this because i am constantly reminded by the presence of the moon. to count things in a minus 10 days framework. or that islam is the religion of the moon / night / the shadow. dr nyo nyo of myanmar from the summer school mentioning the moon provides light at night, which reminds one that man in its most primordial sense, relies on nature. throwback to walking in the moonlight in the paddy fields of some kampung in selangor.
plant thoughts; in the future possibility of actually buying a plot of land (which happens to have a dusun durian) in the next 1-2 years, i need to up my gardening skills. some observation notes from the past half year or so;
- season (actually temperature) really plays a role in the germination of seeds. while sprouting can occur early on March/Feb, for leaves to sprout it needs adequate temperature and sunlight which is perfect around May/June. Based on the seed packets, harvest is mostly possible in September or October, but this varies greatly with the amount of sun-growth your plant has had earlier.
- watering and growing roots i still need a crash course or more reading on this. the little tomatoes and chili i have have not grown in root enough. which makes me question; is this a matter of nutrients or water? does soil.
- urban gardening sucks unless you have a 20m2 balcony to actually house plant boxes and worms. of course, the tropics are the best.
- most friends and acquaintance resort to easy indoor plants and experimenting with growing avocado and mango seeds. my next experiment after should probably be with roots (ginger, galangal and turmeric)
- hanging plants (herbs?) would work best in my apartment as the sun moves from the left to right of the window – maximising sunlight exposure. at the same time, putting them in absolute direct sunlight burns them to the point of bleaching.
- the cooking essentials (for own use, also for new house); pokok limau purut, daun kari, serai, pandan, daun kesum, bunga kantan, bunga telang, halia, kunyit, lengkuas, ketumbar, thai basil, bawang putih dan bawang merah
- ulams i have not figured out – this is a mystery but perhaps I am more of a simple timun person. pegaga and ulam raja, at the very least.
- the lauks; kacang panjang, baby corn (how is this conceived?), lobak merah, labu, pakchoi, the greens used in nasi goreng, chickpeas, terung, timun, buluh rebung (but how crazy will this grow?)
- the fruits; mangga, rambutan, betik, manggis, mata kucing, buah naga (?), pisang tanduk for kerepek purposes, nangka for vegan people purposes, tembikai for experimental purposes
- the spices – as i believe most spices are imported from indonesia (with the exception of black pepper) – to grow own lada hitam (which i believe my grandma had her own), bunga lawang, bunga cengkih, kayu manis.
- coffee? – as my mother once noted when growing up they had their own coffee tree, this would be an interesting experiment.
- wood? which trees do they come from?
perkaraperkara 
One thought on “one (lunar) year later / notes on gardening”