Flowering Capsicum pubescens Cabe Gendot Dieng

My Capsicum pubescens plants have finally flowered. The flowers are a lovely purple colour, and together with the black/brown seeds, are diagnostic characteristics of this species. These plants are from seeds saved from this post Interesting Fruits from Dieng Plateau.

An eight-petaled flower of Capsicum pubescens 'Cabe Gendot Dieng'.

The stems of Capsicum pubescens are hairy and so are the buds.

Hopefully the flower can set fruit but I am not putting much hope since the weather is getting quite warm during the day. By the way, they are called Cabe Gendot by the locals i.e. fat/plump chilli as the fruits are plump (err fat) and short, unlike the thin and short Capsicum fructescens or the long Capsicum annuum. The name is also used for Capsicum chinense in Indonesia.

The half open bud. Flowers emerge singly or in doubles. Some of the double buds end up with one of them being aborted.

Some of the plants do not colour up with purple internodes or purplish stems but remains all green.

MAHA 2012 is Coming

The biennial Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism International Show, better known as MAHA is back for 2012. It will be held from the 23^rd of November until the 2^nd of December 2012. The venue remains the same, i.e. the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS), Selangor. You can go to their website and download or view the showground map as well other details pertaining to the exhibition.

Showground map for MAHA 2012 - from www.maha.gov.my

If I am not mistaken, the opening hours are usually from 10am - 10pm, with longer hours for the weekend. Do drop by and have a look if you have the time. The last MAHA that I went to, I looked like a mobile jungle (think of Mrs. Bucket's Outdoors Indoors Luxury Barbecue and Finger Buffet episode) when I left the show site, so be warned!

UPDATE: Click here to see some photos and info in my next post about MAHA 2012

Shiso and Sparaxis on the 13th Floor

Pardon the title, it is a lame attempt at the play of sound on the famous tongue twister - She sells seashells by the seashore. This is just a little (more like long-winded) update on the plants at 13th floor. The chili plants are doing well at this time, all green and flowering profusely on the balcony. Both the Bishop’s Crown and Bird chili are in flower, so no seeds will be collected for fear of getting ‘Frankenstein’ chili crosses that would probably be sterile in the next generation.

Bird Chili (C. fructescens) showing off their pretty whitish off-green flowers.

The Purple Shiso (Perilla fructescens) from a Koppert Cress microgreens container seems to be doing well in soil and still retained the purple colouration on its leaves in warm tropical weather. This is in contrast with most of the purple basil cultivars that will only show a few purple streaking when cultivated in warmer weather. However, the strong sunlight coupled with the tropical heat may actually push the Shiso plant to bolt prematurely, so I have to keep an eye on that.

The Purple Shiso (紫苏) from Koppert Cress - just slight bleeding of the purple colour in the tropical heat.

Bulbs from Diana are all popping up and growing well. The first to be planted was the Ixia. Unfortunately, I had waited too long to plant them and they were pretty shriveled up due to the low humidity. To add insult to injury, I had to leave them unattended after putting them in for three days due to a meeting that I had to attend. Consequently, only two out of an embarrassingly large number of corms germinated. Those planted in a smaller pot, and hence exposed to drying out again did not make it at all.

The Ixia in the same container as the strawberries. Blue arrow points to a second growing point from one corm. Yellow arrow indicates a new growth - not too sure where that came from. Perhaps a third lead as I did not plant them that close!

Only two from the container that housed some strawberry plants did as the bed is lined with grass fiber of some sort and retains a lot more moisture. However, due to the fiber material, I do get the occasional unidentified mushroom popping out, but no; I am not growing magic shrooms. What I am quite happy with is that for both bulbs, there are two leads, meaning that if they successfully form corms at the end of the season, I should get two plants out of the single corm that I’ve planted.

The strawberry is doing fine though. The blue arrow points to a fused, double flower (fused stalk, normal flower) and the yellow arrow to a smaller, normal flower.

The two flowers open simultaneously. Hopefully there are enough matured pollen grains to pollinate both the flowers.

Next to go into the soil was the generous offering of Star of Bethlehem. The Star of Bethlehem is also known by names like dove’s dung, sleepydick, nap-at-noon and Pyrenees Star of Bethlehem. Out of the three bulbs, one didn’t make it. I probably should have soaked all of the corms in Carbendazim and Zineb before planting them to minimize losses due to rot but I did not.

Two out of the three Star of Bethlehem that I put into the pot grew. Seems to have stalled in growth, plus some worrying mosaic patterning of the leaves.

A tuff of leaves grew out of them, but I am worried as they appeared to have stalled in growth. Ornithogalum umbellatum L. is supposedly an easy bulb with the tendency to take over lawns/pastures and it is considered a noxious/invasive weed in some places. Also all parts of the plant and especially bulbs are toxic to animals and also humans (if enough is eaten) due to the cardiac glycosides present in the plant. I am banging on the fact that they are supposed to be aggressive growers that they should do well over here.

At the same time, I also planted 3 King Fabiola corms (a selected cultivar of Triteleia laxa Benth., formerly Brodiaea laxa). A week later, another 3 was planted into a second pot. After seeing that the Ixia wasn’t growing, I also tipped the first King Fabiola pot over to look for rotting corms. Alas, curiosity almost killed the cat, for one of them were already putting out roots (of which many were broken) and the other two were just starting to show signs of life. So after a dip in fungicides, they got repotted back.

Pot No. 1 with King Fabiolas that survived being dumped out and a second re-potting.

A week later, all pots were showing signs of life. This corm is one that I truly regret not getting more from Diana, for the corms are also edible, besides the pretty blue flowers that they produce. A native of North-Western US, the corms supposedly taste good when eaten raw and if cooked, has a taste similar to potatoes. The Dutch developed the fragrant Queen Fabiola cultivar (and perhaps also the larger King Fabiola?) for the cut flower industry.

Another pot of King Fabiola - this one appears to produce multiple shoots from each of the planted corms. NOTE: This plant has flowered in our local condition - click here to see the post about it.

The Sparaxis are the most reliable in terms of ‘sprouting’, so to speak. Put in one corm and you get a few growing points… The only worry is that Sparaxis might sulk in our moist, tropical heat. If I am not mistaken, in 2000 when I went for a workshop in Japan, I brought back gladioli, calla lilies, Sparaxis and Primulas. The Primulas were the first to go, followed by the Sparaxis. It could partly be my fault as the Sparaxis and Primulas were fully grown and didn’t like the transplant shock plus the weather change from Osaka to Kajang. The Gladioli were the most successful whilst the Calla lily didn’t form strong tubers for the next year. So keeping everything crossed for the Sparaxis this time.

Sparaxis all popping out and reaching for the sky.

The leafy veggies from Diana are far more outstanding than the bulbs. The Chinese broccoli, better known as Kai Lan are crazy in their own way. I sowed some seeds here and there (and looks like it is everywhere) and when they sprout they literally just bounce to life like Energizer bunnies. Err Diana, what did you feed their parent plants? Rabbit poo? Now I am not into organic growing, but rather believe in efficient use of chemicals (as opposed to indiscriminate wastage of chemicals).

Kai Lan seedlings sharing a home with the Adenium obesum. The pot needs to be weeded again, for Oldenlandia corymbosa seedlings are still coming up despite being removed continuously.

More Kai Lan seedlings...Sorry Diana, saya pakai teknik 'buang anak' bila nak semai benih ni. Tak sistematik macam Diana.

The Kai Lan (seeds are available from here) are in small pots (or they share a pot with other plants), thus they get fed a diluted fertilizer in their water every two or three days. The two pictures below are of the same pot, about two days apart. Look at the size of the leaf as it expands. I like the texture of young Kai Lan, but sometimes the flavour can be quite strong, so I will probably leave it alone for a while before harvesting it. Some people might find young cruciferous vegetable more revolting, especially super-tasters (people who can taste PTC or PROP) as they will be able to pick out the ‘bitter’ taste much easier in young cruciferous vegetables.

The Kai Lan getting big...

Two days later, the new leaf had expanded to as large as my palm!

The Red Romaine lettuce is also having a go. I did have a spider mite issue (and still do), and the resultant spraying resulted in the loss of a few seedlings. Since mites (false and real spider mites) love plants from the Compositae family, the Dahlia, and the lettuce become prime targets. Okay, they also love to attack the chili peppers, and have totally defoliated the bird chili plant before. For the same reason I have always failed to successfully grow dandelions, since the plants get smothered to death by mites. Like they say, once you have mites, they never go away.

Sparaxis popping up (blue arrows) between the Red Romaine lettuce.

Yup, the balcony is getting crowded…Got to keep an eye out for mealy bugs and the ever irritatingly present spider mites.

Scallions from the balcony

Something out, something in...That's how it goes for a small balcony garden. I have been dragging my feet in planting bulbs and seeds from Diana, as I need to free up some space to accommodate the generous offer of seeds and bulbs. I believe that most people whom had obtained bulbs and seeds recently had already planted them and theirs are all growing vigorously. Just look at K Mar's gladioli and Lynn's carrots and romaine seedlings. So feeling a little kiasu, I took to clearing some of the containers to free up space for the seeds and bulbs.

The severely neglected Allium chinense still produced quite some bulbs.

The first to go is the Chinese scallions that I had put in last November. I have three large poly-bags of them (they fill up the bags quite rapidly) and had thrown out one bag last month. When the remaining two bags were cut and the soil dumped away, I am faced with this bunch of Kiangsi scallions that I do not really fancy eating since they can taste a little 'green'. As they were about to go into the bin, I was told not to waste it so it is now waiting to be pickled.

Some of the Kiangsi scallion bulbs were replanted into a small pot - just in case I still need it for some dish in the future.

I did replant some of the bulbs, but this time in a small plastic pot. If needed, the bulbs can be further divided at a later date.

A handful from the balcony garden

A little clearing up of plants and replanting on the balcony, which was way past due, was done in the past week. I have since decided to change from using polybags to small plastic pots for the herbs that I grow on the balcony in order to free up some space. Plus it is easier on the eyes, so to speak. The Thai basil was harvested and made into Thai basil infused vinegar, plus some Bishop’s Crown chillies. The fruits can be two to four-lobed and one plant can produce any of the types, probably influenced by environment factors.

A bunch of Thai basil and some Bishop's Crown chillies. The basil went into a jar of vinegar whilst the chilli was used in a salad.

Cuttings of herbs - sage, spearmint, oregano, tarragon and sweet basil.

The Capsicum baccatum plant is not doing too well in the heat and having to fend off mealybugs and thrips infestation. Touch wood, I have not seen any spider-mites yet, which is good since they can be very hard to eradicate. Now I am waiting for another batch of Bishop’s Crown seedlings to come up and replace the current plants. The peppermint got evicted from their big polybags and also any other bags that they have managed to crawl to and establish themselves on. They have been reduced to just a few cuttings in two plastics pots.

Some of the ripened Bishop's Crown chillies. They can be a 2, 3 or 4-lobed fruit. The lobes are sweet with a mild citrusy taste (I think they taste better than bell peppers) whilst the core is hot. And with enough heat to leave your hands with a burning sensation if you deseed them with your bare hands.

One of the Bishop's Crown Chilli plant on the balcony - I have not harvested this batch of fruits yet. The leaves are not so pretty to look at due to the heat and insect attacks. The Ascocenda Vernon Kebodeaux beneath the chilli blooms like clockwork.

Another plant with 7 chillies on a branch that is now almost leafless. They look like mini UFOs hanging from the balcony.

I have also sown some of the seeds that Diana gave the last time i.e. the chervil and chives. I have only sown a small number of chervil seeds and will probably continue to sown another batch as I am afraid the conditions here might trigger them to bolt. The seedlings seemed to grow at a fast rate, and are all coming up nicely. Took them just 3-4 days to germinate and put out roots before lifting the cotyledon leaves up. If you want some chervil or herb seeds to grow, do check out her blog where those seeds are available (Kebun Bahagia Bersama).

Chervil seedlings popping out of the soil. These were from the seeds that Diana sent me last Christmas.

A few days later, the chervil had begun to put forth their first real leaf.

Whilst clearing up, I also found out that three of the remaining Dahlia pots had produced pot tubers. I saved two of the three (the third one was a single-petaled type) and repotted the tuber in a small pot. The buds at the neck of the tuber sprouted as well as the lateral buds further up. I did not cure the pot tubers but opted to replant them after soaking the tubers with Carbendazim (Methyl 1H-benzimidazol-2-ylcarbamate) and Zineb (Zinc ethane-1,2-diylbis(dithiocarbamate)). This is to prevent rotting of the cut surfaces on the uncured tubers. I have tried curing Mignon Dahlia pot tubers before and they all shrivelled up as I had allowed it to dry out too much. Pot tubers are much smaller than standard tubers and tend to dry out rapidly once removed from the earth.

One of the Dahlia pot tubers - the black arrows point to intact buds at the neck of the tuber whilst the blue arrow is pointing at one that was accidentally damaged by me when emptying the pot.

The same tuber after a few days, with the buds sprouting. Since this pot tuber was not cured, the buds on the stem above also sprang forth with life. I will slowly raise the soil level to cover the growing buds from the neck of the tuber. And yes, the stake is actually a chopstick.

So now I have to be diligent and watch for pest and wait for them to grow back.

Flat-Top Mille Graines - A Useful Weed

The Flat-Top Mille Graines (Corymbose Hedyotis/snake tongue grass - 伞房花耳草/傘房花耳草, sometimes called 水线草/水線草 or not so appropriately 伞房蛇舌草/傘房蛇舌草) is a common weed that will grow in any nook and cranny, provided there is ample moisture and enough light. Known as rumput mutiara (pearl grass) in Malaysia, it can withstand strong sunlight, but grows into a lush herb if grown in the shade. This plant is usually used in place of its more famous relative, the white-flowered snake tongue grass (白花蛇舌草).

Oldenlandia corymbosa L. (syn. Hedyotis corymbosa (L.) Lam), also commonly known as Old World Diamond-flower. The squarish stems and cymose inflorescence differentiates it from a close relative, O. diffusa.

The most obvious difference between the two plants (and is reflected in the specific epithet) is that Oldenlandia corymbosa has axillary cymose inflorescence whereas Oldenlandia diffusa have flowers that arise singly or rarely, in pairs from the leaf axil. The leaves of O. diffusa are also much narrower and snake-tongue like (linear-lanceolate), whereas O. corymbosa have distinctively more oblong-linear lanceolate leaves. O. corymbosa have up to 5 flowers per inflorescence that is small and white in colour, thin, and broadly tubular with 4-lobes. The use of this plant is well-documented in both traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine.

Mature Oldenlandia corymbosa plant with flowers and fruit capsules.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), O. corymbosa and O. diffusa have overlapping characteristics, but are not the same. Whilst both are anti-inflammatory and anti pyrexic, the anti-neoplastic character is strongly attributed to O. diffusa but only slightly to O. corymbosa. TCM characteristics for O. corymbosa is 甘淡、微辛苦、寒 (lightly sweet, slightly acrid-bitter, cold) whereas for O. diffusa it is 苦,微甘, 微寒 (bitter, slightly sweet, slighly cold).

Seedlings of self-sown Oldenlandia corymbosa. On the top-center of the picture you can see branches of the plant with ripened fruit capsules that must have dropped many, many seeds into the pot below.

The whole plant of O. corymbosa is used either on its own or combined with other herbs for detoxification, as an antipyrexic, for malaria, inflammed bowel, appendicitis, inflammatory swelling, tonsillitis, laryngitis, bronchitis, urinary tract infections, burns, bruises and snakebites.

If you can collect a big bunch of O. corymbosa, a cooling, but almost tasteless tea can be brewed from the dried plant material. However, you will need to collect quite substantial amounts of O. corymbosa, wash and then dry it. If you are planning to use collected plants from roadsides or parks, do make sure that they have not been sprayed with chemicals. The easier way would be to go buy commercially available Oldenlandia tea from the supermarket, which is made from O. diffusa.

In the past, I have tried to sow and transplant this weed herb into containers to grow enough of it so that I can harvest it like a crop to make Oldenlandia tea. Unfortunately, they seemed to refuse any attempts of systematic cultivation forced upon them. Now, when I have no desire to grow them, lo and behold they sprout in almost every pot that I have on the balcony.

Oldenlandia corymbosa taking over my Adenium pot! Also trying to muster in on some action is a strawberry runner.

The taxonomic position of Oldenlandia is somewhat unresolved. The genus Oldenlandia was created by Linnaeus in 1753 to honour the Danish botanist Henrik Bernard Oldenland. Some botanists do not recognise the genus Oldenlandia, and plants in this genus was transferred to the genus Hedyotis, thus Oldenlandia corymbosa becomes the basionym for Hedyotis corymbosa.

Recent works on the genus Hedyotis resulted in the members of that genus being narrowed down, making the genus Hedyotis monophyletic and resulted in the removal of many members that were previously placed  in Hedyotis, including H. corymbosa, H. diffusa and H. auricularia. So for now, they are back to Oldenlandia. The story does not end here, for the treatment of what plant should be in Oldenlandia may still change, since it is, as a genus, several time polyphyletic.

Disclaimer:
The information presented on this article is intended for educational purposes only. It is not the intention of the writer to advice on health care and the information listed on this page are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please see a medical professional about any health concerns you have.

A White...flowered Christmas

Here's one entry for the holiday season. We may not get a white Christmas here in Malaysia, but we can have a white flowered Christmas...well, not purely white, but with a touch of green. Wishing all my friends a joyous festive season and happy holidays.

Bishop's Crown Chilli (Capsicum baccatum) blooms

The bishop's crown chilli (C. baccatum). This is one with seven petals.

Another C. baccatum flower - five petals.

The Wind Orchid flower (Neofinetia falcata)

The wind orchid, N. falcata. Smells of jasmine and vanilla at night.

Lemon Basil

The only basil in flower on the balcony. This is to ensure that the seeds I get will not be of a hybrid with the sweet or thai basil.

An overlooked herb - the Kiangsi scallion (Allium chinense)

The Kiangsi or Chinese scallion, which is scientifically known as Allium chinense G. Don., is a vegetable that is not so commonly grown or used. The Chinese name for this chive-like relative of the onion is Jiào tóu 藠头 / 藠頭 or Kui tao (especially when sold as a 'head' of bulbs with all the leaves). This chive look-alike is known by several common names like Small angled chives, Kiangsi scallion, Chinese chives, Chinese onion, Kiangsi shallot or the Oriental scallion and has a few scientific name synonyms i.e. Allium bodinieri H. Léveillé & Vaniot, Allium bakeri Regel, or Allium martini H. Léveillé & Vaniot.

Allium chinense bulbs and trimmed leaves. These were the leftovers from a bunch purchased from TESCO Shah Alam that was used to make meatballs.

When referring to it as Chinese chives, one must be careful not to confuse it with the flat-leafed garlic chives, Allium tuberosum, that is also called Chinese chives (韭 菜 jiǔ cài). The Chinese scallion has leaves that are similar to Western chives (Allium schoenoprasum), but the cross section are not cylindrical as in chives. Instead, it is 3 to 4 angled. The colour of the leaves is also a lighter, brighter green instead of the bluish-green colour that is typical of chives. This scallion is known as rakkyo in Japan, especially when referring to the pickled bulbs that are flavoured with chilli, (らっきょう / 辣韮) the kanji literally means hot chives.

The cross section of Allium chinense leaves are angular as opposed to cylindrical in Western chives (Allium schoenoprasum)

How does it taste like?

It can be quite difficult to describe the flavour of the Chinese scallion. The leaves smell like spring onion, but it is lighter and there is an indescribable smell, which is somewhat onion-like but very mild. The raw white bulbs are more or less the same, with a strange ‘greenish’ taste over the onion-like overtones that some find repulsive. The pickled scallions are considered ‘cleaner’ in taste than pickled onions. The bulbs and leaves are used in certain Chinese cooking, mostly to mask or remove the gamey taste of meat or offal, thus making the meat dish more palatable. A note on the use of this scallion, do not underestimate the strength of this bulb, for example, in making meatballs – use too much and you will end up eating meatballs that taste like eating the scallions as they can be very effective in masking the gamey smell. Once you have eaten and been acquainted with the taste of this scallion, you should be able to easily pick up the presence of this scallion in food the next time.

Where to get them?
If you are looking for this scallion in Malaysia, I believe they are available in Cameron Highlands. I can occasionally find it in TESCO’s around Klang Valley. In fact, the ones that I have are planted from a bunch that was marked down at TESCO Shah Alam.

Growing them

If you have left over bulbs that were not used, simply plant them in soil (any soil with adequate drainage will do). The clump will slowly multiply, plus you can harvest the leaves by shearing them off and using it like chives or spring onion. Once you have enough bulbs, you can even make rakkyo from your home grown bulbs. As long as there is adequate moisture and sunlight, the Chinese scallions will grow like weeds. Not particularly fussy about soil type (harder soil = smaller bulbs), this evergreen bulb is next to impossible to kill, even in our humid tropical weather.

Reference:

Mann, L. K. and Stearn, W. T. (1960). Rakkyo or Ch'iao T'ou (Allium chinense G. Don, syn. A. bakeri Regel) a Little Known Vegetable Crop. Economic Botany, 14(1), 69-83.

Flowers of Herbs and Spices

Just a post to show the blooms of herbs growing on the balcony. Though most of the blooms are not showy and sometimes undesirable, nevertheless, the blooms adds a little spark of colour to drab green/grey green colour of these leafy plants grown for their leaves (with the exception of the chilli).

So first of all, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis). Nice blue blooms appear on the shoot tips and also from the side shoots. The blooms do come in the range of white to blue to purple to pink. Most of the nursery specimens you get in KL (and those from cuttings sold as commercial herb) have white flowers. Got these cuttings from a friend of a friend in Adelaide. It is so lovely to have a rosemary hedge, with all the blue flowers and oh how aromatic the smell is when one brushes against the hedge. I find that the blue flowered ones appear to be less vigourous than the white ones in our climate. Lesson number one for those intending to grow rosemary in Malaysia (or anywhere humid and wet year round) - once the specimen has been established, do not over water the plants. It does not need to be watered daily. The leaves will tell you when they need a drink. Over water them and you get leaf tip burn and root rot.

Rosemary flowers.

The flowering shoot a few days later.

Next is the purplish pink blooms of Oregano (Origanum vulgare). Whilst most of the fresh Oregano sold in Malaysian supermarkets taste like lawn clippings, you can get better flavour if you grow them yourself. Trick is to restrict watering and let the soil dry out occasionally. Then you will get a spicier, stronger tasting fresh Oregano.

Oregano flowers (notice the forked stigma).

Then there's the white flowers of sweet basil. The inflorescence will sap the vigour of the plant, thus should be promptly removed. However, the blooms do make nice garnish and the whole flowering stem can be put inside a bottle of basil infused vinegar to give it a touch of class. As I had a row of them growing on the balcony by the sliding door, my godmother commented today that she could smell the basil when the breeze blows through, and that it was lovely. Now that has got to be an added bonus of growing basil, other than its culinary use. 

The white blooms of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum var. basilicum).

Then we have the blooms of the Bishop's Crown chilli (Capsicum baccatum). I got the seeds recently when I went to Adelaide last Autumn. Instead of eating it, i gauged out the seeds and packed it home. This was from a batch of sowing to determine the viability of the seeds collected. Capsicum baccatum, as one of the species of chilli 'domesticated' by man, has many cultivars. Bishop's Crown is a cultivar of C. baccatum that has a weird bell shaped, three lobed fruit that can be citrusy in taste with a hotter interior section.  

Capsicum baccatum flower - the green gold markings is a distinctive feature of this chilli species.

Another bloom at anthesis. Was tempted to hand pollinate it.

A developing fruit - you can see the distinctively three lobed fruit developing.

The plant has large, heart shaped leaves, very much larger than the normal chilli (Capsicum annuum). It is supposedly a large leggy plant, but I probably have stunted my specimen by growing it in small polybags. 

When life gives you a huge huge heap of peppermint....make creme de menthe

I was getting a bit put off by the peppermint sprawling all over the balcony, even though it was nice to smell peppermint every time you walked on the balcony (especially when I stepped on the runners). So half asleep and groggy, I made the decision late Wednesday night that I will drastically cut back the peppermints, especially when other half and extended family will be arriving by the end of the week. Boy, was I in for a surprise with the amount of plant material that I had to remove.

The huge pile of peppermint parked in front of the couch with a 1.5L soft drink bottle for scale.

Stolons from under the polybag. They were growing into the adjacent bags.

What's left of the peppermint. Compare that to them in this article and over here.

So you might be thinking, lucky him, he's going to have fresh peppermint tea day and night, bath in peppermint scented water etc. Problem is, I love peppermint tea, but the menthol relaxes the gastric sphincter muscles and I get bad bad case of reflux. On the other hand, to throw away such a large amount of peppermint is sheer waste, and I can only give that much to friends and colleagues. Thus, I laid everything on the living room in front of the TV and whilst watching TV, proceeded to pick only the shoots to be given away to friends or use by family for making fresh peppermint tea. I ended up throwing 2/3 of the peppermint away.

The pile in the centre was thrown away. The one in the blue basin was used for making peppermint extract and the rest was eventually discarded, after finding no takers for peppermint.

This was packed them into a garbage bag and my oh my, do my garbage smell delightfully refreshing with the strong peppermint smell. Then and only then did an idea hit me...and I looked up in the internet on how to make peppermint extract/tincture. The idea is so that I can flavour drinks or ice-cream with peppermint flavour as it is next to impossible to get peppermint flavour from the supermarket. Then I started reading about making your own creme de menthe by adding syrup to the homemade peppermint, which sounded like an even better idea. Getting all excited, I made a mental plan to stay focused and concentrate on getting the extract first. So the first thing that I did when I got off work the next day was to go get a cheap 80 proof vodka and crammed all the peppermint in the blue basin into a 500ml Duran bottle and fill it with the vodka.

Peppermint soaking in vodka.

Now I am counting down till the end of the month to see if the peppermint extract is of any good. Wish me luck.