How to Videos , containers gardening, DIY self watering, organic edibles
Main Ingredients – Rice, Chicken, Vegetables This is a traditional meal in Spain and Latin America, similar to paella. This can be a simple meal with three basic ingredients or an elaborate one with layers of flavors. We like the elaborate one as long as there are enough ingredients to make a […]
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To be honest, I wasn’t expecting them to grow after being left forgotten in my fridge for over three weeks. The leaves and stalks were brown and dry. To my surprise, new shoots grew from midsection like this after sitting in 3 cm water for two days. STEP 1 – Trim away […]
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OMG! The leaves’ scent is intoxicatingly beautiful and we are excited to explore them for essential oils and other uses. Seeds were sowed on February 19, 2020, at 2.35 pm and they looked like these – Strawberries’ germination method can be used for these seeds. The first to […]
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They belonged to the genus of aromatic flowering perennial plants known as Agastache. These edible flowers emit a scent that is a great attraction for pollinators and hummingbirds, thus the name. We sowed our seeds on November 19, 2019, and they germinated on the 26th. Seed Leaves showed on the […]
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A must-have vegetable for any Chinese steamboat gathering of sorts and it’s known by different names in many kitchens. The West labeled it as an edible chrysanthemum, Choy Suey greens, or a crown daisy. In Japan, it is called Kikuna or shungiku (春菊) and the Koreans called this “sukgat”. In appearance, the Japanese […]
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What we love about this perennial herb is that the tart lemon tasting leaves retain this unique flavor even when the heat is applied and of course, its pretty colors. The name probably comes from these bloody veined appearance on the leaves. Dock Bloody Sorrel originated in the Mediterranean region and are used […]
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Spring Onion is easy to start. We grew them in both liquid and soil mediums. ROOTING ONION There are many methods to grow spring onion, but we preferred to see roots first before planting. First, we choose a relatively firm onion. A medium to big size is good because they have more […]
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From the beginning of our gardening adventures, we love the idea of foraging for homegrown berries in our gardens. Since growing strawberries in 2015, we had explored other types of berries plants, from mainly seeds and also from cutting. In 2016, we grew wolfberries, and this year (2019) began journeys into berries “bush” […]
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Blauberren or Schwarzbeeren literally means “blackberries” in English but they are also known by other names. Edible Black Nightshade (English) Schwarzer Nachtschatten (German) Morelle noire (French) Hierba mora (Spanish) Paslen Cernyj (Russia) Scientific name – solanum Nigrum L They are not the same species as Garden Huckleberry, Wonderberry, or Sunberry although the […]
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Ground Cherries are not cherries 🙂 These belong to the nightshade family, similar to capsicums and tomatoes. They are also known as husk tomatoes or sweet tomatillos. Another common name that is confusing, is “Cape Gooseberries” (Physalis Peruviana), which really is a type of ground cherry that shared the “gooseberry” name and […]
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Yellow Wonder Alpine strawberry is not difficult to start from seeds. It is recommended for beginner (strawberry) gardeners looking for more uncommon variety to try. These seeds were easy to germinate. In fact, it took less than 4 days when we sowed them on December 26, 2018. Please follow this post on how […]
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In appearance, and texture, these young seedlings are similar to ice plants, and they both taste slightly salty. This vegetable is also known by other names such as New Zealand Spinach, Cook’s Cabbage, Sea Spinach, Botany Bay Spinach, or Warrigal greens. In spite of its numerous common names, this plant is not spinach. […]
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Whether its soil or liquid-based, mizuna is easy to grow and quick to harvest. It is very delicious to eat as salads or cooked. The variety that we grew at home is called Beni Houshi, purple stem mizuna that is very popular in Japanese restaurants. Added to salads, the purple hue of its […]
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One of the French variety that we started in 2018 was the MIGNONETTE Alpine strawberries. This variety was easy to grow, entered the flowering stage at 3 months, and a vigorous grower with about 100 – 120 fruits in a 4 months window. This matched growing data from gardeners abroad, even though we […]
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Swiss Chards are cold seasoned biennial ( 2 years to complete life cycle) vegetables and come in beautiful vibrant colors, livening up any salads. We don’t see them on our supermarkets’ shelves and thus decided to grow from seeds. As they belonged to the beets family, their seeds are similar-looking as well. […]
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Lest we get confused with Chinese Parsley, which tastes like celery, these so-called “Western” Parsley are Curly leaf (English) and Italian Flat Leaf Parsley. As this herb is a biennial, meaning it will bolt (flower) in the second year and then died, we much preferred growing them from seeds than buying from the […]
Continue ReadingMy friends who knew me well probably guessed its the name, “Sugar Loaf” that attracted me to try these seeds! Little did I know that this vegetable is fame for their slightly bitter undertone. These vegetables are used commonly in the Italian or Spanish kitchens in soups, grilled or cooked with cheeses, garlic, lemon or […]
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Although Purslane is considered a weed in many countries, it nonetheless packed a powerhouse of nutrients for salads lovers. The health benefits include high omega 3 fatty acids (helps lower cholesterol), natural antioxidants, Vitamin A, B, C, iron, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Native to Asia, purslane is now enjoyed widely for its nutrition and […]
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My daughter, Summer, loves potatoes in any form, whether grilled, roast with our fresh herbs, mashed for pot pies, or steamed. So I decided to try planting our own in the outdoor apartment’s gardens. We choose small to med sized potatoes rather than large Russet potatoes for our first trial. The […]
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We love growing and harvesting our own vegetables at home. Nothing quite beats the taste and texture of our own plants. It is also immensely gratifying to see the whole journey from seeds to cutting the leaves for a meal and to be able to harvest again each week from the same plant. […]
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I love this aromatic herb for many reasons. It adds flavor to any dishes and packed a punch in health benefits. Coriander or Cilantro’s health benefits – Reduce levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and increasing levels of HDL Lower blood sugar and pressure improve bowel movement Rich in vitamin C, K, and protein […]
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In 2015, when we started planting strawberries, we thought keeping them cool in our tropical climate was important. As we grew and learned more about strawberries, we found it was possible to grow them in our natural environment without too much fuss once the seedlings established (4 months ++). Thus, this discovery, the […]
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This post summarized what I learned from readings and gardeners who grew these wonderful fruits in 2016. Anne Ang’s potted longan plant. First, there were not much written about growing longans from seeds. Fruit trees from seeds tend to take too long to mature and carried an additional risk they […]
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Rosemary plants are one of the easiest herbs to grow once we understood what they need. As a novice gardener in 2015, I could not say the same as I was a serial killer of rosemary plants bought from nurseries, even though I followed their instructions of care faithfully. I did not understand then […]
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In 2017, we began a new exploration of white wild Alpine strawberries varieties in KRATKY (passive hydroponic) method. These varieties are not common commercially and too fragile to ship, thus we had to grow them from seeds. We were keen to grow them out of curiosity because their taste profiles were described as intensely […]
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3 EASY steps to germinate strawberry seeds in Singapore : I) Bright morning sun room in normal SG temperature (NO air-conditioning) Cool breeze ventilated the germinating trays which were recycled from fruit packaging. 2) Don’t bury the seeds! Seeds sowed on the soil surface as shown: […]
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