Update on my waterleaf garden. 

Waterleaf is one of the essential vegetables in my locality. Hardly do you see a family meal without a water leaf. Waterleaf is a perfect match for every soup in my locality. Besides cooking, waterleaf is medicinal and can be used in the treatment of ailments. This is the reason why many households have resorted to having them planted in their garden and farms. Every local market has it although before now, it was cheaper to get from the market compared to now. As a result of the high cost of waterleaf in the market, I preferred planting it myself in a garden close to our house.

The first set of waterleaf that died off.

I planted the first set around January and it all died off as a result of excessive sunlight. Remember that Waterleaf grows in a dense environment and atmosphere. Before it died off I applied manure to it yet there was no improvement so I had to wait till the first rain fell before I planted again.

We experienced rainfall in early February and I began to plant my water again for the second time. At first, it appeared malnourished so I added animal dung to it and it started improving a bit. It had not rained again since the first rain so I was afraid of losing again, so I then resorted to watering the farm every morning and evening. It was a nice decision, though it was a bit stressful.

The second time of planting , when they began to grow

From early February when I took the first picture and looking at the waterleaf garden now, there have been lots of changes and growth. The water leaves have grown so well and soon I will start cutting them off so that more can grow.

Also, I am going to keep on watering the farm till it begins to rain heavily. I know that heavy rainfall is not always healthy for waterleaf plantations. We are envisaging heavy rainfall to begin in mid-April or early May. Be it as it may, before it rained heavily I must have harvested everything. And if we can't finish everything, I can give them out to our neighbors.

What do you think about Waterleaf? Do you have them in your locality, and what do you use them for apart from cooking with them?

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