“Plant-and-Forget” Garden Plants

“Plant-and-forget” garden plants are low-maintenance plants.  They are easy to plant, easy to grow, can withstand heat and pests, and some are even self-seeding.

Here are my suggestions, and I do have them as a pillar in my organic gardening in Bacolod City, the Philippines.

1. Moringa (Malunggay)
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   • I use the leaves in many dishes such as sinabawan nga isda (clear fish soup), monggo, laswa.  I also use the leaves whenever I have a cut.  The moringa seeds can be taken like a pill for overall health medicine.  I’ve also tried using the leaves in pineapple & moringa smoothie.
2. Malabar spinach (Alugbati)
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   • I use the leaves in many dishes such as monggo, laswa, and with ground meat.
3. Kamote (Sweet potato) leaves
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   • I use camote greens in sinabawan nga isda and KBL (kadyos, baboy, langka) dishes.
4. Water spinach (Kangkong)
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   • We use kangkong in sinigang and in clear soups.
5. Mustard greens (Mustasa)
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   • I use mustasa in soups.
6. Chili pepper (Sili)
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   • I use the leaves for chicken soup, and the fruit in our sauces and hot chocolate.
7. Pigeon pea (Kadyos)
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   • This is an Ilonggo favorite, as we use it in KBL (kadyos, baboy, langka) dish.
8. Eggplant (Talong)
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   • We like eggplant fritters (tortang talong) and baked eggplant cheddar.  Of course, we use talong in sinigang, laswa, and pinakbet.
9. Philippine lime (Calamansi)
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   • Of all my plants, this is my favorite and most important as I take pure calamansi juice every morning as my breakfast to get energized and protected from common diseases.
10. Turmeric (Kalawag)
    • We use turmeric to flavor steamed fish dish and for tea.
11. Ginger (Luy-a)
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    • We use ginger in many fish dishes and for tea.
12. Lemongrass (Tanglad)
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    • We use lemongrass in chicken soup ad for tea.
13. Pandan
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    • We use pandan for rice and for tea.

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