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| La femme |
This is what I've been waiting for - the female cucumber flower with the fruit attached to its end. For those of you following my previous cucumber post, the differences between the male and female flowers are unmistakable. Happy to say we are now officially in 'pollination' phase. Given the lack of bees in Singapore, I would highly recommend pollination by hand i.e. using cotton tips to gently transfer pollen from the male flower to the female. The best time for this operation is early mornings when the male flowers are in bloom (they tend to close up in the evening and drop off soon after). This may sound terrible tedious but I assure you that it's worth every second in the hot sun when you see your cucumbers develop and grow!
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How they've grown!
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My snake bean plants seems to be thriving, snaking its way upward and are almost as tall as the cucumbers but still no signs of flowers ...anyone out there who knows why?
Lastly, my trusty kang kong (water spinach). I have had this planter of kangkong for 9 months and it's still thriving. We must have harvested at least 5-6 times and my fav way of devouring them is frying them up in a sea of fiery spicy sambal balachan. In case you are wondering, yes there is a Huge difference between those hydroponic kangkong you often find in supermarkets these days and soil-grown ones. Their crunch and vivid green colour holds surprisingly well even after high heat stir-frying, unlike its hydroponic cousins. Try growing your own kangkong and experience the difference. Kangkong are super hardy plants and loves hot, humid weather and lots of water. Low maintenance
~ Sharon
Labels: cucumbers, Gardening
