Flora : Miracle berry

Miracle Berry


Just suck a red ripe miracle berry in your mouth for about 30 seconds to a minute. All things bitter or sour that you consume in the next half hour will taste sweet.


Slow grower. Partial shade or full sun. Not picky about medium but best grown in organic rich soil.
The tiny milk colour flowers are sweet scented and can be whiffed from a few metres away.

A winged red fire ant queen looking to start a new colony. The red fire ants seem attracted to this tree. Must be the sweet flowers. This is not the first time a red fire ant queen picked my miracle berry plant to start a new colony.

Flora : Southernwood

Southernwood / Lad's Love


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


Southernwood easily strikes root from young or old wood cutting.
It grows well in full shade, partial shade or full sun.
Not picky about the planting medium.
It just needs occasional feeding and good soil moisture.

Southernwood is a rigorous grower, sprouting new shoots from ground and trimmed stems.
It will grow into a big bush if planted in ground and left untrimmed.

Make a very aromatic garnish for steaming fish. Just cut a few stalks and place them on the steamer pan, and stuff a few sprigs into the fish's belly.

Try experimenting with stews. Just bear in mind southernwood is a strong aromatic herb.

Flora : Pandan Leaves

Pandan leaves

The fragrant leaves with many uses...
As natural air fresherner.
As mulch/ ground cover.
As indoor/outdoor decorative plant.
To make infused tea.
To make jello.
To make cake.
To cook fragrant rice.
To cook desserts.
To cook pandan chicken.
Etc.

Not only is it fragrant, it is also mildly sweet.

Flora : Avocado

Avocado

30 Jul 2011

This is a purple skin (when fully ripen) avocado originated from New Zealand. The parent plant is successfully cultivated in the tropical climate with good fruiting seasons starting from the fifth year.

The fruit measures about 14cm in length.

This is intentionally over-ripen avocado fruit cut in half to harvest the pit for improved germination probability. Very decent amount of flesh compared to certain green skinned species.

Cleaned avocado pits ready for planting.

.

29 Aug 2011

.

04 Sep 2011

 .



20 Sep 2011

  

 .

. 

10 Oct 2011

  

Flora : Goji

Goji /Wolfberry/ Lycium
(More specifically, Chinese wolfberry)

Reference: http://go-goji.com/default.aspx



Project Zhongning Goji

Left: Zhongning goji (L. barbarum);  Right: chinese goji (L. chinense)

Zhongning goji is bigger in size. The pulp is also softer and sweeter. The dried chinese goji is harder and slightly bitter tasting.

I am now experimenting with Zhongning goji planting.


29 July 2011

One week old seedlings... 1cm tall.

05 August 2011

First true leaves...

16 August 2011

Transplanted into individual pots. Two seedlings per pot.

There are a couple of pointers that I have picked up thus far in my Goji planting experiment.

Germination rate. The germination rate is actually not bad. From each goji fruit, I can get in average 6~8 successful germination. This is what I feel is the best germination method.

- Soak the fruit overnight. Soaking the fruit overnight seems to give higher, more uniformed germination rate.

- Remove the seeds from the flesh and just buried them slightly in the germination bed. Water them in lightly.

- Goji is sun loving. Keep the seeds in partial shade (preferably morning sun). Moisten the soil every morning. Keep out from rain to avoid seeds from getting displaced.

- Once germinated with the first pair of leaves formed, cut back on watering. Water every other day, depending on the weather. Keep it under partial shade. Goji dislike damp soil.

By the second week, first true leaves will form. And by third week, you should get three sets of true leaves. The seedlings are ready for transplant. After transplant, keep in full shades for few days for the root shock to wear off. Then place the seedling back under partial shade.

At this stage, there are some signs of red spider mite infestation. I am keeping a close monitor on the seedlings and will administer pesticide if the infestation becomes serious.

Spider mite infestation normally becomes a problem for plants placed in a shielded place away from rain. A good regular spray of water will usually keep the spider mites under check. But the seedlings are still fragile in this case. By the time they are sufficiently strong, the seedlings will be out there under the full sun :)

p/s: By second or third week, if the goji seedlings have not gotten past the first true leaves, the soil is either too damp or there is insufficient sun. A quick fix is needed.

p.p/s: Going to give the transplanted seedlings their first organic booster feeding once they are established.

04 September 2011

The seedlings took one to three weeks to recover from transplant shock depending on the severity of root damage.

 

Newly transplanted seedlings from second batch that were sown two weeks after the first batch. The seedlings are the similar sized to seedlings from first batch.

During the second transplant operation I realised the Goji plant has a very deep rooting system. The "trunk" root will dig all the way down to the bottom of the pot and spread out into a maze of fine hair roots. It was extremely difficult to separate the tangled roots of multiple plants. In many cases, the fine hair roots were snapped. I think the second batch will take a while to recover from the transplant shock.

One valuable lesson is to start germination from individual pot/planter. The germination rate is quite high, so my guess it is sufficient to sow 3~4 seeds per pot and thin out to one strongest plant per pot later on. This way, transplant shock can be minimised as the entire root ball can be transplanted (compared to bare root transplant) and also at a later stage of the seedling growth, perhaps direct into the field if the initial germination pot is sufficiently big for growth beyond initial seedling growth.

Flora : Water Hyacinth

Water Hyacinth / Keladi Bunting / Eichhornia Crassipes

From a few aquatic plants I tested to control algae growth in an outdoor water setting, water hyacinth not only produces showy purplish flowers, it is the most effective too.

I planted the mother plant in a vase and let the daughter plants propagate out in a controlled manner. As water hyacinth is a free floating plant, this anchors the plant at placed position. Here, it acts as a water filtration system and a show piece.

Water hyacinth is nutrient hungry, soaking up whatever nutrient it can get from the water body, thus depriving the algae of food. The end result is clear water once an equilibrium is achieved. In fact, the water hyacinth is really nutrient hungry I have to feed it with bloom fertilizer once a week for it to grow happily and flowers.

Water hyacinth can propagates very fast from a single mother plant, but only in nutrient rich water like polluted waterway or pond with agriculture runoff, or to that effect. Here, it only propagates if I supplies sufficient fertilizer to it. The fertilizer is supplied directly to the roots which is pretty much contained inside the vase.

Occasional pruning is needed to removes dead leaves and spent flower stalks. But it is also fine with no pruning as the dead leaves and spent stalks will slowly decompose, providing nutrient.

Water hyacinth also acts as a good shade/shelter for aquatic life in you water body.


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

Flora : Asparagus

Asparagus

===================================================================
Please refer to wikipedia for full text. Below are "key" excerpts from wikipedia for ease of reference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asparagus

Biology
Asparagus is a herbaceous, perennial plant growing to 100–150 centimetres (39–59 in) tall, with stout stems with much-branched feathery foliage. The "leaves" are in fact needle-like cladodes (modified stems) in the axils of scale leaves; they are 6–32 millimetres (0.24–1.3 in) long and 1 millimetre (0.039 in) broad, and clustered 4–15 together. The root system is adventitious and the root type is fasciculated. The flowers are bell-shaped, greenish-white to yellowish, 4.5–6.5 millimetres (0.18–0.26 in) long, with six tepals partially fused together at the base; they are produced singly or in clusters of 2–3 in the junctions of the branchlets. It is usually dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, but sometimes hermaphrodite flowers are found. The fruit is a small red berry 6–10 mm diameter, which is poisonous to humans.^[5]

Culinary
Asparagus is low in calories ^[12] and is very low in sodium. It is a good source of vitamin B₆, calcium, magnesium and zinc, and a very good source of dietary fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese and selenium^[13][14], as well as chromium, a trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells^{[citation needed]}. The amino acid asparagine gets its name from asparagus, as the asparagus plant is rich in this compound.

Medicinal
Nutrition studies have shown asparagus is a low-calorie source of folate and potassium. Its stalks are high in antioxidants. "Asparagus provides essential nutrients: six spears contain some 135 micrograms (μg) of folate, almost half the adult RDI (recommended daily intake), 20 milligrams of potassium," notes an article in Reader's Digest. Research suggests folate is key in taming homocysteine, a substance implicated in heart disease. Folate is also critical for pregnant women, since it protects against neural tube defects in babies. Several studies indicate getting plenty of potassium may reduce the loss of calcium from the body.
Particularly green asparagus is a good source of vitamin C. Vitamin C helps the body produce and maintain collagen, the major structural protein component of the body's connective tissues.
"Asparagus has long been recognized for its medicinal properties," wrote D. Onstad, author of Whole Foods Companion: A Guide for Adventurous Cooks, Curious Shoppers and Lovers of Natural Foods. "Asparagus contains substances that act as a diuretic, neutralize ammonia that makes us tired, and protect small blood vessels from rupturing. Its fiber content makes it a laxative, too."

Cultivation
Since asparagus often originates in maritime habitats, it thrives in soils that are too saline for normal weeds to grow. Thus, a little salt was traditionally used to suppress weeds in beds intended for asparagus; this has the disadvantage that the soil cannot be used for anything else. Some places are better for growing asparagus than others. The fertility of the soil is a large factor. "Crowns" are planted in winter, and the first shoots appear in spring; the first pickings or "thinnings" are known as sprue asparagus. Sprue has thin stems.^[19]

===================================================================

Yes, asparagus do grow in tropical climate. It will grow best in loose, organic rich soil. Asparagus need partial or full sun and sufficient soil moisture to encourage shoots formation.
The tricky part is getting the seeds to germinate. The germination rate seems to be extremely poor, with the seeds viability diminishing greatly over time. I only manage to germinate 4 seedlings out of 30 seeds in the initial stage. Unfortunately I lost 2 seedlings due to snails! I have tried to germinate more seedlings periodically with no success. I suspect the seeds viability.
The two 3 years old surviving plants are male plants. If only I can get one female plant. Then I will have my own fresh viable seeds for propagation. I will keep trying.

Three year old asparagus plant. The foliage looks unkempt due to over-crowding. There are also some yellowing of branches and leaves due to caterpillars and grasshoppers attack. The foliage needs to be thinned for easier pest control. The foliage need to be supported by stakes and wires.




















Asparagus stems/shoots. Each clump should be allowed to have only 2~3 foliage producing stems to avoid overcrowding.
Each clump can be digged up and propagated as a new plant, but as tempting as it is, due to no prior experience it is not a risk I am willing to take. It took three years to coax the asparagus plant to form the clumps. Each clump is a shoots producing nexus.
My goal is to continue to establish new clumps outwardly to increase the harvest. Currently, the two plants yield about a dozen shoots weekly.