Peekaboo!

Writing this to record yesterday's work while little man had his nap. This week has been really chilly and drizzly and the sunshine was intermittent. Day time temperature went as low as 14 deg celsius so I suppose night time temperature could drop even lower. This is my plants' first winter and I am trying to prepare myself as well as them for winter, mainly those that cannot take frost. I am not going to take any risk and lose any of them to the cold. Peekaboo! Cracking my head did some help. I make use of this laundry hamper to house my potted capsicum in the night. Draped a towel over it to cut out the cold and a layer of plastic as waterproofing in case it rains. This capsicum has done so tremendously well despite being uprooted from the vege patch and potted up. It is fruiting now, though later than the two at the vege patch. However, it is actually taller and stronger than the two at the vege patch.

The hamper was just right in size, and deters any possums too. I am contemplating lifting the other two capsicum plants from the vege patch when winter comes. That means they will be in pots. I am thinking of this because capsicums are actually perenial and if I can keep them out from the cold, they can be around for a long time.

My pots of common mint, vietnamese mint and aloe vera are housed in the mini greenhouse at night as they are more sensitive to the cold.

I potted up the kaffir lime shrub with a mixture of premium potting mix, regular potting mix and cow manure. Given it a good soak of seasol.

The tall single stem of the kaffir lime had many leaves on it. I wonder if it is going to grow taller and taller into the sky, so I decided to cut it off and use it to do my experiment and see if I can root it. Anyway, no harm doing it. I just stored the leaves from the stem in the freezer for cooking purpose.

Vietnamese mint does not take the cold and the pot is so heavy to move! So a plastic sheet over them supported by bamboo stems and pegs is fantastic way to keep the cold out.

To reduce transplanting shock, I also used plastic sheet over the kaffir lime for the night.

Finally after more than two weeks, 17 days to be exact, all my four sweet peas emerged.

One Rosemary Cutting has Flowered.

Cold morning. Cosy afternoon. A little drizzle interspersed cloudy and then sunny day. Collected a few drops of rain in buckets ;o. Since the soil was moist and soft in the morning, I did some weeding. The creepy weeds are growing very well at the sides of the vege patch and soon will come near my capsicum and mighty red tomato bush. One of the potted rosemary cuttings has decided to flower instead of growing. Flowering for herbs is not really ideal since it means its energy for growing has been given to flowering. But it is not a bad sight at all.

One dandelion weed growing well in the vege patch. Dandelions are common weeds and their leaves are nutritious for making tea, which can be used to water plants. In fact, shops sell dandelion tea bags for human consumption and dandelion flowers can be used in salads. They have deep tap roots that can draw nutrients from deep in the soil.

My capsicum is growing well, at least with much peace of mind since I am able to protect it from possums. Another on the right of the picture is developing.

One little purple king pod is growing near the ground just close to the very mature pod. I have placed a plastic sheet under it on the ground weighed down by rocks.

The aloe vera is growing two new pups in the centre...one tiny one and a slightly longer one.

The vietnamese mint overtaking the large pot's surface. It is really a sprawling grower. I am ready to harvest some for ladies' fellowship next Monday.

Two of my six lots of oriental radishes. I am now cracking my head on how to protect them from digging possums. Neighbours just told me possums dug their ground and ate their silver beets!

One cluster of chillies from the nellie kelly hot chilli.

Another cluster. So happy to see larger chillies developing before ripening. I have harvested some ripe ones in the past but they were really tiny.

Possums' Visit

Warm morning. 7.00 am. I went out and sat on the steps of the back door, enjoying the company of Smokey and Marco, and watching the sky slowly brighten up and the sun rising. There were also warm breezes and birds chirping. This kind of autumn weather is memorable. I doubt I can do that when winter comes. I do not anticipate its arrival. One thing is lacking - a table and chair and a cup of hot coffee! All the sown oriental radishes have emerged with the first set of leaves. But I would have to wait for the true set of leaves to grow before thinning them out. One of the two spring onion bulbs is growing. 'Hello neighbour, are you sprouting too?' The pot next to this has a peach and nectarine seed buried in it as per my previous entry : http://organic-is-better.blogspot.com/2009/03/seedlings-of-oriental-radishes.html. Unfortunately, what's left are two holes this morning. That was when I realised that possums have been visiting my yard. The dogs cant be digging such nice holes with their paws just to get fruit stones!

The second purple king pod has grown. I am taking lots pictures because it grows very rapidly.

Glad to find two more pods hidden away under the leaves.

Okay the dogs cant have done this. Smokey eats whole ripe tomatoes even if he jumps onto the patch. The verdict : possums have been gnawing on these unripe fruits. I began to realise that the plastic bags I found on the grass each morning was not the work of my dear Marco, but the possums, which have been picking my peaches. 'Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.' Matthew 6:26 of the Bible. The birds and possums and my dog have been sharing the peaches and they do not need to work hard for them. See how true the verse is?

My dear capsicum at the vege patch, how am I going to protect you from the paws of the possums? I mean, I would love to eat at least one home-grown capsicum.

The capsicum in the pot is a bit slower than those two at the vege patch in flowering and fruiting but they are steadily reaching there. I am proud to announce three flowers and lots more! This capsicum is a true hero because it was dug up from the vege patch and potted (http://organic-is-better.blogspot.com/2009/02/long-long-entry.html), but it did well under my tender loving care. :) I have to keep fertilising it to give it enough nutrients to fruit well.

My potted on lemongrass are not showing any signs of transplanting shock so far and they have even shown taller growth.

Thyme is also showing healthy new growth. Recently snipped off some for my beef pasta. Fresh home-grown herbs...yum yum!

The aloe vera which was potted on and then re-potted few days (http://organic-is-better.blogspot.com/2009/03/work-on-cloudy-day.html) after that. In this new pot, it seems happier and has not shown any stress.

My cayenne pepper has put on so many chillies I cannot even count...at least 15? This is one of the groups of chillies I have taken. Today my shepherd has given me some seeds of chilli padis. I have sown them in premium potting mix + composted cow manure + a tiny handful of seedling fertiliser. Hope to see some germination soon. Yippee!!!

Another project in progress : dog poo for compost! I have been gathering the dogs' poo in recycled potting mix (30L type) bags and dog food (15kg) bags. I will have to let the poo decompose on its own at one far corner of the garden. It is a slow process without worms but there are the fungi and bacteria at slow work. Rather than throwing them into garbage bins, the dog poo can be reused when completely composted/aged. It is quite safe to use this as long as the dogs are in good health, not eating rubbish and not on deworming tablets. Anyway by the time the poo is completely composted, it will be safe to use as mulching or organic fertiliser.

7.00 Autumn morning.

A Few New Candidates and Update

Citronella geranium (mosquito plant) which I bought

The aloe vera (above) which I have bought and potted on.

A soak with aquasol helps with providing growing nutrients for this pot of thyme (above) which is turning rather woody.

The capsicum flower (above) has opened...the strongest one on the vege patch.

Another flower (above) of the purple king.

Wow! This purple bean pod (above) was only 2cm a few days back and I was expecting to see that yesterday but was pleasantly surprised by how long it has grown!

More flowers are going to open. For this year, I am contend just to collect some seeds for next spring. The heatwave has stolen at least a week's growing time from this purple king. It is a race against time now.

Peaches are growing fine except that birds are chewing off on some. Of course, those attacked cannot be eaten and I gave them to my dog.

The mixed basil (above) are doing fine. I have not used any for cooking. There is only one thai basil in this pot and not enough for cooking use. I wouldnt mind seeing flowers and collect seeds.

I am leaving this tomato to fully ripen and see if I can get any seeds for next spring.

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The Safest and Most Natural Conditioner on Earth!

We all need some kind of conditioners to give our hair some glow and softness. Shampoos clean our hair of grime but at the same time, they also strip off the natural sebum that gives our hair that healthy glow and silky softness. Most conditioners contain artificial conditioning agents such as dimethicone and cyclopentasiloxane. One brand which is made in Japan and specially created for Asian hair has the following ingredients :

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Water, stearyl alcohol, dipropylene glycol, dimethicone, cyclopentasiloxane, lactic acid,stearoxypropyl dimethylamine, benzyl glycol, fragrance, hydroxyethylcellulose, behenamidopropyl dimethylamine, amodimethicone, bis-isobutyl PEG-15/amodimethicone copolymer, glycolic acid, phenoxyethanol, alcohol, bis-methoxypropylamido isodocosane, dicocodimonium chloride, butylene glycol, toluene sulfonic acid, malic acid, steartrimonium chloride, camellia japonica seed oil, hydrolyzed conchiolin protein, panax ginseng root extract, glycine soja (soya bean) protein, eucalyptus globulus leaf extract, caramel.

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Note that the few ingredients which are natural and probably beneficial are found right at the end of the ingredient list. This means that their amounts are pathetically small. The synthetic chemical ingredients are a whole truckload! That is probably why this conditioner is selling cheap! Another big brand has the following list of ingredients : Water, cetearyl alcohol, cyclomethicone, cetrimomium chloride, glycerin, dimethiconol, ceteardimonium chloride, propylene glycol, hydroxyethylcellulose, lysine HCL, hydrolyzed silk, borago officinalis seed oil, tea-dodecylbenzenesulfonate, potassium chloride, disodium EDTA, DMDM hydantoin, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, fragrance. One natural ingredient found.

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I have found the safest and most natural conditioner on earth! These are the ingredients :

Myroxylon pereirae (balsam peru) oil, certified organic pelargonium graveolens (geranium) essential oil, certified organic pogostemon cablin (patchouli) essential oil, moringa oleifera seed oil, certified organic arctium lappa (burdock) extract, certified organic equisetum arvense (horsetail) extract, certified organic urtica dioica (nettle) extract, certified organic rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, certified organic salvia officinalis (sage) leaf extract, certified organic aloe barbadensis (aloe vera) leaf juice, certified organic apple cider vinegar, certified organic citrus aurantium amara (bitter orange) fruit extract, non-gmo lecithin sorbitan olivate, cetearyl olivate, panthenol (pro-vitamin b5), aqua (purified water)

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This conditioner hydrates, conditions and protects the hair with nourishing and emollient moringa seed oil from Tanzania. Pro-vitamin B5 (panthenol) and organic herbs in it promote lustre and body. It naturally balances the pH of your hair with organic apple cider vinegar.

All natural ingredients for your hair and no artificial silcones used. It is a wonderful and safe alternative from the normal conditioners you can find. I have used it and will stay with it definitely!

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Shower Wash For All

For one and half years, I have been using three of the most popular baby body & hair wash in Singapore for my first child. I have not really delved deeper into the ingredients that these products use. I have selected these based on the fact that they are the most popular. However, it does pay off to study the ingredients used on all your children's products, even yours! Now that I am more educated about the world of consumer products and the many potentially-toxic ingredients that are used in them now, I am more cautious with what I buy for my whole family. We are surrounded by potentially carcinogenic chemicals daily in our shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, toothpastes, nappy creams, cosmetics, powders, serums, moisturisers, cleansers, toners, masks, dish washing liquids, bathroom cleaners...

Recently, I stumbled upon an Australian company which sells organic products. They are the first in the world to have their cosmetics and body products certified organic. The company is called ONE group and the name of their range is Miessence. I have ordered some to try. My boy is using their Sunflower Body Wash. These are the ingredients : Organic aloe vera leaf juice, Coco polyglucose, Sunflower oil, Propriety blend of essential oils, Non-GMO xanthum gum, Organic sweet orange essential oil, organic lemon essential oil, organic lime essential oil, citric acid. That's all it has got! Nothing funny! No synthetic emollients! No synthetic preservatives! No synthetic fragrance!

Let's compare these ingredients with any supermarket brand of shower foam. Or raise the standard. Compare these against reputable brands of body wash for children. Just to name one from a worldwide famous popular brand : Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, PEG-150 Distearate, TetrasodiumEDTA, Sodium Chloride, Polyquaternium-10, Fragrance, Quaternium-15, Citric Acid. You can see the difference. The lathering agent for the Sunflower Body Wash is coco polyglucose, which is one of the safest in this world. The smell of this body wash is heavenly and refreshing. Email me to find out more.