Plants Almost Died

It was only a week after I got home when I was able to go around and check my plants. I only reminded Miggy to water the plants halfway through my confinement and he probably thought the rain reached them. Some plants died, others were in dire need of TLC.

Luckily, a drum full of rainwater was available and I used it to help revive the plants. They looked a lot better the next day after being thoroughly watered. I also plucked the multitude of caterpillars. They had eaten a lot of my calamansi plants. Argh!

The good news is my papaya plants produced more buds and they're forming into fruit now. It'll take a few more months before we can harvest. I hope the fruits will be sweet!

#BeKind #StaySafe

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

Happy Bulbs

I was having a horrid day the other day due to headache suppliers. To break the bleak time I was having I went outside to water the plants. It's a good thing to spend time with plants when you're in a bad mood. My mood started to light up after watering the bamboo in our back garden. 

I always check the status of my plants. I watch out for pests and other issues. I've been giving the gumamela (hibiscus) plants extra TLC since the year started. I added soil and compost. I also fortified it to prevent cats from using it as a toilet. I guess it liked the add ons because it started to grow more leaves. I nipped new leaves as instructed by the manang at Mahogany (in Tagaytay). 

I was so happy to see bulbs growing on the gumamela plants. I recently gave it some rice water and it likes it. I just need to be careful since sometimes it attracts pests. I spray them with neem oil once a week to keep aphids away. If we're able to water the plants properly in the morning, all the bulbs will eventually open. It's been so hot though, so we'll see. 

Gumamela plants also like coffee grinds. I've been giving them a little every few weeks. I usually collect a weeks worth of used coffee grinds (and tea leaves) and then I leave it under the sun for a week. I use an old baking pan so it would completely dry. The berry bush I have out front also likes coffee grinds. Aside from providing nutrients it also wards off cats (they don't like the smell of coffee). It's also a great way to re-use coffee grinds. No need to throw them away. 

#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

Bought Some Gumamela Plants from Mahogany Market

When I saw the gumamela (hibiscus) plants at Mahogany Market, it elicited happy childhood memories. Mom had it in her garden when I was growing up. I used to get flowers from it to make bubbles. I asked my Malaysian friend if they would grind some gumamela flowers, add water and detergent to make bubbles (and use alambre to blow bubbles with). He had no idea what gumamela was used for since they probably had ready made bubble juice in his generation. #signsofoldage

I had no plans to buy flowers when we went to Mahogany Market. I ended up getting four pots of gumamela on a whim. Aside from Mom having gumamela in her garden, I remember we had them in school too. It used to be very common also in our village. I don't see it often nowadays and probably plant collectors don't see much value in them. It's valuable to me because it brings back happy memories. 

To be honest, it took awhile to figure out how much water the plant needed. I read it liked its soil to be moist. The plants shed leaves and the flowers soon died after they opened. I immediately read more about hibiscus care and figured out it probably needed more water. I checked the soil in the afternoons to see if it was dry. It was, so I experimented for a few days to see how much water it needed. 

The plants have been with me for a month now. They look healthy. I've started to remove new leaves as instructed by Manang Lydia. She said I should do this to encourage the plant to grow more flowers. Since they re-potted the plants already, I will probably add some fertilizer by month end. That's one thing hibiscus plants need according to my research. 

I hope the plants last long with me. My plan is to also see if I can propagate it so I can give some to my friends.  :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Mustasa Coming Soon

I made the mistake of planting mustasa seeds the week two typhoons hit. After that the habagat sent a lot of rain. They grew very slowly.

The sun finally came out this week. I took the opportunity to re-pot them since they became a bit leggy (looking for sun). I moved them also to another spot where I hope they'll get more sun. It promptly rained hard after, but the bamboo protected them from being washed off. Whew!

They're growing steadily now and I've been feeding them rice water. That's how I grew healthy mustasa plants in Singapore. My plants got morning sun there though, so we'll see if this one grows well here.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Plantita Saturdays: Understanding Fertilizers

I just realized after killing off the garlic and lettuce a second time around, that you have to be mindful about what fertilizers (pampataba) you give to your plants. It's all part of the learning process so I told myself not to feel frustrated. I can always plant again until I figure out the right way. 

I paused planting anything for the time-being since it's bagyo* season and we have work being done at home. Sawdust has been flying everywhere and it's been cumbersome wiping it off. I probably need to move them tomorrow before they start again. 

Calphos

Spent a day last week reading up on what fertilizer goes on which plant. When I was in SG I just put rice water on everything once a week. I noticed though that the tomatoes and bell peppers that grew were smaller, so I knew something was missing. 

There's many different types of fertilizers. I'm trying to avoid synthetic ones, so I also watched a couple of videos on how to make homemade fertilizers. Much as I want to use organic fertilizers, there are some that would be hard for me to make myself. Here's what I understand so far about providing your plants proper nutrition -

Compost - the secret to a healthy plant is to germinate it in properly prepared soil. Adding compost and organic matter to soil to improve its properties. I tried making compost before in SG and it ended up as a stinky mush. Apparently you have to add green + dry ingredients together with soil. Water it once a week until everything decomposes. 

Complete fertilizer - I just got it off the shelf from an online platform and watered the plants with it once a week. The plants looked healthy, but they weren't producing any fruits. It's synthetic and I realized it's probably not complete after all. Apparently this is good for flowering plants.  

Epsom salt - epsom salt is good for some plants. It provides magnesium and helps seeds germinate, makes plants bushier and encourages plants to flower. How much to put depends on the plant. 

Nitrogen - best used for green leafy plants. I read you can make swamp juice and then use it to water your plants. The easier alternative is to just use urea. 

Potassium - plants like tomatoes and tomatoes need a lot of potassium. I've been making banana peel tea for my tomatoes and they've been producing more flowers. I just need to be more vigilant in helping them pollinate (no bees in our backyard so far). Another thing I'm about to try is camp juice (banana peel + epsom salt + burnt eggshells). 

It is overwhelming, so I'm working on making a matrix to make sure I provide the right pampataba for the plant. This would hopefully help me keep my plants alive and productive! 

Happy gardening everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

*Bagyo - typhoon