Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.
– Alfred Austin, English poet
Do you know what I want to buy when all the flower stalls in the wet markets are open again? Vegetable seeds. All kinds of vegetable seeds, especially leafy green seeds like kale seeds, mustard seeds and spinach seeds.
Besides selling flowers and fruit seedlings, these tiny stalls also sell soil, fertilisers and all types of vegetable seeds. And I can’t wait for them to reopen.
The high costs of green vegetables in the supermarkets during the movement control order (MCO) period made me realise that I should have bought different vegetable seeds and just sow them in my garden.
Currently, there is a shortage of vegetables in the market because the MCO has affected production processes.
With all the agricultural shops closed during the MCO, vegetable farmers had problems with feed, fertilisers and many other materials that they needed for their daily farming.
Although the government has just started relaxing measures under phase four of the MCO, vegetable farmers need time to boost production of vegetables in the market.
One of the most expensive vegetables is spring onion. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I picked up a bunch of spring onions in a supermarket recently. Almost RM4!
Spring onions can be grown from seeds or bulbs; they are added to soups or stir fries to add flavour. You can also make healthy pancakes from flour, green onions and salt. From now on, I think I will grow my own spring onions.
I have not worked in my tiny backyard garden for months until last Friday. It was my day off and I woke up before 8am just to dry the clothes I had washed the previous night. I like the nice smell and fresh feel of clothes that dry in the sun!
If the laundry shops had been allowed to operate during the MCO, I would have sent my clothes there and saved myself a lot of hard manual labour and valuable time.
Anyway, with the sun shining so bright on Friday morning, I decided to weed my garden which had become unruly after months of neglect.
Armed with a pair of scissors, long machete and big garbage bags, I began to prune the overgrown shrubbery. I had to stop a few times to quench my thirst before I managed to fill two garbage bags with the leaves and branches from the garden.
Then I had to stop work to open my front gate for an unexpected visitor — my son had come bearing gifts of two packs of chicken rice and fruits for my mother and I. I was really thankful for the food. It meant that I did not have to cook lunch that day.
After my son left, I wanted to continue working in the garden. But alas, the sun stopped shining and it became cloudy. I had to bring in the clothes that I put out to dry in the sun.
By the time I left the garden, i had already harvested a bag of cangkuk manis (Sauropus androgynus, also known as katuk, star gooseberry, or sweet leaf vegetable), some purple sugar canes and some turmeric. I later shared the sugar canes with a neighbour.
Working in the garden made me realise how easy it is for weeds to flourish in tropical countries with plenty of sunshine and rain like Sarawak. Instead of allowing the weeds to grow, why don’t I plant green vegetables and chillies?” I asked myself.
Besides cangkuk manis, sugar cane and turmeric, I also have herbs, banana trees, pineapple plants, lime and mulberry trees in my garden. It is amazing that I can grow so many things in my tiny backyard plot.
Some people get bored when they are cooped up at home. I am happy if I don’t have to go to work for long period of time; it means more time to work in my garden.
In fact, deep down in my heart, I was disappointed that I had to go to work during the MCO.
I have not finished weeding my garden yet. I need a few more weeks to make it more presentable and manageable again. I hope the sun will continue to shine on my days off next week and the weeks thereafter.
My friends, if you want to lose some weight, relieve stress and lower your blood pressure, try gardening. Besides the many health benefits, you will get beautiful flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables.
