“Your Brazilian spinach row is too long. You can grow other veggies in the same row to get more varieties for your daily cooking. Adopt ‘One Square Foot Gardening Concept” for home gardens.” Advised Zak, the neighbourhood gardening Sifu (Cantonese: Master of the Arts) to another neighbour in our chat group.
‘I too must remember this,’ I nodded to myself, studying the pictures and step-by step instructions he sent, recalling his numerous reminders to plant bayam in between basil, spinach and other herbs. “We are really lucky to have a neighbour who is willing to give his time to us!“
When my gardening mentor comes to pick up produce at Bulk Buy, he surveys my garden and gives me more tips before expertly pulling weeds out of pots that crossed his Guru Besar (Bahasa: School Principal) path. Me, the part-time amateur gardener is still finding it hard to differentiate between edible plants and weeds!
Sifu retired about a year ago after decades of service as a horticulturalist for a city council. Within a year after retirement, his home garden has flourished. There are creeping vines with edible flowers and beans, potted plants with colorful edible leaves which are artistically placed around small fruit plants. I have never thought that one can turn a small plot of land in a linked house like ours into a garden for leisure enjoyment and healthy-eating!
His garden has become the neighbourhood gardening-learning space. He selflessly shares everything he knows with anyone of us, he gives out quality seeds, cuttings and even harvests to any enthusiastic learners. “Just do ten minutes a day in your garden, and in two weeks’ time, you will have something to eat!”
I feel guilty….. when I see dying plants and pots without plants…. Because when I have leisure time, I can’t stop myself from watching award-winning Indian movies on Netflix……….
Since I started Bulk Buy this year, Sifu has been the Guru Besar for fruit quality, “You see, if guava is this shape with tiny sugar crystals on the skin, then it is very sweet! If the skin has these deep green blotches, it has been attacked by mealy worms, the fruit was healing itself by secreting enzyme to protect the skin! Overall, we can tell the fruits were grown chemical-free!” He knocked the fruit with a knuckle. “Solid sound. No injection of sugar solution into the fruit.”
He comes early in the morning to check the chemical-free status of fruits. Because of his selfless sharing over the months, we are able to get quality fruits and figure out ways to show the jiran buyers how to take care of chemical-free fruits. “No need to thank lah. We are neighbours, we should help each other,” He smiled after hearing my ‘thank you’.
He is often the first to respond to neighbour’s call for help. A few weeks ago, I bought two coconuts from a shop, thinking that they were cut properly, ready to drink with straws. But, they weren’t. No one I asked knew how to chop a coconut. Finally, I asked Sifu. Within a few minutes, he arrived with a parang. Bang! He whacked the top off the coconut in one parang stroke. It looked so easy……… ‘Here is your fresh coconut water!” the Angel smiled.
During MCO, Sifu discovered that the trunk of the mulberry tree at my front fence had grown so big that it was about to burst the water meter.” I can’t find a gardener, we are under lock-down now!” I whined. He quickly went home to bring a parang to chop the trunk off. Otherwise, my house would be ‘famous’ for causing a ‘water disruption problem’ in our neighbourhood during MCO!
Years ago, I thought of leaving Taman Tun when I reach retirement age. I wanted to spend retirement in a place where there is a lot of warmth, hospitality and kindness. Yes, where people help people and community spirit is high. Taman Tun wasn’t this way then, it was too ‘cold’ — Drive car inside house, go inside house, you don’t see me, I don’t know you.
With the advent of handphone and then whatsapp, interactions among neighbours began to change. We were in a chat group for security of our street, then the group evolved into anything in the neighbourhood such as missing cats and snakes. Along the way, we get to know each other more through the group. There are now jokes, discussions and intellectual discussion on community issues like protection of Bukit Kiara, which is just a few steps from some of the houses on the street.
During MCO this year when supermarkets were closed, several neighbours organized through the chat group several activities which got all of us ‘occupied’ — group orders from farms, packed restaurant foods from chefs who were at home, snacks from home businesses and fresh fish from fishermen.
“Stay in Taman Tun, you will live long and healthy!” Sifu ‘reprimanded’ me. “Why you want to leave? We are not nice to you ?” He gave me two handfuls of purple Blue Pea Flower he plucked from the vine in front of his house. I only asked for five flowers to decorate a dish I was serving for dinner at home.
“You think about it before you leave, OK?” He huffed, and gave me a bag of bayam seeds. “These are high quality F1 seeds!” I was too embarrassed to ask for the seeds …………… ai-yah, pei seh lah.
As I walked home with the gifts, a yellow bird flew past, chirping. A slow breeze swept past. The street was quiet, just like it has always been. Peaceful. It was a Sunday late afternoon.
A neighbour was washing his car by the roadside. ‘Hi’, he waved to me. “When are we getting tiger prawns again?”
“Soon!” I smiled back.
“Thanks for organizing! Join us to defend Bukit Kiara next week in the community meeting!”
“OK!” I waved. My heart danced.
I will be walking on this street……one day, with my cane……….