Waterleaf (talinum fruticosum) or Pasali keerai and Neem tree

Waterleaf  (talinum fruticosum) or Pasali keerai 

This green is also called the Phillipines spinach, Ceylon spinach and Surinam spinach. 

This is a leaf vegetable is high in vitamin C and A, and minerals such as iron and calcium. I bought a plant from a nursery in Goodwood, ON last year. The yield from just one plant was amazing. the pink flowers produced round seed capsules which contain tiny black seeds. When the capsules mature they pop open and disperse the seeds and multiply. Since Toronto is not a tropical country, this plant has to be treated as an annual. It needs to be brought indoors in the winter. I collected the seeds and sowed them this year. The seeds are pretty easy to germinate in a container garden. 

Water leaf, Pasali keerai, Ceylon spinach

 Neem tree or Vepam maram 

                                                 

Vepam maram, Neem tree

 This is a neem (Azadirachta indica) tree I grew from a seed. Neem or vepam maram is a very good indoor air purifier. Its a hardy plant which has a multitude of uses. In India and Sri Lanka this plant is called the village pharmacy. Everything from the roots to the shoots have medicinal value.

Neem tree, and a coconut palm 

 A coconut palm which grew from a coconut which sat in my kitchen for over a month!

Gotu Kola or Vallarai

Gotu Kola or Vallarai keerai in Tamil (Centella asiatica), is a creeper which thrives in marsh like growing environment. Its widely used in Sri Lankan cuisine in a variety of ways. I remember my mom washing the leaves in salty water to get rid of any possible germs since the plant grew mostly in swamps! The Gotu Kola  leaves came from organic sources then. Sauteed Gotu Kola  leaves were ground with onions, chillies, grated coconut, lime juice and salt to make a delicious sambal.
Well...
I wanted to grow my own  Gotu Kola on my balcony since Gotu Kola  is somewhat expensive to buy at the Sri Lankan stores in Toronto. It is priced somewhere around $4.99 a pound. I found a garden centre in Goodwood, Ontario, which sells Gotu Kola  and other exotic plants. So, I made a trip to Goodwood, and got this plant.

A healthy Gotu Kola plant  

I knew that these plants don't root deeply, but need a large surface area to grow. After much thought, I decided to cut open the flat side of the top soil bag and planted  the Gotu Kola plant right in the top soil bag. No other soil or mulch added. I kept the soil moist all the time and misted the plant at least once every day. The plant grew fast, and spread out its creepers to make more plants. Within two weeks I had enough leaves to pick for my delightful sambal. Now I have to come up with ways to save some plants for next years crop. I wonder if the seeds sprout. 

A happy gotu kola plant in my balcony garden! 

Toronto Balcony Gardening

Gardening. It is something I work hard at maintaining now. I have a fairly big west facing balcony with lots of sunshine. The downtown CN tower view and the lake view add to my gardening pleasure. I have recycled my kids' plastic swimming pools into containers where a variety of plants grow side by side.

 I have had a bountiful of harvest from this balcony over the past years. Some of the plants I have raised  in containers are, and not limited to Malabar spinach, bitter melon, water leaf, Amaranth, Gotukola, Egyptian Walking Onions, ginger, turmeric, tomatoes, beans, peas, marigolds...the list goes on. There's nothing stopping me from growing the plants that I used to admire in my grandpa's tropical farm.
This year, I'm looking forward to taking you through my gardening journey.
Here are a couple of pictures of my balcony plants for this summer.

Shiso seedlings growing like weed! 

Malabar Spinach or Pasali keerai waiting to be planted