A Theoretical Integrated Approach to Farming

I've read many methods, permaculture, square foot gardening, composting, hugelkultur, raised beds and so on. So, I've come out with a theoretical integration of these systems into a cohesive whole. I shall call this Fun Farming.

The above diagram is a theoretical 50 ft by 50 ft (2500 sqft) area.

In this area, we can keep chickens, for eggs and meat, as well as have them roam freely in the white-box area to spread their manure. This will allow for additional composting material to seep into the soil for the plants.

Apart from that, the weeds, snails, slugs and worms taken from around the farm can be thrown into the white-box area to feed the chickens.

Then, we have the green area for planting. We can use square foot planting method to maximise planting area, as well as reduce pest risk, as we plant different varieties in each square foot. In this diagram, I've counted about 900 sqft of planting space. By changing the design, you may get more planting space.

We will also have a bit of space for both worm compost and conventional compost, to create more nutrition for our plants. Dried leaves, weeds, spent coffee, spent tea leaves, kitchen waste and so on can be collected to be used here. The output of these composts, will be spread on the planting area to increase fertility of the land.

From the side view, you can see that we can actually apply hugelkultur by putting in woody material in the soil. When these woods rot, they become sponge to retain nutrient and water, allowing the plants to get the best out of the soil.

Apart from that, we can do raised bed for the planting area, keeping weed out of the main planting area.

Depending on design, we can have slope area as shown in the diagram to increase planting area. I am not sure if this will help make the planting more efficient or less, since some plants may not do well on slopes.

Lastly, as you will have noticed, we have raised ground and water will definitely flow in excess when we have rain. If we use a little bit of creativity, we can create a simple drain system to direct all the water into a pond nearby, to be reused to water the plants. Also, this pond can be used for fish rearing and planting of aquatic plants.

I shall be trying out this model soon but given the limitation of funding, manpower, machinery and time, it will be quite a few months before I can give any feedback on using the system.

Hope this might inspire something. Happy farming!

An Idea to Reuse & Recycle

Previously, I introduced the use of herbs & tisanes as natural car air freshener. After doing a bit of thinking, I've come out with a reuse & recycle idea for herbs & tisanes. If you drink tea/tisane or use any herbs, you can actually reuse the same materials before recycling them!

Tea bags & herbs can be reused and then recycled!

First Use
This is when you use your tea bags or herbs in making tisanes.

Reuse
After you've enjoyed your glass of tisane, you can open up the tea bag and collect your herbs. Spread them on the floor of your car as of my previous post to use as car air freshener.

Note that tea leaves are very useful for absorbing odours. So, by leaving tea leaves in your car, you can ensure that your car doesn't smell funny.

Other herbs like roses, jasmines, rosemary and so on, on the other hand, will provide pleasant fragrances for your car.

Recycle
After the fragrance has faded from your herbs, you can collect the herbs from your car and throw them into your compost bin. They will then disintegrate into fertiliser for your plants and you can grow more herbs to enjoy!

Hope you enjoy my simple idea. Remember, recycle, reuse & reduce. We can make the world greener.

Fragrant Flowers & Herbs as Car Air Freshener

I've never loved commercial car air freshener as they give a sharp sting on my nose. So, in order to keep my car smelling fresh and pleasant, I've come out with a very simple solution!

All you need to do is just pick some flowers or herbs, fresh or dried, that you love and then scatter them on the floor of your car. As you drive, stepping back and forth between gas and brake, as well as clutch if you are driving manual, you will be stirring the herbs to release their aroma into the car.

They will provide fragrance for about 1-2 weeks and you can either change the herbs or add in more. It might make your car look a bit messy but the natural & pleasant fragrance will be well worth it.

These are some of the flowers & herbs that you can consider.

• Chempaka (Michelia alba [pic] & Michelia champaca)
• Gardenia
• Murraya paniculata

• Patchouli (said to be a great deodorant)

• Roses
• Jasmine
• Lavender
• Mints
• Basil
• Sage
• Thyme
• And many more!

If you are a gardener like myself, then you can get your plants fresh or dried from your own garden! Else, you can easily buy them from the market.

Have a fragrant car & drive safe!

On the Use of Herbs as Tisanes

Tea, is a drink made from steeping tea leaves (Camillia sinensis) in hot water. When tea leaves are missing, it just isn't so apt to call them tea anymore. Some people call these herbal teas but I personally insist that we should call them tisanes to make a distinction of the presence of tea (hence caffeine).

The steps to make fine tisanes are fairly easy:

1. Grow the herbs
2. Use scissors or appropriate tools to snip off healthy leaves or plant top with healthy leaves
3. Wash the leaves [optional]
4. You can steep your tisane if you prefer using fresh leaves (please wash leaves if you skipped step #3)
5. Air dry the excess/leftover leaves for 1-3 weeks away from sunlight(sun drying might destroy or evaporate some nice compounds) 
6. Keep dried leaves properly in a sealed container
7. Pick some dried leaves to steep when required (please wash leaves if you skipped step #3)

These are some of the common herbs that can be grown in Malaysia with some of their benefits. I'm writing this from memory and impression, so there will be a lot more benefits that I may not remember.

Basil

Be it Thai, Indian, sweet or lemon basil, as long as it is basil (Ocimum) genus, you can get tasty tisane out of it. These herbs are generally warming to the body.

Benefits: respiratory & digestive problems such as cough, sorethroat, indigestion, strengthens the spirit

Bitter gourd leaves

This one, I've researched and tested once, it seems bitter gourd leaves are edible. They are just as bitter as the gourd. It is a cooling herb.

Benefits: similar to bitter gourd, it is good for digestive problems as well as diabetes

Guava Leaves

Not just guava fruits are edible, their leaves can make tasty tisanes too.

Benefits: good for curbing diarrhea, said to be beneficial for blood cholesterol and diabetes

Jasmine flowers

Make sure you get the actual Jasminum genus. Orange jasmine or citrus jasmine is NOT of Jasminum genus. Jasmine flowers are best picked early in the morning when they are about to bloom. The fragrance of jasmine is pleasant & relaxing.

Benefits: Relaxing, calming, anti-stress, aphrodisiac

Lemon balm

This plant has a very strong lemony fragrance to it. It can be used as substitute for lemongrass in cooking.

Benefits: Very calming, suitable for insomnia, also useful for strengthening the mind

Lemongrass

Lemongrass is trickier than other herbs, you need to cut off the young leaves and use only the main stem. Those who cook should know about this. Preferably, use lemongrass fresh. Smash the stem and cook for 5 min. Lemongrass goes well with pandan leaves. Lemongrass is warming.

Benefits: respiratory & digestive problems such as cough, sorethroat, indigestion, strengthens the mind

Mint

Peppermint, spearmint, pudina, applemint, pineapple mint and many other varieties are available. Personally, I love peppermint because of the peppery and cooling taste to it. Mints are fairly easy to grow so it is a very good choice. Mints are cooling when warm, warming when cool.

Benefits: respiratory & digestive problems such as cough, sorethroat, indigestion, calming to the body & mind

Misai Kucing

Cat's whisker is a local plant that can be grown very easily.

Benefits: Said to be good for cholesterol issues & diabetes

Pegaga

Personally, I have yet used this herb before, neither have I researched deeply in it. However, given all the popularity in this website, it is a herb worthy of note.

Benefits: Mood regulation (this is the only one I know... LOL)

Rose flowers

Rose flowers should be picked either before they bloom (to avoid having bugs in the buds) or after they have bloomed (and pluck off the petals). Roses are actually quite nutritious and can be used as a good tisane supplement. Roses are warming.

Benefits: tonic to the heart & liver, promotes intestinal flora health, calming, aphrodisiac

Rosemary

Rosemary is often used in cooking and can also be enjoyed as tisanes. The sharp fragrance is a good wake up call to the body. This herb has a very warming effect.

Benefits: has quite a lot of antioxidants, promotes blood circulation, has been claimed to improve memory (via better blood circulation and oxygenation of the brain)

Sage

This plant can be quite productive if you can manage to establish the plant. My sage plant is producing much more than enough for my own consumption. Sage can smell awful to some people, so mixing sage with tulasi (Indian basil) can make the taste much more palatable.

Benefits: causes sweating to break fever, antiseptic, good for mouth ulcer

Stevia

This plant is a great natural sweetener to substitute for sugar.

Benefits: useful for diabetic patients

Thyme

Although the leaves are small, this plant has fragrance that can give you a punch. This herb is warming.

Benefits: useful for mouth ulcer, respiratory issue such as cough & cold

That's all for now... I will add more information when I have time. Happy gardening & happy being healthy. ;) 

On General Cultivation of Herbs

Definitions of Herb

1. any non-woody flowering plant, regardless of its flavor, scent or other properties, and thus includes only grass-like plants and forbs.
2. any plants with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume or parts of such a plant as used in cooking.
3. a plant used for adding flavor to food or as a medicine.

These are very general definitions and I will speak briefly, in general sense, on the cultivation and care of general herbs. Some herbs may have special/specific needs, so do study them well if you intend to make them thrive like rabbits on steroid.

Sourcing of herb plants

1. buy from nursery.
2. exchange with/buy from/get free from MG members.
3. buy fresh herb from market/supermarket, strip off the leaves to cook/eat and just stick the stems into soil. Keep in shade and water sparingly (make sure the soil is moist) for 2-3 weeks. Those that survived should have roots and can be transplanted at this stage.
4. snatch from road side, if you are so lucky to find them around unowned.

Encouraging growth

1. Make sure the conditions are right. Factors to consider: light exposure, temperature, air humidity, water requirement, soil requirement, soil space requirement (Big/small pot? Deep/shallow pot?).
2. Fertilisation done at appropriate interval with appropriate amount definitely helps.
3. Snipping off the tip of the plant to encourage branching. Refer to these two links to see how:https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151534364834616&set=o.264226477027092&type=1&theaterhttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151293017701348&set=a.497514111347.303280.557876347&type=3&permPage=1
4. Propagate more plants to get more harvest.

Propagation method

1. Just stick your cuttings into the soil. Cuttings should be around 2-5 inches. To increase success rate, it is recommended to snip off some leaves to reduce water loss during this period. If you want your plant to grow upright, snip off the older big leaves and keep the tiny tender leaves. If you want your plant to grow into a bush, snip off the young top and leave 2-4 larger leaves. This will force the plant to save up energy for branching.
2. Some herbs will flower & seed, such as Thai basil, Indian basil (tulasi). So, you can just use the seeds to grow more.

Tips on herbs

1. If you intend to keep your herbs, air dry them instead of sun drying. This will help retain fragrance & nutrient better
2. Some herbs grow "old" while others will wither (annuals, biannuals and so on), so you should harvest them and propagate them as needed so that they remain in prime health. One of the most common plant I have problem with is mint. Mints will start to become unhealthy once they reach a certain age/size. But I am not sure if it is my problem of not providing them with enough nutrient or what. So, I make do with harvesting them once they reach prime condition.

I think this is all I can think of for the moment. I hope this simple compilation is useful for everyone. :D Gimme feedback if there is anything I can add. Or if anyone has anything better or useful to put in. Thanks.