Propagating Rosemary and Can-o-worms.

My little gardener with Marco and Smokey.

My Can-o-worm farm parked in the garage is doing well. This a peek at it. Not looking forward to Saturday, where temperature may soar to a 43 deg again. :(

This lemon tree was suddenly in a bad shape. Not sure if it was due to the extreme heat last week or a nutrient deficiency (as I have not done a thing for it before). A lot of leaves yellowed and dropped, as did the lemons, both large and small. I have tried to water it around the dripline and fertilised with less than a handful of citrus fertiliser. Hope that helps!

A strawberry? It is a deformed tomato, due to either too hot or too cold temperature during pollination, and will produce poor quality fruits.

Tip : Misting flowering plants in the early morning provides humidity and this favors pollination from bees.

This surviving Purple King is growing its way up the support without much help on my part. :)

The Rosemary Propagation Mid-Summer Experiment :

5 stalks of rosemary soft wood cuttings in jar of normal tap water.

5 stalks of rosermary hard wood cuttings with soft wood on top in jar of normal tap water.

Some water was poured away after a few days, retaining a little and fresh tap water topped up. Jars are placed near indirect sunlight as window sill. No rooting hormone used.

Result : It took 20 days before I could see roots appearing on any stem.

5 hard wood cuttings rooted. 1 soft wood cutting rooted. Rooting zone : nodes.

Conclusion : Hardwood cuttings have the highest chance of rooting. Contrary to some books which say that hardwood cuttings should be taken in autumn and softwood cuttings to be taken in summer, the hardwood cuttings in my experiment all rooted in mid-summer where else the only one softwood cutting rooted pathetically.

Tip : It is useful to wrap the cuttings and jar in a clear plastic bag to reduce transpiration (water loss through evaporation) from the leaves. In my case, I did not do so but it still worked in this hot summer climate.

Another Hot & Scorching Summer Day.

Another scorching hot day! I had put up some form of defence system today for my plants - umbrellas! And lots of watering. Set up 3 umbrellas and amazingly, those plants under them are not scorched down. Those which did not have umbrellas certainly bore the grunt of the heat and sunshine. Fortunately, towards evening winds were strong and there were no casulty. Caught another grasshopper (pests)! Wonder what I can do to deal with them. They hop about and I had to be really quick in catching them. Spotted a yellow bug on the sunflower and it seems like a lady bug. My newly repotted rosemary is producing new soft growth, a good sign. I reckon I would have to change it to a larger pot soon as I read that their roots grow quite deep.

A picture of the remaining batch of greengages.

The tomato sucker which rooted standing in a jar of water for more than a week and planted into potting mix with blood and bone, seasol and crushed egg shells.

A new pot in my garden - cayenne pepper. A birthday pressie from Fina. What a pleasant surprise!!! :) I have tried unsuccessfully to grow chillies..twice the seedling stunted after being 1 inch tall. I have concluded that the problem must be the quality of the seeds.

Keeping Check.

Sam and I harvested some more of the greengages. They are quite fragile and since the tree is tall, some fell onto the ground and the impact caused broken skin. Given that to doggy which happily ate them up.

Thought this oregano is fighting space and nutrients with one of the melons close by, as the melon did not seem to be growing healthily and turning yellow, so I have dug the oregano up and potted it. It did amazingly well even in 37-39 deg celsius weather in the potting mix with seasol. I made sure drainage is good by placing the planter box on a sloped ground.

My two beautiful Laksa plants (vietnamese mint) are flourishing, growing taller and having more baby leaves. One thing for sure is to keep watering them :)..at least I am sure they thrive with lots of water!

Rosemary is truly strong, not even showing any fuzz after being repotted in new potting mix! And seems to be growing, having more stems appearing.

The two potato plants in the pot are growing stronger day by day, with new baby leaves growing on the stems, which is a good sign of health. Leaves are also firmer now.

Thyme continue to flourish in the pot. Hoping to see some flowering soon before I cut them back.

All the four Buk choy seeds germinated. I should have placed all four separately instead of pairing them up. :( good lesson learned.

Tip : If soil is dry, water before sowing. Use a watering can which allows gentle watering. Never sow and then water as the soil may form a crust over the seed and prevent entry of water to the seed or even prevent seedlings from breaking through to the light.

The bare lemon mint stem is doing so surprisingly well, growing baby leaves even in the seemingly dry soil.

I have pruned many leaves off the tomato plant and tied drooping branches to supports. Also pruned off some flowers so that the existing tomatoes would get most of the nutrients.

The mint cuttings have rooted well so I planted them into the potting mix yesterday evening, with mulching and kept them indoors overnight, with lots of watering and seasol. They have been taking it in and are out in the sun this afternoon when the sunshine is not so harsh.

Cut the lavendar back and hope that it will grow better from below. Also tested the drainage of the soil. Quite sure drainage is fine. Hoping that the leaves will revive and not continue to turn yellow brown. Not sure if the pyrethrum spray has caused the yellowing and browning of the leaves.

Both purple king have emerged! This morning this one could not be seen and in the afternoon, I was shocked to see that it has come out! Driven two supports into the ground.

This potato plant looked like it was going to die few days back but it survived!

Photo Update of Garden Babies

Pear sprinkled with cornflour which did not help with curbing pear slugs - experiment failed. Manual squashing with a disposable glove works best. Pyrethrum spray works but not so on windy days. Thyme growing taller - hoping to harvest some soon. Peach tree doing well...no pesky aphids due to good work of ladybugs. Green plum turning yellow and then will go red.

Plums on the tree.

My orange seeds have germinated after a long while (Sept to Dec). :)

Rosemary growing taller.

My friend has confirmed these are either chilli or bell peppers. However they soon died after thinning out and repotting. Should have added Seasol fertiliser during that.

Chilli plants are growing at a slow pace since sowing on 4 Nov 08.

Friend has confirmed these are melons (rockmelon or honeydew). Probably have to space them out when the rain goes and soil is soft.

Sunflowers are doing fantastic since sowing 1st & 3rd Nov 08.

Two types of plums harvested - maroon and yellowish-red.

More Photos of My Garden Babies.

Rosemary after re-potting.

Ladybug on a plum leaf. Thai Basil after planting into soil. Tomato flowers. Wonder what these could be. Wonder what these are.

Possibly rockmelon plants from the seeds and pulp I have buried.

The clump of seedlings in front could possibly be Capsicum seedlings emerging (whose seeds and pulp I had buried end of winter)

Sunflowers seedlings spaced out.

Ladybug on the mint leaf.

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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Most Sunscreens Work Partially Only - Part II

Continued from Part I. Here are the ingredients of one sunscreen which I have trusted and used before. I am glad that I am now educated and will never buy it again : Thermal spring water, ethylhexl methoxycinnamate, bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine, cyclomethicone, isodecyl neopentanoate, glycerin, methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethybutylphenol, water, glyceryl stearate, potassium cetylphosphate, stearyl alcohol, pvp/eicosene copolymer, butylparaben, caprylic/capric triglyceride, decyl glucoside, disodium edta, ethylparaben, fragrance, isobutylparaben, methylparaben, o-cymen-5-ol, phenoxythanol, propylparaben, sorbic acid, titanium dioxide, tocopheryl glucoside, triethoxycaprylysilane, xanthan gum, zinc oxide. What a load of stuff that goes onto my face! Now i wise up and use Miessence's Outdoor Reflect Balm. Ingredients : organic olea europaea (olive) juice extract, zinc oxide, organic butyrospermum parkii (shea) fruit butter, organic unrefined cera alba(beeswax), avena sativa (oat) kernel flour, polygonoum multiflorum root extract, d-alpha tocopherol (natural vitamin e), organic copernicia prunifera (carauba) wax, aroma (essential oils), rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, dunaliella salina algae extract. Check up more : https://www.mionegroup.com/product/13430

Cod Liver Oil for Young Children

I import awarding-winning Nordic Naturals Children's DHA from USA for my two-year-old. This is a world-reputed brand of cod liver oil. Although there is always concern of heavy metals contamination in fish and cod liver fish oils, I believe this brand is the safest as it has obtained gold standard for its cod liver oils and fish oils. Nordic Naturals solely focuses and produces fish oils and cod liver oils, unlike many pharmaceutical companies which produce a wide range of health supplements. Actually, I stumbled across Nordic Naturals one day while checking on another brand of cod liver oil. This Children's DHA is strawberry-flavoured and contains these ingredients : purified artic cod liver oil, d-alpha tocopherol, strawberry essence, rosemary extract. When Samuel turned two, we weaned him over to drinking cow's milk (fresh milk). Only when we are out, we pack along with us formula. There is no Omega-3 in cow's milk especially when cows are given commercial feed instead of grazing on grass. I suppose only organic fresh milk has omega-3 fatty acids nowadays. And everybody is taking a lot of Omega-6 but too little of Omega-3. It is hard to get Omega-3 from our normal diet. Cod liver oil is the best source of Omega-3 fatty acids with direct forms EPA and DHA which the body can use straightaway. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for brain development especially in the early years, for proper functioning of the nervous system and for proper visual function. At two, it is fine for him to take cod liver oil straight from the bottle. I give him less than half a teaspoon after dinner. One bottle can last about 3 months. I have chosen not to give him Scotts Emulsion after studying all the ingredients that are in it. There are preservatives and lots of other stuff. Ingredients : Water , Cod Liver Oil , Sucrose , Phosphoric Acid 2% or Less of , Tricalcium Phosphate 2% or Less of , Monocalcium Phosphate 2% or Less of , Vitamin A 2% or Less of , Vitamin D3 2% or Less of , Xanthan Gum 2% or Less of , Propylene Glycol Alginate 2% or Less of , Modified Corn Starch 2% or Less of , L-Lysine 2% or Less of , Potassium Sorbate 2% or Less of , Sodium Methylparaben 2% or Less of , Sodium Propylparaben 2% or Less of , Sodium Benzoate 2% or Less of , Artificial Flavor 2% or Less of. Although many of us including I grew up with Scotts Emulsion, we will never know if it is really working. I think with proper education and knowledge, we can make better and wiser choices in what we eat and use. Check out : https://www.nordicnaturals.com/direct/prodsummary.asp?ID=75