Abundance - A simple goodwill wish for all.

The world has taught us to be sceptics. Loaded us with Fear, Anxiety and Worry. Makes us Doubt ourselves and the good intentions of others who are close to us. I am glad that Deena Morton crossed my path. Her teachings of The Four Principles simplifies and makes us focus on what is truly needed and what is right. Please check her out.

We all need abundance in our lives, abundance in all things good and less of all that is negative. Abundance of Love, Peace, Sharing and Caring. Abundance of Good Health and Useful Wealth. 

I am Hoping this will touch you somewhere deep in you and open your lives to beautiful and endless possibilities.

Wishing all who read this Abundance of Peace, Love and Prosperity.

Pickled Green Chilli Peppers Asian Style

 I love eating Chilli Peppers. I will have chilli with nearly everything.

This is one form of chilli pepper that is so delicious with any Asian Fried noodle or fried rice. It is also great in burgers just like the Pickled Jalapenos.

So I thought I would just jot down my recipe and method to share with friends.

The method is so simple it will take less than 20 minutes from start to finish.

Ingredients:

About 400gms of Green Chilli Peppers.
2 cups Tart Vinegar.
8 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Tablespoon Salt

Method:

Slice up all the chillies into your desired thickness and set aside.


Pour Vinegar into a saucepan.
Heat vinegar gently on lowest fire.
Add Salt and Sugar to vinegar and let it melt.
Add sugar or salt to the solution to your liking.




Remember that the moisture from the fresh chillies will dilute the solution and the taste, so I prefer to make it extra salty and sweet. Do not allow to reach to a boil. Turn off fire and take the saucepan off the heat.


Add the cut chillies into pickling solution. And let it sit for 10 minutes in saucepan.

When the colour of the green chillies start to change put them into clean jars.

Oh I added some Chilli Padi (tabasco peppers) for extra kick.


If the solution is still hot, put the bottles in a cool (not cold) water bath to gently reduce temperature. Let it sit on counter top overnight and then keep it in fridge.

This can be eaten almost immediately, however the longer the chillies sit in the pickling solution the better the taste will be.















Enjoy this with any asian dish or meal. Good luck.

My favourite way to be rid of Mealy bugs, Aphids and other plant pests.

Easy and Fun way to get rid of Mealy bugs and aphids.

I hear lots of complaints from friends that their plants and garden are infested with Mealy Bugs or Aphids they want to get rid off.

Yes there are many other organic and chemical free methods such the Garlic, Chilli peppers and Neem oil sprays. ( I shall post something on this later ).

What I have here is all about FUN.

This is what i used in the video. It is a simple lighter normally used to light up cigars. Bought it at a petrol station for MYR 10.00 (USD 3.50) . I call him my Badass Bug Burner. 

Along the way I found another larger one that is used for making Creme Brûlée at home. Well this can be used for  larger infestations or for larger areas. I call his big brother the BigBadass Bug Burner. 

After finishing the topical elimination using this method, the plant can be hosed down with high pressure hose to rid of the dead insects and wash off the weak ones.

Later on, coat the plant with a nice concoction of Chilli Pepper, garlic and Neem Oil Spray preparation.

Happy Trying and Happy Gardening.

DIY Seed Starters, the easy way

Yes its true, you can buy the seed starters and makes your life hassle free. All you have to do is add water. BUT where is the FUN in that. Gardening is meant to be fun and stress relieving. 

Some time ago I researched into seed starters trying to find a simple method that anyone can use. Read blogs, watch Youtube videos and was even tempted to buy some online. Then my DIY subconscious kicked in. Why waste money when I can easily knock one up. 

You can use recycled toilet cardboard rolls, folded newspapers into pots and a whole range of other recyclable items from the home. Then I found this idea. The beauty of this method is that it has no external casing. Nothing to decompose, nothing to stop the roots from spreading when you pot it into its new individual pots later. 

Here is my simple method of making seed starters.

What do you need?

1) PVC Piping

2) Matured Compost

3) Coco Peat

4) Vermiculite, Perlite and/or coarse river sand. 

5) A tray to hold the seed starters

Here I am using a PVC piping with 40mm ( 1 5/8" ) in diameter. You can use any diameter PVC piping you see fit but I chose this as the seeds starters produce using this hold moisture well and they will be big enough to hold any of the seeds you want to sow. 

Right now my latest passion is collecting Hot Chilli Pepper plants. So the seeds fits nicely with this size seed starters. 

Cut a section of the pipe to about 3 inches long (8 cm long). (HINT: You may also cut the pipe exactly to the height you require for the seed starter pots so that it removes the need to guess each height ). Make sure one side is flat. 

Now to prepare the seed starter mix for moulding. 

In this picture you can see my mixture. 

1) Fresh matured organic compost 20%, 

2) Coco Peat 50%

3) Vermiculite and Coarse river sand 30%

Mix these ingredients first, much like mixing dry ingredients for a bread dough. Making sure you have an even mixture throughout the batch. If the compost is still wet then make sure you break it up and rub it into the dry ingredients to make smaller tiny pieces or chunks. 

When you are satisfied with the mixture, add water little at a time to make the mixture into a sticky dough texture. This will allow the seed starter pot to hold its shape later. How much water should you add??? Well, my rule of thumb is that I will add water a little at a time and knead it in. Then attempt to make a ball the size of my palm. If the ball cracks or cannot hold its shape, i will add more water. When there is enough water, the ball should not crumble when you squeeze it in your palm. Another test is that it holds its shape without breaking when you hold it with two fingers. 

Now it's time to make the pots. Place the PVC on the tray where you will be keeping the seed starters. Scoop in your seeding mixture up to the height you want the seed starters to be. I would recommend 2 inches tall (5cm). I found this height has better water retention for seed starting. 

Now using the back end of a spade or a round piece of wood or plastic, tap down and compress the mixture in the pipe. Do not press too hard as the root will need to be able to spread through the pot. Here I am using the back end of a weed puller making sure all round has  been compressed and firm. 

While the tapping stick is still in the pipe, slide the PVC pipe up to reveal you perfect moulded seed starter pot. Voila. As easy as chips. If the back end of the spade handle is rounded you will find that the seed starter pot will have a bowl like depression in the middle. This is good thing to have. It will concentrate the moisture to the seed when you are watering it later. 

Now using some sort of sharp tool, pin or knife, make a hole in the middle of the pot for the seed to rest and grow. 

There you go. All done. Simple and fast. Below you can see how I have placed them in a tray and kept them moist using a spray bottle. If the tray is placed in a windy area, the pots have a tendency dry out faster. You can reduce this effect by putting some kitchen stretch wrap on the tray or keep the whole tray in an enclosed area. Here I am sprouting some chilli peppers - super hots.

You have a choice to let the seedling grow and mature in these pots or move them to their individual pots. The method of seed pots will stop roots from coming out as the air circulating around the pot will provide a natural barrier. Now when the seedling is ready you just lift up the whole seed starter pot and place it into its new home.

There you go. Hope you have fun trying. Happy Gardening y'all.

Rooting Store Bought Herb Cuttings

Hi There Y'all. 

Sorry for the long break in postings. I have just finished this experiment and still working on some others. I am glad to say that this one is a success and I am happy to share with you how I did it. 

For many, being impatient is an issue, so growing your own herbs is like pulling teeth. The wait for it to grow, the maintenance of the soil and plants, the days to water, the days not to water, seems like a burdensome prospect. Well for those that do wish to start their own little herb patch, i will gladly share my experience.

Here in Malaysia, our climate is not suitable to grow many things outdoors in full sunlight. The sun is sometime too intense and extra care needs to be taken. Many sites will say that certain herb thrives on full sunlight etc etc. Those reading those posts must understand that the writer is talking about cooler climates or multi-season climates. we have to adjust what we read and be weary of the affects of our scorching temperatures or our long rainy spells. One thing is for sure, the heat and rain will not dampen our spirits in trying.

I recently bought this lovely herb from our local supermarket. It is Pineapple Mint - Mentha suaveolens 'Variegata'. It has a clean and crisp pineapple-ish bouquet and snappy taste. Should be good in salads, spritzers and also cocktails. 

I for one am a sucker for any variegated plants. Therefore it was a challenge to root it. Yes there are much more simpler ways by just sticking it in water, but where is the fun in that. So here is what I did, try it if you like.

Store bought organic herb Pineapple Mint - Mentha suaveolens 'Variegata'

Chanced this in a store so I bought 2 bags to ensure the experiment works well. Make sure you choose nice fresh looking leaves and branches to increase the chance of success.

Removing it from the bag, you must make sure the contents DO NOT get wet. When the leaves get wet, they deteriorate very quickly and rot sets in if it is kept wet. Once you have removed the contents pluck away all the dead leaves and also trip away the rotting parts of the stems. Select nice fresh stems with good leaves. In this way you know the plant is strong enough to root. You may try with the others too. Prepare stems that are about 3 to 4 inches long. Allow the bottom end of the stems about 2 inches clean of any leaves. i found that the shorter the stems the easier it is to take root. 

Prepare a planting bowl or container. I am using a plastic take away container. They are sold in supermarkets and are quite cheap too. I buy them in bulk because I also use them in seedling propagation. They come is bags of 20s and 50s..around MYR 17.00 or equivalent to USD 5.00 for a bag of 50s. 

The planting base as you can see is basically just reconstituted Coco Peat. You can buy them in dried compressed blocks. When you add water, the block will swell up to at least 10 times its original volume. It is somewhat inert, and sometime towards mild acidity levels. I tested the one I use with a little tester tool I found during a recent trip to the US. It reads near neutral. I do not see the acidity level affecting the plants at all. 

Layer about an inch of moist Coco Peat at the bottom. How moist should it be, well i soaked the whole thing in water, then allowed it to sit for a while so that excess water could drain out. The only moisture that is left is only what the coco peat can absorb and carry. 

Lightly compress the material so that the mint plant can get a good footing as it root, but do not over compress lest the roots will find it difficult to grow and spread. Use a toothpick, a satay stick or some thing similar to poke a hole in the coco peat. Insert the the bottom end of the herb stem into the hole and gently press the sides in. It does not matter if it will not stand upright. It will soon enough once it takes root. Continue until you have planted all the selected mint stems. 

Let it sit in this coco peat for a couple of hours. You will notice that some rather limp leaves would start to perk up and open up. This is a good sign. If it doesn't then let it be, and hope it will later. The faster the leaves perk up would indicate the plant is lively and can be easily rooted. 

The next thing, using another base cover over the plants and try to keep the mouths of the container together. There should not be any holes that will allow moisture to leave. You can either put  some with weight on the top or even put another filled plastic container above it to hold the lid down. Leave it be for a week and see what happens. Check it daily to make sure the coco peat is moist and that there are no rotting or dying leaves. If there are any dying leaves just use a small scissors and cut it away. 

After about a week of sitting in the moist coco peat the mint stems will slowly take root. The good thing about using these containers is that it is transparent and that you can actually see root forming at the base of the container. Once you see roots that you know you are on your way to planting a nice little herb plant. Just let it be. Keep a watch on the coco peat material so that it stay moist (NOT WET). If it is too wet the stems would rot and die. Too dry and the roots will dry out and that will be the ned game too. At this stage it is critical to make sure the mint is growing and waiting to be planted. As soon as you can see the roots from below. You can sprinkle some fine grain compost into the mix. This compost will feed the plants and help them grow bigger. I did this about 10 days into rooting this set.

This is what it looks like when it is ready to be transplanted into a planting pot or ground. ensure good drainage but also it must have good soil that retain some moisture. Mint and other herbs just love moist soil with good drainage. Dry soil will make it week and impedes growth. hence perpetuating the growth for future harvest will be difficult. 

They look nice and strong and green and perky. All the qualities of a nice healthy and ready to transplant herb. 

As a footnote, this little box has been sitting outside on my window sill. In is under the verandah. has bright light and not exposed to any direct sun or rain. It thrives on this bright light.

Good Luck in your own attempt. Let me know of your success or failure and we will work at it together. Till the next post... Happy GardeningY'all

Vertical Planting Tower

I have been meaning to do a nice shelving unit to house pots for veggies and herbs, been deliberating on the design, where to put it and also to materials to use. Shall i buy the building material, shall I recycle, shall I hunt down in nearby construction sites....too much thinking and not enough doing...that is the trouble with procrastinating over thinkers.

So after a jolly get together on Saturday morning on 23rd of January with some online gardening friends, i was asked point blank about a vertical planting tower. I was stumped to say the least. I realised I was thinking too much and not just doing anything.

The very next day, I took out my cordless drill and got to it. Keeping it sweet and simple for anyone to follow. I have seen many examples online about vertical planter boxes and below is the culmination of my design.

It took me one hour to get this installed and ready to plant.

Items needed:
2"x2" post about 5 to 6 feet tall. As tall as you can reach.
22 plastic pots - recycled
22 good strong screws. best to get the ones that do not rust.
1 "good" cordless screwdriver and drill set. (there are many cheap one in the market but a good one does the job better with less effort).
1 big clay pot about 1 1/2 feet wide, the wider the better.
4 bricks (new or recyled)
1 bucket of very course gravel (as filler and weight)

Method. 
Before we start, a note on timber selection for the post. I have chosen a nice solid and heavy timber from the lumber yard. it was cheap and hardy. in our tropical climate having a heavy hardwood ensure the posts will last longer and will be effective in fighting against decay, rot and insect attacks.

so now we begin, firstly...and most importantly...YOU must decide how far the pot have to sit from each other. Decide on the height separation. This is important. You must know what you want to plant and how tall they will be. Pruning will help keep the height but there has to be a minimum and a maximum height. I have chosen 8 inches for this prototype. This will allow me to see if I need to modify it in future towers. I had decided to use this configuration more because of the overlapping nature of the pots. I wanted a plush and flush tower. Possibly a nice herb and veggie christmas tree....

Each level has 2 pots, 1 pot opposite each other. Staggering the height of the second level and the direction on the post adds some dimension to the planting tower and space for the plant to grow. So the next level is on the other 2 face, again opposite each other, and then so on and so forth. Simple and neat. Make sure you leave at least 2 feet of length on the post to secure it inside the base pot.

After deciding where the pots will be, using a pen and a measuring tape to keep the distance identical, mark the spots where the screws will be. Use the drill to make guide holes for the screws. the holes should be smaller that the screw's diameter. Pre-drilling also helps to screw in easily and avoids the screws from cracking the post.

So the holes are drilled, and you are ready to attach the pots. I would recommend that you secure the post to the base pot first. It will allow for easier work in attaching the pots. This is how I did it and it is so secure. Firstly, Place the base pot at the final location where you want to place this vertical planter tower because once you fill it up with the rest of the stuff and the post, it will be difficult to cart around.

Place the post in the middle of a pot.
Place the bricks on the 4 flat sides of the post. I used a whole brick on each side for more surface area. The brick is then wedged against the side of the pot. move it around till you find a solid foot hold for the post. The post should not be able to move around. Now fill the pot with the course gravel, ensuring the gravel gets into the little nooks and space between the bricks. The gravel has 2 purpose, (1) is to ensure the bricks do not move while landing support to keep the post firm, and (2) the weight of the gravel will provide a solid base and helps avoid the whole structure from tipping over in strong winds. Note: the pot needs to have a wide base for stability.

Now that the post is secure and standing, make small hole in the side of the plastic pot about 1/2 inch to 1 inch from the rim of the pot. This will be the hole for the screw. Insert the screw partially so that it doesn't run away and it helps you to find the pre-drilled guide holes. Gently screw in and move on to the next till all the pots are attached.

There you go all done.

Now you will notice that the following picture, they are double potted. Well, the attached pots are actually pot holders. In this way i can actually repot or change plants whenever necessary. i do not have to detach the pot from the post. I can move the pots around should they need more shade or even take them down to go into rehab from too much sun or water. It allows a huge amount of flexibility.

So have a go.

Happy Gardening and DIY.

Modification of a small compost bin

In the search for the perfect compost bin for a small garden, I have searched the web. There are many examples to choose from. But most often they are either too expensive or unsightly in a manicured garden. I needed something unassuming but yet cost effective. It had to be big enough to accommodate our daily organic kitchen refuse and also the garden wastes.

As always thinking too much and doing nothing, is a sign of a great procrastinator. My problem is I want it perfect before I do anything about it. I want to do it right the first time or not at all. So searching thru and seeing the many examples, I chanced upon designs with an opening at the bottom.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, why was I wasting so much time trying to create a new garden composter bin when I could modify what I already have. Moreover the vegetation and kitchen waste has been sitting in this composter bin for more than 6 months. It was ripe for harvesting, but I could not get at it as it was on the bottom. So why not make an opening like what I had seen in the examples on the web.

So here it is. This composter bin is actually a clothes or laundry hamper that I have recycled into a Garden composter bin. It already had the required holes for aeration. Just dump in the veggie and garden waste and let it decompose. Ensuring that you have the required mix of green and brown matter for the nitrogen and carbon balance, the recommended ratio is 50/50 balance, These would be no smell and no fuss.

So using some handy power tools I set out to make it happen. I used a Bosch Multitool and a cordless drill. 

I marked out the line  where the hole was supposed to be and used the semi round blade of the multitool to cut the hole. It was perfect for the job. 

Next using the cordless drill, I bored some holes to attach the plastic cable zip ties. This will serve as the hinges to the opening. You could get metal hinges and rivet it to the plastic, but since this was already old I didn't bother. 

    

Now the compost harvesting hole is ready to use. Harvested a nice basin of compost and sealed the bin with a couple of zip ties for another day. Should I need to harvest more, I just cut off the zip ties, harvest and close it back again. Simple. 

All in all, it took me about 30 mins to do the whole thing. You can do this to any one of your composting bins. If the bins are bigger than mine above, then you may have to make openings on either side or on all for side if the bins if it is really large.

Composting...A better way to recycle.

Happy Gardening and DIY.

My favourite FB group chat about gardening. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourhome.mhmgmr/

Vermicomposting - starting small in a planter box

So you want to start a worm farm for vermicomposting. You wanna go green and save some money on fertilizers. You have read all the blogs and watch all the youtube videos that are either too long and are talking about the same thing. 

So have I, and I am sure some of you have the same questions I had. Who has the best design or idea. if you are observant some designs that we have watch just doesn't cut it. They are not sure what they are doing or they have not thought their designs through.

So I had chanced upon this video that was so impressive, simple and informative.

The best video on Vermicomposting I have seen.

Now came the task of making my own. If you are like me and like anything DIY, then you must have been thinking of a design that would best suit your needs and space available. I have contemplated making it the cheapest way possible and using as much recycled components as possible.

Sure, the video showed using styrofoam boxes, these you can get from your grocers and maybe even fish mongers. You just have to ask them and it is practically free. I have not the time to get seek out these people but I had already been digging for worms. I wanted to test out the application before spending on getting my stock of worms.

Now, I had dug up some worms about 10 to 12 of them from the field next to my house, and placed them in a small deep basin with soil, paper and some veggies. I forgot all about it as the worms did their job. As I opened the container it stunk to high heaven and I thought all the worms had done a harakiri. To my surprise the were FAT and happy. Cool, so now. I have to get cracking at getting them a new home. 

I still have not gotten the styrofoam boxes. I could have modified old plastic container boxes but that would take up so much more time. Time that I did not have. I was in the midst of setting up a small Aquaponics experiment (which will be in an upcoming post). I have to re-pot 30 large Ademiums. All this only on mornings of my weekends.

Then it hit me, I actually had a miniature worm bin. It was all set up and all it needed was to get the worms in. It was a planter box. 

Planter boxes have been designed to be a self watering and good drainage pots.It comes with a plastic mesh to separate moisture and soil. With slight modification it would be ideal for the purpose of vermicomposting.

Here is How I did it. Hopefully it will help you.

If you have this sort of planter box and if you are already familiar with it, you will notice that the plastic mesh at the base has some conical or square protrusions. In normal circumstances, these protrusions are normally placed facing downwards towards the base. When the soil sits in this protrusions it help to drag water up back to soil to keep it moist for the plants.

Now for vermicomposting you do not want to have the Vermicompost tea to be reabsorbed back into the system and making it too moist for the poor little guys. So just flip it over and make them point up like this picture

There is also a little islet in this planter box that allows extra water to run off when you over water it. Plug up the islet. This shall serve as a catchment to save the Vermicompost tea should there be any. This Vermicompost tea is a good source of nutrition for your plants and it can be used as a plant growth booster. Just remember to dilute it wil water. Applying Vermicompost tea without dilution may kill and overpower your poor plants and herbs.

So now comes the rest of the process similar to everyone else. Adding down shredded newspaper bedding for the worms, and putting the worms in. Back to the worms in the basin. Well they have had an extremely moist habitat, kept in a low light area and had plenty of veggies to munch on. The problem was the newspaper bedding initially put into the basin was completely soaked with vermicompost tea. It was so wet and sticky, I thought I had lost all the worms in there. To my great surprise they double in size. Nice, juicy, fat, plump compost makers. 

As I am not familiar as yet with worm species recognition, to me this are just regular garden earthworms I have all over my lawn garden compound. The kinda look like the red wrigglers that we are supposed to use for composting but I  cannot be certain until I get my hands on some proper red wrigglers stock. 

Since the worms are safe and happy, its time to put them to their new home. Spreading this wet mess of compost goodness on the shredded newspaper bedding, I found that it was a very nice size for up to "test" run on vermicomposting. This will allow me the opportunity in the next few weeks and months to observe the actions of composting using worms and also to recognize what is required for a larger scale. 

Now the final steps are to cover up the worms with some nice organic soil and have it ready for fresh kitchen veggie and fruit discards. I won't go into detail of what you can and cannot put into the vermicompost bins as it has been covered extensively in many other sites. But do note, No Dairy stuff, No oily stuff and No Meat products. Oh yes, No Garlic or Onions too. Worms hate the stuff.

I had left the worms to acclimatise into its new habitat and instead of using a plastic cover (which doesn't come with planter boxes. Should you need one you can modify a flat plastic sheet), I used sheets of folded wet newspaper to keep the climate cool. 

This is the final outcome. Add only what you think is enough for the worms to eat. Overloading the planter with too much veggie cuttings will mean that those not eaten quickly enough will actually rot, stink and attract unwanted guests like maggots and flies. When the worms multiply, and they will, you can add more stuff. Should you use more worms the breaking down of kitchen scraps will generally be faster. The main reason I believe this a vermicomposting bin of this size is better for the small gardener is because you will be able to reap the benefits of worm composting sooner than that of those larger models available on the other internet sites. It is also a very convenient size for those living in smaller homes that don't have the luxury of space.

So if you find this information to be helpful, please try it, let me have your feedback and questions. I will try my best to help you find answers. 

Happy Gardening Y'all.

Lets Chat on Facebook here: Click Link Below 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourhome.mhmgmr/