Search Tropical Organic Garden

April 04, 2012

How & why I grow kang kong from seed in my tropical organic garden


As my kang kong seed germination experiment showed, there are different ways in which kang kong seeds could be germinated.

However, an abriged version of best germination practices for my tropical organic garden is below.




Kang kong seeds that I used in my tropical organic garden.
Kang kong seeds


NAMES
Kang kong; Water spinach; Chinese spinach; Water morning glory; Swamp cabbage; Bamboo leaf; Ipomoea aquatica; River spinach; Pak bong; Phak bung; Water concolvulus

WHY KANG KONG?
kangkong is ideal for raw food diets; Kang kong is great for treating diabetes since it lowers glucose levels and inhibits the absorption rate of glucose; Kang kong is great for encouraging probiotic growth (in the ease out period of a cleanse program); Nutritionally similar to spinach; Kang kong may reduce hypertension; Kang kong may even remove heavy metals from polluted water ways (This suggests to me that kang kong may have a similar healthful effect on heavy metals in my body.) Useful for pregnant women needing an iron boost.


To sow and germinate kang kong seeds:
  1. Put a kang kong seed in luke warm water and allow to soak overnight
  2. Fully dampen potting mix in a small plant pot
  3. Sow a single kang kong seed into a hole that is 1 inch deep. Back fill the hole.
  4. Always keep the potting mix moist (because kang kong plants thrive in very wet conditions).
  5. Place the germination pot in a sunny location. My kang kong seedling pots were in full bright and hot tropical sun. However, I made sure that the potting mix never got dry. (I sowed my first and second batches of kang kong seeds in mid to late February. The wet season may be a better sowing time).
  6. Wait for the seeds to germinate! My kang kong seedlings started out by resembling 2-pronged forks. (This is the nerve wracking part! My thoughts were: "I'm only seeing dirt!" ... then ... "Is that kang kong ... or a weed?" "Hooray! My kang kong seeds have all germinated!" ... "They all germinated but how will I handle all these fast growing kang kong plants!")



See me sow the kang kong seeds. I will be giving updates on how the plants grow. (One month old kang kong seedling update).

Please share your kang kong growing experiences. Subscribe to keep updated with not only my progress but also to see about other (tropical) organic gardeners' experiences with kang kong.




LINKS ABOUT GROWING KANG KONG IN TROPICAL ORGANIC GARDENS

6 comments:

  1. where do you get the seeds?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is a link in the top left corner of this page for an online tropical seeds store (to buy kangkong seeds).

      Delete
  2. can't find seeds anywhere...where do you get the seeds?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Apologies for not responding sooner. If you are still interested in getting kang kong (or other tropical seeds) seeds, try the following site. They have reasonable prices. http://bit.ly/1dCOqSV .

    ReplyDelete
  4. Will the seeds still germinate without soaking them in water overnight?
    I have already sowed them in soil!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They should still germinate if the soil is sufficiently moist and the other conditions are suitable. Soaking just helps to speed things up and increase your success rate.

      Delete