Say “no” to mozzies

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Remember to change the water every other day. Better yet, place anti-mosquito granules in the water - get them at plant nurseries.

The good folks from the NEA have been busy checking the neighbourhood for mosquito breeding places because there have been a couple of new cases of dengue reported here again. It’s ironic to think that the tiny Aedes mosquito can bring big, strong humans down – but they can, and they do. Indiscriminately. So we need to be on the alert for them.

Having had dengue fever many years ago, I can assure you I don’t want to go through it again. It’s not just because of the fever that completely incapacitates you; there are different dengue viruses, and getting infected by more than one of them can give you the deadly dengue hemorrhagic fever.

It takes weeks and months to get your strength back after having dengue, and because of the potentially dangerous consequences, I urge everyone to be more careful about stagnant water – not just in your home but in your surroundings. You never know if the mosquito that bit you as you walked on your way anywhere was a carrier of the dengue virus. It recently happened to a friend of mine, and she likely was bitten by a mosquito on her way to the bus stop as there were a couple of dengue cases in that part of the neighbourhood. We can’t be too careful.

For more information about what you can do to prevent mosquitoes from breeding, see my earlier anti-mozzie article. Stay safe, folks!

© 2011 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.


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What a load of…

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This is what happens when an industrial vehicle can't fit through a residential gateway - your bulk compost comes over the fence! I like the neat bags...

A while ago, I mentioned to a friend that I was going to place an order for a load of compost, since I unhappily realized that we don’t produce enough garden waste to generate the amount of compost I wanted.

Why did I feel we needed a lot of compost? Well, in my pottering around lately, I realized that our garden soil has become more sandy, because the organic stuff had been used up without being replenished over time. So, to get us on the right track, I figured some soil amendment and top dressing would help. I just needed a kick-start, because our monthly grass trimmings and other green waste wasn’t enough for the entire garden.

“You’re getting a ton of compost?” my friend said incredulously. “Take pictures,” she added, on my affirmation.

Neither of us could visualize what a ton would look like, and honestly, I was slightly nervous after placing the order. Those nerves shot right through the roof when I saw the grandaddy of all lorries stop in front of the gate on the delivery date. It was … huge!

As usual, I'm using our dogs to demonstrate scale. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what one ton of compost looks like when it's packed neatly.

“That’s not all for me, right?” I asked the delivery guy, pointing nervously at the back of the lorry that looked about a storey high (no kidding). He laughed and assured me no.

My ton of compost was neatly packed into a pair of 500kg bags that had to be lifted over the fence by the crane on the lorry. Compared to the size of the monster lorry, yes, they weren’t big. However, if I wanted to, I could toss in both of my dogs as well as my nephews and nieces and maybe just fill one of those bags – they’re that big!

And oh what lovely, soft dark compost was peeking out at us! The rich, sweet fragrance filled the air, and I couldn’t wait to start carting it around. Distributing it completely won’t happen overnight, but that compost is going to meet our edible plants, and the sunflower and other flowering plants, and it’s going to help to level off the uneven bits of lawn. Spreading it around will take time and calories (yay), and I’m going to enjoy doing all that. Oh yeah, I’m going to be busy… 8)

© 2011 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.

Read about our visit to GreenBack’s production facility!


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My papaya puzzle

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One week after the flower bloomed, this fruit appears to be growing

It’s intriguing that a fruit seems to be forming on the Red Lady papaya tree. As far as I know, the flower in question was the first that bloomed here – and as far as I know, it was a female flower. So why, after a week, has the flower ovary kept growing? The little fruit still has the 5 stigmas/styles attached. Will it grow into a fruit? Can it develop fully? Was it pollinated somehow?

So many questions and no answers yet, and the Red Lady papaya saga continues…

© 2011 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.


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Starting again with red zinnias

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A little forest of red zinnia seedlings surface sown in their parent's pot

When it turned out that the zinnia plant I had grown from mixed given seeds bore beautiful red flowers, I was determined to propagate it even more. So, when the first couple of flowers finished blooming and the flower heads had dried sufficiently (I waited until even the stem had turned brown), I happily harvested the seeds and scattered them in the same pot that the parent plant was growing in.

It took several days for the first tiny sprout to emerge, soon followed by more little green stems, some with the dried seed casings still attached to their heads! Due to rain and wind, the seeds had drifted to one half of the pot. Some may have been dispersed even further, but I wouldn’t know. I’ve been diligently protecting these babies from the voracious snails by scattering some snail pellets around the base of the pot, because I have plans for them.

So, if you’re growing zinnias from seed, know that surface sowing works very well. The seeds were left out in the open, where they got full morning sun and any rain that happened to fall. I made the effort to keep the soil moist, watering once a day, until the plants sprouted. They have the first set of true leaves now, and when they add another 2 sets, they’ll go out to the garden. It’s going to be so pretty! 8)

© 2011 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.


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