Cool season
Nov - FebLettuce, Chinese kale, cabbage, tomato, coriander
The best months for leafy greens: cool nights, fewer pests, no bitterness.
mykaset · "my farm" in Thai
Grow clean vegetables,
know what you eat
Home vegetable growing without synthetic pesticides: soil and compost, what each vegetable brings to a meal, what to plant each season, and how to wash produce safely.
What this site helps with
From seed to plate
No big plot needed: one raised bed or a few pots is enough to start. Each topic is written from doing it.
Grow without pesticides
Where to plant, what to sow, watering, and handling pests by hand, netting and companion plants.
Good soil first
Mixing potting soil and composting kitchen scraps. Loose, living soil is half the job.
Know your vegetables
What each vegetable brings to a meal and how to cook it well, without the hype.
Wash, store, cook
Washing to cut residues and germs, and storing so it keeps, for home-grown and market produce alike.
Vegetable and herb guide
Easy to grow, good every day
Everyday Thai vegetables: the part you eat, how easy it is to grow, when it grows best, and a nutrient it is generally known for.
- Water spinach ผักบุ้ง
- Eat
- Shoots, leaves
- Grow
- very easy
- Best time
- All year
Leafy green with beta-carotene (vitamin A) and fibre
- Choy sum กวางตุ้ง
- Eat
- Leaves, stems
- Grow
- very easy
- Best time
- All year
Vitamin C and fibre; ready in about 30-45 days
- Chinese kale คะน้า
- Eat
- Leaves, stems
- Grow
- easy
- Best time
- Best in cool season
Vitamin C, beta-carotene and calcium
- Lettuce ผักกาดหอม
- Eat
- Leaves
- Grow
- moderate
- Best time
- Nov-Feb
Mostly water; darker leaves carry more beta-carotene
- Yardlong bean ถั่วฝักยาว
- Eat
- Young pods
- Grow
- easy
- Best time
- Hot to rainy
Fibre and folate; needs a trellis
- Tomato มะเขือเทศ
- Eat
- Fruit
- Grow
- moderate
- Best time
- Best in cool season
Vitamin C, and lycopene, the red pigment
- Bird's eye chilli พริกขี้หนู
- Eat
- Fruit
- Grow
- easy
- Best time
- All year
Has vitamin C, though eaten in small amounts
- Holy basil กะเพรา herb *
- Eat
- Leaves, tips
- Grow
- very easy
- Best time
- All year
Used in small amounts for flavour; pinch tips to keep it bushy
- Thai basil โหระพา herb *
- Eat
- Leaves, tips
- Grow
- very easy
- Best time
- All year
For aroma; grows from seed or cuttings
- Lemongrass ตะไคร้ herb *
- Eat
- Lower stalk
- Grow
- very easy
- Best time
- All year
For aroma; regrows from market stalks with roots
* Herbs here are about use as food in normal amounts. Extracts, capsules or large amounts are not the same as cooking with them. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, take regular medication, or have a liver or kidney condition, ask a doctor or pharmacist first.
Seasonal planting
Thailand's three garden seasons
Plant for the season and vegetables grow well on their own, with fewer pests and diseases to fix later.
Hot season
Mar - MayWater spinach, yardlong bean, chilli, holy basil, Thai basil
Pick heat-tolerant crops, water morning and evening, mulch with straw or dry leaves.
Rainy season
May - OctWater spinach, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, yardlong bean
Raise beds so water drains; give delicate leafy greens a rain cover.
Months are approximate for central Thailand. The north and northeast have a cooler, longer cool season; the south a longer rainy season. Go by your own weather too.
Articles
Latest from the garden
Washing vegetables: what cuts residues and germs, and what to avoid
No method removes residues completely, but washing the right way cuts them a lot. Soaking, running water, how much baking soda, and why not to use dish soap.
4 min readGrow Thai kitchen herbs in pots: lemongrass, galangal, basil, makrut, pandan
Root market lemongrass, grow galangal, turmeric and fingerroot from rhizomes, raise basil, keep makrut and pandan in pots, and harvest so they keep producing.
7 min read10 Thai kitchen herbs: which part to use, look-alikes, and buying fresh
Lemongrass, galangal, makrut leaf, holy basil, Thai basil, fingerroot, turmeric, bird's eye chili, pandan and culantro: what to use, how they taste, how to pick them.
6 min readAbout
Vegetables you can pick and eat straight away
mykaset started from a simple wish: grow our own vegetables without pesticides, and know what each one we eat actually gives us.
Along the way some beds thrive and some get eaten bare by insects. This site writes down what we learn, what works and what does not, so anyone starting out does not have to start from zero.
- No remedies sold, no cure claims
- Only well-established nutrition facts
- What worked and what failed
- Every article in Thai and English
Growing something? Tell us about it
Questions about your vegetable bed, a topic you would like covered, or seeds to swap: say hello.
Contact details coming soon.