easiest to grow and maintain in 2021

The easiest veggie to grow and maintain with zero chemical pesticides and fertiliser was hands down the kangkung, followed by chives. 

Kangkung was just plain hardy. Even when ravaged by pests, and I didnt harvest for some time which meant the pest had undisturbed time to do max damage... after pruning heavily the affected leaves, the plant would bounce back like new. On top of that I have yet to add new seeds. This was the first plant I attempted to grow, and it has continued to feed us for years. I have limited it to just 2 small boxes so that we don't have an oversupply. 

Chives was the only plant that didnt get attacked by insects. The only problem was weeds, especially one of the grass species that looked exactly like chives! Who knows, we might have eaten quite a bit of grass over this year. 

Happy New Year

losing nearly 50% kangkung to white flies

These tiny white flies suck the life out of plants. and they multiply underneath the leaves which make them tough to spot. They seem to love kangkung and chili leaves.

You can see clear evidence of them here...

Our typical veggie for lunch

 I would say we eat kangkung at least 3 times a week. Touchwood so far we havent got the pains most people have said that will flare up if you eat too much of this veggie.

 

test kangkung in an area always waterlogged

This corner of the house always has water... mostly from the pond overflow, and also from the roof runoff, reservoir overflow, etc.

However, there is no direct sun. So lets see how the kangkung will fare.

25 July 2020 update:
Five days after throwing a cutting into the puddle...

It's doing ok. The youngest few leaves are all up, and it has started to take root. I will try to do a close up in the next update.

28 July 2020 update:
Lots of roots, but the young leaves being attacked.

5Aug2020 update:
We have had some dry days. The cutting is still doing well.

The roots have really extended out in search for water. Kangkung is always thirsty.

23Aug2020 update: Growing well

14Sep2020: Looking healthy. But it gets in the way and I keep stepping on it at least once a week. Will probably pull it out soon.

29Sep2020: It is getting out of hand. It set root in every crevice and wound its way out in multiple directions. 

Scary! I pulled it all out!

Indian Borage midst the Kangkung - pest deterrent test

Neem oil isn't working, probably due to all the rain we have been having. Today I planted some Indian borage cuttings in one of the kangkung boxes.

You can see it in the bottom left corner of the box.

A list of plants that deter bugs that I have and will be expanding around the garden...

• Indian borage
• Basil
• Mint
• Chives
• Garlic
• Dill

Up to now, most have been separate from the veggies. From now on I will be planting them in between.

Tiny caterpillar wreaking havoc on my kangung

Lots of tiny holes on my kangkung. These fellows are the culprits. Google Lens identified it as a Crowned Slug Caterpillar. But the ones on my leaves have like a long brown neck or tail. Here are a few shots of them...

 

Orange bugger

Looks like a grasshopper. Spotted it on my kangkung

Today's harvest/lunch

It was a rainy morning so just a quick harvest of brinjal, kangkung & malabar spinach

More protein for my Climbing Perch

Spotted this guy munching on my kangkung. Off you go into the pond.

If you want a perpetual supply of kangkung

This was my harvest from one box today...

If you wanted that quantity every 2 or 3 days, all you need are 4 boxes like this...

You can see the leftmost box which has just been harvested. Notice some yellow leaves on the bottom from the shoots that did not get enough light. 

I harvest from right to left every couple of days. The rightmost box is ready and will be cut in a day or 2.

This method has been serving us for months now. No idea if they will stop producing since many have sprouted flowers. I will let you know if they slow down to a pace that cant meet our demand. 

Today's harvest

A little bit of kangkung going to my mum.

And one whole tree of ulam raja for our lunch. It won't amount to much so it will be added to a curry.