Greetings!
Welcome to my blog containing the fun I'm having in my garden
One of the veggies I love so much in my food, aside from the very popular pumpkin, is bitterleaf. I love that leaf so much, particularly its bitterness, and so I decided to grow it in my small space.
First Stage:
As you can see in the video, I had to locate a neighboring compound that has it in excess to cut the stem. Yes, it's planted through the stem and not the seed.
Just as I was discussing with @humbe when she asked if it doesn't have seeds or if it's not grown with seeds, I mentioned that I had seen mature plants produce flowers, which suggests that it has seeds. However, I haven't seen it grown via seeds. Maybe one day, I’ll try that and see if it’s possible.
That particular evening, I went to the compound, took permission from the owners, and cut five stems. The cutlass I used wasn't very sharp, as the owners don't use it for farming; they just keep it in their house. So, I had to apply pressure when cutting and trimming it to create a sharp edge, which would allow it to stay in the ground more easily when planted. I hadn’t handled a cutlass for a long while, so it made me reminisce about the days of farming back home in the villa.
Second Stage:
The second stage, which is mostly the last stage, involved digging a hole with a shovel and placing the stems inside while they were standing up. It’s not laid on the ground and completely buried—no, it's placed in a vertical form, either at 90° to the ground or at 45°. In fact, any way it's placed is acceptable as long as the stem is not completely buried underground.
Why?
The thing is, bitterleaf is a stem plant because the leaves, which are the main part, spring up from the stem. From the standing stems, new growth sprouts out as the pinned stem in the ground gains stability. Although, if it's completely buried, it will still sprout, but it’s going to take a longer time to grow strong, unlike the one that’s standing.
I used a shovel to dig the ground because the soil was so hard that the stems couldn’t penetrate easily when I tried forcing them into the ground.
I was confident about the survival of the plants, even though there was no rain for a week after I planted them. I supported them with early morning watering for about three days before the rain returned.
Last week, when I went to check, I was delighted to see some sprouting from the stems, which means germination has begun. I can't wait for the time when it will have grown enough leaves for plucking and use in cooking soup.
Are you conversant with bitterleaf, how is It planted in your part of the world?
Thanks for reading.
All photos and videos are mine
