Growing western herbs in the tropical Asia-my experiment
75I have been living in Malaysia for almost two and a half years. I have expended much time on learning how to cook bread properly but something was missing. It was my gardening. The development that I live in has perfectly manicured gardens with wonderful tropical plants that only a cheap workforce can supply. I however I am an slighly single minded (okay incredibly single minded) when it comes to gardening... If it cant be eaten or used( eg lavender) I am soooo not interested.
My partner was aware of my issues. So he tried to source some recycled wood to create a planter box for me... he searched for a number of weeks but was ultimately unsuccessful. Thank god for Ikea and their furniture. He daringly rode about 30km round trip on a motorbike laden with many Kg's of Ikea furniture to assemble my planter box. But the journey was not over... of course Ikea furniture was not the right shape for what we wanted and so some cutting was required... simple I hear you think... uhh no. None of the local "carpenters" has the right tools so a trip to the school I work at was undertaken and after a couple of hours the cuts were made... Now just a simple job of screwing together you would think... uh no. Malaysia has a penchant for cheap.. at the expense of serviceable. The screw claimed to be "stainless steel" they looked like "stainless steel" however disappointingly they did not behave like stainless steel. Do you know how long it takes with a pair of pliers to remove a screw whose head is all chozzeled out.... 20 mins imagine 10 such screws and you get a view of the herculean task that "making a planter box" in Asia was.
But all of that is over now and I have 2 planter boxes with 4 plastic potting bags in each one. Most of my herbs have sprouted and I am on my way.
Lessons I have learned from the actual gardening in Asia:
1. Local potting mix can be acidic which some of plants won't like. So be prepared to treat your potting mix with lime to adjust the acidity
2. Seed raising mix is necessary if you are using local potting mix, The results far outweigh the cost.
3. Use local seeds, I know this is a no brainer but seeds from local fruit ie capsicum and chili's grow well here as they are acclimatised
4. Even though it is humid, you plants still need watering, especially if they receive no water from the sky
5. Basil is a great plant to grow in the tropics, it LOVES the heat and the humidity and is sooo delicious
6. The plants I have successfully grown are Basil, Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, parsley (both types), oregano, Tomato and Chili. From seed the best plants were Basil and oregano. I could not get my rosemary to sprout from seed and resorted to buying a small seedling.
7. Seeds germinate really quickly here compared to the part of Australia I was living in. So there is no excuse....get gardening!
8. As the seasons in the tropics are Wet and Dry its always the right time to try raising some seeds.
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Comments
Sure feel free to contact me. Living in Malyasia is pretty good. Most Western items are available, even fresh herbs. I just wanted the joy of growing my own...
Great hub, Anna -- your resourcefulness and determination (and your husband's crazy motorcycle ride!) paid off beautifully. Congrats. on a successful venture!
hi, I'm a malaysian intending to start my own herb garden. ur hub is giving me more courage to start on the project soon as i was worried that they wun thrive in our climate! thanks for the tips!
Try it! Growing the herbs has been a joy and its totally achievable here. If you want to help things along with planting seedlings I got mine from "The Village grocer" in Bangsar.. They were under 10 Rm per plant and they are doing well in my potting mix. I have been using Chicken poo as fertiliser. If you have questions please email me:)
Thanks for the heads up, Anna. Appreciate it loads! Shall contact you for troubleshooting if I encounter any snags along the way. You're a dear!
Hi Anna
I live in Singapore. tried growing Basil several times. each time the entire stem start to turn brown and leaves fall off. eventually the plants died. I'm not doing something right? one plant was outdoors under sun and other was outdoor but under shade. should I have kept plants short instead of letting them grow tall?
tks
This may have been due to a number of issues: Do think that you were over watering them? Perhaps there are some issues with the soil that you used? Ie was the same soil each time for all of them? Did you grow the Basil from seed or were you growing seedlings? How long did it take for them to die? Perhaps they needed some nutrients. If the basil flowers and produces seeds then it will die as it has reproduced and thats it. I hope this helps:)
Anna
hi anna! i just stumbled upon ur blog while googling planting herbs + tropical country! meanwhile, just to let u know,i got lemon basil from village grocers for RM 4.99, but it doesnt do well under the sun, so ive brought it into the kitchen, near the window - and its doing better.
im wondering, how u grow ur rosemary...direct sunlight or shaded? and you just sticking the roots in the ground (i got some from village grocers, like fresh herbs, and just use the leaf and throw away the stock kinda thing).
anyway, would love to hear from u
soyabeanmilk@gmail.com
-jade-
This is nice to read. I've grown basil by accident, and have mint all over the place but that is it. My mint is from my grandmother's home in Missouri from about 25 years ago. You have a nice green thumb.
Do you know of the Momordica or Banaba there too? Not small herbs, but vines and shrubs for health use. Interesting.
I live in Penang. Would love to grow basil in my home compound. I'm a beginner, very new at this. Need to know how you start up growing them? Eg, did you grow basil from seed or plant? Did u buy them from Village Grocers? What type of soil is suitable? How can you tell if the soil is acidic? If yes, how do you treat them? Is Basil plants ok with acidic soil? or is it fussy? Do you plant them under shaded area or sunny? Can it stand Malaysia's heavey rain?
Please help. Your pointers will mean very much to me. I'll be very happy to hear from you... Would appreciate it if you could contact me. deefactor@gmail.com
Wonderful info, Anna! I'm no gardener, but long to grow some basil because it's so expensive here. I've bought the seed kit from Ace (didn't even get a seedling out of it), bought the plants from Cold Storage, and every time they've shed their leaves and died. In fact, I have one dying on the patio right now :( We've tried full sun and mostly shade - they just don't seem to thrive!! What mix of lime do you recommend? I've never put lime into soil before and I don't want to kill them yet again with an experiment. Thanks for any help you can offer!
Thanks for this - it's a great help! I'm living in Southern China which is very hot and humid at least until November. I've just bought basil(Greek & Thai), parsley, oregano and lavender seeds back from England and have planted them in pots on my balcony. After only a week the basil has already started sprouting. Given that at the moment its up to 35 degrees,do you think I should I be watering the plants every day?
I would watch the wilt factor. If they look like they need it I would water every day. I have to say that out of the herbs the I have the basil has done very well and my chives have too.
Anna
Brilliant tips, Anna! I live in Malaysia and haven't had much luck with herbs - apart from basil. I'm going to hunt down some seeds, and give it a go again. Ta!
Hi Anna, you are an inspiration. I am very new to all this, but me and my wife just got our own landed, and we have a small soil patch. All your and the other's comments I'm reading over and over again, while a little confused, I'm excited as I research. Have you ever had any luck growing Coriander? My babies after about 1-2 weeks keep wilting flat to the ground, even after careful watering... very sad!
Hi Sam,
I have tried to grow corriander from seed but none of it sprouted:( I will try again.. I would use a seed raising mix, so that the plant roots can support the plant.. you need to make sure that you water lightly even with a sprayer when they are young as its very easy to push them into the dirt with big drops of water.
Anna
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angelo di fluno says:
10 months ago
Hi, I'm very intrested on your hub, because I'm maried with a Thai woman and she whant to go back to live in her country, and in the next couple of year I think I will really go live there with all family. I love to cook, I'm Italian, and I whas wondering about all the herbs that I need for my cousine; your hub is helping me! If I will need, can I contac you???
Grazie
Angelo