Potting Mix

How To Choose The Right Potting Mixes

To achieve best results in growing successful plants, you need the right potting mix.  Some plants are picky in the medium they’re grown in.  For instance, orchids need a special blend including fir bark and sphagnum to help with aeration, drainage and the right amount of moisture.  Then there’s the succulent family including cacti, which like to be kept fairly dry would suit a more coarser mix of grit (sand) and bark.

Most plants will struggle to survive in cheap potting mixes – usually called ‘regular potting mix’ – so don’t be tempted to buy it ’cause it’s cheap.  You will find that it dries out a lot faster and won’t hold any nutrients and can sometimes distort the roots.

The best you can get is the ‘professional’ or ‘premium’ grade mixes.  Their texture is finer and well suited to a wide variety of plants, just like a loamy based soil.  Vegetables, seeds and seedlings will thrive grown in these mixes, and will grow faster and healthier as a result.

The only setback in growing plants in pots is that they lose nutrients faster than in the ground, so must be fertilized more often.  Usually no more than once every 2 weeks with a liquid fertilizer.  You can use slow release pellets instead if you wish, but if your plants are in dire need of feeding then liquid is the way to go ’cause they’ll soak it up immediately.

Making Liquid Tea

Liquid tea made from leaves and grasses are simple and nutritious for your plants. All you need to do is fill a container or bucket full of grass or leaves (or both) and drown it in water. In about 4-6 weeks when the contents have turned into a brown sludge, your liquid tea will be ready to be strained and diluted.

To make straining easier you can bag the ingredients in a meshed bag or frost cloth. Another method is to use a plastic garden pot roughly the same size as a bucket, and place that in the bucket along with the contents. Then when the tea is ready you can just lift the pot and the drainage holes will do the work for you.

The equations are 1 part liquid tea, to 10 parts water. It can then be used in your garden as you would with any liquid fertilizer. And the best thing is that it’s convenient and literally free.

Lotus

Lotus has to be one of my favourite plants. Not only are the flowers gorgeous to look at, but the seed pods that follow, offer you a delicate treat or can be dried and used as decorative ornaments.

Star Fruit or Carambola

Star fruit can be good or rather boring. It loses flavour quickly when stored for too long. Which goes to show, fresh is best.

What appeals to me is actually the tree itself. If you like playing with venus fly traps, then you’ll sure to have fun with this particular plant. When young, the branches actually bend down and sleep when touched. The foliage is also sensitive and remains that way as it gets older.

I once had this as a pet plant when I was younger and got much enjoyment out of it until one winter it died. I was either being selfish or too caring. I loved it so much that I kept it in my room all season long, depriving it of sunlight and gave it too much water. That was then, so now I’ve learnt my lesson and to always put your plants first and love them the right way. But I still spoil them with organic fertilizer every now and then

Pineapples

Pineapples are great if you they are ripened on the plant. They smell devine and have the sweetest and most juiciest flesh. So, growing your own just makes sense.

How to grow pineapples

Pineapples like full sun and don’t like wet feet, so well drained soil is the key to a healthy plant. Alternatively you can can plant them in large pots to give better drainage, and with an added bonus your plant can be moved under cover if frosts arrive.

Firstly, get yourself a pineapple with the crown (leafy top) still attached. Twist the crown off the fruit and peel back a few leaves or more from the base to reveal root nodules. These are tiny bumps situated around the base of the leaves. Then place it in a cup or jar filled with just enough water to soak the nodules. Keep it in a well lit area, and top up the water if necessary until the roots form. This can take up to a week or two.

Once the roots are 2-3cm long you can plant it out. Keep it well watered for the next 4 to 6 weeks.

Leaf mould

Want to know what to do with your autumn leaves? Make them into leaf mould!

Yuck! I hear you say. But it’s actually really good for your garden. The leaves contain nitrogen and will benefit any vegie garden. Leafy crops such as cabbage, or lettuce require alot of nitrogen to flourish. It will also condition the soil and add organic matter into the soil and it’s basically free.

All you need is a place to put your leaves, either in sacks, plastic bags with holes, or chicken wire cages. Don’t add any other garden waste into the pile, and make sure the heap is kept moist to assist with breaking it down. It can take up to a year or two depending on the pile size and weather conditions. The rainy season is the best time to start making your piles.

Once your leaf mould is black and broken down you can dig it into your soil around the garden just like compost. It can even be used as a growing medium like seed raising mix.

Garlic

I am so fascinated with garlic, whether it’s the flavour or the simplicity of growing your own. Gardening magazines would tell you to buy the bulbs from specialty bulb sellers or something, but don’t let that fool you. I’ve been growing my own just from store bought garlic from my local supermarket and they work fine. Never really had a problem with them. Besides, it’s much cheaper to buy the bulbs at the shops.

Why grow you ask? If you’ve ever tasted home-grown produce then you’ll want to grow your own garlic. The flavour is more intense and it’s as fresh as you’ll ever get, and you can grow them organically, which is better for your health.

How to grow garlic

Garlic is the simplest thing to grow. Pretty much break up the bulb into single cloves and only plant the big cloves around the outside, don’t use the tiny ones inside. If your garlic already has shoots emerging, it’s even better ’cause it’ll mean that they’ll take off as soon as it’s in the ground.

Place or push the cloves into the soil with a bit of the tip (shoots) showing in the ground. This will prevent the bulbs from rotting under the soil. Place each clove a distance of about 7cm apart in evenly spaced rows. Make sure you have well drained soil and don’t water too often until the shoots have emerged or the bulbs will rot. Fertilize with organic matter every 4 weeks to improve bulb size. Garlics need a long growing season, just like onions, so is best planted in autumn or winter to increase yield.

Harvest when the leaves have turned yellow and collapsed. Dry your garlic away from direct sunlight.

Kaffir lime

I love kaffir lime leaves. If you’re Lao or Thai then of course you would. Being brought up with it I’ve had it in every meal possible and I love the stuff. I always tend to use more than necessary in my cooking. Which led me to try growing my own since it would give me more plants at virtually no price.

How To Grow Kaffir Lime

Growing kaffir lime is pretty simple. All you need is a ripe fruit. It doesn’t have to be yellow to be ripe. Sometimes you’ll find green ones that have fallen off the plant and the seeds are still viable.

Use the fresh seeds immediately for quick germination. Place them into good quality potting mix 2cm deep and keep moist in a warm spot in direct sunlight. Since they thrive in tropical areas they germinate quicker in the hot sun. The seedlings should emerge after 7-10 days. Replant into individual pots when 15cm tall.

When transplanting mature plants into the ground, citrus like acidic soil, so you should mix lime and compost or manure into the soil before planting. Feed monthly.

Note: When using potting mix don’t skimp on the cheap stuff ’cause you’ll be more successful and your seedlings will grow more faster in professional grade mixes. The particles are finer (much like compost or soil) and will dry out less. If you are using seeds that came from a grafted plant, the chances are your seedlings may not be true kaffir limes.

Growing papayas from seed

I started growing papayas late last year and was surprised how fast they grew. Though I later found out that they can grow even faster after the first 18 months. Reaching heights of up to four metres in just a few seasons. Though don’t be alarmed. There is a way you can mantain your papaya to a reachable size.

If you look at the trunk you will notice leaf scars. Widely spaced leaf scars means that there was a growth spurt and so this part is hollow. The close scars indicate relative dormancy and this part is solid. You should cut about 5cm above the solid part with a pruning saw and cover with a tin or bucket to prevent moisture on the newly cut stem. Once the cut has healed it can be removed. The papaya should recover and bring out side shoots and begin fruiting almost immediately.

Here’s some of the ones I planted. All I did was cleaned the seed out the soft gel and let it dry out for a day or two before planting. This way it stops the seeds from rotting before germination. Though this time I did use old seeds that I collected over a year ago and they worked fine as long as it’s kept dry.

Place the seeds 2cm deep in the potting mix and keep moist but not wet, in a warm sunny position. If your seedlings haven’t emerged after 2 weeks, start again with new seeds as the seeds might not have been mature enough.

Love my papayas

Papayas are great. Love it ripe or green. When it’s green you can make the green papaya salad. It’s originally a Lao dish made with sliced green papaya, mixed with ingredients and pounded lightly in a mortar and pestle.

Green papaya salad anyone?

To make this you will need:

• Green papaya, sliced thinly
• Hot chillies – as much as desired
• Cherry tomatoes – halved
• 1 clove garlic
• Fish sauce or anchovy sauce – desired amount or 1 Tbs
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 Tbs lemon or lime juice

Firstly, crush the garlic in the mortar and pestle into a paste, then add the chillies. Add the sugar now so the chillies don’t fly everywhere (be careful of your eyes) and once done add a handful or so of the papaya and tomatoes. Add the lime juice and preferred sauce to desired taste and lightly crush with pestle and toss with a spoon. Mix well and serve with sticky rice and water spinach (ong choy).