Tuesday, April 26, 2016

What's growing right now

Some update on what's growing at my little potted garden :



One small plant with very few fruits. 



 More Heizi Bitter Gourd... just love it!



 Kai Lan, another favourite


 Canton Pak Choy


 Kai Choy (Heading Mustard) 



My project : First time growing Water Chestnut... I wonder is there any chestnut at all. Will know in a few months time. 


Happy Gardening!







Thursday, April 7, 2016

Kale

I have a Kale plant growing in my garden pot, and the leaves are getting big, it's time for harvest. Kale is a veggie that is not easily available here in Malaysia, so I have not eaten Kale before!  I was lucky, I guess, that out of the many little seeds that I sowed, at least one seedling survived, taking into consideration that our weather is really hot and Kale is a cool weather plant. 



I have come across so many recipes using Kale that I was really curious about this nutritious veggie. I was so glad to see that My Lestary Seeds has a few variety of Kale seeds available. The variety I bought is Red Russian Kale, but it looks different from the ones in their photo, which is very curly and reddish in colour. The one in my pot has large green leaves with little curls, though the stems do have a tinge of purplish red. Kale is a cool weather plant, but according to their website, this Red Russian Kale variety is suitable to grow in our hot climate.

I planted the only surviving seedling in a container sharing with other veggies, and place the container where it can get about one to two hours of morning sun, then shaded for the rest of the day. It was growing really slow at first, then it started to grow at a steady rate. 



And then it's time to harvest! Look at the beautiful green leaves. I just can't believe it that I'm growing Kale! Feel happy each time I see the plant! I cut a few of the leaves for a stir-fry dish, pictured below. I love this veggie, and I'll be sowing  more seeds soon. 


Kale, Chilli and Squid Stir-Fry, get the recipe here.



My other harvests for this week :





Daikon, out of six plants, only two with daikons! But it is not wasted, the leafy greens from all six plants goes into my pot of daikon soup.




Okra


Happy Gardening!