Garden Project 2: Growing Arugula Lettuce

Arugula planted on improvised planter made from an old Pepsi crate.
Behind my arugula are mature Cos lettuces that I am growing for seeds.

 Working in the garden is a task that I enjoy the most. It is therapeutic and also healthy because I can eat organic produce anytime of the day. Around the same time I planted my Black Rose lettuce, I also planted some Arugula seeds that I got from an online seller. Honestly, I have never tasted arugula before but after watching so many cooking shows that featured this leafy green, I was convinced that it must the most delicious leafy green ever.

Young arugula seedling.

Arugula is another variety of lettuce. But unlike its other relatives, arugula has thicker leaves and stalks. It is never a delicate plant and it grows well on any types of soil but it prefers rich loamy earth.  What I love about this plant is that it is not prone to any insect attacks so you don’t have to worry about spraying insecticides on them. You also need to water it at least once a day but twice during the summer months.

The best thing I like about this vegetable is that you can continuously pick the leaves as the plant continuously grows. I never seem to run out of arugula leaves even if I pick them every other day. I have already used arugula for my soups. In fact, I love to put arugula on sinigang (sour soup) or your regular law-oy (vegetable soup). On the other hand,  I would  never dare eat it raw. Well, I did try putting a few leaves on my tomato sandwich but I have to spit it out. I guess I really don’t like its strong nutty taste as it is a bit overpowering for me. I have yet to try making arugula leaves into pesto but I think I will do it once they start to flower. That way, I can save the leaves which will eventually wilt and fall off the plants  but I will also get seeds which I can use to grow more arugula. The problem is, I have to hustle and free more space in my garden for future planting activities.

Garden Project 1- Growing Black Rose Lettuce

Black Rose lettuce planted on a raised bed and its neighbors
purple sweet potatoes (kamote tops) and malabar nightshade  (alugbati) 

Lettuce is an annual plant that belongs to the daisy family. It is grown as a vegetable leaf and it is not only used as an ingredient in making different types of food.  There are different types of varieties of lettuce and recently, I have planted a variety called Black Rose which is characterized by leaves having deep burgundy color.

The Black Rose lettuce looks very attractive with its colored loose leaves. It has a crisp yet slightly bitter taste that adds interesting flavor in salad dishes. I enjoy the Black Rose as a lettuce wrap which adds crunch to the food.   Aside from using the leaves in salad, I also use them for soups and any kinds of dishes.

Black Rose lettuce seedlings

Close up of young Black Rose lettuce. They first appear green but develop into
deep burgundy after a few weeks.

This particular variety of lettuce is very sturdy and it grows well in any types of soil. I planted several on slightly clay soil mixed with plant ash  and they grew well. They also thrive well on rich loamy soil.   This particular type of lettuce prefers to grow in areas where it can get a lot of sunlight. Although they also grow well in shaded areas, they do not develop that rich burgundy color and are not as bitter as those raised under the sun.

Transplanted stunted Black Rose lettuce (bottom) which were originally planted in small pots. Its neighbors
arugula (upper right) and variegated lemon (upper left) looked very healthy.

Budding Black Rose lettuce. I will have more seeds soon.

Black Rose lettuce  in a pot made from a 5-gallon mineral bottled water. It does not have a deep burgundy red color as it is planted in the shade. I have yet to transplant if I can find space in the garden.

When planting this lettuce, make sure that you do not plant them on small containers. I noticed mine getting stunted so I transferred them on to the my raised bed and they somehow recovered.  Lastly, what I love about them is that they  add color in the garden.

My Hydrangea Is About To Bloom

My potted (literally on a pot) hydrangea

I am a big fan of hydrangeas which is also called million flowers or milflores by many people. I chanced upon a flower vendor outside the entrance of a large shopping mall in Uyanguren Street selling different kinds of plants including hydrangeas. 

I was at first hesitant to buy it because I am not sure if it will blossom in the kind of weather that Davao City. I testily told him maybe he grew it in the boondocks where the temperature is colder but he insisted that he grew it in the city and that his garden is just near the shopping mall. 

He was really bent on selling me the plant and he kept on pushing me to buy two of them but I declined and only bought one. The thing is, I have never seen a hydrangea successfully growing in the hot lowland regions in the Philippines but I could be wrong with my assumptions. 

Moreover,  I have doubts whether this plant will bloom anyway considering that most literature indicated that it prefers colder temperatures. However, I was so hooked on the idea of owning my very own potted hydrangea that I was willing to be conned. 

Small flowers peeking through the leaves!
I can't wait for them to turn blue.

Now, I regretted for my prejudice against the plant vendor for thinking that he is a conman because my hydrangea plant is about to bloom. If I can see him again during my next visit in that mall, I'll definitely buy potted plants from him and I hope he still has several hydrangeas. This is one of the ways that I can make up to him for thinking something bad about him. Well, he really doesn't know about  it but this is just my excuse to buying more plants. Haha!

Radishes Growing In The Garden

The small radish plot in my backyard garden.

A lot of things have happened since I last posted in this blog. Most of them trivial while some of them were big. But I am just glad to pick up on my writing again. Anyway, I  got a seed packet from a cousin a few months ago and she told me her daughter bought it from a seed vendor who visited her school. Since she does not have any space in her house to plant them, she gave the seed packet to me instead. The seeds were spray painted blue so I was not sure that they would grow. Sorry, I did not have any pictures of them while they were sprouting. 

 Fast forward today, I was able to grow the radishes (both in pots and in a small garden plot) and I am also growing two of them for seeds. Honestly, I never really liked the taste of radishes. They have this strong and spicy taste on them but after eating a handful of  my harvest each day, I can now tolerate the taste.  I have planted my radishes near the compost pile so they grow very big leaves and  ample-sized tubers.But since I live in the tropics and my house is only five meters above sea level, will I ever be able to grow gigantic radishes I often find in cold regions? Nevertheless, I am so contented with what I have.

One of my radishes growing in the dirt.

Two types of leaves my radish seed packet produced: I suspect the right one as a
 Daikon variety but I couldn't be too sure. Radish leaves are also great in
stir fry or, at least, that's what my taste buds said. 

I am growing this radish for seeds. I have yet to try out whether I should harvest
the pods or let them dry up while still attached on the plant.

The flowers and pods of radishes.

I am excited to make seeds from them so that I can continue growing radishes in the future and may harvest everyday. But since my supply is still not enough, I still get radishes from the local market. I just hope I won't get too lazy to continue what I have started and so last week, I bought more seeds from a supplier I found online and I will be busy in the garden from now on (hopefully). I might also be busy with this blog starting today, too, to document my gardening adventures. 

Keep Calm And Start A Garden

Not everything that I do is spent on work and in the kitchen. I am also a person who loves digging dirt on the ground and watch things grow from it.  As much as I would like to spend my time in the garden, I do have other pressing things that I need to attend to. Unfortunately, I haven’t done a lot of things except  plant seedlings haphazardly within its limited space.

Growing my own garden started out as a need to create a space where I can seek solace. It is a great therapy for me to work surrounded by greeneries. I also started this garden so that I can grow my own organic fresh produce and shorten my trips to the market but I have yet to achieve this particular goal because I am still starting out. Deciding which vegetables I should grow and mustering the courage to destroy my mom’s not-so manicured lawn can be tough.

Although my vegetables are still growing and I am not yet really enjoying fresh produce, I can say that I am starting to love my garden and so does my daughter. What I do have now are several Zinnia plants that my daughter loves collecting everyday to make rustic floral arrangement in the kitchen. I also have several edible leaves like sweet potatoes, water spinach, cos lettuce, turmeric, okra, peppers and a few baby corn ears. I am so excited to take pictures of my weekly harvest.

I’d like to see my garden grow soon  and I hope that it is not just some passing fancy that I have just like the other projects that  I have started. I still have a lot of plans and I am still starting my journey  but blogging about it will definitely help me keep track on my gardening journey. Besides, I get to see these cute boots everyday too. I wonder if I can buy adult sizes for it.

Making Guacamole From Excess Homegrown Avocados

Earlier this year, our lovely avocado tree bore fruits for the first time. I was so excited with the prospect of eating avocado everyday. However, little did I know that eating avocado everyday can lead to having tired and bored taste buds. Don’t get me wrong. I love avocado but eating avocado day in and day out is rather tiring. To remedy the excess avocados at home, we decided to give some to neighbors and friends. We also ended up making different varieties of avocado-based foods - well, most desserts.

As far as I know, the most common way to consume ripe avocado is to make them into milkshakes. You can also make them into ice candies, ice creams and sweet desserts. All of these taste heavenly but since I am watching my blood sugar, I decided to venture into an un-Filipino avocado recipe… the guacamole.

Most Filipinos use avocado to make sweet desserts and it is seldom that we use this particular fruit and incorporate it into savory recipes. Call it ignorance but I was appalled by the thought of putting salt or even pepper on my avocado but after experimenting in the kitchen, I finally found a perfect avocado recipe for me that can easily replace my lunch. Here’s how I made my own version of guacamole. 

For this recipe, I used one whole avocado, a pinch of salt and pepper to taste, lime juice, diced tomatoes and diced onions. As soon as you have everything you need, placed everything in a bowl and slightly mix to incorporate the ingredient. Add a dash of paprika and hot chili pepper flakes for additional flavor and kick. The entire dish is very refreshing. The light flavor of  tomatoes and the buttery texture of avocados compliment each other well.

Why Should You Plant Your Own Condiments?

Saturday was grocery day and I love this chore more than any other chores combined. In fact, I would spend more than a few hours inside a grocery store even if I only need to buy a handful of items. I love to spend so much time on the baking, produce and condiments section to look for ingredients that I can use for cooking.

I especially love shopping for condiments. Aside from the lovely bottles where they came from, I buy condiments as I rely on them so much to make my food taste far from the ordinary. I have vowed never to use MSG or those flavor enhancing powders anymore so using the right herbs and spices is the only way to go.  Moreover, I love experimenting in the kitchen and collecting condiments is one of my countless hobbies.  But today, I met with a lot of resentments when buying a bottle of basil. With the food prices going up, I was out of budget and I couldn’t afford even a small bottle of it. Sad but even if I can live without it,  it is still depressing that the cost of condiments is steep for most people to afford.

With this, I have decided to plant my own spices instead. Of course the cost of buying seeds is the same as the price of the dried ones but I am thinking long term. And here are some of the reasons why I am planting my own herb garden.

• When the seeds grow, they flower  and once they flower, they are pollinated by bees and butterflies and turn into fruits and seeds.  By growing my own herbs, I am supporting thousands of colonies of bees to survive.

• I can collect the seeds and plant them again next year. What you get after it has bloomed are organic heirloom seeds – seeds that you can plant again for the following years.

• Herbs are medicinal. Before pills were invented, people have relied on the aromatic healing properties of herbs to treat their maladies. I enjoy drinking oregano tea and it clears my clogged nose pronto.

• One plant can produce hundreds even thousands of seeds in its lifetime so I can have a steady supply of condiments in perpetuity as long as I have the energy to dig up the dirt in the garden.

• Planting herbs is not only about saving in the long run but having a steady supply of fresh aromatic herbs all year round.

• I know where my herbs come from so I do not have to worry whether they are laden with chemicals or not. If I am in need of something to flavor my food, I only have to go to my backyard grocery and pick the ones that I can use.

From above left to right:  oregano, turmeric, long green chilli, from below left to right: Thai chilli, rosemary, dill

Planting your own herbs does not require a big space in your house. I have old paint cans that I use to plant my herbs. For now, I have planted oregano, celery, dill, cilantro, parsley and lemon basil and I want to add more as I am planning to transform our backyard into a vegetable garden.

How To Use Old CDs In The Garden

I am the type of person who loves to hold on to old things because I know that I can use them in the near future and so I have amassed quite a number of old CDs overtime. The problem is that I was never really able to make good use of them and it was a while that I was able to find out how to use recycle them. And out of the many ways that I can reuse my old CDs, I have found several uses for them in the garden. 

Old CDs are nifty things to have in the garden. I use them to ward off birds and cats using their shiny sides just like scarecrows... only they are shiny. All there is to it is to attach a string to the CD and hang it in an area in your garden that has been ravaged by the birds. I found this technique effective and the birds were really scared of the flashy lights that the CDs emit. I underestimated the birds because a few days later, they were no longer scared of them. However, this contraption has still some use because my cats - which consider the garden as their litter box - were no longer pooping in the garden because of the suspended CDs.

On the other hand, I also use them to protect replanted seedlings from the heat of the sun. It's summer here so the mid afternoon sun is really harsh but CD teepees are very effective in protecting my transplanted seedlings. Once the seedlings got bigger, I replaced the CD teepees with the teepees made from jewelry cases (CD glass cases) to allow my growing seedlings to bask in the sun.

I have yet to decide what I should do with the other old CDs lying around so this will definitely not my last post about it. ^_^

Pot Composting: Yesterday, I Buried Something Rotten

You heard it right. Yesterday, I did bury something rotten and no it wasn't my transgressions that I buried but some rotten things that, if thrown in the garbage, will add to the mass and unsightly smell in the city’s landfill.

Lately, I have been obsessed with anything organic and I started to transform a patch of area in the backyard into a vegetable garden. Well, blame it for this Facebook movement called Grow Food, Not Lawns. Unfortunately, the dirt in the backyard is as solid as a rock and devoid of nutrients. It is somewhat clay-ish and retains too much water after a heavy downpour.  

And so for this post, I am going to talk about how to make compost in your backyard. Apparently, not too many people are blessed with spacious backyards (including me) so I decided to make my own compost using the empty clay planters which their fates are yet to be decided. If we all do this, imagine how much space we can spare in our landfills and how much money we can save from buying and using mined fertilizers. And so for this, you need the following materials:

• Gloves

• Hand shovel or old spoon

• Pot

• Fruit peelings (minced, if possible)

• Dry leaves

• Garden refuse

• Soil

• Earthworms

• Water

Safety first! Wear your garden gloves.  Get a pot and fill the bottom thinly with soil. This will serve as the first layer. Fill the second layer with the minced fruit and vegetable peel.  Try to avoid putting onion, garlic and lemon peels to the compost as they contain volatile oils which may kill the earthworms in the compost pot. This is according to the many references found online but I’d like  to see for myself if this is true or not. This calls for  experiments in the future. By the way, don’t put bones or shells on the bin. Common sense tells us that earthworms do not have teeth so they cannot degrade it and, no, pet feces (although may be considered as garden refuse) should not go into your compost for hygiene reasons. Bury it in the ground instead.

Add dry leaves and fresh garden refuse. The brown decaying component is a good source of Carbon while the green components such as the garden refuse is a good source of Nitrogen. Alternate the soil and fruit peeling layers until you have almost reached the brim of the pot.  Water the compost and cover it with a lid or a few leaves.

Let the contents decay in the pot for several weeks or months. Don’t forget to turn the contents of the pot at least once a week to promote aerobic respiration. This also eases the temperature build up in the compost which may likely kill the earthworms. The main goal here is to promote an environment that is suitable for the earthworms to proliferate. The wastes produced by the worms also improve the nutrient content of the compost. Leave the compost for about 45 to 60 days while keeping it constantly moist.  I have yet to see what mine will look like but I am a bit excited. And by the way, the best thing about composting on pots is that they don’t really produce too much foul smell so you don’t need to worry about your neighbors complaining.

The compost produced should look like black loose humus (they look like used coffee grounds) and the earthworms would have multiplied as well. Hey, I might make my own earthworm farm in my backyard but the little kids hate worms. 

Harvested Turmeric Rhizomes In The Vegetable Patch

I had the opportunity to taste turmeric tea (also called luyang dilaw in vernacular)  but I didn't like it. However, because of its many health benefits, I wanted to plant one in the garden. Unfortunately, finding turmeric rhizomes then was very difficult. I have to scour all public markets here in Davao City until I was able to find one in Panacan. 

The turmeric rhizomes that we planted in the backyard a year ago were showing signs that they were ready to be harvested. When they first showed their buds, I was so excited because that was the first time that I have seen turmeric flowers in my entire life. The flowers look very exotic and so I decided to pluck them out to make them into a flower arrangement. 

Turmeric flowers shooting up from dirt.

It is refreshing to see turmeric flowers in a vase full of water.

Digging out the dirt to get the rhizomes (specialized root) was very fun and all five plants yielded a lot of rhizomes but I find pulling them from the ground exhausting. The root system of turmeric is rather strong so I have to battle with the resisting plant while I was harvesting them. Planting them on wide pots is an option because the roots do not go down deep into the soil. I’ll do that the next time I am going to plant turmeric.

Look at how fresh these rhizomes are!

Now, I have enough turmeric rhizomes to make into tea for several months. I also have a lot of these rhizomes to make into chicken curry and arroz valenciana. I can also use them when I make rendang and finally I can now make alavar sauce using them. I am also excited to make Semifreddo (ice cream) soon.

We went ahead and used some of the rhizomes to make Arroz Valenciana.

I don’t think I will be able to consume all rhizomes and so for those that will be leftover, I will be replanting them again in the garden for next year's harvest.

Grow Your Own Vegetables And Enjoy The Many Benefits Of Gardening

photo credit

Mistress Mary quite contrary, 

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockle shells

And pretty maids all in a row.

I don't know about Mary but I do have other plants in my garden. In fact, I started a garden to challenge myself on how much I will save if I start growing my own food and so unlike Mistress Mary, I don't have silver bells, cockle shells flowers and pretty maids planted in the garden (and I doubt that they will grow in this hot tropical climate of the Philippines). What I have are mostly vegetables. 

It has been six months ago about the same time when I decided to go frugal and I must say that I am glad that I started out with growing our own food. What started as a piece of area in our house that our mother started expanded within weeks and now we were planting different kinds of vegetables not only to supplement our food supplies but also as a form of entertainment.

Right now, My garden is made up of a variety of herbs and crops and these include bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, Tabasco, capsicum, parsley, bokchoy, eggplant, turmeric, basil, rosemary, dill, kang kong (water spinach), alugbati (malbar spinach), sweet potato, pandan, lettuce, string beans, calamondin, oregano, onion chives, garlic chives and ginger. I am planning on expanding my garden but that will have to wait until next year as I am still looking for robust seeds of crops and herbs that can tolerate the hot weather in the country.

There are lots of things that make gardening worth your while. One of the biggest benefits that you can get from growing your own garden is that you can save a lot of money. Before all this gardening hype even started, I would have to spend about 400PhP weekly just for the fresh produce. Now, my usual weekly budget can be stretched for two or even three weeks.

The heaviest bulk of my groceries is fresh produce and by growing my own vegetables, I don’t have to bother myself carrying heavy loads while grocery shopping. I don’t have to strain my back anymore.

By growing my own vegetables, I can also ensure that my ingredients are all fresh. My lettuce tastes so crispy when I get them fresh from my garden.  It goes well with cucumber salad. And since  I don’t use inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, I know that my home-grown produce are all safe unlike those that I get in the market.

My day is never complete without visiting my small plot early in the morning. Don’t get me wrong but I love talking to my plants and checking them out for worms or presence of insect pests. Personally, having a vegetable garden is more than just increasing our food supply at home nor enjoying the extra conveniences that it offers while shopping. Spending time in the garden also helps me feel relaxed and I enjoy tending to the plants and seeing  them grow everyday. I get the same effect of relaxation with people who enjoy doing yoga.

As for the little kids at home, I like the idea that they are also beginning to love gardening because of playing Plants Vs. Zombies. I now have little companions who also visit the small garden regularly  and they even requested to plant sunflower seeds in case our house will be invaded by brain-eating zombies at night. You get the idea...  

Lastly, with the food shortage in the Philippines and the fluctuation of food prices, growing your own food makes you self-sufficient. Speaking of self-sufficiency, I plan to try out a grocery-free week by only relying on my garden for ingredients. We’ll see if it is really self-sufficient or just ambitious.

Oh, by the way, please be sure to check more posts in this Gardening category as I plan to update them regularly in the future.