HOW TO PROPAGATE TARRAGON SUCCESSFULLY IN KUCHING!

Written by Miss Yellow

I have tried many times to propagate tarragon unsuccessfully, this time round I finally see shoots emerged, so I share this good news to all my friends who also plant tarragon at home.

You use tarragon to cook shell kind of sea foods, it is especially nice if you use tarragon and Genovese basil blend with extra virgin olive oil as a dip for French bread accompanied by “snails”.

Cut a strong stem from an existing tarragon plant.

Get rid of all leaves.

 

Insert the stem in the soil and place it under a cooler shady place.

Spread it daily with cold energized water.

Shoots begin to appear in a week time.

Good luck to all of you!

FLOWERS WELCOMED THE NEW YEAR 2012

Frequent rains beneficted them........

Written by Money Tai Tai

Lima Bean blossoms, seeds given by friend Jerry

Lima beans

Lima bean pods

Lima Bean pods

Genovese basil, tasted so good for pesto

Despite of neglected the passion plants, they climb up the orange tree reaching out for more sunlight

Taiwanese purple orchids, I grew two seedlings around 4 months ago

It brightens my music suite

Old days purple orchids I bought from Brunei few years back, now it blossoms again, it looks nice on dinning room

Another pink number that I planted it on the ground of the orchid patch

Around 8 months ago, when I set up orchid patch, I bought this red number seedling with RM10 (I was told it was brown when I bought from wet market in Kuching)

Friend Cheral who gave me All those expensive version of orchid seedlings from her orchid patch, they blossomed frequently

Friend Silvia brought few Borneo orchid seedlings all the way from Miri, now two begin to blossom

Cape Gooseberries, I learned to get rid of mealy bugs and ants with peppermint.

Tien Mai good for preparing Lei Chai

Purple color cat whiskets from friend Richard Wong's garden

Korongtong .... This year can get ready to prepare green colour juice for Halloween party!

Silvia gave me few Borneo seedlings around 6 months ago, now two of them have started flowering!

Dwarf eggplant, Malay use it for Ulang

I used it to prepare Thai green curry

Dwarf egg plant flowers

The tree almost died caused by the infested mealy bugs at the beginning of last year, I chopped off the dried part, when rain came the new shoot grew out and now the whole plant produces so many fruits!!

WHAT'S NEW IN THE GARDEN

Written by Money Tai Tai




Half of 2011 will be gone within few hours time, it is indeed a very discouraging 'semi-year' to me. Instead of working hard in the garden and writing some bad grammar English articles, I become withdrawn into my own corner licking my old wounds and inferiorities.

I just sent off my little 6 years old 'colicot' to an oil city to let my old folks and eldest sister taking care of her for the next 5 months. Everyone is happy now, old folks don't argue as often thus my eldest sister has less headache and my eldest sister has a 'little doll' to dress and play with as her grown up kids don't play with her anymore, and I don't have a talkative girl around me frequently asking questions or telling me 'I hate mommy' while I was in another realm!

Honestly I can't cope the marriage life well, unexpected without "French bread" and "Caviar" while Mr. Money likes only "Man Tou" and "Tou Fu Fa"! Luckily we both eat rice, while I ate Bario rice he would tell me that I shouldn't eat good rice to spoil my taste buds! Here is the famous phrase China-men expecting their wives to abide: "Married rooster follows rooster's way, married dog follows dog's way"!

My next article will be teaching ladies how to make hard crust Ang Mo bread; few years ago when I gave a piece to a Britain graduated nutritionist, she was thrilled after she took a bite of my newly baked bread, "Wow! So nice! Gosh, how you did this? ....... Please teach me how to make it! I have been making bread for 10 over years, how could I not produce something like this?!"

Lemon grass:

10 lemon grass and three big onions or 30 small onions boil in water for two hours, then add lean chicken (optional) boil another hour to get rid your stubborn cough effectively! I learned it from a Chinese herbal magazine.

Small lemon-lime tree:

It is the new member in the garden, remember when you prepare this lime juice, add in pre-cooked lemon grass sugar syrup.

Hong Tian Wu:

This red number is the 5-stars herb to save you from heart bypass. You need to prepare this herbal drink with red date (drink 7 to 10 grasses a day for a week then reduce half, then once a week to twice a month) or else you will cough badly. People who has diabete, use stevia leaves instead of rock sugar.

Orchids

Papaya 001:

I have papaya 001 to 005! Taiwanese species with purple zebra lines on trunk is the best.

Aparagus:

Friend Richard Wong gave me 8 of them, I shared one to a garden center friend and another one to a stranger.

Little money plant:

This number can't be eaten, so from 6 I smuggled in from NZ now only remained three.

French Tarragon:

This was another smuggled item from NZ

Lavender:

Another smuggled number from NZ, from cuttings to this one foot tall height! Three cuttings survived two, not too bad huh!

Green Leaves Shiso:

My sister's Japanese housekeeper gave me the seeds, not easy to get its seeds to germinate and its plant to grow happily!

Genovese basils:

Here comes my long dreamed white flowers Genovese basils, famous for preparing pesto. It is the best flavour basil species.

Rue:

Another number smuggled from NZ from cuttings, they grow very well under shady place, I have numbers of successfully seedlings grown from cuttings for my friends.

Mushroom vegetables:

Need lots of water creepers. It smells like mushroom, famous for adding to Ban Mee to replace money chai (advise not to take money chai at all if you have heart bypass!!!)

Kacangma:

Women's herb, this was the seedling given by Mr. Ling CK

Strawberry:

Richard Wong gave me so many seedling and taught me the secrets to cut off those new extended shoots, so that it will flower and bear berries.

Jia Ku Lan:

Replacement of Ginseng, remember it needs a cooling place and needs lot of water, then it will grow happily like mine!

BLESSINGS FROM SHARING

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.

Mango seedling given by friend Karen Ting

http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/fruits/mangoes.htm

Taiwanese species of Eugenia aquea (Jambu air) found by friend Lilian Lee.

Fake cilandro given by aunty Alice

Red herb for blood cleansing given by friend Ah Ing

Chinese herb given by friend Ah Ing

Polygonum chinense given by Mr. Ling

Chinese herb from Mr. Ling

Chinese herb from Mr. Ling

Chinese herb from Mr. Ling

Clerodendranthus Spicatus, white flower cat whisket plant

Andrographis paniculata 穿心莲

Tamarillo plant, seeds given by aunty Alice

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

Cilandro seedlings

Aloe vera seedling given by friend Ah Choo

Baby pineapple

Acanthopanax trifoliatus, 苦粒心 (Ku Lik Sim) given by Mama Hung

http://moneytaitai.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-make-authentic-rei-chai-thunder.html

艾叶 ( Ai Ye) given by Mama Hung

http://moneytaitai.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-make-authentic-rei-chai-part-ii.html

Jiau gu lan given by Mr. Ling

Shiso given by owner of "Large Mouth" Lei Chai eatery

Dill officinalis seedlings 蒔蘿巴戟

Fenugreek seedlings (胡蘆巴)