我的试验室 My Lab

Have you heard/seen of the above veggie before?  Actually I have been growing them for years, but, I didn't know the name until I learnt it from a magazine called 有福同享.  Sometimes, it is called 田七菜 too because when the plant gets older, it will grow something that looks like 田七 all over the vines. This veggie is very high in minerals especially iron.

We can stir-fry the leaves (I stir-fry with sambal belacan).  Sometimes, I cook them in egg soup (蛋花汤) with a hint of sesame oil.

From the magazine, it is advised that the leaves should be cooked thoroughly before consuming.

It has lots of  humble white flower strings all over now

Last year, there were lots of chili plants grow from my compost.  So, I transplant them to my veggie patch. I have a real bumper crop of chili this year. Abundant of them..... Have a look at my handsome chili plants.

I spy with my little eyes, something that is hot and long hanging on the plants :-)

Sweet potato shoots are very nutritious.  They are also very versatile.  You can practically cook anything with it.  Try to add it in your curry next time.  It may surprise you!

There are many varieties of sweet potato shoots, but, I have only 3 types.

1.  Purple - This is the very first type I grow.  It has purple stem and it produces purple sweet potato. Please see My Sweet Potato

2.  Green - This is the softest variety I have.  It tastes the best when stir-fry with sambal belacan.



3.  '5 Fingers' - I don't know the actual of this type, but my mum calls it '5 Jari' because the shape of the leaves look like 5 fingers (probably needs some imagination).  According to mum, this is the most nutritious type among all.  I just got this variety from my friend last month.  Hope it will be happy being a part in our garden : )



I like autumn.  Many plants like this season too.  Especially sweet potato shoots they will just grow, and grow, and grow. So, it is also a 'give away' season too.  Believe me, nobody would say 'No' to this delicious veggie.


独乐乐不如众乐乐!!

One thing good about growing winter veggie here is that, it doesn't need watering.  On top of that, with the cold weather, the worms, especially the caterpillars will just make their way out of the garden.  Hurray!!

This year is my first year growing Kai Choy 芥菜 (Chinese mustard), to me as a beginner, I think it is a great success : )

Please come through and have a look at my garden.



This is Kai Choy, the big type



This is small Kai Choy - 雪里红



This year, my coriander is not so good, I suspect it is because I grow at the same spot as last year.



This is cress, we like it with 'Tao Yu Bak' - soy sauce braised pork


Will cut some  雪里红 for  杂菜汤 tomorrow. 

Fresh from garden.  Ha! Ha!

Look at my Fuji apple tree.  It is a 2 years old tree.  I think it is way too small for a 2 years old apple tree.  So, I have trimed it down hard this winter.  Hopefully it will grow bigger(more bushy) next year.



They are smaller than the store bought Fuji, but seems that the taste is a bit more intense, probably because they are organic apple?  : -)

To me, there are 3 purposes of growing sweet potato.

• Sweet potato shoots are delicious in stir-fry, especially the purple type, seems to be 'meaty' to me.

• Sweet potato soup is one of our favourite afternoon tea.
• Sweet potato leaves can keep the ground cool during day time.

Have a look at this.  Tell me whether it looks like a duck/flower/pumpkin.... : )

After going through some articles found in the internet, seems that Stevia is used to produce some of the diabetic sweetener in the market.

I tried to chew half of a leaf yesterday.  No joke, it is absolutely sweet.

Should I try to blend a leaf or two into my morning coffee when it grows bigger?

 

This is blueberry 蓝莓plant.  It has pink pointy flower buds and bell shaped flowers.  Baby blueberries are still green though.



Flowers of almond  杏仁 are very similar to peach flowers 桃花 as they are from the same family.



These are nectarine 油桃 flowers.  They are very pink. Snow pea 豌豆 flowers also help to add some colours in my garden Mint 薄荷 is doing well in this season too. Parsley 荷蘭芹 is also on it's way to join the crowd.

 Today, I am going to show you some flowers of the citrus trees in my garden. 


Flowers of Eureka Lemon



Flowers  of Tahitian Lime



New Shoots of Kaffir Lime



Flowers and new shoots of Navelina (Orange)


They are not only nice to look at, they are beautifully scented too.  I will show you some other plants and flowers tomorrow.

Look at my 2 years old grape vines, they are so bald now.  Give them some time, they will bloom soon. 

Do you find something interesting here?  Yes, it is a sprouted choko.  And, it is a white choko. 

My friend gave me a few white chokos 2 months ago.  That was my first time to see white chokos.  So, I decided to try my luck to grow them.  I just chucked one into my pantry and forgot entirely about it.  Until yesterday, when I tried to arrange a box of newly bought corn flakes, then I realise its existence.  The sprout is about 1 foot long.  Can't believe it.

Tomorrow weather forecast is showers.  So, just nice, I am going to grow it tomorrow morning. 

Hope it will like my garden.