Silly over seedlings

The haze may be worsening but it’s not getting me down as badly as before. I have little plants to perk my mood up, you see…

The cucumber plants are almost ready to be planted out into the garden. I want them big enough so that the stems aren’t too tender and attractive to hungry snails.

The cucumber plants are almost ready to be planted out into the garden. I want them big enough so that the stems aren’t too tender and attractive to hungry snails.

I have a potful of young kangkong plants that look green and vibrant. I’m going for a crowded look this time, so there are more seeds in there that haven’t germinated yet.

I have a potful of young kangkong plants that look green and vibrant. I’m going for a crowded look this time, so there are even more seeds in there that haven’t germinated yet.

The marigold seedlings need to be separated... that will be a weekend project, probably.

The marigold seedlings need to be separated… that will be a weekend project, probably.

The okra plants (no pic as they didn’t look nice) were rather leggy because I should have put them where they get more light. I’ll just have to sow more seeds…

There are also new seedlings to show -

Three unnamed Thai gourd plants (not all pictured). Hope we get more monster fruits from them!

Three unnamed Thai gourd plants (not all pictured). Hope we get more monster fruits from them!

Long beans - always a good staple here. We love them fresh! I really need to make it a habit to sow new seeds every 3 weeks or so to keep the supply constant.

Long beans – always a good staple here. We love them fresh! I really need to make it a habit to sow new seeds every 3 weeks or so to keep the supply constant.

Coriander - wish it luck because I can’t seem to keep herbs alive for long, but I have seeds, so I’ll keep trying!

Coriander – wish it luck because I can’t seem to keep herbs alive for long, but I have seeds, so I’ll keep trying!

And there are other plants in the works since I decided to just keep sowing more seeds. I have quite the collection in the fridge that is a few years old (I keep adding to it!) that I think should be used instead of stored. So now instead of thinking of how awful the haze makes me feel, I have this happy sense of anticipation waiting for the seeds to germinate, and watching them grow when they do. Is that Plant Parent Syndrome? :)

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An unexpected aphid-eater

Beneficial creatures in the garden come in all shapes and sizes. My favourite is the ladybug, which gobbles up aphids that infest some plants. Recently, though, I saw and managed to film this:

The common Tailorbird is, well, common in Singapore gardens. As I’ve said of them before, they’re small and quick, and usually difficult to catch on camera.

Well, my mum told me recently that she’s seen what looks like a little family of Tailorbirds in the garden, where the parents seem to be showing the young ones what they’re supposed to do, and I’ve seen three or four of them flit about at times. The other day, though, I was surprised to see a couple of them descend onto our ageing okra plants that actually should be culled since they’re not growing well. The plants have also attracted yellow aphids, and I was going to remove them. Well, now that I know that the Tailorbirds are feeding on the aphids, I’ll hold off a bit longer – probably until the new plants are ready to be planted out. Isn’t it great to see nature in action?

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Sprouts galore!

What do I do to beat the heat and feel happy? Why, sow seeds, of course!

New cucumber plants - because I'm wishing I'd done this over a month ago so we'd have nice, cool fruits to cope with the current heat.

New cucumber plants – because I’m wishing I’d done this over a month ago so we’d have nice, cool fruits to cope with the current heat.

Okra or ladies fingers are one of the staples in our veggie garden as they grow well here.

Okra or ladies fingers are one of the staples in our veggie garden as they grow well here.

Kangkong plants that I intend to grow in hanging bottle-pots. The conversion of bottles to pots will be a weekend project.

Kangkong plants that I intend to grow in hanging bottle-pots. The conversion of bottles to pots will be a weekend project.

And marigold plants, because I harvested a seed head somewhere and decided to start growing the plants before the seeds lost their viability.

And marigold plants, because I harvested a seed head somewhere and decided to start growing the plants before the seeds lost their viability.

Oh, there are more plants in the works, but I’m not sure if the seeds are still good. Sowing seeds is one way to clear my old stocks of seeds that are a couple of years old. Storing them in the refrigerator extends their viability, but perhaps I push those boundaries too much… Anyway, seeing new plants germinate and grow from seed is one of the things that lifts my heart, and with the horrible weather we’ve been having (high levels of haze :( ), I do need that boost of joy.

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You can’t always win

I try not to keep count of the ups and downs when it comes to growing fruits and veggies, because there are simply too many variables to make growing things organically uneventful. But… lately, it hasn’t been a “winning” experience.

Peanut butter plant flowers blooming, with hopefully a couple of potential new fruits on the way.

Peanut butter plant flowers blooming, with hopefully a couple of potential new fruits on the way.

The first pair of peanut butter fruits disappeared – probably into the stomach of a hungry bird. They were tiny things, anyway, and were probably just a snack to the bird. I do wish we’d had the chance to taste them, though. The plant is still budding, and I hope there will be more fruits on the way.

Desiccated custard apple fruit direct from the plant. What more can I say.

Desiccated custard apple fruit direct from the plant. What more can I say.

Then, the first custard apple fruit stopped growing. It was still small when it started turning a bit pinkish, then it turned a darker colour. I finally decided that it was not going to grow to full term, so I removed it from the plant and cut it open to see how far it had developed. The first thing that surprised me was that it was hard and almost woody in texture. The second thing was when the fruit was in (imperfect) halves and there were big, formed seeds inside! Well, I didn’t think the plant was mature enough to support the fruit – it still has only two stems bearing leaves, and most of those fell off in the hot weather in June/July. Given time, I’m sure it will become a very productive little tree.

Clusters of Chinese kale sprouts WHERE I DID NOT SOW THEM!

Clusters of Chinese kale sprouts WHERE I DID NOT SOW THEM!

My third tale of woe concerns trying to plant out a bed of veggies. If you remember, I’ve been having a “lawn war”, pulling out weeds and types of grasses that I find too invasive. Instead of leaving bare patches of earth, I scattered an entire packet of seeds of Chinese kale over the weeded area to fill up the area so that weeds wouldn’t take over again. There must have been a hundred or so seeds in that packet – you know how tiny leafy veggie seeds are and how they pack seeds by weight, right? Anyway, it was just my luck that it rained quite a bit in the days after I scattered those seeds. The rain was apparently strong enough to dislodge the seeds from the soil and make them follow the water such that when they started germinating, I found them clustered around things that the water had probably had to flow around! I think the word “chagrin” describes my reaction on seeing that…

More and more papayas starting to grow. Yay!

More and more papayas starting to grow. A cautious Yay!

Well, it’s not all bad news. At least the Red Lady papaya plant is getting into full fruit production.

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