Growing brocolli

Growing brocolli
I bought a punnet of 8 brocolli seedlings from Bunnings in the later half of winter. I was pleased to see the head (or curd) forming on 4 of the plants. 
3 odd weeks ago, I dug up one of the plants and put it into my hydroponic system. The poor plant (actually there were two intertwined together) went into shock. I revived it (them) with fish extract but that particular plant has not done well since. 

Roma tomatoes

December 2012

I should leave these green Roma tomatoes to ripen on the vines but as I will not be at St Helena for the next 2 months, I harvested them early.

Actually, I don't deserve a single tomato as I put the seedlings in at the end of September and went away for 6 weeks.  So they did not get TLC in the form of regular watering nor fertilising.  Still the bushes produced these tomatoes.

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[St H] Late Spring 2012

It's a pleasure seeing all the flowers and fruits growing here in St Helena.  It is mid November (Late Spring) and here are pictures of my petunias, my snow peas and my Roma tomatoes.

Dragonfruit

Some people love dragonfruit ( red pitaya (Hylocereus undatus)); others (including me) think that taste-wise, it is rather insipid.  But all will agree that colour-wise, it is a striking fruit.

Here is my dragonfruit plant growing from a Tuscany pot - not really the best way to grow it and I should really put it in the ground.

 

Poor brave little plant

This poor brave little plant has been brought to Jansen Springs, a place infamous for the death of many other houseplants (See Feb05-2010 entry).  On top of the poor light condition at Jansen Springs, the owner there is prone to (a) overwater or (b) under-water (depending on her mood) all plants and also there are three demonic cats which love to dig up all potted plants (just for the hell of it).
So poor little Syngonium, be brave.

[S] Growing from seeds

I have always enjoyed putting seeds into the earth and watching seedlings emerge.  There is something magical in the process and one can sense the presence of the Creator.
Today I planted a package of brinjal (egg plant) seeds and I look forward to seeing them germinate within the next several days.

[StH] Kangaroo paws

It's Spring 2012 and I noticed that flower stalks are coming out from my several bunches of Kangaroo Paws (Kangaroo Paws belong to the genus Anigozanthos which has 11 species).  They are supposed to be drought resistant and earlier in the year when the reticulation broke down and they were not watered for weeks during the hot dry days of Summer, they really proved that they were indeed drought resistant.  But because of the trauma they have gone through, I don't expect my bunches of Kangaroo Paws to flower as well as they did last year (see last 2 photos).

[StH] Reticulation

Station 3   -  Before pipes are buried

Reticulation is something that is not needed in Singapore (where it rains almost every other day) but in St Helena where we get almost 7 continuous months of no rain, reticulation is important when one is away for long periods.  I have finished reticulating the front and back and I am running 4 stations.  Since the start of September, the Water Corporation has allowed sprinklers to be on for two days in a week.  I am now using the Orbit 4 controller and I am very satisfied with it. 

[StH] Red Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia splendens)

September 2012

I have this particular plant growing in the front yard.  They are easy to propogate, flowers continuously (even in the cold of winter) and require the minimum of care.  I think this particular succulent is called 'Red Crown of Thorns'  (Euphorbia splendens)

May 2019

Because of the nearby lantana bush, two of this succulent have died.  The lantana was so vigourous it prevented any sunlight from reaching the succulents.

[StH] Will you eat this?

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This large cactus (Prickly Pear Cactus) grows over the fence into St Helena. I have been told that this cactus fruit is actually very nice in a salad. Will you eat this? I have not tried and I don't think I will ever do so. Mind you, never handle the fruit with your bare hands - it is covered with very fine spines which will penetrate your skin and are very difficult to remove (and will hurt you like hell too!)

This is what it would look like in a salad bowl

[StH] What's in a name?

What's in a name?  I was faced with a wide choice of organic fertilisers at the Garden Centre and was not sure which one to buy.  When I saw this "Rooster Booster" I laughed and thought it was a smart name.  So what do you think? 

[StH] Ornamental Grass

At the start of 2011, I had one nice compact bunch of Ornamental Grass.  Little did I realise that this grass is a real conqueror of space.  Despite repeated cutbacks in the intervening months, there were 4 hugh bunches of this Ornamental Grass when we returned to St Helena on 31 August 2012.  There is one bunch left now after I have put in quite a lot of work to cut them back.

[StH] Durn snails in my letterbox

These snails have been creating havoc to my letters.  They love papers and will eat large holes in all brochures and letters put in the letterbox.  I have put pellets in there to kill them but they keep multiplying.

[StH] Jasmines - lovely perfume

These two pots of jasmines are supposed to be planted on both sides of the Garden Gateway (which has yet to be bought, painted, assembled and put in place.)  So in the meantime, they sit in their pots - they are climbing plants and the flowers are white although the buds are purplish.

[StH] Azaleas - lovers of shade

I like azaleas a lot.  These three were bought to replace those that died when my reticulation failed in January 2012.  Actually I have gone through three episodes in growing azaleas.  The first episode in Chittering was very successful.  The plants grew well and every year I had a lot of blooms.  But I had to give them all away when we moved.   The second episode last year was disastrous because when the reticulation failed, they all died.
I am planting these three plants in the front of the house where it is shady.

[StH] Edge Trimmer

Being away for long periods mean a lot of maintenance has to be done when I am back.  This is a great appliance - it is an Edge Trimmer and it can give a nicer, neater look to the lawn.

[S] 3 different cacti /succulents

This pot of 3 different cacti/succulents was given by Shirley to Mark.  I don't have a clue to their names.

ADDED ON 30 AUGUST 2012 - I saw Shirley looking sadly at this pot - all the cacti/succulents have rotted away as they were standing in a pot of water.  I had not realised that there were no draining holes (I drill holes in mine) in this pot and therefore did not notice the water there.

[StH] Pink for Michaela

We see a lot of red bottlebrushes (Callistemon) everywhere - but there is a 'Perth Pink' variety. My neighbour (over the fence) has one such tree and when it blooms, it is really very nice. (Spring - October 2011)

[StH] Grevillea olivacea – Apricot Glow

In an effort to create a 'look' for the front of St Helena, I bought a Grevillea olivacea – Apricot Glow.  It cost me A$22 from Bunnings and I planted it out in mid July 2012.  Hopefully in a couple of years, I will get a 2m bush bearing this type of flowers.

[StH] I don't really like palm trees

I don't really like palm trees so when a group of Samoans came knocking to ask whether I wanted to take down any trees, I was glad to ask them to take this particular tall palm tree out.  June30-2011

[S] Okra (Lady's Finger)

On Monday, I put in 16 seeds of Okra into two trays. The seeds were from a packet (Horti) bought from NTUC Welcome. It said that they would germinate in 10 days. But ohmigosh! on Wednesday 13 of them had germinated and by Friday, they are pretty vigourous and more than 2 inches high.

[S] A seven-month hiatus

Oh my goodness - a 7-month hiatus - not only of posting in this blog but also a 7-month hiatus from doing much gardening - and the result - my garden is completely overrun with weeds - I don't think there is much chance of salvaging it - the garden was originally planted with Pearl Grass. It was expensive but was supposed to be low maintenance mainly because the Pearl Grass does not grow vigourously. And its very low vigour means that weeds have a field day when the owner is negligent. See picture of Pearl Grass (above) at its best. (This is not a picture of the Pearl Grass in my garden ha ha)

[S] Luohanguo 罗汉果

This fruit is Luohanguo 罗汉果 (scientific name is Siraitia grosvenorii) and it is primarily grown in southern China, mainly in Guangxi Province, with most of the product from the mountains of Guilin.
During our visit to the neighbours during Chinese New Year, we were given 2 of these dried fruits because of its medical properties (I was coughing a bit). According to a website, the extract from this fruit is 300 times sweeter than sugar and the fruit has been used as a sweetener in China for a long time.
I will describe its taste when I get round to trying it.
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Chiku - one of my favourite fruits

I like most tropical fruits - be it papaya, banana, rambutan and even the durian. But the chiku remains one of my all-time favourite. And this fruit is not easy to come by in the local fruit stalls. I bought some today (at $5 a kilo (approx USD $3.50)). Here in Surin, we used to have a chiku tree which gave us decent fruits. But when the family was touring UK, the wind broke the tree and we had to remove it. I intend to buy a chiku plant from the nursery in the near future. Actually Ah Soo Garden should have one as they have enough room in their garden.
I found that the chiku has a variety of names in various countries - one name is Sapodilla.

Colours of Chinese New Year (Part 1)

Mandarins (and kumquats, oranges, etc) by virtue of their gold colour is a MUST during the Chinese New Year. In this photo, you can see the two small citrus plants with Michaela and Luke. By the way, this is my favourite photo of the season. This photo was taken at Jalan Mengkudu where Great-Uncle Francis, Great-Auntie Irene, Aunt Marie and Stephanie and Emily live.

Colours of Chinese New Year (Part 2)

The colours of Chinese New Year are red and gold - and these are relected in the plants and flowers !!! These are flowers at Grandma Neo's house - look at the kelanchoes in the foreground and the yellow and red Celosia (known as Feng4 Wei3 凤尾(Phoenix Tail) in Chinese)in the background.

More orchids at Ah Soo Garden

Three more orchids have arrived at Ah Soo Gardens! Unlike the first one (which was a Dendromium) these three are all Vandas - two of them are semi-terete and one of them is a strap leave Vanda.

Update on Chinese New Year bulbs

In January, I asked what the 4 bulbs that I bought at the market would turn into. I haven't had much success as only one of the 4 bulbs has sprouted (1st photo). The second photo shows the bulbs of my friend, Joe Tan, who bought his bulbs at about the same time as me. The red things are Chinese New Year decorative touches. Yong Seng said his bulbs have grown even taller than Joe's. I think I know what went wrong with my bulbs (1) I did not buy enough (my friend uses 8 bulbs in a bowl) (2) I have to keep them cool (Joe uses ice cubes and keep the bowl in his living room) (3) I need to keep the bulbs completely immersed in water. Never mind, I will do better next year. By the way these bulbs are known as Chinese Arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia) and they can be used to make delicious chips.

Water lilies (Nymphaea Sp)

Water lilies (Nymphaea sp) bloom on stalks that rise above the water. Lotus flowers bloom on the surface of water. These two lovely water lilies are at Jalan Lepas. That lovely girl next to the blooms is pretty Michaela Kate Lim !!! From an article at the Sungei Buloh Nature Park website http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/plants/water_lily.htm I read that one can harvest seeds from these flowers. Agatha should give it a try.

Poor little plant !!

Here we see another example of a little plant badly treated by its owner at Jansen Springs. It joins several other plants sent from that place to Surin for treatment and rehabilitation (some came too late and could not be rescued). Lena claimed that she took good care of this little plant (the pot is 3 inches in diameter) and to quote her words "it is either over-watered or under-watered". HUH !!! From its weight, there is hardly a drop of moisture in it. We shall see whether it will recover in the next few weeks.

[S] A lovely water feature @ Jln Lepas

This water feature is lovely. At night, there is a light that shows off the mini-fountain to good effect. This type of water feature can be put together very simply but of course Ta-ta spent big bucks to get it done (as usual).