Lettuce
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is an annual plant of the aster or sunflower family Asteraceae.
It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds.
The price of lettuce has risen considerably during the last two years, so this is one basic reason that makes this vegetable one of the top 6 most affordable vegetables to grow.
A package of seed costing just Php 80 pesos will ensure you a steady supply of fresh vegetables during the entire season.
The leafy varieties of lettuce are easier to bring in by plucking the outer leaves, which also allows the plant to grow and to keep producing.
Growing Peppers...a Delight for the Eye as Well as the Taste Buds ☺
I've been growing peppers for several years now...some even just in pots and plant containers!
Peppers are one of my favorite garden vegetables.
I love to put peppers when I cook my Chicken Afritada.
I also love to cook its leaves in my Chicken Tinola.
Peppers have this gorgeous fountain shape, with colorful fruit hanging like ornaments from a Christmas tree.
They're easy to grow, need little care, and they're so lovely to look at, in any edible landscape!
Bell Pepper
Bell pepper, also known as sweet pepper or pepper (in the United kingdom) and capsicum (in India, Australia and new Zealand), is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum.
Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange and green.
Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as "sweet peppers".
The cost of bell peppers has also risen making it an affordable vegetable to grow ourselves.
A pepper plant usually costs Php 40 pesos, and if we plant 10 plants we will eventually harvest 100 plants!!
We do not need to use commercial fertilizer, instead organic fertilizer is the best ~ organic soil with rock phosphate (also known as colloidal phosphate, for phosphorous), ground oyster shell or dried, crushed eggshells for calcium, etc.
Easy to grow, peppers are commonly started early in small plants and transplanted when weather is warm enough.
Do not pick any peppers when still small lest the plant growth will be stunted.
Instead, pick the green peppers as soon as they are big in size ~ this will stimulate new fruiting and increase the yield of the plant.
Compared to green peppers, the yellow and red peppers are more expensive because it takes them a long time to ripen.
As for the bell peppers in my garden, I let most of them mature till they turn red in color because then they would taste sweeter than green peppers. ☺
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium.
Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive.
The price of garlic ranges from Php 40 pesos to Php 120 per kilo.
Homegrown garlic costs less than Php 20 pesos to grow in our garden.
Garlic is easy to grow if not over-watered.
Growing Garlic at Home
Garlic can be grown all year round in mild climates.
Garlic plants can be grown close together and even in small pots indoors as long as we leave enough room for the bulbs to mature.
Simply prepare a light soil mix and stick a garlic clove (the bigger the clove, the better) in the ground for every bulb you want to dig up.
As garlic reaches maturity, the leaves will turn brown in color then die away.
This is then the time to harvest our home grown garlic crop.
Garden experts say proper timing in planting garlic determines the yield of a good garlic harvest.
If we harvest too early, the cloves will be very small.
If we harvest too late, the bulb will split.
Squash
Squash or "kalabasa" is a vegetable that is cultivated throughout the Philippines.
It can be cooked with or without the skin.
The color of the skin can vary from green to yellow.
The color of the flesh is a deep yellowy-orange.
The taste is sweet.
Squash typically costs around Php 80 pesos or less per kilo.
Starter plants are available for Php 80 pesos each.
These starter plants typically produce around 8000-10000 per season.
Squash is an excellent source of Vitamin A and Vitamin K.
"Linutik" or "Latik"
(a favorite Ilonggo vegetable dish simply made with squash and string beans/"balatong" with coconut milk and seafoods)
(My favorite dish using Squash is ~ "Linutik".
In Manila, the best Squash Soup I've ever tasted is in Margarita Fores' CIBO restaurant in Greenbelt.) ☺
In Manila, the best Squash Soup I've ever tasted is in Margarita Fores' CIBO restaurant in Greenbelt.) ☺
Tomatoes
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant (Solanum lycopersicum) or the edible, typically red, fruit that it bears.
The prices of tomatoes usually vary every season, but they usually cost between Php 80 pesos and Php 160 pesos per kilo.
For a cost of around Php 160 pesos and additional cost of Php 50 pesos, we can grow tomatoes worth Php 8000 pesos to Php 15,000 pesos per season.
Tomatoes can be used in various dishes and sauces.
Having a ready supply of tomatoes can save us money since the cost of tomatoes increases during rainy season.
The Joy of Tomatoes! ♥
Growing Tomatoes Linked to Incurable Gardening Addiction?! ☺
Hmm, the first time you get to 'harvest'a sun-warmed, vine-ripened tomato, you'll be hooked.
(I know I am! heheh) ☺
Back in the 80's and 90's when organic vegetables were still not available commercially, the only way to get good (organic) tomatoes was to grow your own.
Now, one can get decent tomatoes in season at organic markets and supermarkets, but for me, nothing comes close to having tomatoes you can grow in your own garden or backyard ~ especially if you know how to grow them.
According to our landscaper/gardener friend, Pastor Frank Bojos of Fame Christian Garden in Talisay, Negros...
tomatoes need a long growing season, 6-12 hours of sunlight a day, and summer heat to set and ripen the fruit.
As a general rule, the larger the tomato, the more heat the plant needs.
Ampalaya
Ampalaya is a vegetable grown throughout the Philippines.
It is mostly cultivated, although wild forms can be found.
It grows wild in the remote areas of Mt. Banahaw.
As the English name suggests (bitter melon), the melon has a bitter taste due to the presence of momordicin.
There has been much research done on the effectiveness of using Momordica Charantia in the treatment of diabetes.
It has been shown to increase production of beta cells by the pancreas, thereby improving the body’s ability to produce insulin.
It has been recommended by the Department of Health in the Philippines, as one of the best herbal medicines for its ability to help with liver problems, diabetes and HIV.
It is a common herb used in Chinese herbology.
Here in the Philippines, the leaves are often used for children's cough.
It is also used in the treatment of skin diseases, sterility in women, as a parasiticide, as an antipyretic, and as a purgative.
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