Petola / Angle Loofah

Here's our petola / angle loofah. Only managed to get two loofah from a plant. Need more knowledge in this.

The loofah flowers are yellow in colour and bloom only in the evening.

The petola taken from another angle.

Anak Misai Kucing -- For Sale!!

MISAI KUCING UNTUK DIJUAL

Anak misai kucing #7 (Orthosiphon stamineus - betulke nama saintifik ni) ini disediakan oleh lamanoflife sendiri. Tanah hitam dan baja digunakan.

Setiap polibeg berharga RM5.

Untuk pertanyaan, boleh hantar ke ruang comment.

Tukar Biji Benih

Dua minggu lepas, anak bongsu mengutip benih ulam raja untuk diberikan pada rakan sekelas. Rupanya mereka bertukar biji benih! 2, 3 hari kemudian, anak pun membawa balik biji benih pemberian rakannya. Katanya kepada saya,

'Ma, ini biji benih daripada kawan adik.' 'Biji benih apa?' tanya saya.

'Biji benih togeh....' sambil menunjukkan beberapa butir kacang hijau kepada saya.

Hmmm... nak tergelak pun ada...

Apa pun, nampaknya mereka bersemangat mengikuti pelajaran Sains Tahun 2, mengenai tumbuhan!!

Stretching the RM

This morning, we (my youngest and I) planted more kangkung seeds. In the next 7 to 8 weeks, the kangkung will be on the dining able, insyaAllah. From past experience, it seems like the kangkung can thrive in our backyard as oppose to the kailan. Yikes, I hate to describe the kailan..though managed to get a few leaves to add to the vegie dish!!

Now, am waiting to see the outcome of our 'kacang botol' / 'kacang kelisa'. The plant is thriving but haven't seen any kacang!! The roselle proves to be fine. Have been getting its drink and managed to persuade the children to drink them too. Hubby loves it. One way of stretching the RM! No need to buy the cordial in a short time anymore.

Ulam Raja

Bagaimana membiak ulam raja? Oh, tak susah.... Hanya melalui biji benihnya, yang akan didapati selepas bunganya layu. Gambar sebelah menunjukkan biji benih ulam raja. Apabila kering, biji benih ini akan jatuh dengan sendiri atau terbang ditiup angin. Kemudian pokoknya akan mati... Don't worry, pokok baru akan tumbuh tak lama lagi. InsyaAllah.

Anak2 telah memberi biji benih ini kepada rakan2 yang hendak. Hopefully, they'll grow. But trust me, it's not hard to grow ulam raja!!

Happy gardening....

Frugality: A dirty word?

According to wikipedia, frugality among others is the practice of acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services.

With a looming large number of unemployment in our country, the buzz words now will be cost-cutting, savings, spend (or the economy won't grow!!) but only on necessary items, just to name a few. Whatever word that you use, it will come back to a little bit of frugality. So, is that a dirty word, in times of economic uncertainties?

Anyway, just wish to point out certain measures taken by others and myself included. These ideas may be of good use for others too.

1. A local bank has sent out its monthly statement using both sides of the paper. Usually, 2-3 pcs of paper were used but the recent one was just a piece of paper.
2. Some cos has resorted to using e-statement ie going paperless. Another membership co had sent materials to both husband-wife in one envelope as opposed to two envelopes before.
3. Plant some veggies and herbs for your own consumption. Use up the idle area in your lawn/backyard. (For examples, you can go through lamanoflife). P/S We've also gotten our share of betik from our parents.
4. Find alternatives to what you've been using all these years (I know it's hard to some), which are cheaper and if you can, locally-made items.

I can only have my hands dirty when doing gardening. Frugality, a dirty word? Think about it and be honest to yourself.

Kangkung - A Tiny Way to Self-Reliant

Don't worry, I'm not about to become another food blogger... But, just sharing something on self-reliant. Hey presto, my 'kangkung masak kicap', with the veggie harvested from my kitchen garden. Yes, why not find a way or two to become less dependent on the kedai runcit, pasar basah or even the big hypermarket. It's not hard to find one way especially if you've the skill, good attitude and willing to learn. Let us be more self-reliant and less dependent.

My daughters' nasi cawan!! They were hushing to each other before we came down for lunch the other day and no wonder.... Our own ulam raja but the coleslaw ingredients were not though. However, it was self-made. This small thing can make eating at home fun and interesting.

Laman Impiana Lagi....

Sejak kebelakangan ini, ramai pengunjung lamanoflife meng'google' majalah Laman Impiana. Memang banyak maklumat dari majalah tersebut. Edisi Jan-Feb 2009 telah dibeli semalam di Seri Putra. Belum habis membelek lagi tapi terdapat beberapa mukasurat mengenai tumbuhan herba yang boleh digunakan seperti aloe vera a.k.a lidah buaya (#9) dan roselle atau nama saintifiknya, Hibiscus sabdariffa (#10). Alhamdulillah, herba tersebut memang ada di laman kami. Memang banyak khasiat yang Allah 'sembunyi'kan dalam alam botani kita. Cuma kita saja yang kadang2 tidak mengambil tahu atau hanya bersandar kepada perubatan berasaskan bahan kimia semata.

Pagi tadi sempat menyambung semula menanam kuku jin. Pagi semalam sambung rafia untuk sokongan pada petola dgn harapan dapat hasilnya nanti!! Just wait and see. InsyaAllah.

Vertical Farming

I snapped a pic on vertical planting and posted it at flickr a few weeks back. Today, an article in Time, issue Dec 22, 2008, titled Vertical Farming tells us that 'this idea can work in a big way'... with some drawbacks of course. It's an idea that can be looked upon deeper!!

Tomato....#6

Here's our lovely tomatoes. Had plucked 4 so far. Not as big as the ones we bought at the market though but that's fine I guess.

We bought the seedling at MAHA and used baja organik!! The wooden 'pancang' + the yellow rafia was done by hubby taking cue from observing MARDI's techniques! Simple and proven effective.

Another seedling hasn't borne fruits yet but I'm keeping my fingers cross.

It's a nice feeling to harvest your own vegie......

Ulam-ulam

Semalam kami berulam.
Antaranya, daun mengkudu, ulam raja dan bunga misai kucing.
Dicecah dengan cili tumbuk.

Rasa teruja kerana...
tomato sedang berbuah,
jagung pula sedang menunjukkan tanda2 ndak berbuah
putik cili pun ada 2,3.

Alhamdulillah,
Ya Muhyi, Ya Muhyi, Ya Muhyi,
Allah Yang Maha Menghidupkan.

A 10-year cycle....

the stories today:

a. consumers urged to be careful in spending so that they will be in a good financial shape in the event of a recession.

b. Be frugal but don't stop spending

c. ...makanan, kewangan dan minyak....

d. isu ekonomi global turut.....

**It's time to visit my vegie patch.... :-)**

Raja Segala Ulam

Antara sayur-sayuran di 'kitchen garden' saya, yang paling subur ialah ulam raja (Catalogue 1)

(cosmos caudatus). Dah banyak kali dipetik. Agak cepat juga pertumbuhannya. Mula disemai dari bijinya dan kemudian naik merimbun.... Sekarang ni dalam seminggu, 1 atau 2 kali kami sekeluarga berulamlah. Bunganya berwarna keunguan/kuning,kecil.

Mengkudu (cat. 2) atau morinda citrifolia, daun yang muda pun dicelur dan dibuat ulam. Cuma rase pahit sikit. Pokok ini kami tanam dalam pasu (itu sebab buahnya agak kecil sahaja). Tak nak ianya terlalu merimbun sangat. Seingat saya, semasa dalam pantang, daun mengkudu pernah diguna untuk membalut besi tungku!

Kedua2 pokok ni nampaknya tak diserang serangga perosak...Senang nak jaga.