Tropical Heritage Garden Diary:
July 2013:
2 July:
Collected Seeds
Crinkly
hot
Pepper
large Burmese Okra
Small Loofah
local
Okra
3 July:
Lychee and Durian battle it out....
Outside and Inside the Sauna
(seeds
sown on 22 June)
Condensation
No growth -too cold and wet
Inside sprouting Cacti
Mostly pottering around today -after the rain yesterday.
Planted some Mulunguy and
unknown Leguminous trees
(seed pods from tree with
yellow flowers found growing wild in Tagbilaren) in the
area of the "fallen Banana" and a few other places.
Tried hiding some Chicken
seeds in various compost heaps under Banana and Coconut trees. But suspect
the chickens will probably eat a lot of them -although some Mung Beans broadcast
earlier seem to be growing.
A cocktail of almost all the tall growing plants including Asparagus, Artichoke, Cardoon,
Korean Hyssop, Edible Chrysanthemum, Wild Dagga, Tomato, Eggplant, Hot
and Sweet Peppers,
Amaranth and the last of the Black Sesame were mixed
with soil, sprayed with water to bind soil to seed so they
become less visible, and then broadcast in various locations
under trees.
The Mixed Cacti were
taken out of their plastic bag and placed under the house to
acclimatise -and a new batch prepared in a similar way in a
similar plastic (Bonsai) pot. The not yet sprouted herbs (Parsley, Kimchay and Coriander) planted 22 June had any
remaining water removed from the outer pot -and moved to a
sunnier, warmer, location next to the sprouting fruit tree
seedlings.
5 July:
Cleaning up the "Heritage" area.
Planted a mixture of 1st and 2nd generation Burmese Okra in H.1 and H.2 (after soaking for around 24 hours).
Unfortunately, the Camera is not functioning properly -so can't
take any photos.....
7 July:
H.1
and H.2 now
cleaned up -with drainage ditch all round -ready for Coconut chippings to be
applied.
Planted some Chicken Seed in V.4C,
V4D , V.4Em V2.A and H2
as a test. Perhaps some Blue
Bonnet Rice could be planted in these areas.
In the "instant garden",
by the house under a Coconut
Tree a mixture of Pechay,
Mustard, Red Radish, etc. was sown to fill in the holes
left by the previous sowing -which is now growing quite well.
After soaking all night some Bush
Beans were planted in T.1A,
T.1B, T.2A and T.2B
to increase Nitrogen
content there.
Finally, 3 Lemon Squash
were planted along the edge of T.5A and T.5B -with some market
squash planted in a few compost
areas under Banana or
Coconut Trees.
8 July:
Three plots in progress
H.1, H.2 and H.3
Finished
Half way
To Go!
War on Weeds?
Weeds can be quite a problem. If
allowed to proliferate too much, they can choke the plants
-however, removing them robs the soil of moisture preserving
cover and a whole load of helpers
who open up the soil and transform it in various positive ways.
In our case, the worst problem seems to be the various forms of
Carabao Grass which has
powerful runners that
spread everywhere.
The Solution?
We seem to be evolving towards a
three pronged approach:
The encroachment of grass is essentially a border problem. This is
helped by having a well defined border around the plot (a small Bamboo fence,
drainage ditch or Coconut shell edging)
which can be periodically checked for encroachment.
Secondly, Terri
has started trimming the Grass
growing on the areas
and paths around the
plots. If the grass is
kept short, it will presumably spread less easily. On the other
hand, it is presumably good to encourage grass to grow in uncultivated areas -as this
helps with the drainage
and reduces flooding from run-off.
Thirdly, Fatima
has started harvesting the weeds for fermenting into
chicken and pig food. By trimming the weeds, and not pulling
them out, the roots will either rot down and improve the soil
-or will regenerate and be harvested again. Good for the garden and good for
the chickens -which seem to really like their fermented
food.
A few extra
Artichoke and
Cardoon were planted in
N.1A -as it looks as if those
already planted might be germinating.
Mung Beans were broadcast
for
green manure in
various parts of the garden (
around
young trees, along the hedge and opposite the chicken fence).
10 July:
Working Systems
me working in the
garden.................. and a happy customer!
11 July:
The Great Bean Race (Planted June 19)
13 July:
Sowed in H.1, H.2 and H.3
(after soaking for a few hours) a mixture of Asparagus, Artichoke, Cardoon
and Bush Beans. Some Penny Rice and Blue Bonnet Rice were also
sown -and Mesclun Salad Mix in
H.3.
Then broadcast a mixture of Korean Hyssop, Edible Chrysanthemum, Wild Dagga, Marsh Mallow, Eggplant and Tomato.
Somes seeds from the only mature Amaranth
plant were collected and broadcast in the same area.
Fennelgreek and home grown Burma Okra were put in soak
for tomorrow.
14 July:
Bedded and Potted
Fenugreek
Sweet Marjoram and Shisho
Home-grown Burmese Okra
Unidentified Seedlings
Planted today:
Fenugreek
in H.1,H.2 and H.3. Sweet Marjoram and Shisho in pots. Home grown Burmese Okra in V.3C.
Also three unidentified seedlings found in a pot by the
fishpond were replanted in various locations in the garden.
16 July:
In the
Bloom
Ampalya
Talinum
Winged Bean
Cowpea
and Going To Seed
Okra
Cowpea
Unidentified Grain
Amaranth
17 July:
Planted today:
Cowpea in V.4B, V.4C, V.4D and V.4E. Mung Beans and Peanuts in V.4A and V.4B.
An assortment of Sweet
and Hot Peppers in the wild areas around the
Coconut Tree near the
chicken fence, the tree stump near the Banana patch and the Orchid area in front of the house.
H.1 -> Stir Fry Mix,
Carrot, assorted
Radish and the last of the Chimese
Chives.
H.2 ->
Mustard, Carrot, and assorted
Radish.
H3 ->
Shisho, Sweet Marjoram, Caraway, Italian Parsely and the last of the Coriander
and Kinchay.
Picked:
Burmese
Okra and Cowpea
-both for seeds.
Fatima
harvested Winged Beans
for dinner.
21 July:
Garden Vegetable Sunday Lunch
Avocado with Cooked Jack Fruit
and Winged Bean Salad
22 July:
Mini-garden or Garbage dump?
Front
Back
Back
Front
Ancient mini-gardens
..... and New Ones
Mini-gardens:
Today, I went out to plant some
vine type climbing things in places where we have things for
them to climb up. For my first stop I was intending to plant
some Cowpea.and Sitaw (Beans) -both from saved
seeds -under two Lanzones trees
which we have inherited from the previous owner -but they have
never fruited. I thought the beans and peas might add some
natural fertiliser. However, as soon as I started looking for
a place to plant, I realised that more work was needed.
We had piled up a few coconut husks around the base of the
trunk -but further left them alone. The trees are close to the
house and next to a path which goes between the main entrance
to the house and one of the gates in the perimeter hedge.
Eventually, I ended up removing the husks that were not
completely rotted away -and made a wider border around each
tree. Then I trimmed a nearby bush -chopped up the trimmings a
bit (which I then put around each tree) got some earth from a
drainage ditch around one of the vegetable plots, mixed it
with coconut chippings and covered the trimmings -filling the
area within the coconut husk border...... Finally, I managed
to plant a few beans and peas at the base of the trunks. By
that time, it was already getting dark (I'd had to make
several trips to get enough soil). The next step is to plant
some flowers there. In most other such patches we have planted
vegetables, or sometimes peppers -or a mixture of flowering
veggies and normal flowers.....
During the rest periods, I took a few photos of some other,
similar, mini-garden areas.
24 July:
Empty new mini-garden under Coconut Tree
Planted today:
Asparagus,
Artichoke, Cardoon and Penny Rice planted in V.4A and V.4E.
Mandarin seedling
planted just beyond the South East corner of the house.
Mung Beans, assorted (Hot and
Sweet) Peppers, Radish (Red and White) Tomato, Pechay (White and Green), Cauliflower, Onion (Red Creole and Tokyo White
Bunching) , Parsley,
Shisho, Caraway and Sweet Marjoram planted in empty new
mini-garden under Coconut
tree.
Improvements:
Enlarged compost area under
rather tired mini-Coconut tree.
Corrected some mistakes in shape and layout of previous
compost area linking Banana
and Coconut trees
near Southern path up to main entrance.
Improved Compost under
mini-Coconut tree
Corrected Compost areas
25 July:
Snake
Bean (saved from
garden pant), Patola (from various sources), Upo, Ampalya and Cucumber -in various
locations around climbing frame area (Snake bean frame plus row H.2 and H.3).
26 July:
Went to the "Sandugan"
small agricultural fair in Tagbilaren with Fatima, Penny and Terri. Bought 100 gram of (compost) Worms, plus some Decorative Plants (small light bronze Chrysanthemum, "Centipede" Cactus, Mini Pink Carnation and some
"Butterfly" Mayana),
a Dragon Fruit cutting (for the genetic variety) and
six (free) Pineapple tops.
We'll try to multiply the plants (and the worms) so we can share
them around locally.
However,. we've been planting Pineapple tops now for about three
years -and still no sign of any fruit, even though some plants are
getting quite large.
On return, Penny
and Terri cut
down two Banana trees
with fruit -one of which was quite large and has been leaning
dangerously towards the neighbour's electricity supply cable.
Luckily, with me pulling on a rope, we managed to get it down
without causing any damage.
27 July:
Planted the Pineapple tops in
various locations. Left the Decoratives
until Monday -so Penny
and Terri can enjoy
planting them.
29 July:
Its been raining a lot recently. Terri didn't
come to work this morning because of the rain. By about
10:30 it was very windy and then cleared up a bit. However,
when the sun shines, it is good growing weather.
When the rain stopped, I cleared up the fallen Coconuts. We have quite a
large pile of windfall now. Penny cooked some Bananas in Coconut Milk for afternoon merienda.
Old and New "Instant" gardens
Planted
12
June
Planted 24 July
Before merienda, I transplanted some Chili seedlings growing in the first "Instant Garden" under the Coconut tree near the house.
I'm trying to get the Chili plants
to grow more in the "wild"
areas outside the vegetable patches.
The Great Sayote and Sinkemas Race
Penny -Sayote planted 22
July Trevor -Sayote planted 11
July Sinkemas -No contest!
Penny planted
her Sayote 22 July in the old compost heap, I planted mine
11 July by the Winged Beans. Hers is much
bigger. However, the Sinkamas
that I also planted there has already grown quite large.
A feast of Winged Beans
The Ampalya (photographed
16 July) has not fruited -probably because there are not
enough male and female flowers at the same time. The Winged Beans and the Cowpea have long been
harvested (and more of both are
still growing). The Talinum
is also spreading nicely.
31 July:
Planted today:
Artichoke,
Cardoon and Asparagus
in V.1A and V.2A (edge of Winged beans climbing frame)
Herb Collection -Caraway, Sweet Marjoram, Purple
Shisho, Lions Tail, Korean Hyssop, Marsh Mallow around
the Chicken Fence (on both sides of the path),
Some patches of grass were cleared first in some areas to
encourage germination.
Herb Collection
-plus Delphiniums, Cornflower
and local "Mums" in
the new areas under the Lanzones
trees (where Terri
has also planted some cuttings from the Decoratives bought at the Sandugan
fair last Friday).
A few (new) market Squash in "compost" areas under Coconut Trees.
White (Macapuno) Maize in sunny patches in Heritage
area.
Upo in various places
with climbing frames.
Finally, assorted Eggplant, Red and White Radish, Carrot, Tomato (Seeds of Hope), Mesclun Salad Mix, White and Red Onions plus Cucumber in T.1A, T.1B, T.2A, T.2A, T.3A and T.3A. Before broadcasting,
some ground covering weeds were removed, some were left and some
were covered with chopped Coir.
Vegetable plots before re-seeding
T.3A
T.3B
T.1A
T.1B
Trevor Batten
<trevor at
tebatt dot net>
Baclayon 2013
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