hello

the gardener speaks.

today i bought another packet of soil:) and one day i will consider getting some african violets. unfortunately thou is not bestowed with the space and time to care for the plants should i get any.

instead i transplanted 3 pots of chilli padi (which u can feel free to ask for a pot of it from me.) and the red bean plant (that looks real sad actually) and the peanut plant (which is so adorable). transplant is actually repotting. not sure if the first is a correct term.

also, i got rid of the flowers that were dying and the kangkong that was dying. see below about ants.

and i decided that in about 2 more weeks time i shall annihilate all the basil after i have harvested the seeds. the seeds are probably dried up really small fruits. they come about 4 to each flower and do not have any casing around them beyond the oversized cup-like thing the flowers fall out of. incase u have no idea what i am talking about, take a cup. or cup your hand pretend that in the palm of your hand is 4 seeds. then turn it such that it almost faces the floor. yea more or less like that.

since nothing should go to waste here are my lessons learnt

1. to prolong the life of sweet basil, always pluck out any form of flower buds no matter how sadistic it seems and even if u have to do it every day. once the plant starts flowering, it starts dying.
2. its a plant that appreciates its own space. and needs a lot a lot of soil space.
3. don't overwater, but at its growing stage it needs heck lot of water.
4. don't grow something you don't really eat. or at least not in such huge quatities.

till now i have not found any method of drying it. or any receipes that i like that has a huge amt of basil in it. so bleargh. quite useless eh. esp since the plant looks like its dying all the time, even when its in the best of its health.

1. ants esp black ants that live in the soil is a plant's worse nightmare. i will find some way to stop them. like maybe salt around the pots or something.
2. kangkong is a plant that is hard to kill. but its not its fault it is dying. i blame the ants.
3. hamster food like sun flower seeds actually grow. haha so fun.

k now that i'm showered and clean i shall go plant more seeds :) shall try more red bean that is actually called adzuki beans. [and snap beans. and coriander and lady's finger. when i can find more containers]

p.s. if anyone wants to set up a kindergarden, i will be very happy to help u with your eco-garden. hee hee.

p.p.s. thanks to chinyang for watering my sunflower seedling in the weekends. and telling me that they have been looking like woozes. time to start batch 2.