Are strawberries really good for us?!

Good day my gardening chums!
Well, im sure we are all in the Christmas mood now, getting the tree ready, enjoying reading Christmas cards from family and friends. Now i know we will all indulge in too much food this Christmas and new year, have too many chocolates and too many helpings of Christmas cakes and then say after the new year i will go on a diet, eat healthy and make myself feel better...and we never do!! Well i wanted to have you think about the health benefits of a simple strawberry and how they are good for you.
Strawberries and their health benefits will help most of us in a number of different ways. We are rewarded with health benefits whether we eat them fresh, dried, or frozen all year long. We all know how good they taste but they are also very nutritious so we should try to enjoy them as often as we can.

A study in the US has recommended everyone eat five helpings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily, it is most unfortunate that most of us do not eat any where near that amount. It would be nice if we would add fresh strawberries, or frozen, to our salads, cereals, or milk shakes as often as possible; we might consume enough fruit servings daily to help our bodies maintain a healthy immune system. We all realize the strawberry has a sweet taste but do we realize the nutritional value of strawberries? Like many of our other fruits the strawberry has plenty of nutrients and antioxidants to maintain a healthy body. The calories of strawberries are extremely low and are better to eat than kerpok, cookies, or fried bananas for snacks.

Strawberries contain vitamin C along with significant amounts of phytonutrients and antioxidants that fight free radicals. Some of you are probably wondering what are free radicals? Well, free radicals are elements that may cause damage to our cells, and are believed to influence the formation of many types of cancer. Strawberries have a phytonutrient that is called phenol which is believed to protect the cells and prevent damage to our organs. Strawberries, because they are rich in phenols, help prevent cancer and protect the heart and lower inflammation. They are also a great source of vitamin K and manganese along with riboflavin, potassium, vitamin B5 and 6, folic acid, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, and copper and iodine. They are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B1, biotin and pantothenic acid.

Our eyes benefit from carrots but also from strawberries. Eating three or more helpings of fruit daily has been linked to decreasing the risk of macular degeneration which is usually related to ageing. This particular vision problem is considered to be the top cause of sight loss. Some of us with busy schedules think that having three servings a day of fruit is too much. Strawberries are so adaptable they will compliment a salad, mix with cereal, blend in milk shakes and become a topping for yogurt. We do not always have to eat strawberries; we can eat any type of fruit we want.
Some of the other health benefits include protection against rheumatoid arthritis. Foods that are high in vitamin-C may protect us from degenerative arthritis, including polyarthritis. Polyarthritis is a type of rheumatoid arthritis. But some studies say that too much vitamin C is not good for us. There is one that says osteoarthritis may even get worse with a high level of vitamin C.

Now i know many of you are thinking i am just tying to sell you more strawberry plants! and i would be lying if that wasnt partly true, but seriously i just wanted you to think of the health benefits of such a simple small and tasty fruit. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year from all of us here at Kuching Fruits and Herbs.

New Products for your garden

Good day my gardening chums!

i hope everyone is well and getting ready for Christmas, that then gives me the opportunity to remind you of our Christmas sale, 3 plants for the price of 2 on the strawberry and vanilla plants.

now, everyone im sure loves the sound of bird song, nothing nicer to hear their beautiful chorus to refresh the soul, well sadly this may be a thing of the past soon unless we do something about it. many of the trees and shrubs used by birds to make their nests are being cut down in the city areas, and they need somewhere to sleep, dont we all!

You can now make a difference, you can have them nest in your garden using our hand built not imported but made here by my fair hand bird nesting box like the picture below, just place it somewhere fairly high so the cat cant reach it but also somewhere you can see it, therefore you can enjoy watching the babies and mother birds fly the nest. The prices are roughly RM25 per box depends on the type you want.

Also we will be shortly selling bird feeding tables too, again hand made, dont throw your scraps of food away like left over rice, let the birds have it for their dinner, plus you get to watch some real beautiful birds in your own back garden.
just email us for more information.

Christmas sale is now on!!

Good day my gardening chums,

We are getting into the Christmas spirit here at Kuching Fruits and Herbs and what better present to give someone than some new plants, so we are having a sale, 3 plants for the price of two,now the stock will go super quick so if you want some vanilla or strawberry plants ring me or email me and i will put them aside for you.
give someone a gift this year they will never forget, grab your plants now.

Vanilla Plants

Good day my gardening chums,
                                                i have taken delivery of some new and larger vanilla plants, so if anyone is interested, pop over and say hi !

New Website!

Good day my gardening chums,
well today we have posted our new website, i hope you will take five minutes to go look, any feedback most welcome, email me some of your pictures and i will post them on the website
thanks

Kuching Fruits and Herbs new website

Germinating herbs

Good day my gardening chums!
Well, Kuching, the Rosemary are germinating and are available for RM15 per plant, best to get them quick before they all go, same with the orange thyme which you cant get here, its a special import from the UK, and with the lemon balm too.

New types of herbs i am planting

Good day my gardening chums,

just some news, i will soon be planting some nice new herbs. i have some new rosemary plants, also lemon balm, old english thyme, mint and some new and exciting orange thyme, gives a wonderful aroma and flavour, so i am taking orders on those now, book early!!  i will keep you posted on progress.

P.S a massive big thankyou to Freya and Ray, couldnt have done it without you guys so many thanks!

Sage

Hi there my gardening chums,

Today i thought i would talk about sage, this amazing herb is so versatile in all its uses, from medicinal to culinary use, making it one of the best to grow.

Sage is prized in many cultures for its healing and medicinal properties, which include antiseptic, digestive and antibacterial uses to name a few.

The Romans considered sage to be a sacred herb and held highly elaborate ceremonies for its planting and harvesting.  A sage gatherer would have a ceremonial bath to ensure his feet were clean and pure before walking on the earth where the sage grew.  After bathing, offerings of bread and wine would be made to the soil before finally harvesting.

Native Americans used sage as a toothbrush and toothpaste all in one.  They simply rubbed a fresh sage leaf on their teeth to clean the teeth and freshen the breath.  Sage's antibacterial properties would have been beneficial in this process.

Sage was one of the most important medicinal herbs of Medieval Europe.  It was believed to have the power to cure all imaginable diseases so no self respecting Apothecary's Garden could be without it.  In the Middle East, it was thought to improve intelligence, and the American Colonialists used sage to cure epilepsy, insomnia, measles, seasickness and worms.

Sage Tea or infusion of Sage is a valuable agent in the delirium of fevers and in the nervous excitement frequently accompanying brain and nervous diseases.

It has a considerable reputation as a remedy, given in small and often-repeated doses. It is highly serviceable as a stimulant tonic in debility of the stomach and nervous system and weakness of digestion generally. It was for this reason that the Chinese valued it, giving it the preference to their own tea. It is considered a useful medicine in typhoid fever and beneficial in biliousness and liver complaints, kidney troubles, haemorrhage from the lungs or stomach, for colds in the head as well as sore throat, quinsy, measles, for pains in the joints, lethargy and palsy. It has been used to check excessive perspiration in phthisis cases, and is useful as an emmenagogue. A cup of the strong infusion will be found good to relieve nervous headache.

New herb pots

Good afternoon my gardening chums,

we have decided to create some new pots for gardeners to choose what plants they want to grow. Each pot is RM50 and will have four herbs in it, as each plant is normally RM15 thats a saving already.

So you can choose from 4 basil, or 4 dill, or maybe 2 basil one sage and one dill, you get the idea.

right now i have Mint, Sage, Majoram, Dill, Basil available for you to choose from, so drop me an email or pop over to get your herbs.

I also have some cat's whisker plants available to buy too. They are RM20 and the leaves are very good in traditional chinese medicine, the tea you make with it is very good for diabetes and also kidney problems.

Some new herbs

Good morning my gardening chums,
I have some new herbs growing now to add to the collection i have some cats whisker cuttings, used as a medicinal herb, the leaves are used to make tea. But the flower looks so pretty and they attract alot of butterflies too.
I also have some Dill now, very good with fish, put some in the cavity of the fish and makes it taste great. Also i have some Sage, a very old and traditional western herb, wonderful with chicken and also pork too.

as well as those i still have two rosemary left, loads of mint and loads of basil plus some new majoram, so pop over to say to say hello!

Growing Pumpkins

Good day my gardening chums and happy Malaysia day!

I thought i would continue my advice on growing fruit and vegetables by giving some hints and tips on growing pumpkins, very easy to grow but they do take up some room with the long runners.

Here are some tips to follow when growing pumpkins in your garden.

1
Choose a type of pumpkin to plant that is designed for what you want the pumpkin for. You can also choose from a variety of sizes, colors, and shapes with pumpkin seeds. You can also grow pumpkins of different sizes or a single size. Once you have made the decisions about what type of pumpkin you want to grow you will need to start the seeds off that you can get from inside the pumpkin fruit.

2
When planting pumpkins make sure you choose an area that gets plenty of sunlight. You want to have the area receive at least eight hours of sunlight a day, ten hours a day is even better. If the pumpkins are grown in the shade, they will refuse to fruit, which means you will not have any pumpkins to harvest. If they do manage to produce, pumpkins that are raised in the shade are small, distorted, and off colour.

3
After you have planted, the pumpkin seeds to be sure that they get the best growth possible they should be watered on a daily basis. When it comes to watering you want to make sure that you don't over water the pumpkins, in other words you don't want the ground to be soggy as this can cause your pumpkins to rot. They should also be fertilized regularly with a quality vegetable fertilizer or with some chicken manure, the small coloured balls of fertiliser for fruiting plants are best and follow the amount required on the label.


4
Once your pumpkins have begun to sprout, you are going to need to prune back your plants. When planting the seeds you will end up with more plants sprouting than what you need. On average, what you need to do is begin pulling some of the extra plants when they are about three inches in height. You want to have only three plants for every three feet. When spacing your plants you also want to think about how wide pumpkin plants grow. Rows should be about three feet apart, or if you have an overhang for pumpkins to grow over on that would work out well.

I hope you find some of these hints and tips handy, enjoy your pumpkins!

Hari raya Sale!!

Dear gardening chums,
first may i take the opportunity to wish all a Selemat Hari Raya, and to mark the start of this i am having a sale here on the strawberry plants and the vanilla plants, only for this weekend so pop over and say hi.

Strawberry planter, check it out

Good morning my gardening chums,
Each week i will give my views on some products that you can get from my Amazon Kuching Fruits and Herbs store. Today i woudl like to talk about the Felknor Ventures topsy turvy strawberrry planter. its an awesome display product for showing off your plants. Not only is it for strawberry but can be used for growing parsley, basil, rosemary, mint, and other tasty herbs too. why not check it out, its pretty awesome.

Oh and speaking of herbs, i now have four rosemary plants germinated and looking good, plus about six Basil and about thirty mint. the mint are tiny but they are available for sale, as is the rosemary and also the Basil which has larger leaves. pop over to view.

Growing plants and vegetables in our hot weather

Good morning my gardening chums!

When the weather is  hot and humid like here in Malaysia, some special growing techniques help vegetable gardeners to keep their cool.
Asian gardeners are blessed with some real advantages. We have a long growing season, fertile soils rich in organic matter and plenty of sunshine. We also face some real challenges: heat high humidity, excessive rainfall...and drought, often in the same year. Oh yes, and there are insects, diseases and strong winds.

How can you live with these problems and still enjoy growing vegetables here? One way is with careful scheduling. Wet season crops are easy if they are planted in October to March, but they are a disaster in summer dry season. Dry season vegetables are planted in  April or May and again in August or September. To grow your own transplants, sow seeds six to eight weeks before the setting-out dates. For example, broccoli and cauliflower (wet season crops) should be seeded in late July for late transplant; tomatoes (a dry season crop) should be seeded in late January for spring transplanting.

To deal with excessive rainfall, and the resulting waterlogged soil, gardeners often plant in raised beds. Construct beds 8 to 12 inches high using recycled timber or broken concrete. Reduce soil loss from raised beds by lining the inside with a weed barrier fabric.

As an alternative to raised beds. vegetable crops can be planted on ridges of soil worked up in the garden. Use a tiller to form the ridges or do it the old-fashioned way with a shovel. First dig a trench 6 inches deep. Put down a band of fertilizer (one pound of 15-5-10 per 100 feet of row, or use an organic like chicken manure). then replace the soil and heap on more soil from each side of the row. You now have a ridge of soil on which to plant, your crops should be sale from all but the worst of floods.
High humidity makes outdoor work unpleasant when the weeds are growing fastest: it can also contribute to problems with fungal diseases. Wider spacing can help with the diseases. For instance. put tomato plants 4 feet apart instead of 3 feet. The humidity level won't change, but the improved air circulation will reduce disease problems and make it easier to spray if necessary. There is really no relief for gardeners except to get up early and work in the garden before the temperature and humidity become excessive.

At other times, usually early in the dry season and perhaps late in the season, high winds can damage tender transplants.

Actually, the bright sun and heat offer some pest control opportunities. Nematodes, those microscopic roundworms that attack plant roots, need soil moisture to survive. If you "dry till" the soil several times while it is hot and dry you can significantly reduce nematode populations.
Solarisation of soil does even more: it helps to control nematodes, weeds, soil-borne diseases and insects. Till the soil while it is slightly moist; water it if necessary. Then cover the area with a double layer of clear plastic for about six weeks during July, August or September. A single layer will do if it is resistant to ultraviolet light. Be sure the edges are tucked in a trench around the perimeter and leave the plastic a little floppy so tough weeds can't poke through.

Malaysian gardeners, like gardeners everywhere, are faced with certain climatic challenges and limitations. Meet the challenges with creative solutions and you'll find that vegetable gardening here can be fun and fulfilling.

Regardless of where you are planting, from the front yard to the vegetable garden, it is important to select plant varieties that are adapted to your climate. This advice is especially true in humid Malaysian gardens.


Dry season vegetables: ladies fingers, long beans, hot peppers, eggplant, chilli's, Strawberry plants, sweet corn,

Wet season vegetables: broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, multiplying onions, Vanilla, golden bringel, garlic

Pick the right fruits,herbs and vegetables to suit the right time of year and you will enjoy fresh produce all year round, its all about planning your garden, creating the right crop rotations to reduce disease and to allow the soil time to recover from the previous growth.

A new puppy!

Dear Gardening chums!
i know this doesnt have anything to do with gardening but we have just adopted a new puppy! his name is Lintang, we got him from the SSPCA and he is adorable. i will post some pictures when i get the chance.

I would always urge people if they want to get a pet cat or dog, always go to the SSPCA first, no one cares if your dog is pure breed, it's still a dog that gets sick and eats the same food as every other local dog. so dont show off by spending loads of money on a pure breed, help this charity to take care of our local pets, sermon over!! i promise to post some pics when i can and i will also post some gardening stuff too, oh here is one.. never use dog poo as fertiliser, it has too much nitrogen in it and will burn plants.

How to grow tomatoes

Good Morning my gardening chums!,

This article today is for my friend Sharon Wong, she is wanting to start to grow Tomatoes and i like to try and help, but of course its for you guys out there as well.

For many people tomatoes are one of the first food crops that they try to grow. It is an excellent choice!

High in vitamins, low in calories and homegrown tomatoes taste great! much sweeter than those tasteless supermarket ones. Tomatoes are used in a wide number of recipes, too. You can use your tomatoes to eat fresh, or make salsas, sauces, ketchup, juice, casseroles and soups. Tomatoes are also easily stored frozen. Simply rinse them off, lightly dry and place in a freezer bag. Frozen tomatoes are easy to peel by simply running warm water over them and then rubbing off the peels. Frozen tomatoes are great for use in cooking; however they become too watery for slicing after being frozen.

The long standing argument about whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable is an easy one to solve. If it comes from a flower... it is a fruit. Yes, even a green bean is biologically a fruit. Of course everyone always classifies it as a vegetable, so.... I guess we can continue to debate about the tomato as well. 

Tomatoes are very productive plants capable of producing 8 pounds of fruit or even more on each plant. This makes them even more attractive to people with limited time on their hands. Tomatoes are easy to grow here in Malaysia. They are very adaptable, being productive whether grown in a garden setting or in a large pot on a balcony in the town.

Tomatoes prefer a rich loamy soil to grow. (Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration about 40-40-20% concentration respectively)

 They like plenty of water, but only on the roots. When watering a tomatoe, in fact any big leafy plant generally, always water at the root source rather than the leaf as this will reduce rotting, fungus infections and also will not burn the leaves when tthe sun is on them. Mentioning their leaves brings up the point that many people suffer from dermatitis and itching if they touch a tomatoes leaves. If you are sensitive to them protect your self by wearing long sleeves and gloves while handling them. 

Tomatoes may be planted by starting with either seeds or small plants. Starting you tomatoes from started plants is the easiest and most common way. The first thing to do when planting tomatoes is make sure that the soil is ready for success. Mixing compost or well composted manure into the soil will help provide for your tomato.  Rabbit manure, or barnyard manure like cow or chicken composted with bedding like straw or shavings is the best. Tomatoes can be rushed by using black plastic, row covers, water jug forts, etc... But it is not recommended for the beginner. Usually plants started in the normal fashion catch up with the rushed ones soon and often surpass them in productivity. 

 If you need to keep the plants a while before planting them into your permanent location, be sure to give them as much sun as possible and water them by standing their container in a shallow pan and watering from the bottom. You have your plants, the soil is warm and ready,Try to plant your tomatoes in the evening. This prevents the newly planted transplants from being scorched by the sun while they are first recovering from the shock of being up rooted. Prepare the spot for your tomato by digging a hole wider than the plant's root ball and deep enough to bury the plant up to the second set of leaves. By planting the tomato deep in this way it will sprout roots along the entire buried stem bringing the plant more nutrients. Gently remove the plant and all of its soil from the original container. Give a gentle squeeze to slightly loosen the root ball, and then add the plant with the roots stretching down. Fill the hole around the plant. Press the soil in gently, but firmly. Be sure to leave plenty of greenery above soil level. After planting give the plants a drink of water and water thoroughly. 

Starting your own transplants from seed can be fun and rewarding as well. Start the seeds in a small peat pot 6 weeks before your planting time.
If more than one seed sprouts in your pot simple snip off the weakest one. As the plants grow and get spindly place the peat pot inside of a larger pot and slowly add more potting soil. Give your transplants plenty of light and keep them moist, but not wet. Placing them in a breezy area or pointing a fan at them will make them more sturdy as well. When they are big enough, simply set them out as instructed above.

Caring for tomatoes is not hard. Eating homegrown tomatoes is easy! enjoy the fruits of your labour

Good morning my gardening chums!

I am thinking of adding some new pages to our website, so any ideas let me know ok? what would you like to see and i will try and implement them. happy gardening!! oh and post some pictures on the facebook group and facebook page ok? let others see your strawberry, vanilla or any other plants you want us to see! cheers

for those who forgot here is a link to our website!

 

http://kuchingfruitsandherbs.webstarts.com/index.html 

Growing your vegetables from seed.

Good morning my gardening chums,

Growing your own vegetables from seed is so easy. It is great fun to watch the tiny seedlings emerge from the soil and of course is a great deal cheaper than buying from the market. It is not as quick though. The reason why it is cheaper is that you are doing all the work yourself.

There is no reason why you cannot re-use your pots year after year, and in today’s Reduce, Re-use, Recycle world we live in it is a good idea. I use some pots year after year, not because I am too cheap to buy new ones but simply because there is nothing wrong with the old pots that have been cleaned and sterilized. I simply soak them in a tub of water to loosen any old dirt, wash them in warm soapy water using a stiff bristled brush, rinse in clean water and finally soak in a disinfectant solution. I use very diluted bleach,this usually works, but remember to wear waterproof gloves for this last stage as many of these chemicals are strong and could do some damage your skin.

I also buy new cheap disposable pots each year as I can more or less assume these are sterile so there can be no danger of transferring diseases from old dirty pots to new seedlings. There are not just pots though, I also use trays, little plug trays where the seedling can grow in its own cell. I have even started larger seeds off in the discarded middles of toilet rolls. These are planted out as they are into your soil mix and the roots grow through the cardboard. The toilet roll eventually degrades into the soil.

Let’s start off by assuming we are sowing into trays. Fill the tray with whatever compost you are using and gently firm this down until you have a fairly level surface. At this stage you need to water this so that the seed will be surrounded by moisture. You then need to sow the seed. Very small seeds should be gently sprinkled, not too thickly, on to the surface of the compost. Larger seeds such as tomatoes can be placed individually on the surface of the compost. A tip here, to help you get them in the correct place, is that you can move them with a small artists paint brush. Cover the seed to the correct depth. The back of the seed pack will let you know what depth to cover with, it will also help you with sunlight requirements, if you need to plant it in full sun or shade. This is important as too much compost will make life difficult for your seedling. a good measure is to look at the seed, the length of the seed is the depth you need to plant it at, so tiny seeds simply leave in the surface, larger seeds like pumpkin for example, plant them 4 or 5 mm deep. Gently water the surface of this compost. That’s it. Just keep the tray somewhere at the best temperature for the seed. I usually find that my kitchen window is fine.

If you need to water the seed tray, I usually do this by standing it in a small saucer of water and letting the compost act like a sponge and soak that water up. I find this does not disturb things as much as using a watering can does. Let this water drain away though as the compost needs to be moist but not wet. Finally, when the seedling is large enough to handle and has developed some true leaves not just seed leaves, I transfer it to its own pot of compost and let it grow larger. When you do this you need to be gentle and only hold the seedling by a leaf. Holding by the stem can crush it as the stem is very fragile and this crushing will kill the seedling.

A final point, remember that many seeds can be sown direct into the ground where they are to grow. This is so you don't disturb the root system and especially the tap root that can be very prone to damage.

Preparing soil for growing fruits and vegetables.

  Good day my gardening Chums!

Nothing is more satisfying than producing your own fresh garden vegetables. The tastiest veg and fruits  comes from your garden.

The most important part of successful gardening is to properly prepare the soil. Heavy clay soils are fairly rich in nutrients but very poor in aeration and drainage. An ideal garden soil will contain at least 20% organic matter to improve aeration and drainage as well as to hold nutrients until plants can use them. Chicken  manure or compost can all be added.

To prepare the soil, first wait until the soil is ready to work. If the soil is too wet, clay will pack into hard clods. To check the soil, squeeze a handful into a ball, then press on it. If it crumbles, the soil is ready. If the soil dents like modeling clay, it is too wet to use. If the soil is too dry, it will shatter into dust, then turn to mud when it is watered. Water dry soil and let it soak in for a day or two and with our constant rain that wont take long! I recommend  two or three inches of compost.

Raised beds provide better drainage and aeration. i will soon be posting some ideas on how to make them with step by step guides. The beds should be narrow enough so the middle can be reached from the side where you built it. A four feet wide bed with a one-foot wide walking area works well. Even better, surround the soil with 2" by 12" long wooden planks. Make sure the wood preservative used is non-toxic.

New stock in

Good morning my gardening chums!

We have some new Strawberry plants today, loads of fruit on them, also i started to individually pot up some herbs, i have five or six pots of Basil now, and i think 4 pots of Majoram. the mint and Rosemary are still a little small yet.

i will post some pictures next week.

Taking care of your plants in hot weather

As we all know, there is no respite from the sun here in Kuching, we seem to have two kinds of weather, hot or hot and wet, that's about it!

so, when the sun has been especially hot we need to pay extra attention to our garden and how we water the plants. I would always, always advise against doing any sort of work that involves exposing plant roots during the hottest parts of the day. The roots are especially vulnerable to heat. if you water the plants during this time of day, also you may kill the plant as the water will literally cook the plant.

So, when watering your plant, or transferring it to or from a pot or ground make sure you do it first thing in the morning, or very late in the afternoon around 6 or 7pm, that way your plant has a better chance of survival.

Rosemary germinating

Good news, the first two rosemary seedlings have germinated after a week and a half of being planted, i also planted a nwe batch last week so fingers crossed!

Strawberry pot flowering

One of our pots which is for sale has just started to flower, now i wanted you to see that in a real strawberry, the flowers are white, not yellow like in a false strawberry.


i have also took some pictures of one of our false strawberry, as you can see, they look so similar with the leaf structure but the flowers are yellow, so dont let anyone fool you into buying the wrong one!

also our Vanilla plants are doing really well, going very fast and boy are they growing fast, they love shade so if you buy them keep them in the shade ok?


 1st pic is the blooming strawberry

2nd pic is the false strawberry

 And last but not least is our Vanilla plants

Welcome to our new Blog

Hi there my fellow gardening chums, let me start by welcoming you to our new blog, i will try when possible to add new and interesting articles from the world of gardening in here to help us all become better gardeners.