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Showing posts from October, 2012

Gourd Family: Cultivating Cucumbers (黄瓜)

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  Cucumbers are widely used in different parts of the world as an essential ingredient in dishes. It can be eaten raw as salad, stir fried or preserved as pickle. Below are the steps needed to plant cucumbers. To save space, I built a little netting overhead for the cucumber vines. Materials you need At least a space of 2m by 1m either on ground, or just let the cucumber crawls but harvesting will be slightly challenging. Or overhead netting where you allow the cucumber vines to creep upward then flourish in the overhead netting. You will need a pole of 5 to 10cm diameter and a height of about 1.8m. The height greatly depends on the height of the planter as it must not obstruct the planter ability to walk under the vines and look for the flowers/fruits and yet within easy reach for him/her to hand pollinate the flowers. This illustration is designed and documented using a green house plot. Cucumber seeds. I use Australia cucumbers but other species give similar result

Herbs: Planting Sweet Basil

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 Fresh herbs add aroma and character to your dishes. Nothing beats freshly crushed basil leaves toppings on a plate of pipping hot spaghetti. Basil however has very short shelf life and the aroma easily lost with refrigeration. A potted basil within easy reach either at your balcony or your garden can be really handy to add that finishing touch to your favourite dish. Let us start planting basil through stem cutting or through seeds. If you need help to prepare the soil, please refer to soil preparation here . Materials you need · At least a 15 cm diameter by 20 cm depth flower pot. I used a 20 cm diameter by 25 cm depth flower pot. · A well-grown basil plant that you can obtain the stems or a packet of sweet basil seeds. By Stem-cutting Step 1: water the soil until it is thoroughly soaked. For a well drained soil, the pot should be slightly flooded for a short while after which water will drain off very quickly (approximately to count of three). For my

Basic: Prepare the Soil and Liquid Fertilizer

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The medium to plant your crops contributes extensively to the success rate of your harvest. Below is a tried and tested method to prepare your soil. Materials you need: The pot or container that you wish to plant your crops in. Garden soil Compost Organic fertilizer Plastic sheet Watering can with water Step 1: Get ready normal garden soil. Most nurseries sell them in 5 to 10 kg bags Step 2: Get ready compost to mix with the soil. Compost improves the texture and drainage of the planting medium. Most nurseries sell them in 5 to 10 kg bags. Fig 1. Compost Mix 70% soil to 30% compost. Step 3: Get ready 1 /4 cup ( 200 ml cup) of organic fertilizer or about 20 pellets. Fig. 2 Organic fertilizer Step 4: Mix the soil, compost and fertilizer together and put them into the pot. Fig. 3 Well mixed medium ready to 'rest' and plant crops Water the soil well ( about 2L to 3L of water for a 20 cm diameter pot) and cover it with a plastic she

Pre requisite for farming, getting ready the farm plot.

The first step in planting crops starts with getting the plot ready and preparing the planting medium and environment. Three possibilities for urban dwellers, open garden like landed/terrace/shop houses, HDB mini front yard, roof top garden or small balcony. I attempt to largely classified them into 3 main groups 1) Open garden: garden or front/back yard of house, small plot of land with green house covering or HDB mini front yard 2) Balcony space; HDB or condominium balcony. 3) Roof top garden; penthouse or roof top of terrace houses. You need 4 to 8 hrs of sunlight and a good mix of soil. The right seeds, water and fertilizer come next. With many trial and errors for last 1.5 years, I have managed to gather some know-how and expertise in crops control and growing at small scale. I am proud to say that now the crops harvest is fully self sustained for the daily consumption of 2 families and at times with surplus to share among friends. Each Thursday end of business day,
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 Greetings! Holistic living evolves around the right food, right exercise and right mind balance. As far as food is concerned, I am a staunch believer in ‘you are what you eat’.   More greens, minimised artificial colouring, addictives, preservatives and pesticides.    My family eats a lot of greens. However, in today highly commercialised world where profit is everything, vegetables are typically cultivated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides in order to achieve bumper crops and hence better yield. So, does more greens really means better health if ‘addictives’ are consumed along with it? I start to have my doubts when more and more people around me who eat healthily become cancer sufferers. Is there a way to control my own food sources? Besides, with all the news on food scare and possible food shortage in the very near future, has it ever occur to you that you wish to have a mean to plant edible crops in an urbanised environment? That is how this adventure of ur