An extremely gusty morning....50km/h. Weather forecast to rain but it does not look like it is. Anyway hoping that the winds will settle down as most of my plants are bowing under its power. I had to tie the potato plant in the vege patch to a new stake and attach more strings to a few of the tomato stems to stakes. I had added some blood and bone to feed the tomato bush and melons last evening and this morning discovered that one of the dogs had gone over the fence and dug around it. :(
As I was replacing soil around the melons, I saw that two of them have produced a fruit each. It could be either rockmelon or honeydew. I am very pleasantly surprised. As I have stated in one previous entry, I am happy enough to see them germinate and flower as this is my first attempt growing melons. If I were able to harvest some fruits, that would be lovely. But just to reach this fruiting stage is a blessing. :) Thanks bees!!! Here are the pics :
The pak choy are not doing too well and I have been spotting holes in their leaves. I also fed them some blood and bone last evening by digging at the sides and burying thereafter. This morning, some strange-looking flies were on their leaves and soil. Are they the culprits? Or did the blood and bone attract them? Several sprays of pyrethrum preparation killed them. Well, I wish I need not use sprays. After 'consulting' my friend who gave me the pak choy seeds, I came back and opened up the centre of the vegetable. To my horror, she was right. There were two dead caterpillars (likely due to the spray) in the midst and one in the soil, still alive. They were very tiny light green caterpillars. I have never noticed them! They were the most probable culprits for the holes in the leaves. It is highly possible that the flies (which are not houseflies) have laid eggs on the pak choy or in the surrounding soil.
This pot below is always my pride and joy. The two vietnamese mints are producing so many new leaves. Looks like I have better do some vietnamese rolls soon. :) Not many things thrive in pots but I am left with not many choices since I am on a rented property and am going to move to a new home soon. The potatoes in the pots have paler leaves than the one in the soil. Eversince I potted the oregano from the ground, its leaves are also paler. Those grown in the ground almost 100% out-do those in pots such as the lemon balm. I have to accept this fact and was rather prepared mentally for this outcome. However, I would love to study the reasons for this. Why do plants do so much better in the ground than in pots? Are they so clever they know they have limited space even when they are still tiny? I guess it is very important to make thorough research on what do well in pots and what do well in soil. And also on how to improve pot soil so that my plants can do well equally in them. Looks like some homework for me to do.
This is a picture of my vege patch and potted plants. I think I have never taken a picture of the whole area :
Temperatures set to be a high of 34 deg celcius again. Rain or scorching heat? Strong winds whole day? At 5pm, the sky turned gloomy and looked like some storm is seriously coming. I used new and clear half-cut plastic bags to wrap up some of the larger tomato bunches since I have read that rains do cause them to crack. Tying an umbrella over the bush is out of the question as the wind is really powerful. Pails ready to collect some rain. Any?
The pak choy are not doing too well and I have been spotting holes in their leaves. I also fed them some blood and bone last evening by digging at the sides and burying thereafter. This morning, some strange-looking flies were on their leaves and soil. Are they the culprits? Or did the blood and bone attract them? Several sprays of pyrethrum preparation killed them. Well, I wish I need not use sprays. After 'consulting' my friend who gave me the pak choy seeds, I came back and opened up the centre of the vegetable. To my horror, she was right. There were two dead caterpillars (likely due to the spray) in the midst and one in the soil, still alive. They were very tiny light green caterpillars. I have never noticed them! They were the most probable culprits for the holes in the leaves. It is highly possible that the flies (which are not houseflies) have laid eggs on the pak choy or in the surrounding soil.
This pot below is always my pride and joy. The two vietnamese mints are producing so many new leaves. Looks like I have better do some vietnamese rolls soon. :) Not many things thrive in pots but I am left with not many choices since I am on a rented property and am going to move to a new home soon. The potatoes in the pots have paler leaves than the one in the soil. Eversince I potted the oregano from the ground, its leaves are also paler. Those grown in the ground almost 100% out-do those in pots such as the lemon balm. I have to accept this fact and was rather prepared mentally for this outcome. However, I would love to study the reasons for this. Why do plants do so much better in the ground than in pots? Are they so clever they know they have limited space even when they are still tiny? I guess it is very important to make thorough research on what do well in pots and what do well in soil. And also on how to improve pot soil so that my plants can do well equally in them. Looks like some homework for me to do.
This is a picture of my vege patch and potted plants. I think I have never taken a picture of the whole area :
Temperatures set to be a high of 34 deg celcius again. Rain or scorching heat? Strong winds whole day? At 5pm, the sky turned gloomy and looked like some storm is seriously coming. I used new and clear half-cut plastic bags to wrap up some of the larger tomato bunches since I have read that rains do cause them to crack. Tying an umbrella over the bush is out of the question as the wind is really powerful. Pails ready to collect some rain. Any?
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