Anyone grows their own here in S.E. Asia?

[Gul_Dekar]

I'm planning to convert part of the yard into a edible garden and will probably just give everything a go (leafy-veges, root veges, beans, different fruits trees...local stuff of course). See if it's possibly to successfully grow 'em at sea-level.

So I was just wondering if anyone grows their own veges, fruit trees and herbs here in S.E. Asia? Certainly would seem like a good idea with the whole organic/non-pesticide fad going on here in Msia.

[PPPans]

I've only started - no greens yet, it's still too rainy. There's some arrowroot, cassava and I got some peanuts ready for planting next week.

There's some Malabar spinach growing, a few bitter melon. By November or December I'll start sowing the seeds for greens like mustard and bokchoy.

[tristar]

Petai, Jambu Air, Mango, Belimbing and some chillies!

[Gul_Dekar]

Cool! So far I've got some bok choy growing, one lime tree and a chili plant. My brother also has a pretty healthy-looking passionfruit tree, although I'm not sure if it'll fruit in the climate we live in.

Do you guys grow in pots or in the ground? The ones I have so far are all potted but hope to plant some in the ground when room is made for it.

[ecr]

I've tried western herbs - thyme, basil, rosemary - with not much luck. It's too humid and rainy in KL.

Chilies do nicely though .. need to start a second batch but earlier this year had habanero and jalapeno.

Want to give tomatoes a try ... have a bunch of heirloom variety seeds I brought back from the US.

[tristar]

I have some potted and some direct in the ground, I ran out of space and having only a small plot of land need to keep moving the chillies to take advantage of the sun! Potted citrus do quite well here in Jakarta if kept well fed and watered, especially the smaller types such as Jeruk Nipis or Kafir Lime, which will fruit heavily and you only need small amounts to flavour your dishes. I was at first worried about harvesting the leaves of the Kafir Lime, but it doesn't seem to do any harm at all.

[angeljolie]

I just re-started (because I left my plants when I moved to another place just recently). I currently have sweet basil, rosemary, and tarragon in pots. So far, I think they're doing good. Here are their photos:

Basil

Rosemary

Tarragon

[Tepee]

I've got pandan leaves in a pot and in the ground, curry leaves, limau purut (kaffir lime), aloe vera, daun kunyit (turmeric leaves), daun kadok, sarsaparilla root, bunga telang (butterfly pea) and lime. Trees.....3 jambu air and 1 mango. My MIL will be moving house in a couple of months...she says she'll give me her sweet basil and misai kucing (cat's whiskers). I just got a bunch of leaves from her yesterday and made a drink from it with some brown sugar added; it tastes very close to the watercress drink and is known for its many medicinal properties.

Edited September 4, 2006 by Tepee (log)

[Tepee]

I recently discovered that one of my friends has a belimbing buluh tree. The fruit is small and sour. I was so happy because my mother used to cook very appetizing dishes with it every time she finds it in the market. However, one can hardly find it in the market now. In fact, not many people here has even tried it before. Now, my friend (oh, what a friend!) gives me a bag every few weeks.

If anyone could tell me what it's known in english, it would be great. Just cooked a dish tonight, with sliced chicken thigh meat, the belimbing, and bitter gourd in taucheo (fermented soy bean paste), a rather interesting combination of sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Can a dish taste more complex than this? Oh...with some chillies it can..but I didn't add it this time. Adding this little fruit to any dish (especially curries) will definitely pep up your taste buds.

[angeljolie]

If anyone could tell me what it's known in english, it would be great.

←

In Manila, we call this kamias or balimbing (another variety). In English, I think it's known as bilimbi.

Edited September 4, 2006 by angeljolie (log)

[PPPans]

If anyone could tell me what it's known in english, it would be great.

Ah! Averrhoa bilimbi, tree sorrel in English. It's indeed camias for most Filipinos and we utilise it in many ways. One of the better-known is in fish sinigang - basic recipe: fish, kangkong, yard-long beans, taro, long green chillies and camias. A sour and spicy soup - makes my mouth water just typing this up.

Tepee, your chicken looks so inviting!

You can also slice the fruit thinly and eat it raw in salad-like preparations.

[Tepee]

Many thanks, angeljolie and PPPans! Yes, thoughts of this fruit is indeed saliva-inducing.

[HKDave]

We've been growing western herbs (rosemary, basil, sage) on the windowsill in HK for several years with moderate success. It's cheaper than buying fresh herbs flown in from Australia, anyway.

[angeljolie]

No prob, Tepee.

HKDave, yeah basil is relatively more difficult to grow but growing it is indeed a lot cheaper than buying it from the supermarket.

[ecr]

If anyone could tell me what it's known in english, it would be great.

Belimbing. In KL you can find it in the Malay section of Chow Kit, at the small market in Sentul (Jalan Sentul), at the Masjid Jamek night market (Saturdays), from one Indian vendor at Pudu market (outside), at Selayang. (Guess you can tell where I spend alot of my time. ) The vendors have all told me to eat it with sambal.

It spoils so quickly. Teepee - you're lucky to have a dependable source!!

Edited September 7, 2006 by ecr (log)

[tristar]

Belimbing in English is also called, Bimbling plum (West Indies) and Cucumber tree.

My Belimbing is the fruit variety known as Star Fruit, and I really don't know what to do with it apart from making juice? It started fruiting two years ago and hasn't stopped! I wanted to make some preserves from it but cannot find pectin, has anybody tried making preserves of this fruit without pectin or is there another way of doing it? Any help would be appreciated!

[Gul_Dekar]

I've tried making jams using fruits with low pectin by mixing it with fruits which have more pectin...say apples. Or maybe you could just try it out anyway and make it with just the fruit, might have enough natural pectin? I don't know for sure, but worth a shot! Think belimbing (star fruit) would probably make pretty tasty preserves though...

[bvmisa]

I grow my own sugarcane (tuba), malabar spinach (alugbati), sweet potato (camote), beans (sitaw), peanuts (mani), papaya, soursop (guyabano), jackfruit (langka), drumstick tree (malunggay), pandan, guava, mango, cassava (camoteng kahoy), jicama (singkamas), chilli peppers (sili), kadyos, and lots more!

I am a fan of homegrown vegetables!!! obviously

[Gul_Dekar]

Speaking of soursop (guyabano), I've only recently gotten acquainted with it and was wondering how does one approach one such a fruit? Is everything inside edible (aside from the seeds)? How do you know when it's ripe? Is it when the outside feels soft?

Some guidance would be appreciated!

So far some (western) herb seeds I planted have grown to become summer savoury & thyme (quite a few true leaves are out)! Hopefully they can adapt well to the local weather here in the longterm.

Hoping to acquire one or two more fruit trees, like limau madu (honey citrus) and maybe a guava plant from a nursery.

[PPPans]

Yes, everything inside the soursop except the seeds is edible. It's ripe as soon as you can smell its fragrant and a bit tender to the touch. It's eaten as is or made into jam.

[AlexBernardo]

Gul. Have you considered some kind of greenhouse? Even a small, makeshift one could be beneficial in growing those Mediterranean plants in our tropical environment.

tristar. We call this fruit balimbing in the Philippines. Never seen it done as a preserve, but will inquire.

bvmisa. You have a cool garden!