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Easy to Insaely Complicated and the Wonderful World of Basil in Cambodia!

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Italian Basil Of all the questions I’ve been asked about gardening thus far, the most common question I get in Cambodia revolves around growing basil.  Not just any basil either, at least not right away, but specifically Italian Basil.  There is just something about its sweet minty and peppery flavor that makes it pair perfectly with tomato dishes, salads, and other Mediterranean foods that other forms of basil just can’t quite mimic.  You can generally identify it because its leaves have a more rounded and wrinkly appearance, whereas other forms of basil have much flatter leaves with ends that appear much more pointed. Holy Basil There are so many different types of Basil though apart from what we have in Cambodia and Italian Basil.  Holy Basil, Thai Basil, Sweet Basil, Lemon Basil, Lime Basil, Christmas Basil, Opal Basil, Cinnamon Basil, etc.  However, when you go to the market and ask for basil you are most likely going to end up with Thai Basil.  In Khmer they simply
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The Indestructibles - 3 Plants in Cambodia You'll Love that No One Can Kill

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In addition to meeting other people who are proud gardeners I’ve gotten several messages from folks who would like to be gardeners and have also been pleasantly surprised by the number of people interested in acquiring Aloe Vera plants. Well, whether you are a seasoned veteran or new to turning dirt, there are three plants here in Cambodia that anyone can plant that are beautiful, practical, and almost completely idiot-proof.  They can be grown in the ground, in pots, or in raised beds and these plants will only ever die when you intentionally put forth a ridiculous amount of effort in order to kill them.  You can dig them up, cast them aside, forget to water them, or over water them, and pretty much nothing short of setting them on fire will actually kill them, and even then I’m not so sure. So behold!  Here are three plants anyone can grow and be successful with! Ginger Many people assume that ginger itself is a root plant.  This is not true, ginger is a rhizome w
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Where Oh Where to Grow? Raised Beds, Pots, Planters, and Down in the Ground

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I’ve received a couple inquiries thus far about growing vegetables in pots, depths for preparing soil, and building raised beds.  Especially a few about the raised beds including what the dimensions need to be, what materials can you make them out of, etc.  So I decided to just make a post addressing what and where to plant your vegetables and flowers. When setting up your garden and planting anything you should be mindful of what you are planting and Google is of course a great resource to get tips about planting depths, spacing, and soil preparation.  At my house I have two decent sized raised beds that I use for all sorts of vegetables, old tires on the ground filled with dirt, pots galore, old rain basins filled with dirt and half buried in the ground, several planting boxes I use for herbs, tables covered with bowls of dirt, seed trays, and starter pots, and many spaces in my back yard where I grow local vegetables right in the ground or have groupings of small tree seedl
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Cambodia and Leafy Greens

We all know there are not a lot of good leafy greens available in Cambodia.  There is limp lettuce from the market and not much else.  At my home here in Battambang I often have at least one entire raised bed for leafy greens and have met with various levels of success.  When considering what to grow always be sure to check out what the climate is like in areas those greens are normally grown.  I’ve had great success with Mustard Greens and Collards, with some effort I’ve successfully grown Arugula and Cos Lettuce, with difficulty I’ve managed to grow Spinach, and there many where I’ve had no luck at all.  Some plants like Swiss Chard, certain types of Kale, and endive simply can’t handle the heat in this part of the world at all and may never develop past the seedling phase. First off, you should make sure you have a decent sized garden bed or box for growing in.  Leafy greens tend to grow best in evenly spaced rows so you should try and plan for more growing space.  They can b
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Why We Don't Have Avocados in Battambang

Everyone and their mother wants to grow avocados in Battambang for some reason.  You can buy them from the roadside over near Battambang BBQ, but people still want to grow them and to the best of my knowledge, NO ONE in the area has yet to get a tree to grow well enough to bear fruit.  But that still does not stop many of us from trying.  There are basically three problems that need to be overcome and here is the theoretical idea of how to get an avocado to grow in Battambang. Problem #1 - Clay Soil and the Water Table The soil in and around Battambang generally tends to be very heavy with clay which retains a lot of water.  Also, in rainy season the water table beneath the ground can get very close to the surface.  Avocado trees are highly susceptible to root rot and as such they really don’t like growing in Battambang because too much water in the rainy season kills the trees and then not nearly enough water in the dry season kills the trees. The only way to overcome the
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Growing Lavender in Cambodia

If you want to know about growing lavender in Cambodia I have two answers for you.  The quick answer is lavender is pretty damn hard to grow out here and I don't recommend it unless you are super committed to taking care of it. In fact, you almost need scientific anal retentive accuracy to manage all the variables. If you're still interested then the long answer is that I can tell you what I've tried, but it's tricky to grow out here because of the heat, humidity, and rain. I've tried to grow lavender a few times but have yet to keep it alive for more than a couple months. First off, you need to get seeds for the right variety. Most lavender plants grow in places much cooler than Cambodia. In fact, in cooler climates lavender is supposed to be a perennial plant which will show the most growth in the springtime when temperatures start to climb after the winter.  Supposedly Spanish lavender is the best type for growing in the tropics and even that may not last
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