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Monday, July 19, 2010

Fatal Pruning: Not Cleaning Your Shears

Nothing's been happening to my garden lately.  Some of my plants are due for a good prune, like my Cinnamon Basil and my Lemon Mint. But in the past couple of months, some of my pruning sessions end up killing the mother plant.  Cases in point: my poinsettia dried up a few days after I pruned it; my Malvarosa deteriorated (and is still ongoing) after I pruned it; and my erstwhile prolific Japanese and Chocolate mints died after pruning. Now, I think I know why.  I didn't have the habit of cleaning my shears after every use.  I think I ended up infecting every plant that I pruned because I didn't disinfect my shears.  Tsk.  Well that's a lesson learned for me.  So guys, after every use make sure you wash, soap and wipe your shears with alcohol just to be on the safe side.  Instead of making your plants bushier, you might end up killing them like I did.


3 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:57 AM

    Thank you for sharing your experience with your plants. It is really interesting to know things that I haven't done before.

    By the way, I would like to suggest this formula for bugs.

    -ginger
    -chili pepper
    -citronella

    Just mash everything and mix in water. Set aside for a day or two. Strain and use liquid for spraying.

    If you like your plants to grow healthy, try using and making your own compost. All you need are:

    -plastic pail with cover
    -leaves, grass, wood chips, paper (pls make sure its dry)
    -vegetable and fruit peelings, left over food (pls dont include bones)
    -yakult

    You can do it by making a layer of dry leaves and peelings alternately in a pail. Spray with yakult. Pls make sure you cover it tightly for a month. Then mix it to aerate. Cover again. You will know its ready to use when you smell the earthy odor. It must not be too moist.


    I hope this can help. =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous4:15 PM

    I forgot to tell you. If you like a complete fertilizer, put earthworms in the almost done compost and dont cover. Make sure that the compost is not hot for the worms to be able to live in it and please dont put fresh peelings. they only eat pre-decomposed materials. they will eat everything up and produce vermicast that you can use to fertilize your plants.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey thanks for all the tips. You seem like an accomplished gardener.

    What's your blog? I'll give you a visit too.

    ReplyDelete

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