its been too long!

good day my gardening chums!
first of all, an appology, i have not written on here for some time, so sorry about that, been extremely busy with work and stuff and just didnt get the time.

ok, so the topic for today? vanilla....plant it!!! i hear of so many people who have a small patch of land they own and do nothing with it, well if you plant vanilla you can make a tidy sum i can tell you! lets say you have a half acre of land, you can plant 1000 trees, they need very little room to grow, after they are mature which takes 3 years, less if you use my special fertrilisers...then they produce the bean, of the 1000 plants about 800 will produce fruits, each plant makes on average 2kgs of fruits thats 1,600kgs per year and at a cost of RM40 per kilo thats RM64,000 per plant!! and for your total project thats RM640,000 per year hahaha wow PLANT IT!!!

but seriously folks, if you are interested in growing it, let me know and i can help you out ok?
have a great day my gardening chums

ITS CHRIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAASSSSSSSS!!

Good day my gardening Chums,
Christmas is coming and i am getting fat!...no i meant the goose is getting fat!! Why not test out your cooking skills by adding some new flavours to the pot this year, come and grab some rosemary plants from us and impress your friends and family with the amazing taste it adds to your cooking.

Also why not give them some gifts they will never forget, strawberry plants or a nice rose plant. the memories will last a lifetime.

Lets get ready for Christmas!!

Good day my gardening chums!
well, christmas is on the way so we should expect lots of snow...oh wait, i meant lots of hot sunshine and rain!!

Now, as we all know, this is a time of giving so we are starting our Christmas sale early, we are doing 3 for the price of 2 on strawberry plants, rosemary plants, vanilla plants and our rose plants. so why not treat your special someone to a magical gift this christmas and spread some joy in their heart by getting them some plants.

New Rose plants and a new website

Good day my gardening chums,

Before i forget, we have a new and much prettier website, its Kuching Fruits and Flowers, so please go look, and let me know what you think ok?!


Winter is fast approaching, we better get our wooly jumpers out...oh wait!! i forgot too hot lah!

In Europe, winter is coming, the plants die off and hibernate for the winter, ready to re-emerge in the spring time,sporting new growth and reaching for the sun with their hands painted green to start new life again.

The same is happening in your garden too, except it happens every day, how many notice the weeds getting taller? and think next week, better chop them but never do, i know im one of them.

so we decided to get some black plastic sheeting, it does not make your garden look pretty, but it makes it manageable, our rose garden now is weed free, plus the plastic helps retain moisture for the plants, and because no weeds, more food for the roses which will grow even stronger, so something to think about.

we have a few nice new rose plants for sale now, here are some pics...

Pretty arent they?
If you are interested in purchasing some just let me know ok?
well better go, need to water the plants!

New Plants for you to purchase

Hi there my gardening chums!
I hope everyone has recovered from Hari Raya and eating too much!
well we have loads of new plants for you, why not pop over and see us, i have uploaded a new folder of pictures onto our facebook page which you should all join by the way, also on the website too.
here are the links

http://kuchingfruitsandherbs.webs.com/

and the facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kuching-Fruits-and-Flowers/139346002755148

have a good day and i hope we see you all soon

Its been too long!

Good day my gardening chum!
first an appology, its been so long since i wrote last because i have not had a PC, it died and so i am now using a spare, so to all my millions of readers (more like 5!!) i appologise.

so what have you missed?! well we have been busy growing new plants, we now have some new ornamental bamboo plants, we have our large rosemary plants which look lovely and more importantly smell and taste amazing. we have introduced some new rose plants with some really pretty colours.

Our strawberry plants are still strong sellers, always need to grow more! Kuching really has a sweet tooth!! same with the vanilla,

Now for some new news, are are starting to introduce a line of Hibiscus plants, some really pretty colours, on the website i have shown a couple of teaser pics but you will have to sit down and be patient and i will let you know when they are ready to be bought!

Prices will range from RM10 for the more common varieties and upto RM15 for the more interesting and imported varieties.

what was that? you want a sneak preview on here too?! oh...ok then here you go...

Now dont be naughty and ask for more ok!!
keep checking out the facebook page and also the website http://kuchingfruitsandherbs.webs.com/ for more updates.

Happy Easter

Good day my gardening chums!
Im so sorry for not posting for a while, i have been so very busy with plants etc, well i still am but just wanted to say happy easter.

We have some fully matured herb plants still available, i currently have Dill and Rosemary, they are one year plus, lovely root system and look great, why not pop over and see.

We also have some new hanging baskets of strawberry plants and loads of fruit on them too, better grab them before i eat them all hehehe.
see you soon i hope

Growing Roses

Good day my gardening chums!

its been a while, we have been growing our rose plants and getting new ones ready for sale so today i thought i would talk about roses.

Being one of the world's most favourite plants, you're sure to find plenty of information about roses online. However, it's harder to find advice about growing roses in climates such as ours. so i wanted to concentrate on information for the warm-climate rose grower.

Heat and humidity present two major challenges, sun tolerance,especially burning of the flowers is also something that the rose growers from more temperate and cloudy parts of the world never have to worry about, but here we do.

One of the best ways to grow roses is in pots, they make a patio or decking look amazing. there are several pot types available, a good large plantpot with ample room for the roots is essential. also the soil type is cruicial too. The top layer of the soil should be sandy, and the lower level  clay. So, all the soil in  the pots is a mixture of commercial potting soil, nitrohumus, super-phosphate, and soil polymer.

The top layer of our soil is very sandy, and the lower level is clay. So, all the soil in our planters have been completely reworked, and the soil in the pots is a mixture of commercial potting soil, nitrohumus, super-phosphate, and soil polymer.

Pot grown roses do take a lot more water, simply because the water drains right through the pots. Pot grown roses need more food. Not stronger, but more often. I feed my roses every week during show season, and then twice a month the rest of the year. I rotate with feedings of chicken droppings, Fish blood, plus I add Iron Chelate and Zinc once a month. Also, I feed them Rose Food twice a year you can get it from garden centres here, Always make sure that you have watered your roses well the day before feeding. If you feed a dry plant, especially one in a pot, you could very well burn the roots, or even kill the plant. I must confess, that I killed ten minis by feeding them dry when I first started growing roses.

Pruning pot grown roses is done the same as for ground-grown roses. However, when miniature roses are grown in pots you don't have to kneel down on the ground to prune them! So, there is much less strain on your back and knees!

so thats growing roses in pots, how about in the ground?  One of the very best soil amendments to use for rose bushes is compost. Using compost improves soil structure, texture, and aeration and increases the soil's water-holding capacity. Compost loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. Adding compost improves soil fertility.

So you get your rose home then what to do? If you haven’t planted roses before, here's som,e hints and tips on  how to plant roses.

To plant roses you must first of all dig the holes, and place a little potting soil at the bottom of each hole, leaving some just to cover the roots with when set out. Have some strong sticks close by in case a few straggling shoots need support. Now unpack, which is always done at the last minute, if the air gets to them when out of the ground it dries up all the sap and materially weakens the plants.

With a sharp knife cut off all the dead tops of the shoots, and also any roots which look mangled, taking great care not to pull off the fibrous portions (tiny rootlets attached to the main roots), as these will take hold of the new ground, and keep life in the rose trees.Hold the plant upright and steady pour the soil in.

Do not cramp the rose roots.They have been growing in pots, and must have their roots gently disentangled and spread out in the hole. The potting soil helps to start the plants, and they soon penetrate into the heavier soil which is to produce such grand rose flowers.

Only just cover the roots with the light soil, and then fill in with the chicken manure. This must not come higher than two inches above the junction of graft and stock, which can easily be found by the different appearance of the two woods, and also from the mark faintly seen showing how deeply it has already been planted in its original pot.When filled up stamp firmly down. If this is not done, the rose tree cannot possibly make roots, if it is rocked about by the wind, and all your trouble will be a waste of time. Of course the ground must not be made like iron, but, on the other hand, the plants should be able to stand a fair tug without moving from their places. I have noticed over and over again that I had only to pull at a rose tree gently, and it would be lying full length on the ground. What can be expected of the best bush that ever grew when it has been planted in that fashion?

So, i hope you find this usefull information, the roses we sell are of a very high quality, and give them some time and they will transform your garden into something truly special, all the pictures you see here are all examples of some of the roses we have for sale, i hope you pop over and say hello and we can pick the best rose for your garden.

All this wet weather!

Good day my gardening chums!
sorry for not posting for ages, been so busy with customers and their garden needs. Because i also go to peoples homes to advise on gardening ideas too, if you want to get a quotation for a consultation just let me know! ok, business plug over!

Now, as the title suggests we have been having alot of wet weather, nothing unusual in the rainforest region i know, but you must take some extra precautions during this time of year.

If you have delicate plants, small flowers, your strawberry plants for example it might be worth setting up a plastic roof for them, you can use rigid plastic or sheet plastic like whats found in a plastic bag, but something that will reduce slightly the amount of water your plants is taking on.

If you dont, the plant will simply go rotten due to taking on too much water and its dead. Also with the reduction in sunlight caused by the cloud cover, you will need to feed your plants more regularly. Instead of only once a month for normal conditions you may need to give them food twice a month, just to give them a boost.

Also if you have large bushy plants like Bougainvillea or roses, Hibiscus that sort of thing, now is a good time to give them a haircut, prune them back and this will encourage new growth for when the dry season comes and will then produce more flowers. If you are unsure about how much to cut off then contact me, and i will come and look at your plants and advise accordingly ( a small consultation fee will ne charged).

Well, we are all set for Chinese New Year, although i have not seen many rabbits here in Malaysia.. anyway to all our Chinese friends and customers Gōng xǐ fā cái !!

Amaryllis Flowers

Good day my gardening chums,
Today i thought i would talk about one of my favourite flowers, so beautifull and elegant and very easy to grow.

Amaryllis is a genus of plant that has only one species, the belladonna lily.  Many lily like plants of the same family, however, arc commonly called amaryllis, including the daffodil, snowdrop, tuberose, century plant, and more than 1,000 others.

The belladonna lily, grows from a bulb. its stalk is 18 to 30 inches high. It is topped by a cluster of 6 to 10 trumpet-shaped flowers which grow about 3 inches long. The fragrant, six-petaled blossoms are typically rose red, but they may be pink, purple, or white striped. Long, narrow leaves appear after the flowers wither.


As a wedding bloom, amaryllis is a novelty among better-known flowers like roses and peonies. But there is no end to the romance of this blossom's tale. According to Greek myth, a maiden named Amaryllis created a red bloom for her true love from her own heart's blood. In Victorian times, the flower was given as a sign of the recipient's "splendid beauty.", amaryllis come in whisper-white, creamy orange, pink, or even yellow.

They are among the easiest plants to growsimply water if indoors 2 or 3 times a week, and if outside, well this time of year, nature will take care of the watering!

at the top of the page is a picture of our variety of Amaryllis variety, very pretty as you can see, pop over and see us for more information.

Name change!

Good day my gardening chums,
now, come on, who noticed anything different? did you? no? oh you did, see, you are clever!

yes, we have changed the name of our blog, in fact we have done more than that, we have changed the name of our web page and our facebook page too,our email is still the same for now so you can use that to get in touch. You see we are changing to meet our customers demands, we have had many requests for flowers as well as fruit plants so now, we have our roses and also amarrylis plants for sale too, we will still have herbs but the demand for flowers has been higher so we will be concentrating on our vanilla, strawberry and flowers now.

Oh, and our Christmas sale has been extended to Chinese New Year! so get your 3 plants for the price of 2 while stocks last, and come and see our new roses, we have white ones, pink ones, red ones, purple ones, LOADS!

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.