✿ Edible Tambuli/ Lauki/ Calabash/ Bottle Gourd 2015 Update 1

Calabash, also known as bottle gourd, is a popular vegetable in Asian countries. This cutie if full of minerals and vitamins. I planted it every summer. It is disease resistant, bugs don't bother them too much either. I love the dedicate flavor the bottle gourd, buttery and sweet. I use them mainly for stir fries and soups. Oh, did I mention that it is a fast growing plant? From the mini female flower to the little fruit as shown below only takes 10 days or so!

5.15.2015

5.18.2015

5.24.2015

✿ Growing Japanese Sweet Melons 2015: HARVEST TIME!!

Harvest my Japanese sweet melons today! So excited!! I got 6 of them, there's three more not quite ready yet. The mash bags worked nicely, no bugs bothered my melons. I will leave these melons out at room temperature for a couple of days before I pop them in the fridge, so they will reach their fragrant, sweet potential.

✿ Growing Japanese Cream-Fleshed Suika Watermelon Update 2

5.18.2015

5.18.2015

5.18.2015

5.18.2015

5.18.2015

5.20.2015

✿ Growing Japanese Sweet Melons 2015: Pretty Fruits

✿ Growing Japanese Sweet Melons 2015: BLOOMINGS

FEMALE FLOWER (BOTTOM) AND MALE FLOWER (TOP)

✿ Growing Japanese Cream-Fleshed Suika Watermelon Update 1

4.14.2015

Since I live in a warm climate, I direct sow the watermelon seeds in my garden.

I planted two cream-fleshed Suika this year in a small garden bed. I will add a trellis later when the plants get bigger.

✿ General Guide for Care of Sweet Potato Slips

Unpack the cuttings right away. They may look wilted and pale from shipping which is normal. Sweet potato plants are tough and strong and most of them will survive if they are set properly and have a good growing climate. Plants will succeed even if they are yellow, slimy, and even become slightly smelly.

To revive them before planting, remove any dead or yellow leaves, trim the rotted end and rinse any slime off of the roots. Stick the roots in water for a day or so. Do not wet the stem or leaves. Change water a few times if needed. Keep at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. 

✿ 2014 JAPANESE SWEET MELON HARVEST

✿ ROOTING SUGAR CANES

I've always been wondering how to grow sugar cane, So I did some research online and found out that you could easily grow store bought sugar cane in the garden. Sugar cane is actually is a type of grass, tropical, perennial.  It takes about 5 months to harvest the canes.

So, here it is.

✿ Corn Plant Flowering!

My corn plant is flowering. What a surprise! I never knew that the corn plant (Dracaena fragrans) actually flowers! It took me almost two days to figure out from where the fragrance was coming out. It smells really pungent with a similar scent of night blooming jasmine.