Let's Go Gardening

Assalamualaikum wbt.

So yesterday I promised that I'd update about my gardening activity. So yeah in this entry I will tell you more about my gardening activity. I started to get into gardening after watching English and Korean TV show whereby they show people grow their own greens even staying at the flat/apartment (whatever you call that).  So I got so motivated to grow my own greens around my house. My parents are gardening maniacs they go gardening every single day (except the day they are so busy they are not at home the whole day). We have our own Edible Garden whereby my parents planted tropical fruits, herbs and beautiful flowers to kinda give a colorful look to my house. As for me, I like to grow something that I can cook and eat, but my mom lovessssss to plant flowers because it's kinda a stress therapy to her. Every evening, she would go out, sit down near her flowers and take a look at the flowers. My dad on the other hand loves to plant tropical fruits such as rambutan, jackfruit etc. Right now my family is enjoying eating our own ripe rambutan. The tree has been serving us for years, thanks to Allah and my dad. So I want to start following my parents step as soon as possible because I don't want to be a know-nothing-about-gardening wife soon and after thinking that the economy in Malaysia is not so good, so it's kinda like a wake-up call for me to lessen our spendings on greens in the market. Plus, it's so satisfying enjoying what you grow. 

To kick start my activity, I tried to grow scallion/green onion (or whatever you call it) and garlic (for the greens) from bulbs. I picked a few shallots and garlic cloves and cut the end off a bit and sow the bulbs in rich organic soil. It's best to use bulbs that has sprouts as it's much faster for it to grow. After a few weeks the bulbs started to produce greens and it grows faster everyday. The garlic cloves only needs 2-3 days to sprouted and 5-6 days for the greens to appear. I also tried to plant coriander and dill from seeds. I used half handful of coriander and fennel seeds that my mom use in her cooking and spread it all over organic soil. After a few weeks, the coriander seeds were no near to success and as for this weeks it does not seems that it will grow successfully so I discarded it. The fennel seeds started to sprout and hopefully it will continue to grow beautifully. So below is a few photos I took for the greens I planted for the past few weeks as well as other plants that my parents grow over the years. Some of the green onions have been harvested for my mom's cooking. 

Shallot bulbs for scallions (Day 1)

 Shallot bulb for scallions (Day 4)

Scallions (Day 9).

The other two bulbs grow quite slow maybe 

because the bulbs are old.

Scallions (Day 12).

I harvested the scallions on the left by cutting it carefully using scissors. 

It will grow again and someone told me that we can harvest one bulb of scallions 

for three times and then the bulb needs to be replaced with a new bulb.

Harvested for cooking. The flavor is more intense and 

strong than the store-bought one.

Coriander (Day 1).

 It's a failure so there's no need for me to upload my failure. 

Perhaps it's because the coriander seeds are not fresh or 

have been in the store for too long. 

Garlic cloves (Day 1). 

I choose the cloves that have sprout on it.

Garlic cloves (Day 4).

Getting taller babe.

Garlic greens (Day 11).

Standing tall babe. Based on my reading on this blog (http://mypottedgarden.blogspot.com), 

the greens have to be 12 inches tall before they can be harvested. I've never tasted it 

before. My dad said it tastes delicious in soups and he said Chinese people love

 to use the greens in their cooking. 

Viatnamese red chili (Day 1)

Viatnamese red chili (Day 3).

Beautifully sprouted. 

Viatnamese red chili (Day 7).

The leaves started to show up.

My mom's water spinach/kangkung (Day 1)

My mom's water spinach/kangkung (Day 15 I guess).

Standing gracefully. 

My mom's shallot bulbs (Day 1).

After seeing me planting my bulbs, she wanted to start back 

her scallions growing activity. 

When I was a kid, my mom likes to grow scallions in a pot.

My mom's scallions (Day 11).

Her scallions grow much faster than mine. It's not fair mom!!!

(Her bulbs are not as old as mine. That's why laaa. Huhuhu) 

My mom's chives. We love this in 

fried flat rice noodles (Kuey Teow) and fritters. Yummeh!!

Some of the greens that my parents plant.

The garden that serves us over the years.  

We also grow aloe vera plant. It's good for fading scars on the skin. 

I like to lather the gel on my face in the night whenever I feel like it. Lol 

I guess that's all for now. I'll show more photos of our garden soon. So stay tune (as if there are people reading your blog. Pathethic you, Fyruz!).

So long and goodbye!
Wassalam.

p/s: We also make our own organic soil/humus by burying food waste in the soil and let it composes with the soil.