Today one of the three roselle (hibiscus sabdariffa) plants in my vegetable bed has bloomed its first flower..pink and gorgeous! When I bought them, they were a sorry lot, so skinny, stunted and diseased (lots of mealy bugs). I guess that was why I got them very cheap. Plants nobody wanted! When I brought them home, I pinched all the diseased leaves and cut the tops off, got rid of the white mealy bugs and sprayed some homemade pesticide. One plant grew very well than the rest, double the height of those stunted two. Those two are still looking miserable but an improvement from their original sorry state.
first Roselle bloom...hello gorgeous!
pink roselle
brighten my day...
I can see 3 more flower buds on the plant
When I told Bangchik my roselle plants were not very healthy (with a very sad face!), hoping he could 'throw' some roselle seeds my way...hehe..He implied, since I have my 'plant hospital' I could surely nurse them back to health! Actually the 'hospital' is for my potted plants that need to be in the shade (under my mengkudu tree) to recuperate. Anyway Bangchik, its ok since I have one plant that is healthy and hopefully will produce seeds for future planting.
My Harvests
first home-grown water spinach (kangkung)
okra, capsicums, tomatoes, chillies
eggplants, tomatoes, long beans, okra
My Vegetable Beds
pumpkin patch
herbs - Indian Borage, lime (limau kasturi), Thai basil, mint, daun selasih (local basil), rosemary, daun kesom (Vietnamese mint).....I transfered some of those from pots into my new raised bed
eggplants, sweetcorns
Its the first time I grew potatoes after reading a post on potatoes at Diana's garden (Kebun Malay-Kadazan Girls), I dont know if there will be lots of potatoes coming my way...keeping my fingers crossed!I have sown some green leafy vegetables seeds like pak choys, kailan, red spinach (amaranthus tricolor)and lettuce. So far only pak choy and red spinach has germinated with 4th leaves now, the rest..I dont know...maybe all kaput! Must give another try soon...
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45 comments:
p3chandan - needless to say, I agree, your hibiscus is gorgeous and your vegetables look like they would make the most delicious vegetable curry. I enjoyed your musical post too - you post so often that I can't keep up!
Good luck with your vegetables....one day I might try growing some green leafy vegetables, too. Home grown produce surely taste fresher and sweeter....I am really envious !
Congratulations for doing such a good job with the roselle! With one healthy roselle, you can collect the seeds and propagate more. The roselle juice is very nice ...so enjoy!
Great harvests!
I wonder how you cook green tomatoes. Are they aren't hard and sour?
Round-shape eggplants are seen in Japan and we grill them with miso-based sauce.
Roselle responded well to your treatment... Good!!... I can see how productive your vegetable bed is, so many plants, and wide variety of harvest.
Lovely bloom and your veggies look fantastic. Good luck with your potatoes
Cher
Goldenray Yorkies
Oooh so beutiful flower :) that most feel good to se that flower:) if you havent buy it they maybe have throw it away.
So nice Vegetable you have cultivate. /Suss
Gorgeous Roselle...gorgeous indeed! Such a beautiful color of Pink!
http://myblueiris.blogspot.com/
Beautiful Hibiscus, unfortunately they do not grow out doors in my part of the world. I think I am Catching the vegetable bug, we have plans for this year, I will keep you up tp date.
I am drooling over your veggies and YES! She is gorgeous! Lovely!
Congratulation on your so many harvest and more and more is heading towards the kitchen;-). Sometime I also like green tomatoes as it don't get squishy easily when we cook in something liquidy for a while. How do you use the green tomatoes? Your roselle is simply stunning. Love the colour. I am very excited how your experiment with growing potato result will be. My mama tried before in Malaysia but it did not work but it might work in certain condition just have to do some experimentation I guess.Kak Shidah don't forget to cover new potatoes when it appear as it is toxic (something I forgot to do last time). Good Luck and keep posted;-). Wah you new raised bed looking great so many things growing!
Thanks BAG. I will make vegetable curry or soup of them like you said. Sorry, I will try to space out my posts :)
Thank you Sun-ni, this is my first try in growing vegetables, and it surely feed good eating your fresh home-grown veggies! I have to grow more roselles in order to make juice or jam like Bangchik.
Takaeko thank you.Actually, I was forced to harvest the tomatoes green because 2 plants suddenly wilted and dying although I water them twice a day, we are having scorching hot dry season now. A blogger Shaz has posted a recipe of green tomatoes in her blog http://testwithskewer.blogspot.com to make chutney. I do put in my curry, stew or salad the green tomatoes, I love them!
Thank you Bangchik, hopefully I can get the seeds for future roselles and can make juice and jam like you!
Thank you Cher, hopefully the potatoes can grow well.
You are right Suss, maybe the nursery would have thrown away the plants if I didnt buy them.Thank you.
Hi Kim thanks, and also for becoming my follower. I love your blue iris, so gorgeous!
Thank you Alistair, I hope to see your vegetable patch, Im sure its going to be as great as your beautiful garden!
Thank you Carol.
Thank you Diana for the compliment! Though not as bountiful as yours, your garden has given me the motivation to grow more greens. But still, Im thankful. Ok we will see if the potatoes can grow here. I dont understand what do you mean by covering the new potatoes, can explain to me? The green tomatoes I have to harvest cos the plants were dying suddenly. Usually I add to dalca,masak kicap, jelatah or stir-fry with squids or prawns. But Shaz of http://testwithskewer.blogspot.com has came out with a chutney recipe with green tomatoes.
what a wonderful harvest...so long away for me but looks so yummy...your hibiscus certainly has benefited from your tender, loving care...that is a beautiful bloom...
I wish I could come eat all the fresh vegetables at your house.
I planted two Hibiscus last year in my garden. I am hoping they come back seeing yours. The flowers last such a long time, not each one, but the continuous blooming.
Beautiful hibiscus! When I was little my grandfather grew them in Hawaii. He also crossed them. He was known as the hibiscus man. It reminded me of him.
Lovely harvest! Great variety! Your garden seems to be doing really well!
Thank you Donna, my TLC certainly had done wonders not only to the roselles (hibiscus s.) but also to my vegetables and now I can enjoy the fruits of my labour!
Carolyn...you are most welcome to drop by..haha..
Donna, they do flower continuously with lots of sunshine, I have a few besides this and they are showing plenty of flower buds with our hot dry season at the moment.
Thank you Holly, its really amazing about your grandfather. I bet he created a lot of new breeds of hibiscus!Its the first time I venture into growing vegetables, I feel excited and motivated to grow more varieties. Im proud of myself!:)
Great harvest! Love your tomatoes! I tried growing potatoes once, the plants grow so healthy and collapsed all of a sudden! No idea why! Hope yours grow well with lots of tubers for you, keep posted on this one, very interesting. I thought of trying again.
Great harvest! I love to eat young tomato in Curries or in Tomyam soup...so yummy!
You also very good veggies 'doctor' ...you treat your Roselle so well ;)
Wow, beautiful blooms and an impressive harvest! Good luck with the potatoes. I think you'll have success with them, too.
Your Okra is beautiful...and the rest of your harvest! Your Roselle is blooming nicely...hope you will get nice seeds from the healthiest plant!
p3chandan! I envy your harvest lor... Your veggies are growing fast in your new raised bed, compared to mine... (sigh!!) Eh, just wanna ask, is this the way to grow potato whereby you show half of the body out? I grew mine put all underneath the soil, but all mampoi lor. But your potato turned green liow, cannot be eaten ah.
New potato (anak) can appear on the top soil sometime so it is said to top soil or cover with hay to prevent the new potato becoming green. I just noticed basil is daun selasih in Malay? I am very bad in language.
The hibiscus flower is gorgeous! Very delicate color! Can I borow some tomatoes? They are my favorite vegetables.
Joy thank you. Im just trying my luck if I can grow potatoes here.I was so motivated and envious of Diana's garden!
Thank you Makarimi, I guess love and tender loving care work for plants too not only on human!
Thanks Beth, Im keeping my fingers crossed for the potatoes.
I hope so too Theanne, thank you.
Milka, I put lots of chicken pellets and fetiliser, turning the soil and let them be there at 2 wks, before pIanting my veggies.And of course, Fer's banana formula + eggshells + rice washings concotions! Actually I dont know the correct way, so I just tried one a bit exposed, the other one under a thin layer of soil. Can tell me why cant we eat potato that turns green? Anyway, Im not eating that one cos, new tubers will be coming out of the original potato right? Maybe Diana can tell us something about this since she got experience first-hand.
Diana, thank you your advice, what about that we cant eat potatoes that turn green like Milka said. So my above photo showed the one I planted turning green, does that mean I cant eat whatever new potatoes coming out of it? Basil means daun selasih in Malay, always heard Chef Wan said that!
Tatyana..of course you can, not need to borrow, take them home! :)
You have taken care well the Roselle! pretty bloom!
You have planted potato? Wow! Looking forward for more post on the progress!
Very productive garden. Most of my vegetables stolen by monkeys....
p3chandan, my H. red shield just bloomed. The flower looks like your roselle flower ;-) I have one hibiscus, its growth stunted as it has been infested by bug that will not go away! Still trying my best to get rid of it... I understand ;-)
Thanks Malar, Im just experimenting if potatoes can survive in our climate especially now hot and dry season.
Steph, I know when our plants get infested with bugs, its sad if they die, after all the trouble we went through to get rid of those nasty bugs.
I only know green or sprouted potatoes are poisonous, i was too careful on food when my daughter was small. You can google it.
I also did the same to the soil, added chicken manure 2-3 weeks before i sowed the seeds. But all my plants are growing so so so so slowwwwwwwwwwwwww. I think i don't have green fingers like you lor.
Btw, i tried many times to collect seeds for you from my Elephant Ears, but not success till to-date lor. Now i really think i have black fingers, haha.
Ok thanks Milka telling me about the green potatoes. I guess sometimes, we win some, we loose some..Never mind about the Elephant Ears, forget it ok.Thank you anyway Milka.
Love, love, love the pink Hibiscus...your veggies look great too!
Your garden looks lovely and vegetables looks so pretty.
Yes Darla, I love it too...thank you its my first time growing veggies!
Thank you Rani, thanks for dropping by my garden!
I actually wanted to say, i only know it is poisonous but i don't know why. I searched for 'poisonous or not?' 'yes' then full stop, haha. I looked for the seeds out of curiosity also ma, since you mentioned it can seed (thanks!) and i also googled for how the seed looks like. Next time if expert liow maybe can do small business sell seeds leh? Who knows? Keke... planning for early retirement.......
Hahaha..you are a joker la Milka, you are still young thinking of retirement already? Sell seeds only? Must sell everything lor..like Bangchik, opening nursery now!
The hibiscus flower is beautiful :-)
Take care and have a great week :-)
~Ron
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You really got a good harvest of vegetables in your garden.
Im very sure you can nurse more plants back to health and have a good garden with lovely plants.
Thank you Ron, you too have a great week1
James thanks, its my first try with veggies. Maybe Im lucky they are ok, but I still loose a few plants that I cant save.
I love to rescue plants too and bring them back to good health. It's so rewarding. I'm glad you are seeing blooms ~ very pretty.
Wow, what a wonderful harvest. Is that rosella the ones to make drinks? I didn't realise it was so pretty. Great job on nursing it back to health.
Kathleen, yes it was so satisfying and rewarding if the plants suvrive with your TLC. Thank you.
Shaz thank you. Yes it is roselle which you can make juice and jam. The juice tastes like Ribena.
Was there potatoes? I remember I was keen to grow them but when I called UPM to enquire, the professor say that there will be no potatoes even though the plant will flourish. something to do with our weather. So, do let me know if you can get potatoes...
Thanks
Hi Foodsodelicious!..Ive just experimenting growing them, not sure it will have potatoes later. Will keep you posted!
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