A Time Just For Planting

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens… Ecclesiastes 3

When rain falls almost everyday, what time do you suppose it is?

Time for planting!!

It was time to plant the seeds I got from my mother’s “Peacock Flower” shrubs  in Cebu last summer.  

Pretty Peacock Flowers in a vase

The Planted Seed

Seeds are like people. And like people, seeds have different ways of getting up from their cosy beds. Some seeds, like the mongo, can’t seem to wait very long to burst out of their case after just an overnight soak in water. Some seeds, like basil, come up with two tiny baby leaves stretched out as if to say hello world.



And there are seeds, like chico and other fruit tree, that take their sweet time straightening first their spine-like stems before they leaves shyly take a peek.


Their long sleep have caused me to despair and often I am turned between digging them out or patiently continuing to water their barren beds.

Like people, all seeds once awaken need nurturing. You have to give them nice cool shower, time to sun, time to rest in the shade and give them a once over to check for pesky bugs.

Like people, the treatment you give your a come-alive seedling can very well determine how that seedling will turn out in life.

Sounds familiar?

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Seeds are not only for planting but if done right, are good to eat. Steamed soy beans, crushed pepper-corn steaks, popped corn, and boiled jackfruit seeds.

And here's a seed of a recipe. A favorite during Sunday lunches at home is a soup made of mongo beans, flaked dried fish and coconut milk. This soup is usually paired with grilled meat.

Mongo in Coconut Milk (Ginatang/Linubihan na Mongo)

1 cup of mongo beans, soaked over night in water
½ cup of flaked dried fish (bisugo or other fleshy dried fish works well)
½ cup coconut cream (the resulting milk when you squeeze grated meat from a large coconut for the 1st time—add about ¼ c warm water)
2 cups coconut milk ( the resulting milk when you squeeze grated coconut for the 2nd time—add about 1 ½ c warm water)
1 sliced medium size onion
1 minced clove of garlic
Optional:
Some chopped green onions or leeks (sibuyas dahonan)
A handful of mallongay leaves or ampalaya leaves



Procedure
Drain your mongo beans and put in a pot with some water to cover. Bring to a quick boil then let simmer until beans are very soft. Set aside.
In another pot, sauté in a little oil the garlic, onions and then add the flaked dried fish. When done, add the cooked mongo beans (including the resulting stock).
Add the coconut milk, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.
Once the flavors have mingled, turn off the heat, add the mallongay or ampalaya leaves (optional) and pour in the coconut cream.
Ladle into a lovely soup bowl and sprinkle the top with chopped green onions.

My Nurturing Garden

"Mary, Mary quite contrary
How does your garden grow?"

Lines taken from a nursery rhyme remind me that my little garden needs some tending so that I may reap what I sow (so to speak). Now more than ever, with the rains becoming less frequent, the plants call to me. I could have a gardener come in but that would defeat the whole purpose. I feel that getting a gardener would cheat me of experiencing the feel of the earth on my fingertips; and, the satisfaction of seeing a living thing take root and grow. As I tend my garden, it nurtures me in return by giving me the feeling of peace and contentment that all is well with the world.

When I am up to it, I can get lost in a world of weed pulling and re-potting. I stop only when I notice that the sun is adamant in burning me to a crisp or when the mosquitos make a feast of me-- ouch!

And what do I plant, you ask? Well, nothing fancy. But I do have two garden rules:
1)my plants must be happy to grow in clay-ish soil and not require constant attention.

2) my plants must give back in terms of pleasing my senses: be it the scent they lend to the breeze; their colors that delight; their willingness to grace my dinner table.

So indulge me as I take you on a quick tour of my garden. My pride and joy are a line of white lilies. They are special to me as I bought 2 pots of the lilies on a whim 11 years ago during an out of town trip. And over time I have transfered them to line up my front wall and some I have given away as gifts.



I have a sprinkling of orchids but they're the hardy ones and I don't pay much attention to them unless they are in bloom.



Then there is my jasmine bush. This one I got from my mom's garden. So many childhood memories are triggered from whiffs of their delicate flowers.



Let's not forget, plants I gathered from neighbors' gardens-- with their permission of course. A cut here, a cut there-- San Franciscos with their different leave patterns; Santan minitures; fake Bird-of-Paradise; Periwinkles & a bush with lavender flowers whose name escapes me now.



I shouldn't forget to mention my lovely trees. You would think that I have hectares and hectares of land. But no, I just cram the little space I have with a "Kamuning" ( this is the one that have fragrant tiny white flowers every so often and whose dark colored leaves also give a pleasant smell).



Beside the Kamuning is my Narra (now that it's a giant, it pains me when I have to trim it's top); how I love to sit under it's shade with a cool drink and just day dream.



At the back of the house is my grafted pico mango tree (gifted to me by my sister) which last year blessed me with tons of yummy green mangoes.



Speaking of fruits, I have a lemoncito shrub (calamansi in Tagalog) not yet heavy with fruit. Maybe my constant checking is stressing it out.

And not to forget, my kamias or iba (in visayan)that is swollen with fruit. As quickly as the fruits are ready for picking, I too am ready with all sorts of recipes needing some of it's fruits to give that sourness so delicious to the palate: sinigang (fish soup), paksiw (a fish stew), ginisang kamias sa bagoong (sauteed kamias with shrimp paste).



Now the mother of all vegetable plant in the Philippines would have to be the Malunggay. I just have to stick a cut stalk in the ground and in a couple of weeks, I can see little leaves coming thru. Coming in second would be the aromatic tanglad or lemon grass-- more of a herb than a vegetable.



Several sili labuyo bushes (I believe they are called bird chili) can be found in my garden's nooks. THeir fruit gives the zing needed in my caldereta (beef stew). Or their leaves take center stage in my tinolang manok( chicken soup).



And finally, I also have some alugbate creepers. These are the vegetable that have violet stems and sticky sap and used in many simple Philippine veggie stews. I just stick into the soil stems of this plant and it will quickly take root. I help it along by putting some twigs near it to facilitate its climb.



Yes with a little investment in time, you too can enjoy the nurturing a garden can give. You don't need a large plot of land. You can even start with used cans that have been cleaned and have holed punched at the bottom. If you don't have soil, you can buy a pre-mix bag of fertile dirt at a local garden shop.(Now a days you have to pay even for dirt.) You could also dig up someone's vacant lot too-- the thrill of being caught can give you a great high.

I hope I have interested you enough to start out your garden. You must remember that all good things come to those who wait. Be relaxed in your approach and you will be richly rewarded with your own plant experience-- be it on your dinner table or sitting under your tree's cool shade.