Monday, April 12, 2010

Green harvest


Among the greenery in my garden, there's actually stuff I grow to eat. The odd herbs and fruit trees somehow complete what I would like my garden to be.

Herbs are easy to grow in our climate. It's the choices that's bewildering. There's always the perennial question posed by my husband, ' Where is the space??' Tongue in cheek, I say, 'On my head!!'
The aromatic mint is easy enough to grow. Just tending and lightly brushing the plant is enough to give an unmistakeable minty aroma. It spreads by underground creepers. Many a time one needs only a few leaves. If there's none in one's garden, the supermarts sell a whole bunch and inevitably the rest go to waste. The shoot and tender leaves are eaten fresh as ulam or to flavour ulam dishes such as kerabu ( mixed salad) and nasi kerabu ( herbed rice).



For the asam laksa ( soured noodles), asam pedas ( hot-soured soup) and tom yam 'devotees', the daun kesum ( polygomnum minus) with its light aromatic smell , is a sure winner. Easily they can be mistaken for another weed! For a different flavour to the fried rice, cut some fresh and sprinkle on top. What a difference it makes !



My brother -in -law, Mus gave me a small variety of banana. He calls it 'pisang serendah'. Translated it means ' low banana' which is exactly what it is. At your waist height, the bananas when ripe, are easily plucked. They do not need to turn the ripe yellow one is accustomed to. Just a little hint of yellow and it's good enough to eat! And there's always the ready platters for the odd Indian banana leaf meal . Eat and dispose!


I've had bumper crops of the limau kasturi which is such a delight. Hot days means ice -cold quenching citrus drinks. Squueze them and mix them with syrup to your taste. Cheers! Cut in half, it is served with fried noodles and soups. For the sambal belacan, it is the juice that gives the tangy flavour.



I have only myself to blame for the scraggy guava tree. Previously the flowers were aborting.It's so important to give plants a good headstart.Thankfully Nature is all -giving! Finally fruits are appearing. Yes, the pollinators are busy. I asked the nursery man for the seedless variety and I hope to taste a sweet harvest.


Another favourite local fruit of mine is the starfruit which is full of Vit C. However, it'll be a while before any fruit develops. When it was Chinese New Year, I visited a nursery just outside my alma mater, Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus,Taiping. I was hard pressed to make a choice of fruit trees to plant. There's always the question of space. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will give me good quality fruits - all because it's the farmer's pick!


33 comments:

  1. Wow lucky you. You have free fruits right in your backyard and I need to buy from the market.

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  2. When we have enough sun
    I can eat peppers and courget from my garden.
    Tomatoes growing very well in my garden because they like it always a splash of rain..... :))
    Nice to see and to read about your plants !!

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  3. wow, u planted so many kinds of plants!

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  4. gorgeous post- made me thirsty and hungry

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  5. i'm impressed , you grow all these in your garden . I used to have a small garden at my backyard where i grow ubi kayu , keledek , bendi , timun , ulam raja , sawi and etc . but now it seems that i do not have enough time to do that , i wish i could do that again

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  6. Wow, I admire your complete garden! It makes cooking so much fun and easier. Have a wonderful week.

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  7. It is nice to have own planted herbs add to home cook dish, sound healthy and good.

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  8. Hi
    alicesg, it's good to have some home produce. The rest will have to come from the supermarts. have a good day!

    Anya, thank goodness for the God-given sunlight.Hope you have a bountiful harvest.

    wenn,yes, gardening is one of my pastimes.

    sonia,green with envy?? LOL!!! am thankful to have some garden space and enjoy it too.

    xplorer, if you ask my husband, he'd say I've grown too many plants!! Yes, gardening takes time- never mind, there's always a time to come back to it and enjoy once again.

    Rosidah Abidin,thanks! I've just visited a planter's garden and I'm green with envy! Still, enjoying what we have and making the most of it is important.

    Sonia (Nasi Lemak Lover), it's easy to grow the mint and daun kesum. try it and see for yourself if you fancy some of your own. thanks for visiting.

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  9. I am impressed. Your are really a lucky to have all these beautiful plants and herbs in your own garden. The only thing (from this collection) that I have in my garden is mint. I like mint tea and I simply enjoy in its lovely scent.

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  10. Hi Keats! Wonderful greenery... Those bananas look nice... ;)

    Blogtrotter Two is waiting for you in Turkey... ;) Enjoy and have a great week!!

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  11. HI
    MedaM, thanks! mint is easy to grow. just to give a minty flavour to a jug of iced water, a couple of sprigs will do just the trick.

    Trotter, green is always in - edible or otherwise! Turkey is one country I have on my list to visit. Will check it out. Thanks!

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  12. Keats - I wish you are my neighbour! I know where to get mints to complement my MAGGI Asam Laksa! :)

    I have to say, great photos! :) I can even smell the mint!

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  13. What an abundance of fruit. We still havent tried fruit trees yet, but have loads of neem, tulasi and others growing :)

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  14. LOL,I'm going to move into your neighbourhood!! In that way, I can always pluck some of the herbs from your garden!! It costs me $1.20 for a sprig of limau purut leaves from Jusco when all I need is just 2 or 3 leaves whenever I cook green curry!!
    BTW, I'm no expert here but have you tried clearing your browser cookies or using FireFox when you visit blogs? Maybe, that should solve your slow loading problem.

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  15. Ah hi cousin serendah haha. Love the smell of mint. tQ for all the greens.

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  16. Hi
    lupie,aha! should get Maggi Asam laksa to pack dehydrated mint with it too!!!

    M.Kate,that's some herbs you have growing in your garden. Do you know, the neem has grown so huge outside my house. A relative gave a small plant for the house blessing 19 years ago and now we can't reach it.

    Veronica Lee, some herbs are so perishable, they can't keep and we just have to buy.
    I use google chrome.Thanks v much for the tip. Will see what happens.

    Bananaz,green is always in!!have a good day!

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  17. My eyes feel so soothing after looking at your "green harvest" pictures. Although I never have passion in gardening, I still can sense that you have a very passionate heart for the plants! Have a nice day!

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  18. Should I get the chance to retire in Malaysia, I will love to do some simple gardening. But I guess it's pretty impossible to realise a dream - my Wifey's a Singaporean, and there's no way I can drag her back to JB.

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  19. Congratulations on having 100 Followers, dear Keats! May you have a hundred more!

    Oh I've always loved your garden... when Robbie is not too busy trying to eat me for supper. You have passionfruit also... that was the sweet scent I smelled near your garden washstand. Your poor starfruit tree reminds me of all the fruit trees I failed to cultivate properly. So thin I could use them as drinking straws!

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  20. Your garden is organic and green in every sense. The trees certainly make a good home to many wildlife.

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  21. Hi
    Alice Law, thanks for dropping by.do not worry about going all out to garden. just plant a few things that you like and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy them too. even a balcony or anywhere small can have something nice growing:)

    Shingo T, i would say the same for you as for Alice Law.

    ~Covert_operations'78~, hey, thanks! I will have to 'lompat' high to reach another 100! When I started blogging, my nephew was sceptical and thought I would be writing for a few souls!! LOL!
    Yes, the passion flower stands by the garden tap. What an excellent memory you have!Goodness gracious, drinking straws will get us nowhere - but to the market to buy our fruits!!

    Autumn Belle, thanks! I wish more birds and butterflies will visit. I love to watch the sunbirds but they flutter too fast!

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  22. Wonderful garden!!! I could never figure out what was what except the bananas.

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  23. I was out of the blog world for quite some time and I must say I missed reading your posts. This is really great, it's nice to have your own greens planted at home. Surely fresh before its cooked or eaten.^^

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  24. I have enjoyed learning about plants!

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  25. Hi
    Lucy, thanks for popping in! Hope you're keeping well. Don't we need a botanist to point us the way! I too am amazed by the rich biodiversity of plants here.

    Sashindoubutsu, good to see you :) Hope you've been keeping well.

    Laura in Paris, gosh! the weather is so hot and humid these days - not only people wilt,the plants too!! Have a good day!

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  26. You make me so mad. I can't grow weeds.

    Have a great weekend.

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  27. Your post this time does not just bring smiles but gives some cravings too!

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  28. I love free food from the garden - it's a special kind of treat :)

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  29. I am impressed with you gardening finesse. Bananas? awesome! I have fallen in love with bananas in smoothies lately.
    Thanks for stopping by.
    Happy weekend and happy gardening sweety.

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  30. Hi
    Patty, LOL! In our biodiversity, many things get clumped as weeds!! If only we know better, we'll be eating them:)
    You're doing a great job highlighting daily heroes in Crisfield. Well done!

    Ocean Girl,hope you're having a smooth ride back to Rebak Island. Hope to catch up soon.

    Rachel Cotterill, thanks for visiting. yes, thanks to nature and to labour put in!

    Rosey Pollen, you've got yourself an energiser in the smoothies!I love bananas and we have many varieties here- for cooking, dessert and snacks - pisang raja, pisang emas, pisang berangan, pisang tanduk, etc.

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  31. Wow..what a wonderful garden you have! I love guava, star fruit, and bananas! There is always space, right, for more...

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  32. Hi
    Icy BC, thanks! do you know, I have to uproot a mulberry plant this week to plant it outside my house as I find the spot a bit crammed. So, I have 2 gardens - inside and outside the house!! I need space!!!

    Leatherdykeuk, thanks for visiting. it's nice to walk around my garden. Mind you, it is not manicured so things are just planted in a suitable spot as much as possible.

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Great to have you popping in!