 3 areas that constitute our "home vegetable garden". The first is a Germinating station we set up in a corner of our back porch, where seeds are sown and left to germinate under slightly controlled conditions. The second is the Seedling Toughening Up station for our Basil and and Capsicum plants before they are either transplanted into the open garden or given away. And the third is the little plot of land up the slope behind the house that I sprained my waist to hoe up. This is currently housing some garlic, okra, tarragon, ginger, capsicum, sunflower seeds and our old nursery basil.

There's really a lot to learn. Thankfully, "with the Internet the information is all at my fingertips". I take my hat off to all the home gardeners before the Information Age who got so expert at organic home gardening, through experience and hearing from others. I never thought in my whole life that I'd borrow FIVE books on gardening in one go from the library (and I had to limit myself!).

Some of the most important things I've learnt so far include:
1. Grow your garden on raised beds - Singapore is built on red clay, so beneath the topsoil of a few inches it's just hard clay, which although can be improved over time, is really not good for most plants. Raised beds give your plants more "legroom" to grow.
2. Interplant some ornamental plants with the crop plants - these will help to attract the beneficial birds and insects that will help pollinate the crop plants. Certain species, given the honorific Companion Plants, help to keep pests away as well.
3. Avoid chemical fertilisers and pesticides except as a last resort, and even then, sparingly - using these commercial chemicals will send your plants and soil into a vicious cycle of pests and diseases and degrading quality of soil. Search for organic, natural ways of improving your soil, which will ultimately keep your plants healthier with less effort required on your part. And other ways of repelling pests and extermination.
4. Compost - This is the singularly most effective thing you can do for your plants in terms of nutrition, AND it's very pro-conservation by reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfills. Even in Singapore where I am told ALL household waste gets burnt, there must be SOMETHING left over that the government needs to dump somewhere. Composting also recycles nutrients from organic waste back to Mother Earth, so as we take from the garden, we can give something back.
5. Gardening is a family affair - Kids can garden too! They love sowing seeds, remembering to water each day (too many times in fact), checking on the seeds for germination / plants for flowers, transplanting and getting their hands covered with soil. Plus it's a wonderful, hands on way to teach them about conservation and life. Oooh, so profound.

Tomorrow we will, if the weather permits, begin hoeing up another patch of what passes for a lawn, in preparation for planting watermelons. This is because I've read that watermelon plants are
very aggressive and will take over the entire plot of soil. Same goes for Fennel, so I wonder what would happen if I put the two together in the same plot? *evil grin*
Make hay while the sun shines!

A New Journey Into Unchartered Territory

I've never had green thumbs.

Most plants I tried to grow died out on me and the survivors were usually ragged, as if they had been through a blizzard and were not expecting to see the spring.

However, in my search for organic fruits and vegetables for my family, I've decided to put in a little more work into setting up a mini vegetable garden, which, hopefully, can be truly organic (certification by USDA is not necessary).

There's a lot of research to be done, the first part of it online. I envy those who don't need to read up at all and just DO. Like the Moms of two of my neighbours - they just know how to get started and keep growing. I need to go and read up all I can and hopefully, glean some insight into roots and leaves and all. Perhaps I should go dig up my O and A levels texts (yes, I still have them!).

Raised beds, compost, mulch, fertiliser, tilling, drainage, compaction - too many terms jostling in my mind for attention. I'm thankful to have supportive people around me, but I'll be counting on HL to give me the greatest physical support - chunko out the horrid shingle- and rubble-filled strip of land behind our house! I've actually asked the nursery nearby - Greenology - for a quote to till the area and sort it out. But it's "at least $150, excluding soil", so I guess we have some hard exercise planned for this weekend instead.

I am overjoyed that the okra seeds that were sown in a tiny pot last week have germinated, but they do need to be transplanted SOON so we must get the ground ready for it.

To arms!

Hainanese Chicken Rice

A little vague but it's just for my own reference.

1. Wash and drain rice. Leave to stand for 1/2 hr.

2. Boil water

3. Rub chicken cavity with salt. Stuff in ginger, garlic, scallions.

4. Immerse chook in water in pot. Turn to low heat. Leave 20 min.

5. Take chicken out and plunge into ice water bath for 5-10 min.

6. Pound ginger and garlic. 

7. Fry chook fat/skin. Add rempah, fry till fragrant. Add rice, salt and fry for about 1 min.

8. Add chicken stock to cover and cook. Add pandan leaves.

9. Drain chicken and chop into pieces.

10. Dilute sesame oil and soy sauce with some chicken stock and drizzle over chopped chicken.