Something's Eating my Caladiums

My plants have gone through a lot the past two months. I've had to be vigilant in spraying Neem oil to keep pests away. Sweetie has been helpful with removing caterpillars eating the calamansi plant.

I was surprised yesterday when I saw bite marks on the caladiums. Rawrrrr! It's been untouched eversince I re-potted it from a small plant.

Sigh.

I hope it doesn't progress. I'll also put some coffee grinds in the area to ward off slugs and snails. They've been eating my small avocado tree too.

Aside from been oil what do you use to keep pests away?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Caterpillars have been Eating My Calamansi Plants

I've been trying to grow veggies the past few years. All the greens I tried to grow are gone. My Calamansi project started in September 2023. It took time for the seeds to sprout and now I have several of them growing in bigger pots. I placed them in two areas of our home to ensure they grow. 

I have so far managed to keep them from dying. I spray Neem oil weekly and feed them fertilizer every other week. Biggest pest for my calamansi are caterpillars. Some grow so big they finish all the leaves! Luckily, the bigger plants survive, but some smaller plants don't, huhu. 

I researched companion plants for citrus fruits. They supposedly help ward off pests. You can plant marigold, basil, lavender, peas, tomatoes, chives, garlic, and fennel. I got marigold seeds, but haven't had the chance to plant them. My basil, lavender, tomatoes, chives and garlic all died. One thing that is left standing are my fennel plants (was sold to me as dill!). 

Plant on the right had fennel in the same pot.
Left plant didn't, so all the leaves are gone!

Anyway, since it's been so easy to grow fennel, I just cut off some and planted it beside my calamansi plants. After a few weeks I noticed that the leaves of the calamansi plants  started growing bigger. Those that didn't have fennel were continued to be pestered by caterpillars. 

Leaves slowly growing back after I added fennel to the pot.

I have since added fennel to the rest of my calamansi in the pocket garden and they are slowly growing new leaves to replace those eaten by caterpillars. Yes! Now I can focus on making sure they are fed well and hope they'll finally produce fruit by next year!

#BeKind #StaySafe #VoteWisely

Ugh, My Bell Pepper Plants are Sick

I made the mistake of treating my bell pepper plants with garlic spray. I thought it had aphids just like my gumamela plants. I thought the white flies were aphids too, apparently not. Aside from white flies it also has fungus. Some leaves would just fall off. 

I was able to successfully grow bell peppers in Singapore. I never had pest issues there since we were on the 22nd floor. I've been trying to grow bell peppers here and it's been hard since there's so many pests. I watched a video on Epic Gardening and Kevin said you can try hydrogen peroxide to treat fungus. I've been spraying my plant for a few days now and it seems to be recovering. 

I noticed earlier that the white flies are still there, so I'll try baking soda with Castile soap tomorrow. I tried Neem oil already, but it burned the leaves. So, let's see if if it works or maybe I'll have to go back to square one. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Removing Powdery Mildew from Gumamela Plants

The gumamela plants I bought in Tagaytay produced a lot of flowers within a month. Then I noticed that the flowers started falling off even before they bloomed. I noticed some powdery mildew on it and sprayed neem oil* on the plant. It worked, but it did not resolve the issue. The lady bugs** I found on the gumamela plant were not enough to solve the issue too.

After two weeks of spraying neem oil every few days, I looked for another solution. I read it's better to spray apple cider vinegar*** onto the stems of the plant. Luckily, I had some apple cider vinegar so that's what I did the past ten days. I sprayed the stems every few days. I also checked the leaves for any fungus on it (always wear gloves when working with plants!). 

It looks like it worked because I don't see that much powdery mildew anymore on the plants. I also removed infected leaves and flowers. I noticed the gumamela plant  growing flowers again too. Whew! I'm really bent on making sure the set of plants I got from Tagaytay live because I already failed in it ten years ago. 

Learning how to tend to your plants is easier nowadays because you can search for anything on the web. You can also simply take a photo of the issue and use image search to find an answer. Plus you can also join groups to learn from others. 

I always wondered how my Mom knew so much about gardening. She had very few books and she didn't like going online. I realized she knew her plants well because she spent a lot of time with them. That's how she's been able to keep her garden beautiful.

*Neem oil spray - neem oil + castille soap + baking soda + water in a spray bottle

**Lady bugs - they were probably in the plant already when I bought it

Home on Mondays: Emergency Pest Control at Home

Following the discovery of coptotermes (the nastiest house termites) in our home, we SOS'd our suking pest control company. It was end of day Saturday when we pinged them. They immediately scheduled a crew to inspect the next business day. They came Monday afternoon and checked the whole property for pests.

Priority was given to the kitchen where we saw the termites. The crew confirmed it and mentioned it was the nastiest of all common house termites. Sweetie said they picked up one and showed it to him. The tiny critter immediately bit on Mark. Not physically painful for humans, but painful for the wallet to do pest control, lol. We also reported the extraordinary number of ants we've been encountering, mosquitoes and wrigglies. Luckily we've only seen very few roaches and no Mickeys. 

Kuya Glenn working in the magic potion.

They said it was a good thing we did not attempt to DIY controlling the pests. We said we didn't want to because we thought they might just run to another area in our home. They noted that the termites came from the pocket garden. Maybe came in through the abang that was made for the heater I was planning to install in the kitchen. They said the termites likely came from the dead tree across the street. When the termites run out of food they normally travel up to 50 meters to find a new area. 

Dealing with the ants. The ant baits we've been putting helped, but they kept coming back.
They later on fumigated also to take care of other insects.

The crew serviced our home the whole day yesterday. The first session usually takes longer because they also have to put baits to determine the level of infestation. Aside from the termites they also took care of the ants and the wrigglies. They reassured us that the birds and other wildlife in our area will not be affected (I hope pollinators too). They treated the perimeter first and then went inside after lunch. They explained it's best to treat the perimeter first so they die even before they get out of our property. 

Bait to determine extent of infestation. They'll come back in 2 weeks to check it.
They added a secret sauce in it to attract the termites. 

This was one thing we were not expecting to do this early in our new home. The contractor said this is the first time they have encountered this in any of their projects. Still good that we discovered it sooner than later and we've been working with a reliable pest control company. They have been serving our childhood homes. If you need to contact a pest control company we recommend Pixa Corporation. Thanks Ms. Myna for introducing us to Ms. Jojo!

Next week: Kitchen cabinets wishlist

#BeKind #StaySafe

Coptotermes

I'm finally living in my dream home now, but I wasn't counting on living with coptotermes. Termites! A week ago I was surprised to find debris in one of the cabinets. I cleaned it up and didn't think much about it. Last Saturday, the contractor sent a carpenter to fix some things and the cabinet door came away when Sweetie opened it. When they inspected it they came to the conclusion that it was termites. Yikes!

I immediately sent an SOS to the pest control company who's been servicing my Mom's home. They sent someone to inspect today and they confirmed that it was termites. They even saw some insects and said that it's the most destructive among the 4 common varieties that plague houses. They did say that it looks like it's still pretty new, but be wary because they bite! The good thing is it's only in that corner for now and it was detected early enough. 

This photo was taken late last year. It's now a gubat!

I guess that's the drawback in buying a renovated old home. The crew told us though that it may have come from the bamboo also. We'll never truly know and the best recourse is to address it immediately. Most of the materials of our home are "yummy for termites". We weren't there when the old house was renovated and we're just discovering all the materials used for the house. My friend who is a contractor said not to worry for now because I can just upgrade later on when things deteriorate. 

Well, now I really have an excuse to get the kitchen the way I want it. I've been browsing on Pinterest on functional features that will be useful for the upgrade. I'm still very undecided on how it should look haha. A friend though advised not to use granite because it apparently causes cancer (also quartz!). She said it's better to use synthetic. 

I super loved the clean, white look of the kitchen in our last apartment in Singapore.
I'm kinda torn between this and mixing in some color. Definitely want something neutral.

We have to resolve the pest issue first before doing any work. Good thing we discovered this before it got out of hand. I remember my Mom used to DIY pest control in her home. At some point it got out of hand, so I got an expert to address the issue. Most of the original materials used in her home are still intact. Her wood floors are much better actually than ours. The engineer who inspected the house said it's still looks good. I hope to be able to take care of my home like how my Mom did. We told Miggy though to force us to move to a smaller home when we become too old for a bigger space.

Well, Mondays are supposed to cover home, dreams and wishes. I know it's a headache to deal with pest issues, but I see it as a blessing. It's good we discovered it now than when it's wreaked more havoc. It's also good we've been working with a trusted partner for pest control (found them through a trustworthy friend). Well, as Kulas of Becoming Filipino always says, "Power on!"

P.S. My friend, Boss, pointed out that there is a miracle everyday. There is! So I thought I'd add clips of nice things we can reflect on everyday. Here's one from GodWhispers today -

#BeKind #StaySafe