Unveiled Jobless Money Tai Tai's Life: September 2010

Lean your ears this way, we are just gossiping about herbs!

Liberica Coffe Plant

Written by Mrs. Money

My first experience of planting herbs began 13 years ago, I bought all the seeds sowed them into respective marked pots and placed them on window sills to receive morning sun with 24 hours air-conditioner switched on. But when the seedlings all emerged I couldn’t find a single piece of those markings, all seedlings looked the same for me, all the scents also confused me and I didn’t know their applications. Eventually they withered as just another decoration pieces for my office instead!

After such a lecture, I began to buy all sorts of herbal encyclopedia, and I read through them to experience my second herbal plants cultivation during my maternity leave in overseas.
With the newly gained knowledge, I finally learned different kind of herbs and including their applications. I even made my own calendula officinalis oilmen for my newly born baby. Basil seed sowed was the only unsuccessful trial-out, I couldn’t find its marking and I probably treated its seedlings as just another weed.

Six years later when I first moved to Kuching, my first trial-out herb was basil, eventually I learned the best flavor amongst all basils is Genovese basil.

Once my herbal gardening was successful, I began to encourage my friends to try planting different kinds of herbs like me. You are ready to prepare pizza, pasta sauce or pesto sauce anytime you wanted with fresh herbs, you didn’t need to pay a small package of herb flown in from Australia or Cameron highland that cost RM7.90, worst still often when you drove all the way to a special outlet 5 kilometers away, but the exclusive herb that you wanted was unavailable!

I always encouraged ladies to tend their own little herbal garden; you will gain a lot of satisfaction and benefits from those herbs. All ladies who involved herbal gardening with us, during breakfast meet; we love to share exclusive seeds, unusual medical herbs, share plants and planting experiences rather than talking nonsense. Often there were “barter-trade” happened during breakfast, e.g. someone would bring along three bags of “fat Ki Lin Jiau” bananas to her friends, later she happily carried home a bottle of enzyme, tomatoes and Foo Chow red rice wine. Our ladies’ life is definitely more fulfilling than those women without proper hobby but merely enjoyed gossiping to defame other ladies during their breakfast.

I found out ladies who love to plant herbs and do gardening also love to share their gardening tips and secrets, and they all received lots of blessing due to able to share with

others.

Note: My garden looks rather barren for grown up herbs and green vegetables on this year end season of 2010, even basils are mostly withered, however more fruit, herbal and Chinese herbal seedlings were added instead.

I just begin to encorouge my friends planting fenugreek on this year end season, just throw a handful of fenugreek seeds bought from Kuching downtown Indian store to the compost, these seeds got germinated easily with enough water and sunshine. You harvest fenugreek leaves for salad, herbal stew beef or give a quick fry of leaves with eggs, chopped olives and olive oil.

I hope that this fenugreek leaves will become a hit in Kuching city! Happy planting ladies! I remember once somebody interesting told my friend, "If Mrs. Money's flowers become so pretty, but herself might become not so pretty anymore! (She meant that I would become dark and ugly!)"

Lastly thanks so much to all my parents, friends, aunties, uncles, cousins and sisters who gave me all these fruit trees, herbal plants and seeds! I am truly blessed with your attentions on my interests and hobbies。

Curly leaves parsley seedlings (two smallest seedlings), advise to soak its seeds in water for a day or two before sowing.

Purple basil seedlings given by my sister

Gogi berry seedlings, another experimental seedlings!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfberry

My mom gave me this "no name" plant, she told me it will be good for my eyes! Obviously, I have placed the plants in a wrong place!

Liberica coffee plant grows better now under the shade, kindly given by my neighbour Rosma of Kuching Agriculture Department.
http://coffeeinmalaysia.com/post/

Mr. Ling Chung Kok's of LCK Herbal Garden gave me a twist of this flower plant, now it is budding to this baby plant, I heard its flowers will be good to use as hair tonic.

Pomela seedling given by my mom, it thrives well under the shade.

My Terong Asam are growing big in this round, but due to nasty ants in an overnight time suddenly the plants were infested by mealy bugs!

Wild ginseng given by my cousin

Passion fruit seedling
Persimmon seedling

Another creeper plant (夜来香) with its flowers good for eyes.

Fennel seedlings, 茴香籽 seeds given by Mama Hung

Upper: Peruvian Cape gooseberry plant
Lower: Our local wild Cape gooseberry plant

Peruvian Cape Gooseberry Plant

Local wild Cape Gooseberry Plant

Fruit seedling given by friend Cheral
http://moneytaitai.blogspot.com/2010/01/whos-who-in-kuching-unveiled-those.html

Fruit seedling given by friend Cheral
http://moneytaitai.blogspot.com/2010/01/whos-who-in-kuching-unveiled-those.html

Anisomeles indica popolar as a cleansing weed

http://www.stuartxchange.org/KablingParang.html

Anisomeles indica blossom

Clerodendranthus Spicatus, purple flower cat whisket seedlings given by friend Lilian Lee

Sweet species Ang Mo Durian seedling given by friend Angela and George

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soursop

http://fw.my/2009/02/20/natural-cancer-killer-10000-times-stronger-than-chemo-soursop/
http://translate.google.com.my/translate?hl=en&langpair=id%7Czh-TW&u=http://machn3660.multiply.com/journal/item/130/Khasiat_air_rebusan_daun_sirsak

Fruit tree seedling given by friend Cheral
http://moneytaitai.blogspot.com/2010/01/whos-who-in-kuching-unveiled-those.html

Mulberry seedling germinated by a twist.

Kaffir lime

Lime

Lemon

Whole tree full of lemons in this season, a big thank to my friend Cheral and her hubby who brought me a big bag of chicken shits during its blossom time!

Indian mint grows so lushly in this season given by Mr. Money's aunty.

Cuban oregano found on many patches given by my cousin Jenny Hwang

Tomatoes seedlings

Mulberries, Morus aba

Baby passion fruit

White flower Ngu Lek Pee

Golden colour Peruvian Cape Gooseberry。Most plants in the garden are infested by mealy bugs due to nasty ants! The safe way to get rid of ants is using boric acid, but I couldn't find it in our pharmacies!

Ripe Peruvian Cape Gooseberry

Capsicum seedling

Sage 鼠尾草, seeds given by friend Ah Ming

Oregano 牛至, given by friend Ah Ming

Another herb given by Mr. Ling
http://moneytaitai.blogspot.com/2010/09/blessings-from-sharing-lean-your-ears.html

The seed was given by pastor Pauline Ling, she said this is the Taiwanese papaya. Look at its purple dots on its trunk.

Local papaya in my garden

南非树， South Africa Tree!

White flower melastoma candidum given by friend Angela and George

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melastoma

Blossoms of red sugar apple

Malaysians' Roselle (rose) buds just emerged, the plants were given by friend George and Angela.

http://wendyinkk.blogspot.com/2010/08/homemade-rose-cordial.html

Mulberries

Yellow Ubi kayu seedlings given by aunty Alice. The first batch was harvest on August 2010. My friend Lilian taught me inserting the cut branches in slender to the soil for a good harvest.