Showing posts with label Aloe Vera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aloe Vera. Show all posts

Monday, September 21, 2009

New Leaves and Fruits.

Eversince my aloe vera has been placed under the patio where it gets indirect sunlight, it has gone green and new pups are developing at a faster pace. This concludes why it was very light green and had burnt-like tips whilst in the green house under direct sunlight and heat. It was too much for it. With several new pups growing, I hope to be able to propagate new aloe veras in new pots : My Trixee? Pixee? (just cannot get its name right) dwarf peach is growing well since my fungicide treatment and fertilising in winter. I was even surprised to find lots of peaches growing. However, I will try to stay on the pessimistic side as the branches are so close, I reckon the peaches have not much space for developing. Fingers crossed, none have dropped yet :
Kaffir lime has got lots of new leaves growing but it looks a bit unwell :
Pomegranate (left by its previous owner but I will gladly accept it :)) has put on lots of leaves but I have no clue what I should do with them...prune? :
Apricot Moorpark finally put on leaves. I thought it was dead :
Within 2.5 weeks, the plum tree put on a whole crown of leaves. Lesser plums this year after the recent hair-cut :

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Pruning My New Apricot Moorpark.

Another gloomy day. Not as windy but forecast to have storm and hail later part of the day. My boy is attending a holiday children's programme organised by my church these few days. I did a bit of the sponsorship job behind the programme and it was rather challenging. Hope that the programme will truly impact the children in a positive manner.
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Now it is time for me to have a break without much distraction. I have some time alone doing work without having my maternal instinct switched on, always being on the lookout in case he trips and falls here or there. I miss him and hope he will not wander out of the hall without any supervision. Did not want him to go at first as he is not even 4 yet but I decided that I would let go and trust God for his safety. I repotted the aloe vera again. Even though Hubby has drilled more holes in this green shallow planter, the drainage still did not improve. Then I remember Kelvin Hendreck's book saying that the height of containers/pot depth make a lot of difference to the wetness of the potting mix. Average wetness is greater when it is in a shallow pot than when it is in a tall pot. The aloe vera has grown definitely but now it has this slight purplish tinge on it....strange by me. Hope it will not die on me especially when I saw several pups developing. Some gardener says they thrive on neglect...I wonder!
This is the Apricot Moorpark before pruning.
I bought a pair of cheaper pruners yesterday and after reading on this topic, experimented on the large already bald peach tree and then went for the apricot tree. Haha I was procrastinating pruning the apricot tree for fear that I will damage it but I did prune it after all! It was not too bad. Now only time will tell if I have indeed done the right job!
Another branch after pruning.
My poor rosemary plants are still having powdery mildew. Perhaps the fungicide prepared a while back has lost its effectiveness. I prepared a new bottle and practically drenched the plant with fungicide. It is so strange since I hardly water them and do not practise overhead watering. Wont be eating them for a while!

Friday, June 26, 2009

So Much Work!

Work at new house : Vege patch D : Work with cow manure and lime. Planted and mulched 3 pots of cyclamens. Hope they will grow well in this shady spot.
Rake up fallen plum leaves.
Place leaves in make-shift netting in backyard to let them turn into leaf mould.
Succulent plants flowering beautifully.
Lavender growing new leaves.
Work completed for patch next to garage. Hope not to see weeds!
Work in rental house : Calamondins not doing well. Fruits attacked by aphids. Treated with pyrethrum.
Lemon verbena growing lots of new shoots after last trimming.
Cayenne Pepper under netting since finding out they were attacked at night.
Curry plant growing more shoots in the new house after trimming off lots of aphid-infested shoots.
Buk choy planted from pot to vege patch.
Treated oregano root ball with pyrethrum as it seems it is attacked by gnats.Repotted the oregano and wonder if it will survive the treatment.
Re-potted the aloe vera into a shallow wider planter. New pups emerging. Delicate...broke one.
Potted the Pixee dwarf peach with aged manure and premium potting mix.
Peach tree is losing all its leaves. (below)
Rake up to make leaf mould.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Back From Easter Trip.

We were away on Philip Island for our church's Australia-wide Oceania Convention during the Easter holidays. It was a refreshing time, though there were moments I missed my garden and wondered if the two dogs had destroyed it.
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Fortunately, they did not. And thank God I had discovered the caterpillar eggs under the radish leaves just one day before I left and was able to take measures. Or I would have come back to be heart-broken. The pot of nasturtiums showed great growth after dressing with vermicompost from my worms. And it was peace of mind for me now that they are under the safety of the net. The whole of nasturtiums can be used in salads and I can see why they are easy prey of caterpillars.
The three oriental radish seeds I have sown on 9 April to replace the three uprooted have germinated when I returned on 13 April. Very fast!
My cayenne peppers are fat and long! Wondering if I should harvest them for pickled green chillies.
The tiny calamondin limes are growing steadily. Haha at times they looked like they are going to drop off.
Congratulations to me! The chilli padi seeds have finally germinated and so many are sprouting. They did take a long time to do so, observing only two on 2 April and now about eight on 16 April.
The pot of mint which I have propagated from the original black pot from Kmart has been planted at the vege patch. I have treated it for mildew twice and hope it will do well. So far so good!
One of the two lots of new buk choy seedlings have sprouted when I came back.
Also sown on 9 April to replace the three which were uprooted due to caterpillar attacks. Will thin them once they are bigger.
One of the three existing oriental radishes. Note the little weeds around. Have to do weeding regularly.
Three out of four sweet pea seedlings. As soon as they are big enough, I have to train them around the sunflower stalks behind.
My two wonderful capsicum plants are producing three or four capsicums. Again, great peace of mind with them caged from possible possums' burglary.
The capsicum plant in the pot is not losing the race either, producing three fruits. Somehow the fruits are not as big and do not have a regular shape as those in the vege patch.
Signs of life after the re-potting. Aloe vera seems to grow rather slow in this weather but steadily producing new pups. It has been the mini greenhouse most times to keep it warm.
Vermicompost from my worms works wonder! My curry plant looks very healthy and flourishing after the castings were added.
Same goes for my thyme! Even the stems look thicker.
My divided lemon grass in two pots did not look too good after I potted on last week. Perhaps scorched by the sun while I was away. I have since fed another round of seasol. Not sure of its fate.
The original pot which I bought from Flower Power.
The potted on mint is growing gloriously - potted on successfully! Large leaves and strong. Now I truly believe in Premium potting mixes as Kevin Hendreck mentioned in his book 'Gardening Down-under' - the best gardening book I have ever read so far. It is certainly better to start plants with a good potting mix.
One of the two smaller pots which I have to pot on soon. I have given away the other small pot to my life group mate for her dish.
This is the pot of common mint which I bought from Kmart for $2.50 and since then, I have propagated 5 pots of mints from it. Quite a sense of achievement to me, having failed once from the pot I bought from Ikea when I started out gardening.
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Easter Sunday is not about Easter Bunny or Easter Eggs. It is about Jesus Christ rising from the dead and conquering death so that we are free to connect with God.
"All that mankind needs for good health and healing is provided by God in nature...the challenge of Science is to find it." - Paracelcus, the father of Pharmcology, 1493 - 1541