Tomato Transplants, Upside Down Tomato, RIP Tomato

The last time I wrote about my tomatoes was after discovering that my tomato seedling bed could only accommodate around three full grown plants and I had about a dozen planted there.  And so I took pains to transfer them to separate pots.  Picture one shows one of my healthiest transplanted tomatoes.  It's still in a small pot, but I'll transfer it once it looks nice and ready (with roots all over the pot).  Picture two shows one of the healthiest tomato plants that remained in the seedling bed.   The bits of white you see on the soil are crushed eggshells, which are supposed to help shore up the calcium levels of the soil.  Picture three shows my first attempt at growing an upside down tomato.  True to what I've read, it attempts to grow towards the sun.  How cool is that?

Petunia in Tagaytay

From a gardening standpoint, there were a couple of things I saw in Tagaytay over the weekend.  I discovered that my blue flowered plant was locally called May Flores, but is actually a mophead hydrangea.  Thanks to Donna & Miel for correcting me and to Judith for definitively identifying my plant.  Just a few more days before it blooms! 

Cinnamon Basil Propagation

Remember the Cinnamon Basil I welcomed to my garden just over a week ago?  Although it was brand new to my garden family, it looked tall enough and I was aching to propagate something.  So I cut about a 6-inch stem, removed the leaves at the bottom and placed it in a glass of water.  I submerged about 2/5 of the stem.  After about 3-4 days, it looked like picture 1:  it already had small roots!  Isn't that cool?  The following day, I moved it to one of those plastic seedling containers.  Check it out in picture 2.  Today, it looks just fine.    I was so happy with the result that I took another look at the mother plant.  It was still tall!  I made another cutting and it's now in a glass of water.  By this Sunday, I can probably plant it again.  So for those interested in propagation, it's not that hard.  I just make sure the mother plant gets enough sun, water and soap solution spray.  I also threw in some diluted "organic fertilizer".  I also pick a leaf every now and then just to smell the nice cinnamon scent.

Gotu Kola Care 2 and Benefits

Alright, my Gotu Kola has been struggling the past weeks.  In my last Gotu Kola post, I figured that it was due to the extreme summer heat.  Supposedly, Gotu Kola plants like swampy or marshy environments.  So what did I do?

I got a used ice cream container (no holes of course) and I transplanted my small Gotu Kola there.  I filled up the container with enough water to simulate a marsh. I figured it would be okay since the plant is supposed to be aquatic.

Welcome Hannah Leah and Malvarosa

My trip to Tagaytay wasn't just good for finding out the name May Flores.  I also got myself a plant.  On the way home, we saw this garden and just had to stop. I bought a plant called Hannah Leah (or Ana Lea, or Anna Leah, whatever).  I just love the small purple flowers and the shiny leaves.  Silly me (2x), I should have asked for the scientific name!  I can't find it on the Internet again except for some obscure seller in Sulit.com and he spelled it Ana Leah.   It's supposed to bloom throughout the year and like other flowering plants, I'm supposed to deadhead it after each bloom "expires".  In a month or two, I'll try some cuttings on soil. 

Tagaytay Plant - May Flores

Alright, so we had a little trip to Tagaytay yesterday.  Among other things, I was excited to ask the local gardeners what the name of my plant was.  Look at picture 1, which is my plant starting to bloom.  Look at pictures 2 and 3, which shows identical plants!  According to the caretaker, the plant's name is May Flores. I know, it sounds like someone you might have gone to school with, but that's the name he said.  Silly me, I should have asked for the scientific name because I certainly can't find it on the Internet.  But the plant is popular in Tagaytay.  Apparently, it comes in different colors too, from blue to lavender, from pink to white.  I also asked for propagation techniques.  He said it was just cuttings in soil.  I'll try that soon!   Cool huh?  So whether that's the correct name or not, my Tagaytay plant is now known as May Flores.

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American Idol Bets 3

Well my picks have changed a bit.  There should be a fantasy league for American Idol too just like in the NBA.

1. Siobahn or Crystal

3. Didi - she's the only hot chick here so I'm pretty sure who the guys are going to vote for
4. Casey
5. Lee or Michael

I'm dumping Andrew from my list.

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Tree on Tree Action: Growing Siling Labuyo

About a month and a half or about 10 cuttings and 4 purchased plants ago, since there was only so much to do in my garden and since I wasn't sure that anything would survive, I decided to pad my ego a bit by planting siling labuyo (Capsicum Fructescens) seeds into my various pots.   When the seeds started germinating & sprouting, the pots and plots looked so much greener and I was happy.  Since then, my mango plants have grown and my various mint cuttings have taken root and thrived.

Tagaytay Plant in Bloom

Well, after three months of tilling, fertilizing, watering and pruning, my Tagaytay plant is now bushy and in bloom.  But here's my pickle:  I have no idea what this plant is.  As you will see in a week or two, the flowers will turn lavender.  The other plant grew leaves too, but has not yet started blooming.  What is the name of this plant???  Help!

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Root Division Propagation 2: Oregano Thyme

In the past couple of weeks, I've tried rooting my Oregano Thyme cuttings in a glass of water.  After all, it is an herb and fellow herbs Chocolate, Japanese and Peppermint all easily rooted using that method.  The stems didn't rot at once which gave me some hope, but they died anyway.  But then I read about root division and it got me all excited.  In all my years, I never knew such a method existed.  Imagine that.  In my prior post, I talked about doing that with my mums.  Then I read that it's a reliable way of propagating Oregano Thyme too.

Root Division Propagation: Chrysanthemums

When I purchased my first mums in January, it looked like picture 1: fairly small but full of white and yellow flowers.  But with direct sun, frequent soap spraying, proper fertilization, good drainage and regular water (whew!), it grew big and leafy as in picture 2.  It's not quite my ultimate goal since I wanted it to flower again, but hey I've been pretty happy with how far it has grown.

Mango Seeds with Roots (Germination) - Spreading My Seeds Part 3

If you've been reading my past posts, you'd know that this blog's transformation from a stock market heavy one to a green gardening one happened when I came upon a mango tree in a pot.  Since that time, I've been experimenting with various plants.  It has also given me a healthy obsession with germinating mango seeds.  Well in my last attempt, all the seeds expanded and started to grow roots.  I planted one, but it died.  I planted another one and it's still a wait and see.

Welcome Cinnamon Basil

The other day, I added a new member in my growing but struggling garden. Say hello to Cinnamon Basil.  In the first picture, you'll see a travel weary plant.  The ride in my trunk in a plastic bag caused the leaves to droop.  The second picture shows the basil two days later after being left out in the sun.  It's in the same area as my sun-loving mums.  I also watered it very sparingly and sprayed it with soap solution to make sure pests don't make a pesto out of its leaves.  In my next posts about my Cinnamon Basil, I'll add a couple of tips on care as well (let me research first). 

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The Cat Mobile 2: The Infiltration

Remember the little kittens that attacked my mango seedling?  Then they took the next step and starting living under my car?  Now there's another chapter in the story.

How To Plant An Upside Down Tomato

First of, I want to share with everyone how much my little tomato seedlings have grown over the past three weeks.   In picture one, you'll see an aerial view of over a dozen tomato seedlings newly transplanted into the seedling bed.  If you're looking for tomato care, check out my past post.   In picture two, you'll see that most of them have two sets of leaves already.  But I also found out that my seedling bed can only accommodate about three full grown tomato plants!  Yikes!  I have to move all the other ones.

BDO Race for Life 3/6K

March 20, 2010, 5:00 AM
Mall of Asia Marathon Route

EVENTS

3K & 6K Walk/Run

REGISTRATION FEE

Php 50 (7-12 yrs. old)
Php 200 (13 & up - with sunvisor)
Php 300 (13 & up - with singlet)

includes race bib, singlet or sunvisor and route map

WHERE TO REGISTER

Registration will be from February 5 - March 15, 2010.

If you are not an employee of BDO, find a friend who works there so you can support this event.

Registration forms and race kits are available at 9/F BDO North Tower, Makati Avenue cor. Dela Costa St., Makati City

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Gotu Kola Care

Just a month ago, I was excited because my Gotu Kola started self propagating.  It was supposed to be my ego plant; the one that will thrive even if my other plants die. Lately though, it seems a little yellow and spindly.  It's unhealthy and I didn't know why.  Until tonight.

After some research, I think I found some good clues when caring for this supposedly weed-like herb.  I saw one site call it aquatic; I saw another that talked about growing it on shallow water.  And then I read that it proliferates in swampy areas.  So that must be the answer.  It needs a damp, shaded environment with lots of organic material, just like a swamp.

Mint Cuttings & New Roots and Mint Benefits & FAQs

Over the past week or so, since discovering that mint cuttings can be rooted in a glass of water, I've made about 4-5 cuttings already.  Virtually every stem that grew past the pot became a cutting.  And what are the results? For one, it seems that rooting is faster in a glass of water than inside a zip locked plastic bag with water.  Among the plants I've been experimenting with, the Japanese Mint has been the most productive.  The Chocolate Mint is the runner up.  I've had no luck growing roots for my Oregano Thyme or my Petunia.  The sole cutting I made for my Poinsettia wilted. Then again, I read it was hard to propagate Poinsettias.  But I digress.

Month of Revivals: Petunia, Mums and my Tagaytay Plant

The past couple of days have been generally good for my little garden.  Let me tell you why.

Last month, I got two petunias, one with purple flowers and the other with red & white ones.  If you look closely at the red one though, you'd see that there were a couple of wilting leaves.  Isolated case?  I wish.  For about two weeks, I've pruned and removed rotting leaves and I've tried to exterminate ants in the soil by drowning them and spraying with soap.  By the time I was done, only half of the plant was left.  Thus, for the next two weeks I paid very close attention to this one.  I moved it around several times a day to maximize the sunlight exposure and I toned down on the watering.  I read that petunias flourish under the full sun.  I fertilized and sprayed and removed diseased leaves.  And look at the picture I took today.  While not quite as lush as when I bought it, all the leaves are healthy and the petunia flowers are back.  Yey!

How to Register a Vehicle That's Not In Your Name And Was Shipped From The Province with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) - Part 2

If you read the first part of my attempt to register my Suzuki Multicab, you'll know that I wasn't very happy.  So what are the basic things that should happen when you register a vehicle?  You need a third party liability insurance, a smoke emission testing, the engine stencil and the registration proper.  At least it's like that if the vehicle is under your name and originated in Manila.

In my case, there were a couple more steps.  That's a major understatement since I went to LTO four different times.  If you read my Philippine Passport and Driver's License entries, you'll know that I've gone two for two without bribing anyone.  Do you think the record will hold?  Read on.

Hanging Herbs

Here's a discovery.  A peppermint cutting can take root in a glass jar with water after just about a week.  And what's on this picture?  Well I'm trying to conserve on potting soil so I put in a lot of leaves below and over the soil.  I hear it conserves water that way too.  So you'll have to look very closely to differentiate the peppermint from the other leaves on this hanging pot.  Will it thrive in this environment?  I'll let you know in a couple of weeks. 

The Cat Mobile

Remember the time I got so worried because little kittens attacked my newly sprouted mango plant?   I said I liked furry animals too much that I can't set traps for these kittens.  Guess what?  They're bigger now.  While for most part, they've left my plants alone, now they've decided to live under my car.  Count them.  There are five small cats under my rear.  It's not a one-time gig either.  I see them everyday.  When the green gate is closed, they position themselves under the narrow space between the floor and the gate.  I think it must be cool there and that's how they're escaping the summer heat.

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Mango Seeds with Roots (Germination) - Spreading My Seeds Part 2

Just over two weeks ago, I demonstrated how I was going to germinate the mango seeds.    I said I was just going to leave them and forget them (I find the over fussing tends to be counter productive).  Well, now they look like they're ready to be planted in soil.  And I'm not doing this prematurely.  If you look at the pictures, you'll see what I mean.

As you can see, they've already turned green and have started growling little roots.  Something I haven't seen before in my past attempts is the seed opening in the middle.  Ahhhh...that must be where the first stalk will come from.  I think I may have killed one of the seeds though.  If you look at picture 2, you'll see this small thing detached at the bottom.  Oops...I think I broke a root trying to remove the seeds from the plastic bag.
Anyway, I think I'll put these ones in plastic cups and grow them from there.  Then maybe I'll throw in a little mango plant to some of my favorite alkaline water customers.  My goal will be to fill up my neighborhood with mango trees. 
The final note is that I'll experiment with germinating them without removing the fibrous husks.  Let's seek if it works just as well.

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Tomato Care

My baby tomatoes are growing up.  From tomato seeds, I germinated them.  After a week or so, I transplanted the little seedlings into a new bed.  I may have moved them too early, since they looked shocked for a while.  But now, most of them are upright and growing again.

While I'm still waiting for them to become big ass plants, I did my little research and found some interesting facts (not necessarily related to tomato care).

American Idol Bets 2

Ok, what does it say when two of my picks ended up in the bottom two?  Tsk.  I think I'm changing my mind about Andrew.  I agree with the judges.  He's been under performing for two straight weeks.  I might shift to Lee (is the name right?)  You know, the one who sounds like a grunge vocalist.

As for Didi, how could people not vote for a hot blond in boots with a southern twang? Tsk. 

I think Casey should sing Wanted Dead or Alive.  Didi should sing Foolish Games.  Maybe Lee can do some Pearl Jam.

That girl who sang Freedom was a pretty powerful one too.

Check my initial entry here:

http://cianoy.blogspot.com/2010/02/american-idol-bets.html

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Dead Mango Graft, New Mango Plant

Alright, it's been a while since I talked about my mango adventures.  That's just because nothing was happening.  In the past few days, some big things have occurred, and not all good. 

First on my adventure list is my mango graft.  A couple of weeks ago, I experimented with our big tree.  I got a healthy green branch and I tried grafting it in the thick trunk.  My challenges included skinning the bark and getting in deep enough since the trunk was pretty hard.  And if succeeded I was afraid the tree would fall on my head.  After a couple of weeks of waiting, the stem finally browned.  It was dead.  I think it was watered too, which made the stem rot.  I'll try again in a couple of days.

Badong and the Fortune Plant

One of my babies, Badong, had me take a picture of himself while smelling the Fortune Plant. Too bad it's not scented.  Nonetheless, they really like it because it's a plant just big enough for them to take care of. It needs less than a thimbleful of water every day and it seems to be happy beside a window. 

Hydroponics rocks!

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Globe Telecom: My Three Weeks of Bad Customer Service

Let me tell you what I need to happen with my Globe Handyphone accounts.  You tell me if it's simple or complicated.

• Phone Number 1 (PN1) - I paid P2,500 when I meant to do it for Phone Number 2 (PN2).  In effect, this account has a credit balance / overpayment.  PN1 is under my dad's name.
• What I want to happen is to zero out the balance of PN1 and transfer whatever overpayment there was to PN2.  According to the first customer service representative (CSR) that I talked to, this was possible.
• I want to close PN1 and just keep PN2.
  

Petunia in Bloom

When I first bought my Petunias a couple of weeks ago, they held so much promise.  They had beautiful flowers, lots of leaves and were allegedly easy to grow. I first placed them under indirect sunlight since my Poinsettia grew healthy in that area.   Like my Mums though, they didn't look so vibrant after a couple of days.  So I did my Google search on Petunia care and started spraying them with soap solution.  The red and white Petunia, in particular, had a lot of ants!  I'm not sure why.  But I drowned the ants and sprayed with soap until they all died.  At this time, it still looks delicate.

The Amazing Kidney Race

The kidney is one of the vital organs that make the complex and crucial body processes possible. As an acknowledgement of the kidneys’ amazing role in human physiology and in celebration of World Kidney Day 2010 with the theme “Amazing Kidneys”, the Philippine Society of Nephrology (PSN), in cooperation with UP Family Life and Child Development Circle, is staging a rare race event dubbed as “The Amazing Kidney Race.” To be held in the scenic and breezy campus of UP Diliman, “The Amazing Kidney Race” promises to give beginner and seasoned runners alike a unique and exciting racing experience.

Institutionalizing the humanitarian dimension of running and race events is what the PSN aims to accomplish in staging “The Amazing Kidney Race.” Proceeds of this race event will be used mainly for supporting the kidney disease awareness campaign of PSN and the operation and treatment of kidney patients, and partly for the UP Child Development Center. Likewise, this race is among the platform events of PSN adjunct to the global celebration of World Kidney Day.

Minting a Fortune

It was the best play of words I could think of.  Sue me.  ;-)

Today, I will introduce a couple of new members in my growing garden.  First of is this little Fortune Plant (if I got it right).  The scientific name is Dracaena Sanderiana.  This is my first indoor hydroponic plant (plants without soil).  Hopefully, it provides me with some psychological feeling that I'm breathing fresh air.  No, I'm sure this little bugger (shown beside the cellphone to scale) can't provide me with the oxygen I need, but it's nice to look at.  One of these days, I'll make sure to put a couple of these in the bathroom as well.