Big Yellow Cucumber Harvested From My Garden

On this particular morning, I walked out to the side garden to check on the yellow cucumber plant as hubby has told me that one of the yellow cucumber is due for harvest. I was surprised to see the size of the yellow cucumber. I told hubby to wait 1 to 2 more days to harvest the yellow cucumber. There are altogether 3 yellow cucumbers hanging from the vine.

Starting from this smallest out of the 3 yellow cucumbers.

This is the 2nd largest of the 3 yellow cucumbers.

And this is the largest and due for harvest.

Looking forward to cook soup with this yellow cucumber.

And the snake beans are also due for harvest. I like snake beans cooked with garlic and salt and add water to cook till the beans are soft.

These were harvested a few days later.

Photo above credited to Julie Chong.

This mural is painted by Julie Chong. She also does glass painting for churches.

Linking to Monday Mural.

I, Jesus,

have sent my angel to you to tell the churches all these things.

I am both David's Root and his Descendant.

I am the bright Morning Star.

The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.'

Let each one who hears them say the same, 'Come.'

Let the thirsty one come - anyone who wants to;

let him come and drink the Water of Life without charge.

(Revelation 22:16-17, The Living Bible-TLB)

Lou Wong Kua (Old Cucumber) For Boiling Soup

 Currently, the weather here is hot. 

Sunrise at 7:10am.

Today, we are having "lou wong kua" or old cucumber soup. Many people including myself thought that "lou wong kua" is normal cucumber left to grow old on the vine. Actually normal cucumber and "lou wong kua" are from 2 lookalike but are different types of vine. "Lou wong kua" will start off as light green cucumber and then will turn yellow until it matures. I know because I have grown both the normal cucumber and "lou wong kua" in my garden.

As "lou wong kua" grows more mature, the skin will tend to crack slightly and you will know it is time to harvest. Ingredients for soup: chicken, "lou wong kua", carrot, corn on cob, red dates and goji berries.

My corn plants growing in front of our house. They were left to grow on their own. I was not able to take care of the plants in my garden now. Hubby has no time to feed them fertilizer because the cooking and house keeping have taken up most of his time.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday & My Corner of the World.

O God, you have declared me perfect in your eyes;

you have always cared for me in my distress;

now hear me as I call again.

Have mercy on me. Hear my prayer.

(Psalm 4:1, The Living Bible-TLB)

Updates From My Garden January 2023

I have been busy cooking lunch and dinner for the family and for most of the meals I have forgotten to snap photos of the dishes that I have cooked. So, no food post for the time being. Instead, I will update on my garden plants.

Okra or ladies' fingers.

Currently, I have 2 okra plants growing in the same pot.

This long okra was harvested a day late and it was not good for food, hard and fibrous.

Green brinjals / eggplants /aubergines growing in my garden.

This must be harvested before the seeds harden.

Sometimes, it can grow quite long and still is tender.

I sowed a few yellow cucumber seeds and only one is successful.

Cranberry Hibiscus blooming away.

This patch of land which I used to plant green and purple amaranth has been infested with tiny snails and they will eat up all the young leaves. I will try to plant corn instead and see if the snails will attack the corn plants.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday & My Corner of the World.

Like sheep you wandered away from God,

but now you have returned to your Shepherd,

The Guardian of your souls who keeps you safe from all attacks.

(1 Peter 2:25, The Living Bible-TLB)

Making Soup With Home Grown Yellow Cucumber

I was encouraged when I succeeded in growing yellow cucumber for the first time. Initially, I thought yellow cucumber and cucumber are from the same cucumber vines. But I was wrong, they are different and not from the same vines. This is the 2nd time I had yellow cucumber vines growing in my garden.

Young yellow cucumber is not green but pale green or light beige in colour. They are also broader then ordinary cucumber.

The yellow cucumber and bottle gourd vines are fighting for space on the overhead lines. The yellow cucumber lost because the bottle gourd vines are fast growers.

Not only must the colour turns to brownish yellow but preferably the skin has crack lines before harvesting.

Maturing yellow cucumber, not due for harvest yet.

I harvested the yellow cucumber for boiling soup for dinner.

Ingredients for soup: yellow cucumber, carrot, corn on cob, pork ribs or chicken bones.

Sauteed home grown green amaranth with garlic.

Our dinner with steamed brown rice.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday & My Corner of the World.

If he sows to please his own wrong desires,

he will be planting seeds of evil and

he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death;

but if he plants the good things of the Spirit,

he will reap the everlasting life that the Holy Spirit gives him.

(Galatians 6:8, The Living Bible-TLB)

Growing Yellow Cucumber In My Garden

I had a chance to visit a vegetable farm once and at that time they were growing cucumbers. I learned from there that yellow cucumber (which we use for boiling soup) does not grow from the same cucumber plant (which we use for salad or pickle). I tried growing yellow cucumber from the seeds I obtained from a yellow cucumber which I used to boil soup. If you are interested, you can click here to visit the post. That plant produced only 1 yellow cucumber because the plant was infested and destroyed by pests.

For the 2nd time, I used seeds bought from a plant nursery. There were very few seeds in the sachet, so I sowed all the seeds. Only 3 seedlings sprouted and after they were transplanted into the big pot, only 2 survived. Their flowers are similar to the normal green cucumbers.

This is the first fruit. It started like normal green cucumber.

This is the 2nd fruit.

It is shorter and broader than the normal green cucumber.

It also has tiny prickly things on the skin.

It started to turn yellowish when the fruit is about 2 weeks.

From the 2 vines, we only got 3 medium and 1 small sized yellow cucumbers.

Cucumber plants are prone to attract pests.

I noticed that the leaves were beginning to turn yellow and there were no signs of new fruits on the vines.

One day I noticed this little cucumber hanging from the lower part of the vine, almost touching the soil.

Daily I have been watching and waiting to harvest the first fruit.

Then I noticed tiny crack lines on the outer yellow skin.

When I harvested the above first fruit, it was about a month old. I used it to boil soup with pork rib, carrot, red dates, wolf berries, and cuttlefish.

Yellow cucumber (lou wong kua) soup.

Yellow cucumber soup is very popular in Malaysia, especially for Chinese families. It has "cooling" properties and is good for our warm and humid weather. It is also high in nutrients and vitamins. A soup good for the old and young.

Young men are admired for their strength.

Old men are honored for their experience.

(Proverbs 20:29, International Children's Bible-ICB)