Sunday 19 June 2016

Bhut Jolokia germinated

Not the centre plant which is cuban oregano.

According to some gardening websites, the Bhut Jolokia chilli takes 30-35 to germinate which sounds about right. I planted 5 seeds into this coconut shell a month ago.

A second germination in another coconut shell.


The parent tree.

Saturday 18 June 2016

Moringa Surprise!

Been trying to grow the moringa tree via cuttings and seeds. Both methods have proven without results until today. Found this polybag upstairs at the balcony after leaving it there (forgotten) for a month.

Moringa !!

It's a surprise as none of the other seeds planted a month ago germinated. And it was found like this, germinated and grown into a seedling so fast!

The polybag is small and the seedling seems to be growing at an awkward position near the edge. Perhaps should transfer it to a bigger polybag?


Friday 17 June 2016

Germinated durian seed, 2nd try

The durian seedling a planted some time back didn't survive last time. It's durian season again so plenty of seeds for me to try again. A few did germinate and chose the most promising one to pot.



Buried the whole thing in a pot. Hopefully it can find out which way is up.

Covered the whole thing with soil. 


Hopefully this one can last longer than the first.

Related link:
First attempt - durian seedling

P/s:
Found another seed that germinated. Will plant this too.

Tuesday 14 June 2016

5 seeds Jaboticaba planted

Thanks to Annie (from Malaysian Gardeners Facabook group)  for sending the 5 seeds of Jaboticaba (Brazillian grapes) via post.




Received them some time back but didn't have time to plant them. Hope it's not too late!


If you haven't heard of Jaboticaba. it's this strange grape like fruit that grows on the bark of the tree.
Picture from Wikipedia. Jaboticaba tree or Jabuticaba tree.


Using this Baba small pots to germinate the seeds.

Fill the bottom with some dry nangka leaves to close the holes and to act as mulch.

Top layer soil is coco peat. One seed each pot. Fingers crossed and hoping they will germinate. (20-30 days according to some website)





Tuesday 7 June 2016

Broken Chilli - Can save?

Ya I accidentally broke the chilli a couple of weeks ago.

Taped it back and of course it does not work :(



Still one good news is the lower part of the chilli has new growth. Perhaps it can be saved after all.



Friday 27 May 2016

Purple Chilli germinating

The parent tree was not doing so well but at least the seeds seems to germinate pretty fast (within a couple of days). I never did eat any of the chillies because I was more concerned about saving it. So I waited for the chillies to mature and almost wrinkle to collect the seeds for planting. If the parent tree can't be saved at least there is hope in the "2nd generation".

Here is the results:-




Operation saving Purple Chilli

My purple chilli (Filius Blue) is not looking too healthy.




Some MG (Malaysia Gardeners) members suggested a bigger pot so thats what I planned to do. Since I counted 4 main stems, I figure each stem in one pot to give each more growing space.

Alas, an accident took place while taking out the plant from the original pot. :(


So only 3 pots are used. Hopefully the surviving 3  will do better.

I know it's silly but I taped the broken plant and put in in another pot to see if by any miracle it can still survive.


Tuesday 24 May 2016

Bhut Jolokia - first time


The Bhut Jolokia or Ghost Pepper (Cili Bom/Hantu) used to be ranked no. 1 as the hottest chilli in the world. Today it's dethroned and has dropped to no. 7. 

Still it is very hot, definitely hotter than our local cili padi.

So when I came across it at the nursery in Brinchang (Big Strawberry Nursery RM 15), I was interested. My mother discouraged me from buying saying these types of plants will not live long in the lowlands. 


Of course, I bought it anyway and a few weeks later in the lowlands it is still alive. Not only that, the chillies are turning from green to red indicating it's ripe. (I tried the green one and it was totally tasteless!)


Test only one of course.


With some fish. Actually the above is only 1/3 of the chilli. 

My experience? The soya ketchup itself was spicy. Something that doesn't happen with chilli padi. So I was apprehensive to bite on the chilli itself but I did bite a tiny piece later. It wasn't hot at all. Not for the first 10 seconds anyway. Then my forehead started to sweat. Then my head felt warm and I thought it was because I touched my forehead with my hands which was exposed to the chilli while cutting the chillies. I washed my hands and forehead with water just the same. 

The second and third tiny bits of the chilli tasted as hot as cili padi and the effect was the same my head became warm. Nobody else dared to try the chilli so most of it went into the fridge. 

Conclusion: 
Happy to have tried it. Will continue using it but mostly to spice up the soya sauce and not bite directly on the chilli :). I recommend this too to those who dare not try thinking it's too hot.

Will try to harvest the seeds as the original plant is still healthy but from what I heard, insects like whiteflies can kill these types of plants fast.






Wednesday 11 May 2016

Staircase garden

This being  the start of the rainy season, it is time to add more plants to the staircase.

Oregano plants bought for RM2 a pot from Cameron Highlands. Replanted to bigger pots.

Purple Chilly also from Camerons. First pot died. Second pot survived and after a few months I split them to two pots. Most of the chillies are now red instead of purple.





Oregano and some mints in coconut shell.


More oregano



The hardiest plant. Indian borage. Good for coughs and can survive with little water.

Borage, mint and oregano at the top of the staircase.


Tuesday 22 March 2016

Plants in strange places







Indian borage - a hardy plant that can survive with little water. Perfect for the hot weather we are facing.



Held together with 2 zip ties.

The container is from Ikea.

(10th floor apartment)

Sunday 7 February 2016

Mini Aquaponics


Bought this from an Aquarium shop in Teluk Intan for RM 6.


Added a pegaga plant on top



Mini Aquaponics !