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March 11, 2010 at 8:38 am
· Filed under General
Pea sprouts, also known as 豆苗 (dòu miáo), are a popular dish at Chinese banquets and at 煮炒(’zhi char’) meals. They are actually the young seedlings of the pea plant, Pisum sativum. Don’t mistake pea shoots for pea sprouts: pea shoots come from the growing tips of mature pea plants, and are also edible but less commonly available in our local markets. Pea sprouts can be grown using dried raw pea seeds sold in supermarkets, and make a healthy and nutritious snack or addition to a daily meal.
These sprouts are easy to grow: they need very little space and sunshine, and grow quickly. They can be harvested when they are five to seven days old, and about 7 to 10 cm tall. At this stage, the shoots are tender and their tendrils are just about to emerge from their growing tips.
You can grow your own pea sprouts at home from organic garden peas - just follow the steps below! And for serving suggestions, try out the stir-fry recipe we’ve provided.
Steps to growing pea sprouts:
Materials needed: Potting mix, small garden spade, water, organic garden peas, and a suitable planting tray.
Step 1: Soak the peas in water for about 8 hours. Change the water every 2 - 3 hours, to prevent the peas from spoiling.
Step 2: Spread a layer of potting soil (1 inch in depth) at the base of your planting tray or container, and sow the soaked garden peas evenly on the soil surface. Cover the peas with a thin layer of soil (1 cm thick). Place in the shade until shoots appear in about three days.
Step 3: Transfer the sprouts to a sunny location and mist them daily. Harvest the pea sprouts when they are about 7 cm tall, just as the tendrils emerge (as shown in the center of this photo).
Further tips for growing pea sprouts:
Watering - Ensure that your pea sprouts get enough water from Day 1 to harvest. Lack of water may cause the tendrils to emerge sooner than expected, which will make the sprouts taste over-fibrous.
Light - Place your pea plants under direct sunlight once the shoots appear.
Fertiliser - Fertilising is usually not necessary as the sprouting cycle is short.
Harvest - Cut at the base of the plant during harvesting, above the lowest node on the stem. This will allow new shoots to emerge for the next harvest. You can harvest each batch of peas up to three times. However, the quality of the sprouts may decline over time.
Reunion Dinner Recipe: Stir-fried Pea Sprouts with Garlic
| Ingredients: |
fresh pea sprouts |
200 g, rinsed |
| (Serves 4) |
garlic |
5 cloves, finely chopped |
|
oil |
¾ tbsp |
|
oyster sauce |
3 tsp |
|
salt |
1 pinch, to taste |
|
cornstarch |
2 tsp |
|
water |
2 tbsp |
|
‘Shao Xing’ wine |
½ tbsp (optional) |
Method:
- Heat the oil in a wok at medium heat until it is smoking hot.
- Stir in the chopped garlic and fry till golden brown.
- Add in the pea sprouts and cover the wok with lid, and simmer the sprouts for 30 seconds. Meanwhile, mix the rest of the ingredients, except ‘Shao Xing’ wine, in a bowl.
- Lift the lid and stir-fry the sprouts, ensuring that they are cooked evenly. Pour the mixture from (c) on the sprouts. Mix thoroughly and evenly.
- Just before removing the sprouts from the wok, add in the ‘Shao Xing’ wine by pouring it at the edge of the wok and letting it run down to the centre of the wok.
- Remove the cooked pea sprouts from the wok and enjoy!
Ingredients needed: garlic, oil, oyster sauce, cornstarch and salt.
Freshly harvested pea sprouts, rinsed.
The completed dish: Stir-fried Pea Sprouts with Garlic
An alternative serving suggestion: tuna and pea sprout sandwiches
By Lim Jin Hong and Pearl Ho
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March 4, 2010 at 8:58 am
· Filed under General
I first came across a medicinal plant that is called ‘ulam raja’ when I was doing a research project on plant antioxidants during my Food Science and Technology undergraduate days in the National University of Singapore. Thanks for my Malay friend, Hidayat, he was the one who brought me to Geylang Serai wet market on several Sunday mornings to search for vegetables and plants that are consumed by the local Malay community. I have not seen it being put up for sale in most other markets. In the local market, bundles of fresh, young and tender tips of this plant are put on sale. They wilt quickly, however, under our hot weather here.
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February 25, 2010 at 8:56 am
· Filed under General
Tucked away in the lush estate of Punggol Fields is a small community garden that is tended to by residents from the Punggol Meridian RC gardening club. Located along a thoroughfare that leads to other blocks deeper in the estate, the tiny gardening plot intrigue residents and visitors alike with neat little rows of flower and vegetable beds whereas the brightly colored blooms of Lipstick plants, orchids and other flowering annuals adorning the fence offer cheery greetings to passersby.
Some of the other plants grown in this garden include perennial favorites such as the edible Aloe (Aloe vera) and the oyster plant (Tradescantia spathacea), of which the latter can be used to make a delicious ‘herbal tea’ that is considered by many of the local Chinese to have a ‘cooling effect’ on the body. Runner beans, egg plants and the winter melon also feature prominently in this garden along with some other ornamental plants.
Runner beans
Egg plants
For the gardening club members, this little patch of green has certainly been a labor of love. And if anyone were to ask what would be the most rewarding experience for them, it would have to be when they get to harvest the fruits of their labor.
Winter melon harvest – much painstaking effort has been put in to get the plant to produce a fruit this large. The pride and joy that comes from harvesting what they have grown is indeed priceless.
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February 18, 2010 at 8:13 am
· Filed under General
Neptunia oleracea is the aquatic equivalent of the common sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica). Commonly known as the water sensitive plant, it grows via long stems and sports the same pinnate leaves like its terrestrial counterpart, which closes up when disturbed.
Unlike the common sensitive plant, Neptunia oleracea does not have thorns and produces flowers that are yellow in colour rather than pink. Interestingly, the mature stems of Neptunia oleracea that are in contact with water develop somewhat differently as they will have a layer of white spongy tissue around the stems formed between the leaves to help them float on water.
Because of these characteristics, I find this plant an ideal and interesting candidate to show as an example to children of a plant that moves, much like the common ones that we now know that include the common mimosa, the dancing plant (Desmodium gyrans) and Venus fly trap (Dionaea muscipula). Without thorns, Neptunia oleracea is safe to handle by children and what’s more, its a mimosa that wears a float to swim in water! It is an edible plant too and children can cook it as a fun activity!
According to Plant Resources of South East Asia (PROSEA), Neptunia oleracea is widely distributed in the tropics of both hemispheres but the origin of the species is uncertain. It occurs wild and cultivated as a vegetable throughout South-East Asia, particularly in Thailand and Indochina. Neptunia oleracea can be found growing in inundated ricefields and in other fresh water bodies and sometimes becomes a weed which choke up waterways in some countries. A member of the bean family, Fabaceae, this plant has nitrifying capability and releases nitrogen into the water.
In Singapore, this plant is not easily found, perhaps due to the fact that our country has been urbanised to a great big extent and all our waterways have been cleared and paved with concrete over the past few decades of rapid development. It cannot be purchased from local nurseries as well. I managed to find some on sale in a Thai supermarket in Golden Mile Complex, which is known here as the ‘Little Thailand’. Stems of this plant of about 30 cm are sold in bundles. It is best to buy them when they first arrive before they dehydrate over time.
The fresh stems of this plant can be used for propagation. After several tries, I succeeded in propagating Neptunia oleracea and what I did was to simply throw the stems into a pond. The stems rooted rather quickly and the plant started to extend its stems in just a week in water! Plants are best grown inside a pond that is exposed to full sun or semi-shade. Now I have some being grown in the natural pond located nearby HortPark’s Kampong Daze theme garden.
Do you know that the roots of this plant are used medicinally? The people of Kelantan, Malaysia) use the root as an external remedy for necrosis of the bones of the nose and hard palate. The juice of the stem is squeezed into the ear to cure earache and the root is used in the advanced stage of syphilis in Malaysia. An infusion of its roots is rubbed all over the body with rice flour to reduce fever. A common ingredient of Thai cuisine, the leaves and young shoots are said to have a nutty cabbage-like flavour and can be eaten raw (such as after being dipped in sambal blachan) or cooked (added to soups).
Wilson Wong
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February 11, 2010 at 8:45 am
· Filed under General
The double-whammy of Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day both fall on the same day this year. Rather than crowding your home with equal parts roses and pussy willows, how about trying your hand at the nerve plant, which comes in brilliant colours to brighten up your festive season?
The nerve plant, also known as mosaic plant and snakeskin plant, is a popular houseplant known for its showy foliage. It belongs to the genus Fittonia. You might not have previously taken a fancy to this plant, due to the rather mundane range of cultivars that have been available for sale for a long time. But your opinion of nerve plants may take a dramatic turn once you see the range of new compact-growing cultivars, with their array of interesting and never-before-seen foliar characteristics!
The usual nerve plants have large green leaves, which are categorised into Verschaffeltii and Argyroneura groups with red and white veins respectively. ‘Nana’ is a miniature version of the latter with small leaves. Growers have now managed to ‘widen’ the colourful veins and breed varieties with leaves that are ‘flooded’ with the colour of the veins.
There also are new cultivars with irregular, serrated or wavy leaf edges. Some have leaves that are long and narrow which are arranged around the stem in a star-like manner. Gardeners are now spoilt for choice.
Other cultivars with pink veins will make excellent Valentine’s Day gifts. ‘Royal Flame’ is one such cultivar with large leaves and wavy leaf edges. Notable smaller leafed cultivars in varying shades of pink include ‘Pink Forest Flame’, ‘Zalm Forest’ and ‘Revolution’.
Red, the colour of prosperity, is the hue of choice during the Chinese New Year season. There are new Fittonia cultivars with intensely red leaves that rise to the occasion, such as ‘Red Star’, ‘Tiger’ and ‘Forest Flame’. ‘Jolly Josan’ is a unique variety with leaves that have red veins against a gold background.
Some plants have white veins, to add contrast to the pink- and red-veined varieties. Look out for ‘King’s Cross’ which features almost white leaves with serrated leaf margins. ‘White Star’ has small, narrow leaves that are also almost white in colour, while ‘Raindrop’ features small leaves with a touch of pink against white.
Native to the dim and moist understorey of Peruvian tropical forests, nerve plants are also highly suitable for growing inside terrariums. Coupled with an assortment of creative hardscape elements such as sticks, coloured straws, ornamental stones, and seashells, a very innovative display can be achieved when several plants are grouped inside a dish garden. These plants are also good for trailing over the edge of hanging baskets and window boxes.
With all these varieties of nerve plants available for your choosing, your home and garden can be attractively and tastefully coloured in the rosy hues of love and good fortune this February 14!
Did You Know?
The genus Fittonia was named after Elizabeth and Sarah Mary Fitton, authors of botanical literature.
Care Tips for Fittonias
Light - Filtered sunshine is required to keep fittonias compact and to retain leaf colouration. Avoid exposing the plants to direct sun. Remember to turn the plants regularly, to maintain a symmetrical growth pattern.
Soil - Fittonias are best potted up with well-draining soil mix that is friable (i.e. fluffy and open), and concocted for container gardening.
Water - Water fittonias enough to keep the soil just moist.
Fertiliser - Coated, slow-release fertiliser pellets are usually sufficient for fittonias. Adhere to the manufacturer’s recommendations for the amount and frequency, and apply well away from the plant stems.
Pests & Diseases - Fittonias are usually problem-free, though they may be infested by mealy bugs. To avoid root rot, the soil should not be constantly wet.
Propagation - Fittonias are easily multiplied by stem-cuttings. Coat the cut ends of stem-cuttings with some rooting hormone, to promote the rooting process.
All fittonias in this article can be found at HortMart by Far East Flora, located in HortPark - The Gardening Hub (33 Hyderabad Road Singapore 119578, Tel: 64735649).
‘Jolly Josan’, with its auspicious foliage colours, is an excellence Lunar New Year festive plant. You can add interest to the arrangement by adding twigs that have been sprayed gold.
‘Tiger’ is a cultivar with deep red leaves that makes it suitable as a Lunar New Year display plant.
You can turn a ring of white-leafed ‘Snow Anne’ into a unique Valentine’s Day gift, by adding a couple of pink rose buds.
‘Matrix’, a cultivar with vivd red leaves, contrasts attractively against a green ceramic pot.
You can combine two cultivars with different coloured leaves for impact. Shown here are ‘Zalm Forest’ which has pink leaves, and ‘Raindrop’ that has white leaves with a touch of pink.
Nerve plants are excellent candidates for growing inside terrariums. Two small leaved cultivars are used in this example, namely, ‘White Star’ (right) and ‘Forest Flame (left).
‘Kings Cross’ is a unique cultivar with leaves that are almost entirely white, coupled with serrated green margins.
By Wilson Wong & Pearl Ho
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February 4, 2010 at 11:30 am
· Filed under General
While you take on the mammoth task of spring cleaning and redecorating for the New Year, you may decide to acquire new plants for your home. But why stop there? Take the opportunity to complement your home décor with new plant pots too.
Pots, in general, can be made of either plastic or clay. Plastic pots have the advantage of being cheaper, lighter and less fragile. Plastic is impervious to water, and pots made from this material retain more moisture than clay pots. However, they tend to deteriorate if they are exposed to direct sunshine for prolonged periods.
Plant pots made of clay, on the other hand, are heavy, and offer stability that is useful for the growing of tall, top-heavy plants. Unglazed flower pots are porous, and water can evaporate from the sides. As such, plants grown in unglazed pots usually dry out faster. This makes them highly suitable for growing epiphytic orchids, cacti and succulents that do not like constant moisture in the root zone. Glazed pots have a thin, glassy, shiny outer surface, which ’seals’ them from moisture.
The plants that you purchase from nurseries are often directly grown in a plain and boring ‘grow pot’, which may stick out like a sore thumb amid the chic surroundings of your home. For a more pleasing visual effect, you can transplant the plant into a nicer grow pot - but this can prove to be a rather troublesome chore.
The good news is that you can easily disguise an ugly grow pot by slipping it into a prettier container. This outer container, usually slightly larger in size, is known as a cachepot. Cachepots are extremely convenient for gardeners, as they can be used interchangeably with different plants. They may come in the form of glazed ceramic pots, Italian terra cotta pots, woven baskets, or window boxes and tubs.
Some cachepots may lack drainage holes at the base. These are helpful for catching excess water, and are suited for displaying plants on surfaces that you need to keep dry, such as tabletops. Do be careful not to over-water plants in cachepots, so that they won’t be left standing in ‘wet feet’ collected at the base of the container.
Notice the difference between two clay pots - an unglazed pot has a rough finish (left) while a glazed pot (right) has a shiny finish.
Always soak a new clay pot for at least 15 minutes in water before use. Otherwise, it will ’steal’ water from the plant, leaving it thirsty.
Cachepots come in a wide range of materials. Clockwise from left: cachepots made of woven plant fibres, plastic, clay and metal.
Some pots can have holes, such these use to grow epiphytic orchids. Epiphytic orchids prefer to dry out a little between each watering, and the holes in these pots provide aeration for the roots and also allow moisture to evaporate more easily.
When using a basket as a pot to grow or display your plant, do include a layer of plastic to help to retain soil and water.
By Joyce Foo and Pearl Ho
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January 28, 2010 at 8:40 am
· Filed under General
Wishing one and all a very happy and healthy new year. The beggining of 2010 is a good start at our community garden we had our second harvest of sweet potatoes, first harvest of white bitter gourd and play host to visitors from Toyota Motors and also students from Jurong Primary School. It is wonderful that Community-In-Bloom programme has brought people of all ages together.
The visitors get to taste freshly plucked roselle, stevia leaf, roselle drink and also pickled kedondong including homemade kueh-kueh. Students get excited when Mdm Hamidah allowed them to pluck the cosmo and sunflower seeds. The students went home happily and look forward to their next visit to our garden.
Mdm Kamisah
Gardening Leading
Jurong Central Zone G RC Community Garden
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January 21, 2010 at 8:49 am
· Filed under General
For a long time, I wasn’t too interested in culinary herbs like mint. However, via a fellow gardening friend from Green Culture Singapore, my perspective about mint took a dramatic turn and I got hooked to the range of mint cultivars that exist. This is perhaps the first time I am ‘declaring’ my love for this group of edible and very aromatic group of plants.
One of the favourite mints is the pineapple mint. Commonly known via the botanical name Mentha suaveolens ‘Variegata’, pineapple mint features very attractive, oval leaves that are variegated. According to the wonderful book ‘The Encyclopedia of Herbs’ by Tucker and Debaggio, this pretty mint should be botanically named as Mentha suaveolens var. suaveolens.
I got this mint via raising stem-cuttings obtained from material purchased from the supermarket. Fresh stem-cuttings root easily in water. Although called the pineapple mint, the leaves of this mint, when rubbed, do not emit a smell similar in any way to the fruit it was named after. In my opinion, its scent is somewhat sweet and fruity compared to the sharp menthol odour expected from a typical mint plant and this property makes this mint more acceptable to those of us who find the usual mint too strong for the senses.
The soft, furry and wrinkled leaves of this particular mint cultivar are edged with white or cream which makes it a great garnishing material for desserts and ice-cream. Like most variegated plants, the variegation seen on its leaves depends very much on the light conditions it is grown under. Pineapple mint must not be grown under full sunshine in the tropics as an entire day’s worth of exposure to intense sun’s rays has been observed to burn the leaves. It thrives better if given filtered sunshine for half a day. Sufficient light exposure is still essential to reduce the likelihood of etiolation of stems.
Compared to other mints, the pineapple mint is not one of the easier plants to grow. Besides the light factor, its grower has to know that it is not really suitable for growing outdoors without protection from rain. Rainfall in the tropics can be very heavy and all it takes is one very heavy downpour to flatten a colony of this rather fragile mint. Because of its variegation, the pineapple mint is considerably less vigorous compared to other all green mint cultivars. Under good light, the stems of this mint can become quite thick and grows upright. Under dimmer conditions, it is seen to take on a sprawling growth habit. I prune it often to keep the growth of the plant compact and neat. Grow it in well draining soil that is rich in organic matter and kept moist at all times. Remember to feed it often to promote robust growth. Lastly, never allow a mint to dry out!Wilson Wong
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January 14, 2010 at 1:40 pm
· Filed under General
Bonsai is an art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees or making woody or semi- woody plants into looking like trees. Container- grown plants which includes trees have a long history and is even recorded in the Egyptian culture. I must say that the popularity of growing bonsai would be the Japanese. One of the oldest known living bonsai tree can be found in the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Japan. The tree is at least 500 years old when it was first trained as a bonsai.
Some of the common species of plants that can be trained as bonsai are Wrightia religiosa, Podocarpus macrophyllus, Ficus species, Bougainvillea species, Murraya paniculata.
There are many styles that you can train your bonsai into. For example, you can train your bonsai to have a formal upright style where it has a straight, upright and tapering trunk. The branches should be progress in a regular form from having the thickest at the bottom and to the finest on top of the tree. Apart from that there are informal upright style, slant-style, cascade-style, raft-style, literati style, forest style, root-over-rock style, broom style and many more. With so many styles you can choose from, there is really no limit to how you would want to style your bonsai!
Recently, I’ve brought a Brachychiton rupestris (Bottle tree) and I’m training it to become a bonsai! A bottle tree has a swollen trunk and it can actually be trained as a bonsai overseas. My bottle has been stabilized and new leaves are coming up. The base of the trunk is also starting to swell up. In Khatib, they have a bottle tree park. Now in my office I shall grow a miniature bottle tree and train it to be an informal upright style bonsai. =)
Wyatt Tan
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January 14, 2010 at 8:04 am
· Filed under General
I was given a division of Orchidantha siamensis by a fellow collector a while ago who knew I was interested in plants that are classified in the order Zingiberales. There is only one genus, that is, Orchidantha, in the Lowiaceae family. This genus consists of about five to eight species of plants that grow in the wet understorey of the lowland forest and are native to Southeast Asia and some Pacific Islands.The genus name is given due to the orchid-like appearance of the flowers produced by these plants. Flowers are usually produced via a subterranean inflorescence and are often hidden away. One of the petals in each flower is enlarged to give a large lip-like structure similar to what is seen in a true orchid. Flowers of one species, Orchidantha inouei of Borneo emits the smell of dung in order to attract small dung beetles as their pollinators! The plant I have freely flowers and thankfully, the smell of its flowers can only be detected when one really goes upclose to them!
I particularly like the Orchidantha as it is perhaps the most shade-tolerant group of plants I have come across so far. Many foliage plants introduced in many houseplant and indoor plant books cannot match it in terms of the ability to grow and thrive in deep shade often encountered in the indoor living environment. It seems to be also able to tolerate dry air rather well too. From this, I reasoned that they also make good candidates for planting in very dim areas in an outdoor garden.Best grown and appreciated as foliage houseplants that confer a lush tropical feel, Orchidantha species are herbaceous perennial plants with a clumping growth habit. New growth rise from a rhizomatous underground stem. Leaves are lanceoate in shape andhas several pairs of longitudinal veins parallel to the distinct midrib.
I noticed Orchidantha is best grown in a very shaded area as even rays from filtered sunshine can bleach the leaves, giving them a sickly yellow colour. Intense sunshine will burn them. They prefer to be grown in soil that is rich in organic matter, open and kept moist at all times. Avoid growing them in a windy area as constant air movement can dry plants out. Propagation is easy via division of large clumps.Orchidantha, apparently, have medicinal and folk uses. The scorched leaves of Orchidantha fimbriatum (syn. O. longiflora) are pasted on the back and chest to relieve chest and back pains. Leaves are sometimes used to wrap food in cooking.At present, Orchidantha is still difficult to find in local nurseries but I believe its usefulness as a foliage plant for growing in very shady areas, once discovered, will greatly call for a demand for plants to be made available to the nursery trade. Wilson Wong
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