The last days have been super hot in the small Indian Coastline state Goa and the retrieving rains seem to be over.
Yet the heat is dragging along and I am starting to turn into a raisin.
I am looking for water and I am yearning for cooling sights.
I remember the days when plump water drops would fall on the broad Elephant Ears in my tropical garden Goa.
I miss the rains....
But on the other hand it's time to get into action.
The Tourist season is knocking on the door and with the arrival of the Hindu Light Festival Diwali, the whole scene in Goa has changed.
The familiar sounds on the roads of busy people going after their duties and the happy screams of drunk domestic Visitors passing the neighborhood on their bikes is a little wake up call for me and I have been welcoming the changes to a certain extend.
We have been busy cleaning up our "jungle" and it's finally looking more again like a civilized place, just that this time the trees and plants have grown and we have acquired a wider variety of plants since my last tropical garden post.
On top of that we bought a few new plants for our garden.
Some have pretty leaves and their purpose is to make us happy at the sight of them.
Others are going to come handy in my cooking soon.
My husband loves to take care of young fruit trees.
He keeps himself motivated with the thought of indulging the fresh homegrown fruits someday.
Our tropical garden Goa is counting more then 20 fruit tree varieties.
A few such as the Olive tree and Italian Lemon tree are usually not grown in Goa, however they seem to love the space and care we gave them.
The Olive tree was barely 20 cm tall when we bought him and 21 months later he has reached 2 meters up.
The lemon tree has already produced fruits as well and more are in progress.
The new trees include a young and skinny ficus tree and a a bilimbi (cucumber tree).
We don't know what kind the ficus tree is, there are plenty different types and I will have to ask the experts at Mr.Farmer in Guirim, Goa.
One thing is sure, the fig fruits of the ficus tree are going to be completely enjoyed, but for that it will have to grow plenty more.
The Bilimbi Tree is a young smaller tree as well so fruits won't happen so soon but we are patient folks.
The fruit looks like a smaller cucumber.
It's juicy but also super sour and usually locals cut open bilimbi fruits, or bimli as it is known in Kokani, and add them to Curries to add more flavor dimensions to a dish.
We also thought of getting a few Green Chili plants since the last one drowned in the heavy Monsoon July rains.
I always prefer to cook with freshly picked fruits, veggies and herbs so Green Chili is a must.
You can always buy a small plant and keep them in small pots in your room near a window.
A few friends of mine have been doing this and the green chili fruits have turned out beautifully.
A plant that I absolutely adore in my garden but which has been eaten up again and again in the past, is lemongrass.
Not one lemongrass of the so many which we had planted survived so this one is our last try.
You ask why?
Our dogs have a ridiculous habit of chewing on lemon grass, especially one famous big white fella enjoys destroying the lemongrass.
I usually love lemongrass tea but I also use the plant finely chopped in Thai food.
Of course the sight of it alone should be enough to motivate you in growing your own lemongrass at home.
Oh and if you have been following and discovering with me food ingredients via the various social networks such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest, then you might recall this plant...
It's called a Culantro (Thanks Facebook friends for the help in naming it!) and it tastes and smells like a coriander plant.
My husband had brought it back one fine day.
It seems the vendor was laughing when he tried to explain that it was a coriander plant.
Obviously it doesn't look like coriander, also known as cilantro, but it tastes like one.
Apparently this plant originated in Central America but since Coriander plants for the home garden can not be bought in the market, the vendors sell this instead.
I haven't used the culantro yet in my cooking, no I am waiting for it to grow a bit more before I start attacking it and then I will let you know how and where I used it.
I suppose that the culantro can be simply used instead of Coriander in many Indian dishes.
Another new addition is a small Italian Basil plant. It was a little useful gift by a friend who seems to have a green finger with Italian Basil in Goa, while I am the Tulsi queen of course (Indian Basil). 😉
Have you ever heard of a plant called Insulin plant?
I haven't made it up, nop.
This particular spiral plant, as the name indicates, is a practical medicinal plant that seems to reduce the blood sugar levels.
There are enough locals here who eat one leaf every single day.
I on the other hand keep on forgetting to do so. ^.^ The insulin plant is not used in any culinary cuisine, so maybe that's why I keep on forgetting chewing on one daily.
This one grows wild in a tropical climate and it loves lots of water.
I think so I have never showed you my numerous Aloe Vera plants growing in different locations in our garden.
They have a habit of growing upwards for some reason, so some literally pop up and some days later it looks as if the plant tried to run away.
The only way I use aloe vera is by cutting off a bit and spreading the jelly transparent flesh on a sunburn for example.
It also does wonders for dry skin. Aloe Vera needs daily small amounts of water in India, or they go dry and die.
Since my husband loves his spinach, and he indirectly requested more dishes with spinach, I decided to grow my own.
As you can see the seeds are alive and I will be transplanting them soon into my veggie garden space.
Now I just need to find some red spinach seeds and I am good to go.
The many Vanilla plants have been growing extremely well too, although it will take some time until the first flowers will appear and then the next challenge will be to turn those flowers into aromatic vanilla beans.
The Vanilla plant is commonly found in South India but the pollination has to be done manually.
Once I have tried it for myself I will be able to tell you more in the future.
The Vanilla is a climber and loves growing up trees such as Coconut, Mango etc.
The little roots are quite strong and we noticed that they don't mind growing on walls as well, so now we have more space to grow them.
Looks like we will have another Papaya fruit party soon.
One Papaya tree, which appeared to be dieing, came back to life and is currently working on a few Papaya fruits.
I am not a big Papaya fan but I love making my Papaya dip and the unripe green papaya skin with some flesh is the best meat tenderizer in the world, so we welcome the little production in our garden.
Did you know too that the female papaya tree produces the fruits?
When flowers grow on the stem, it is a female papaya tree but if the flowers grow on a green long stem, then it's a male papaya and the male doesn't produce fruits.
We have a few young banana trees right next to our house and the most beautiful thing happens when they are old enough to produce fruits.
First a big purple flower will appear and slowly the same flower will grow out (away from the tree) with little fruits in between.
Every few days a banana flower petal will fall on the floor until the flower has turned into a whole bunch of edible ready to eat fruits.
It's hard to explain, one has to have it seen to understand how bananas grow and I wish I could keep a camera pointed at it for a few weeks so to fast forward the process in minutes.
Oh and the Banana Flower is edible in it's younger days but I have never tried to cook with it since I prefer if the flower turns into a load of bananas.
I am not sure if I had published a photo of a Curry tree before.
As you know Curry leafs are commonly used in the Indian cuisine.
Curry powder has nothing to do with Curry leafs, Curry powder masala is a mixture of spices.
I am glad that I have my own small Curry tree since it comes so very handy to have fresh leafs right next to my house.
Once plucked, curry leafs can not be stored for long since they loose their aroma, so a Curry tree is a must in Goa.
As you can see the small tree is producing fruits.
Apparently those are edible but the seed inside is poisonous.
I haven't tried eating the flesh and I haven't seen anybody doing that, so I just leave them as they are and they will fall off and produce new little plants on the ground.
Curry plant needs lots of water and sun and initially mine took about 2 years to finally grow a bit in size.
We have a bigger tree, the size is comparable to an apple tree, so they can grow quite big but the curry tree is slow growing.
That's all for now.
I do have more culinary and medicinal plants but those are not really in season right now, so I will show you more another time.
In the meanwhile you might want to check out the Tropical Fruit Garden post Part I.
Before I forget... I picked this fruit from a tree in the neighborhood a few days back.
Can you name the fruit in the picture underneath?
A little tip, it's commonly used in the western countries and it has something to do with cocktails.
Also there is a sweet and sour version of the fruit and it can grow to the size of a fist.
The flesh inside is rather hard and moderately juicy.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment section further below!
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Hi
Loving all this
I would love to see your garden
Is there any chance to have a quick look sometime
Hello Helene, did vanilla creepers yield any results. I am really curious to know. Read through the entire post and comments. It’s brilliant. Best
Hi Sumit, unfortunately, we failed with the vanilla creepers. the plants died when we had to move to Europe for 2 years and the summer was very harsh that year so that the creepers died. Apparently, it was a big problem all around the country in India so that we don't even get to buy vanilla beans these days in Goa. Are you planning to grow some vanilla creepers? They really like to grow along coconut trees, that's what I noticed and they grow strong that way.
Sorry to hear about the vanilla creepers Helene. As of now I am unsure about where I'll grow what 🙂 ... Considering I am still in early planning stage of my move to Goa. I'd like to be on a farm and have my own garden, however, it'll depend more on the property I am able to acquire. Vanilla is sure on my list.
That sounds like an ambitious move, I wish you all the best in that!
I heard some people grow vanilla creepers near black pepper plants and certain other spices. Apparently, those spices have an effect on the soil and therefore on plants, such as coffee and vanilla.
Hi Helene
I have been reading your gardening blog and got interested in the Italian lemon tree. Could you please tell me where I could buy one in Goa. Also need to know where I could buy italian lemons in goa as I do not seem to have them here. Appreciate hearing from you.
Regards
Hi Nancy,
We got our tree form Mr.Farmer in Guirim. It' s been a few years but you can go there and try. They called it Italian lemon tree so I took over the name. You won't be able to buy these lemons in the market. Ironically I know a lot of locals in Bardez who are looking to buy these lemons. If you take a picture to one of the main sellers in the mapusa/panjim/margao market and ask them if they could get those from Belgaum, then maybe we have a chance to purchase these lemons in the future. The more people ask the better and they will take action to get those lemons. I like these lemons with any fish or seafood dishes. 🙂
Helene thanks for responding - will go to Mr. Farmer for the Lemon tree. I use a lot of these just for the juice as it is not acidic like other limes. Hope our markets in Goa will stock them soon.
Yeah sure check out and see if they can get you such a tree. we love ours. It used to give lemons but then we were not around for 2 years and unfortunately, somebody thought he could play gardener and trimmed the tree. Since that my dear lemon tree has not given any flower or fruits.
You are right, they are a bit less acidic since they are lemons and not limes. Let us know here if you found one. I am sure there are others who are looking for such a gorgeous tree. 🙂
Hi Helene
Great to see your garden. I too have an Italian Lemon tree. I had bought it in Sweden. When i had purchased it there where quite a lot of fruits and flowers. The moment i got it to India (Pune) all the fruits dried out and the flowers fell off. After a couple of months one flower bloomed but that too fell. Now it has been 11 months the plant is growing but it is not bearing any flowers / fruits. I was thinking that maybe the climate is not suiting the tree?
Hi Sanjay,
So sorry to read about your struggles with your lemon tree.
How did you manage to transport a tree via plane to India, that must have been quite a job!
Any idea if the tree got damaged in some way, also non-visible root damage, during the travel?
I wish I knew how to help you but alas, my own tree stopped giving me flowers and fruits (and the lemons used to be huge and flavorful!).
I think the climate in Pune is a bit drier compared to Goa, so it's hard to compare the two places with my experience.
Did you check with your local gardening stores? Maybe it's the mud too or the water.
Hai Helen could you please tell what Star masala plant is.And it's uses in different tasty recipes.I also want a sibling of it.
Hi there,
You mean star anise right?
I rarely use this spice in my cooking and when I do, rather sparingly so I can't share recipes using the spices right now. What do you mean with sibbling, a similar spice?
it is a nice garden with lot of herbs and other plants.Just found the name 'insulin plant' and seems it is the same which we call 'Thebu plant' in Sri Lanka.Would you like to have a look into this post in my blog,http://www.foodcnr.com/2014/09/thebu-kola-sambola-sri-lankan-diabetic.html ?
If it is same,then we eat it in a 'salad'.And of course,it is popular for its ability in lowering blood sugar level...
Hi Amila,
I just checked and they look the same! I will ask others too. I had no idea thanks so much for sharing this with us here, much appreciated Amila. 🙂
Hello Helen...it was great to learn about what u wrote.
As I am a die hard fan of farming, but still cant get started (hoping Soon).
i already have a small garden managed by my mom, and I like to go big on it, but the place is 500m near the coast , but a paddy field I like to convert in a farm...pls help with contacts to procure saplings and seeds...Thanks & happy farming
Leo Lampiao
Hi Leo, thank you for your comment. Where are you situated in Goa approximately? There are a few organic nurseries but it depends where you are. You will need selected plants since the paddy field is near the sea.
You have a nice garden! I really, really love your first photo!! And your Aloe Vera reminded me that my grandpa used to grow Aloe Vera for medicine purpose. 🙂
It's a star fruit yah? I want your garden. I am filled with food envy!!
So lucky to have your own garden! It reminds me of the time when we used to stay in a bungalow and had our own garden full of fruits and veggies. Miss those times...
The fruit in the last pic is star fruit.
Thanks for the tour of the 'jungle'. I am very envious! I am a firm believer that cooking and gardening go hand in hand and you are the proof! It's lovely to be able to grow something and put it to good use in the kitchen. Usually it tastes a thousand times better than produce that has been shipped, packed, prodded, packaged, weighed, sold, stored. What a little treasure your garden is!
A great garden! It looks like it's still SUMMER there.
I need curry leaf plants! Just a thought I had! Anyway- love the pictures and tour!
star fruit
Growing veggies and herbs year around outside is one thing I wish I could do. I had to bring in my curry leaf plants to house them for the winter. But all my other herbs and plants (which I don't have room for...) are left to their own devices until next spring. Love all your gardening photos.. 🙂
Carambola?
When I lived in Florida we were told to never plant ficus in the garden because it would take over everything. No problem there?
Your tropical garden makes me very envious!
Yep the mystery fruit is called Carambola or star fruit. =)
Apparently it's fine, maybe it's a different ficus kind? I am going to ask again because we can still plant it somewhere else since it was planted a few days back. Thanks for the tip Maureen!
G'day Helene, there is so much to be learned from a tropical garden like this!
Glad today's post, I did not miss!
Cheers! Joanne
Thanks for passing by Joanne and I am glad to hear that you found it useful =)
Beautiful tropical garden!! I miss having aloe vera plant 🙂
Did you use the aloe vera for certain hings Kiran? I am curious and would love to learn new uses.
The yellow fruit is a Star fruit
This tropical garden is absolutely beautiful 😀
Cheers
CCU
Aww you are too sweet Uru
What a great garden! I'd love to have my own curry tree. I sometimes freeze curry leaves, but they lose a lot when you do that - not nearly as good as fresh. Really fun post - thanks.
Thank you John! I love my Curry tree because of the fresh leafs and you are right the dried or frozen leafs are not that flavorful but it's still better then nothing.