Updated Garden Pictures

Little chillies 65 Days old after transplanted


2 days old Long Bean from black seeds after transplanted

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Tips for Watering Tomato Plants

Water slowly, water deeply – The number 1 rule of watering tomatoes is to make sure that you go slow and easy. Never rush watering tomato plants. Use a drip hose or other forms of drip irrigation to deliver water to your tomato plants slowly.

Water regularly - How often should you water tomato plants? There is no hard and fast rule to this. It depends on how hot it is and if the plant is actively growing. A good rule of thumb is to supply water once every 2 – 3 days at the height of summer. Remember that water supplied by Mother Nature counts towards watering tomato plants in the garden. Once the weather cools and fruit has set, scale back watering to once a week.

Water at the roots – When watering tomatoes, make sure you get the water straight to the roots. Do not water from above as this can cause disease and pests to attack the plants. Watering tomato plants from above also encourages premature evaporation and unnecessarily wastes water.

Mulch – Using mulch help to keep water where the plants need it. Use mulch to slow down evaporation.
Problems related to improper watering tomatoes

Improper watering can lead to the following issues:


Blossom end rot
Stunted growth
Reduced fruit production
Susceptibility to pests
Root loss
Sub-quality fruit

Now that you know how often should you water tomato plants and how much water tomato plants need, you can water tomatoes in your garden with confidence and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

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How Much Sun Do Tomato Plants Need?


Light requirements for tomatoes to grow

The simple answer to questions on light requirements for tomatoes is that you need a minimum of 6 hours to produce fruit, but 8 or more hours of sun will produce the best results in terms of how many tomatoes you get.

The reason that light for a tomato plant is so important is that tomato plants convert sunlight into energy. Tomato plants need energy to make their fruit. Therefore, the more sunshine they get, the more energy they have and the more fruit they can produce.

Light requirements for tomatoes to ripen

So now that you know the light requirements for tomatoes to grow, you may be wondering how much sun do tomato plants need in order to ripen their fruit.

Growing tomatoes and sun is necessary, but the fruit themselves do not need sunlight to ripen.

Tomato fruit actually ripen fastest in the absence of sunlight. Tomatoes ripen because of heat and ethylene gas, not because of sun light.

So remember, the answer to the question how much sun do tomato plants need is simple. They need as much as you can give them. If you make sure that there is enough light for a tomato plant, the tomato plant will make sure there is enough tasty tomatoes for you.

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Last Episode of Cucumber Story

Today is the last episode for cucumber, all the leafs turn to yellowish color means there is no more cucumber fruits from the plant. So late evening I did replace the cucumber with long bean from black seeds. 6 long bean plants have been transplanted into 3 polibags. I still have a five days seedlings long bean from white seeds in the media tray. In Malaysia the white seed market is more demand.






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Pelleted Chicken Manure Organic Fertilizer

Pelleted Chicken Manure (PCM) organic fertilizer (4-1-1)is a decent source of nitrogen (2-4%) and 100% organic. It also has small amounts of phosphorus and potassium. Making PCM entails composting the manure until the manure is completely sterilized, which kills pathogens, viable weed seeds, salmonella, etc, at temperatures above 158°F (70°C).

I did water my little chilly with dilution of Pelleted Chicken Manure once a day to make sure its have a good compost of nutrient balance. The result is I have a very good health chilly plant in my garden.

This manure is the richest source of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium of the animal manures.

PCM Use

* Used to increase green leaf growth
* Adds organic matter that creates humus
* Soils with high pH can be brought closer to neutral
* Can be used as a compost decomposition activator
* Improves soil structure
* Do not use around seedlings
* When adding to your garden as a nitrogen source, always blend it into the soil (be aware of the strong smell)


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3rd Harvest the Chinese Water Spinach

Today I did harvest the 'kangkung' or Chinese Water Spinach in English from my Hydroponic case. Those who are seedings the Chinese Water Spinach in the hydroponic can follow my tips not to remove all the roots from hydroponic case. You can repeat harvest them by cutting them a little bit higher from the roots (about 2 fingers higher from first branch) then u can see a new branch will grow up from there.

I ask my wife to fried with sambal and dried prawns or 'kangkung belacan' in Malaysia. Sambal is a malaysian chilli made by pounding chillies with a bit of lime and belacan. Belacan is fermented shrimp paste usually sold in a solidly packed rectangular block.




Hurmm..yummi..yummmi...its very delicious but regretly I have a bad ulcer in my mouth and my tounge got ulcer too. So pity...I can't move my tounge so much...:(

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Transplanted Little Chilly

Yesterday was May 13, 2009. The little chilly was 26 days young.The young chilly plants ready to move individually into polibag. After I came back from shopping at TESCO Tebrau, I did prepared 9 bags of black soil that I bought cheap from TESCO (RM1.18 only for 7 liter). Below are the steps how I trasnplant all 9 of young chillies.

9's of black soil in the polibag ready to be transplant

Watering the black soil to give them a little bit moisture


Make a holes using the sharpen and rounded stick


Holes has been made to fit the a young chilly with peat moss


Fit this chilly together with peat moss from the soil case


Chilly been trasnplanted to polibag


All 9 chillies has been trasnplanted into polibag

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Long Beans

Yard Long bean is a climbing annual and is popular legume grown for its immuture pods which are narrow, round, and stringless. The Plant tolerates acid and can be grown in areas with low rainfall.
Scientific Name: Vigna sesquipedalis
Family: Fabaceae
Colour: Light green to red
Common names: Yard long bean, long bean, Chinese long bean, snake bean, pea bean
Best Season: Throughout the year
Nutritional Value: 34 kcal, 4.2 g protein, 110 mg calcium, 4.7 mg iron, 2.4 mg vitamin A, 35 mg vitamin C per 100 g serving.

This climbing plant is a close relative of the cowpea or black-eye pea. It comes in different varieties from the more common pale green pod variety, to the more slender darker green one, to a deep brownish red variety. These beans are rich in vitamin A and contain a fair amount of vitamin C.

It is an annual long trailing vine usually grown on poles for support and often reach heights of 9-12 feet. The plant has large pale pink to violet-blue flowers. The pods will grow up to 12 to 30 inches long, depending on the variety, with each pod containing several edible seeds. This plant continues to grow after flowering and fruiting.

Propagation and Planting :
Long Beans are mainly a warm-season crop and will survive extreme humidity and heat. It can be planted in a wide range of climatic conditions but is very sensitive to cold temperatures.

Propagation is through direct seeding or transplanting. They prefer a light, well-drained soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.8, enriched with organic matter, such as compost or dried manure.

Plant the seeds 1-2 inches deep in warm soil. Germination will take place within 6 to 10 days. Soak the seeds in water before sowing, for better germination. Transplants should be done in such a way as to avoid disturbance to the root system. The plants should be placed 2 to 3 feet in rows and the distance between rows should be 4 to 6 feet apart on raised beds or ridges. Dwarf growing forms can be planted much more densely. Place poles and give wire or twine supports in rows. Extra fertilization is not essential as long as you have enriched the soil before planting. But the plant needs heavy watering at regular intervals.

Flowering will occur 5 weeks after sowing. Fruits will grow from open flower to suitable length in about 10-12 days. Pick the pods at the tender stage at maximum length, before the seeds mature or swell. Yard long beans may grow up to 24inch long, but it is better to pick them at 12 to 18 inches.

While picking, cut the pods with a sharp knife to minimize plant damage, thus maximizing harvest. Leave the pods to reach full maturity, allowing them to dry on plant, if the pods have to be reserved for seeds. The pods will break open and the seeds can be collected.

Problems and Care :
The plants are susceptible to black bean aphids, spider mites, nematodes, and mosaic viruses. Aphids, particularly the black bean aphid are drawn to the pods of this plant. Bean fly is the main pest causing small yellow spots on the leaves. They can be treated by spraying dimethoate. Red spider mite produce a speckled silvery appearance on leaves and can be treated by spraying dicofol.

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Beautiful of tomato flowers

Day-48 after transplant

What I love to plant is I can see the plants and vegetables growing start from day 1 till we can pick the fruits. The beautiful tomatoes flowers from the tomato plants to become tomato fruits.

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2nd Harvest Chinese Water Spinach


Today is day-38 of Chinese Water Spinach, little mustard and cabbage in the hydroponic case. Until now I did harvested two times of swamp cabbage and 1 time for mustard and I did replace the all cabbage seeds and mustard seeds with chinese water spinach seeds because swamp cabbage is easy to grow and no need much attention to care about it. Just Seed-Wait-Harvest and topup the hydroponic fertilizer into the case.
If you plant the swamp cabbage in the hydroponic or in the pot, just cut a little bit higher from the roots to make sure more new branches coming out. See picture below..

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Back to blogging !

Hey...I'm back to blogging from medical leave. Over a week I have suffered from lumbago. Until yesterday morning, my wife bring me to clinic and get medical check up from doctor. After have a rest and take a medicine from clinic, now I'm slowly recover from sick..

So now I can take care of my plants and most important thing is back to blogging. If not, I can't sit on the chair, move so much.

Late evening, I snaped a few photos from my little garden. See my little children, she very active helping her Papa hehe..




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Weekend activity...


Hello, yesterday was a labour day so many people take this advantage to go for holiday or visit their parent at their hometown. Myself and my family today will take this two days for my kid to see her grandmother and grandfather and ofcourse to meet her cousins.

Picture above are the cucumber that I harvest from my little garden this morning. Not so much but more than enough to cook or make it as a 'ulam'.

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