THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR

Things looked as if I was literally on a roll.

Planted 8 cucumber seeds from a seed pack and 3 robust looking seedlings burst through the soil on the first attempt.  That’s like a 37.5% success rate.  Not bad for a first timer.  A small voice in me said “Well done!”  I felt my head swelled a little as I gave myself an imaginary pat on the back!

Threw all the seeds from a store bought butternut pumpkin into a pot and within days a whole lot of greens appeared and very sturdy looking ones too.  Another “well done” echoed in my head.

Re-planted the 3 cucumber and 3 of the biggest butternut vines onto a “prime location” evicting gingers, the current tenant to another location.  I reckoned this prime location boosted a fence which Messrs cucumbers and butternuts would appreciate better than the rhizomes.

All seemed well and I was already dreaming of cubes and squashes.

Then without any sign of warning, the sky opened up and rained consecutively for a few days turning the prime lot waterlogged and residents there with broken limbs and disorientated.

The aftermath looked as if a cyclone had descended.

So that was Trial & Error, lesson #1

• Don’t put all the best together
• Prime location does not mean (safe) haven
• Take precautions… darlings!

Ok now I need to go and sow more cucumber seeds and say hello to the other surviving butternut vine and I am letting out the prime location.


PS:  Ginger sweetheart... do you want to return to your previous home?

MUM AND THE HAIRLESS KIWIS

I didn't understand why Mum kept telling me not to buy any potatoes lately.  I knew I bought a bag and used a few of them for a salad.  There were like a dozen potatoes and probably 7 - 8 left.

"Don't buy any more potatoes.  There's a lot in the kitchen." That came from Mum as I headed towards the door on my way to the supermarket.

Habits never change and customary for me to head straight to the fruits and veggies section whenever I step into the supermarket.

As I was choosing some mandarins, I caught sight of someone putting a punnet of kiwis into her shopping cart and suddenly I wondered what happened to the kiwis I recently bought.

I made a mental note to find the kiwis when I get home.

Back home as I was unpacking the fresh produce that I bought, Mum came into the kitchen and I asked if she has seen the kiwis she unpacked the day before.

She said she hasn't... well really she hasn't because as I was talking to her, I caught sight of what appeared like kiwis on the countertop.  On closer look, they were indeed my lost kiwis snuggled in between some potatoes.

"They are kiwis?  Look like potatoes to me.  Why are these kiwis so tiny and without hair?" 

Mum, there are people with more hair than others.

SEEDS OBSESSED

I am seeds obsessed.

(1)   I have a "seed bank" to store all my seeds.

(2)  I have a work station to work on my seeds.

(3)  I ate cucumbers and saved the seeds.

(4)  I made egg omelette with tomatoes sans the seeds. 

(5)  I have hundreds of the same type of seeds.

(6)  I bought capsicums for the seeds. 

(7)  I browsed through seed catalogues all the time.

(8)  I dried seeds on the window sills in my apartment.

(9)  I was angry when I discovered rats ate the melon seeds I was drying.

(10)  I asked Santa for seeds.

(11)   I was happy to receive seeds in place of other gifts.

(12)   I kept seeds in my bathroom.


Taking my obsession of seeds to the next level, I am still saving and collecting seeds.

DREAMS DO COME TRUE

How wonderful to start off the New Year with my first pair of home-grown crimson red tomatoes! 

Yay! Finally parts of my dreams come true.  I mean the part where I aspire to grow tomatoes.  The part about growing beefsteak size tomatoes is still no where in sight yet but that's ok, this is a great start. 

It's hard to describe my joy but I am one happy girl.  I've been looking at the twin like forever and I've subjected them to photo shoots like non-stop.  If they could speak, I wonder if they'll complain about how I subjected them to torture under the bright lights but proud Mama here just didn't have enough.  

Here are some pictures of the crimson twin!

They're cherry tomatoes and supposed to be small but these were teeny weenies.   I can only think that as they're organically grown, they turned out tiny but who cares!  I mean they're home-grown... they're pesticide free.... and they're the sweetest tomatoes I have tasted!

 
 

AULD LANG SYNE

In a few hours' time, 2014 will just be memories as we embark on another brand new year.     

There's never such a thing as a perfect life.  For every trials and tribulations there are also equal ups and downs.  The past 364 days have been the same for me.  There were laughter as well as tears; as much happiness I had, there were also sorrows but the best moment has got to be discovering my love for gardening and being here in @MSG.

It was the best decision I have made.  From just sitting lazily on the porch looking at passers-by; watching the boats come and go;  yawning ever so often as the sea breeze caress my skin and make a mess out of my hair to busy days getting dirt under the nails to a thousand and one things I do around the garden.

I don't recall inviting the bugs to help themselves to my first bittergourd

"Do a clean job" and he did.  On his way to finish the last of the curry leaves

My would-have-been french fries were gone in the rain

It has been a beautiful challenge and I've enjoyed every moment with doses of some disappointment sandwiched in between when bugs beat me to my first bittergourd or seedlings get drown in the rain because I was never there all the time to molly coddle them.  However disappointments never last long for there were always something to smile about like when I stepped into the garden and the perfume from the flowers literally blew me way!

Take time to smell the roses... something I do frequently

Flowers are really a girl's best friend!

There is no tinge of regret just excitement and great anticipation for a fun and fulling year ahead in MSG.

 

Have a fabulous New Year everyone!  Stay safe and be blessed and keep gardening.

For the umpteenth time, I give thanks to Mother Nature for she's simply amazing! 

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS...

Dear Santa

I've been good this past year.  Can I have these please?

(1) Seeds

(2) Bottles / jars

(3) Books

Santa, I have a confession to make.  I am really seed obsessed.  You know how much I love seeds and are never tired of them even though I might have hundreds of the same seeds in my "seed bank." So any seeds will be fine as long as they're seeds but if you could stuff some exotic seeds especially tomatoes since this is my current obsession (beefsteak size ones) into my stocking, I'll be happy ever after. 

Santa, you know how much I love pretty things and glass bottles / jars are so handy when pickling season is here.  I can leave you a bottle of jam if you like something homegrown, homemade and delicious.  I will not leave you any pickled mangoes though as they're much too sour and are not in season yet and pickled chillies are just too spicy for you.

Santa, I haven't have time to read any stories so no story books please but I don't mind note books or recipe books for scribbling notes and learning how to make jam for you.

Please leave the gifts at a safe place and tomorrow morning when I wake up and open the presents I will pretend this is all a surprise.

Merry Christmas with much love, Santa! xoxo

 

BACK TO BASIC

After I barred my fingers from tickling any of the tomato blooms (you silly girl!) and let nature takes its course (or at least use a cotton swab or art brush) there were blooms on the tomato plants but still no tomatoes in sight (*sigh*) but at least those blooms stay on the vines.

Internet and social media are great platforms to share and learn. So I discovered that tomatoes are self pollinating; some light breeze or gentle shake of the plants help.  No rough finger tickling is required as that will only aggravate the blooms further.

"Now there's flowers on the plants but still no sign of any tomatoes.  It's been a long time.  Hopefully I'm getting nearer to this tomato dream..."

"When tomatoes are setting out flowers, they require as much sun as they get and also extremely heavy feeders... use organic fertilizers..."

"A great fertilizer should have micro-nutrients and minerals, also live microbes..."

"If  your soil is alkaline add a little sulphur and this will drop the pH but if your soil is high in sulphur pH add dolomite or lime...."

"However you don't want fertilizers that have too much nitrogen, this will get a big leafy plant.  Keep the big leaves off; they take nutrients from the tomatoes.  Only leave enough leaves to cover your tomatoes..."

So in summary I learned that if the tomatoes do not get enough exposure to sunlight, the fruits will not form and if there's not enough water, the blooms will drop.   Fertilizers are important too just as you need to eat some super food.

Ok so assuming all these sunlight, water and fertilizer problems have been sorted out.  You thought you could rest on your laurels but along came some uninvited visitors waiting to destroy your crop.  What do you do? 

Well plant marigolds around the border of your tomato patch.  They're great companion plants and the smell acts as a deterrent to bugs and insects.  If that is not good enough, plant borage, another great companion plant.  It will deter tomato h0rnworms as well as improve the flavour of tomatoes.  How wonderful!