Look Out for Our New Produce!

 Barely four months into our gardening, the Jericho Land has surprised us with an abundance of produce. Please say hi to Brinjal! We didn't know what kind of brinjal we had in our garden because we planted them from seeds. But ah... what a pleasant surprise when one day, after her watering duties, Ling Beng reported excitedly the birth of this plump and purple baby... "It's a round one!" 

Please welcome our long-haired baby, the Corn! The yellowish strands on the top end of each head of corn is called "silk." So, corns don't need shampoo cuz they naturally have silky hair.

 

Here are our Cherry Tomatoes! We were just trying out tomatoes on this plot of ground because our experience growing tomatoes at home proved to be very challenging. You either fight with the weather, water, aphids, or any kind of pests that try to chomp off these delicate plants. Chui Fang's brave experiment with cherry tomatoes in Jericho Land is bearing fruit, literally. Big thanks to everyone who took care of these plants over the weeks!

These are Roselle flowers. It's a very versatile plant. Depending on which region you visit, the people eat various parts of this plant (the leaf can be used for salad, apparently). But over here I think we mostly eat the calyx -- the fleshy, dark and blood red part that looks like a flower. It's not a flower actually. The flower is the dainty pink one you see below, which falls off within a day or so, leaving the calyx and a hard part with seeds inside. The calyx is very versatile and you can make it into anything from cordial to ice-cream flavouring.

Briefly around the garden, here's what the folks and new guests are up to. Uncle Fah Shin brought lots of "drippers" to garden. This innovative device is made from 100Plus bottles with a hole punctured on the cap and fixed to a short PVC pipe. When overturned, the dripper waters the ground around it slowly, which is super duper useful in our hot and hazy weather now. See how proud Aunty Lilian is of her hubby! <3 

And we have a new customer! Thank you, Julie! We hope you'll enjoy the okra and lemon grass. ;)

Irene dropped by too, and got an intriguing demo of the dripper by our resident farmer.

Can you guys see how much more land Lame has to work on? Kesian him ok. Please come and help. All newbies will get free tips from Lame.

We spotted these two ladies bowing down and talking to the tiny plant in front of them. Jane (right) was actually speaking positive words to her wintermelon plant... and she forced Jamie to encourage the four-inch-tall plant also.

Hock Keat is one of our regular members, seen here watering the maize while Lame takes a break from ploughing. Kudos, guys!

See you next week at the garden!

Visitors

Visitors, you are welcome to our vegetable garden!

We have been very blessed to have so many people come to visit and encourage us.

Michelle brought her aunt when she was on watering duty one day. Her aunt who loves gardening wishes that she was staying in one of the nearby cabins so that she could work on the land. Already, she is looking for suitable seeds and plants for us. If only she was really staying in one of the cabins...

Michelle's Aunt posing with our fruiting Okra plant

Mei Lin who visited us 14th July 2012 wrote the following :

Life’s Happening Here!

I must, straight out, confess that I do not have ‘green fingers’ – in fact I am an ‘angel of death’ to plants, I have ‘killed’ even potted cactus plants.  Thus, I have never given a second thought about helping out at FGT’s Vegetable Garden.

However, when I received Chui Fang’s email invitation to come visit the Vegetable Garden, her blog dated 9 July 2012 piqued my interest.  The plants were growing - growing BIG, and the evidence were in the photos.  There was an air of excitement.  Hey, God is on the move there… I needed to go take a look at what God’s doing over there…

So after our 6.00am prayers on Saturday morning, Chui Fang invited us over to the garden.  “Yes, I will come visit the garden, but look see only ya…”, I obliged.  After a quick breakfast with the regular breakfast gang, and as promised, I dropped by at the vege patch.  There were already a number of people there hard at work.

Phui Yee proudly and enthusiastically gave me a grand tour of the patch - she first introduced me to the Thai Basil plants.  I plucked a leaf (with permission, of course) and smelt it – strong licorice-like smell.  Phui Yee tells me that these were different from the basil used for Italian cooking… “oh I see”…

The (current) star of the patch would be the okra plants, which were growing very well indeed.  Big luscious green leaves and lots of fruit buds, promising a bountiful harvest.  There were earlier attacks on the leaves by crickets and the likes, but the attacks have been successfully fended off using  natural insecticide – ground chilies and onions, sprayed over the plants. Interesting information, I learnt something new today... 

The spring onions have all sprung up and were ready to go.  The potato leaves will soon be ready for the dinner table too.  However, the Roselle plants weren’t quite ‘rosy’ yet, and the squat banana tree stood alone.

There was furious work going on at the far end; a growing army of pineapple plants were being assembled over there.     

At the end of the tour, there was, of course, the invitation to come join the jolly farmers in their labour of love on the land.  “Errr…. Sorry, not today folks.  Got to run soon…”.  But as a gesture of support to these earnest people of the land, what could a red-blooded charismatic prayer intercessor do? Pray lah!  So, I called upon our Heavenly Father and released a prayer of blessings, fruitfulness and protection over the land; may it yield 30, 60 and 100-fold in harvest!  Hallelujah! Life’s Happening Here!

We are glad to say that Mei Lin is now committed to FGT Green Fingers and started work on the land last Saturday, 4th August 2012. No more 'look see'. :) Welcome on board!

As this post is being written, we are glad to announce that our Roselle plants are budding.

Phui Yee had to do much to convince
Mei Lin to join us!

One Sunday morning, Lay Kheng decided to drop by and see for herself the plants that we are growing.

So excited was she, that she wanted to have a picture taken in the garden and commented:

"Good job by the Green Fingers! Am impressed with the variety of plants especially the extra huge lady's finger plant as well as the hard work which has been put in to prepare the land for planting. Keep up the good work."

While showing Lay Kheng around, Chin Chin joined us, also thrilled.

"I was green with envy for those of you with green fingers! Can't wait to sell vege at CAREmart..."

Well Chin Chin, we hope that we can meet the market demand. :)

Lay Kheng & Chin Chin with her adorable
girl & our Star Okra plants

Always glad for extra hands, we had the wonderful company of Yichieh and Eumelia.

"I hope I did not pull a vegetable plant instead..."

"Not only am I cute, I can work too!"

To those whom we did not mention, be assured that you are not forgotten. Thank you for coming and giving us your support in your own ways - praising us (we glow in compliments!), buying our produce, giving us seeds and seedlings etc... We appreciate you and please come again!