Basil Surprise

One of the disadvantages of living away from the main city is NOT having an easy access to things that you need (or should I say, want). And that's one burden I have as a (insert frugal here) home gardener. But thanks to Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf for creating one thing everybody can't live without nowadays - the Internet. And also, to those people who are considerate enough to share items (by selling) online and make them accessible to people like me.

So one of the herb plants I've been wanting to have at home is the delicious basil. This is because I love pesto! (craving right now)
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any from nurseries where I live. Therefore, my only way is to get them online. Of course, buying plants online is not possible (as generally, nobody can send them by mail), so my only option is buying the seeds.

In the beginning, I was a little bit skeptical of planting basil from seeds. I read from blogs after blogs of people failing to grow basil from seeds. I'm talking about amateurs like me btw. And they all advised to grow them from cutting instead. But, I'm half-hour away from where I can get them (genovese basil in particular). So yeah, I don't have a choice. Besides, that's my goal - to start my home (mini) garden from seeds.

After searching online and comparing prices, which is more important for me..hahaha, I finally found the one. And it is My Lestary Seeds. Well, I 'm not paid to promote the site or anything like that. I just wish to share my experience with them, and maybe give some good review to anyone who is thinking of getting seeds from them.

I bought several seeds and a mulberry cutting, which I'm gonna post my experience later on. And I received all the items, so if you're thinking about ordering from My Lestary Seeds, based on my experience, I'll give it a shot.

The seeds I bought (started to sow basil and chervil only).

They have a great variety of seeds, even the rare ones (for tropical areas like mine). They're available in affordable prices (in my opinion). I'm thinking of getting some later on, of course when I'm a better gardener than I am today. Hahaha

04 October 2014

Genovese basil seeds ready for sowing.

Just filled the container with soil, and sprinkled the seeds on top. Then, watered to set it.

07 October 2014

After 3 days, they sprouted. Yup. 3 days!!

09 October 2014

I don't know about you, but this is quite an achievement for me. Hahaha

I don't know whether it's the seeds, the soil, my green thumb (hahaha), or just pure luck from Mother Nature. But this is something for sure.

25 October 2014

This is more than I expected. I promise, I only sprinkled that amount of seeds in my hands

(see 2nd picture above).

As you can see, they are pretty close to each other. So I decided to transplant them. Please don't scold me if you think shouldn't have. I honestly feel so bad right now. I guess, you already know what happened.

So I happen to have a bunch of egg cartons, and learned that I can use them in my garden. Finally found a way to use them. And recycling them feels cleverly for a thrifty person like me. L0L

Transplanted them on 25 October 2014

Used the same soil as where they were sown before.

There are at least 60 seedlings. Wow! =)

Took about an hour just to transplant these babies.

But, here's the sad news, they all died after few days! (sob.. sob..)

Thankfully, I didn't transplant all to egg cartons. Others are in the same pot. And they all are living happily... based on how they look now btw.

Some that stayed in the same pot.

07 November 2014

This is how they look now. There's actually one that has died, but I believe that is because of the rain.

I placed them outside just to get to meet Mr. Early Morning Sun, but it rained during the night while I'm asleep. So, the next day.... still, thankfully most of them survived.

Anyone of you have basil plants at home? Did you also grow them from seeds? How about egg cartons, have you ever used them in gardening? Please share your experiences with me. I'd love to hear them! Till the next post.

Thanks for reading!

Happy gardening!

Papaya

Since the day I started this hobby, acquiring seeds has become one of my hobbies. Every time I visit the supermarket, I'll always be around the veggies and fruits' stall wondering which one I could buy not only to eat, but also to start new experiment with.

One of my friends had a papaya tree. But he had to "kill" it as it was infested with pests. I've learnt that,  just like chili plants, papaya trees are vulnerable to pests. But I will take this risk..... armed with organic pesticides, and a strategy to keep all my plants safe from pests.

So, when I went to the supermarket, I decided to start another experiment with papaya. Bought it and when I got home, I cut the fruit in half and collected all the seeds. Rinsed the seeds with water and left them on the counter to dry. I brought them out the next morning to sow, but I suddenly had to leave the house. Apparently, I didn't have the time to sow them for the whole week, and just left the seeds outside my house. To make it worse, it rained most nights of that week, isn't that great?!! Totally slipped my mind that my papaya seeds are outside soaked by heavy rain.

22 September 2014

The seeds left to dry on the counter after rinsing them.

After a week, I saw them outside extremely dried out with white spots on them. I don't know if there's a word for that state of the seeds, they just looked dead to me. I sounded like some crazy person apologizing to the seeds. (gosh!) I didn't take a photo of the seeds because I thought it will be a complete failure.

I didn't completely throw in the towel though. I've been experiencing the wonders of Mother Nature since Day 1 of my gardening, so thought I should let her surprise me one more time. And you bet, she did!

I recycled an empty box of milk by cutting it in half and used it as my seed-starting pot. I decided to toss all the seeds in one pot. Days went by, no sign of life. The last time I checked was just last night. But this morning, out of a sudden, a seedling! Or should I say, seedlings!! I'm wondering if it really takes just one night for them to suddenly sprout like this.

09 October 2014 - After 10 days of sowing.

My morning just got better after seeing this.

09 October 2014

Look! Not only one sprouted, but several of them.

Hopefully, I won't only succeed in germinating, but also harvesting fruits from them in the future. Is it too much to ask? Haha. But again, thanks Mother Nature! This is such a pleasant day for me. I hope you have one too. 

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.

                                                                                                        Aristotle      

  

What's in the Yard.. Mint - Garden Balsam - Four o'clock - Chili - Sunflower - Cilantro - Calamondin - Marigold - Eggplant

I have started sowing seeds weeks ago. Some of them are showing some good signs, some aren't (sob). Let me share with you what's growing in the yard. It's pretty exciting for first-time gardeners like me to see these seedlings, especially when they take days, or even weeks to sprout!

  MINT 

Let's start with my mint. I know.. I know.. I'm supposed to start growing my plants from seeds. But unfortunately, there are some seeds that I just can't get my hands on, or it'll be much cheaper to grow them from cuttings, just like my mint. I love to put mint leaves in my refreshing drinks, especially ice-cream soda drink with lemon and mint (slurp!) I usually buy a bunch of them for RM1.00 (USD0.31). But, they always wilt the next day. So, I was basically wasting money (I know it's cheap, but still...)

I was searching online for seeds, then I found an interesting info - I can grow them by simply soaking these cuttings in water. And so, I did. I took a plastic container, filled it with water. I washed the mint cuttings, then put them in the container filled with water. I left them outside my balcony, where they can get early morning sun. I change the water every other day, since it gets disgusting then. After about a week, roots started to appear. On the 10th day, I decided to plant them into the soil. And here they are!

Mint - 26 September 2014

My mint plants are pretty short, I think they generally are. I am waiting for them to grow a little bit taller, then will start pruning, which will make them bushier, and that is what you want. It's pretty amazing to have them in the yard, though I haven't harvested any leaves yet.

Updated on 27 September 2014: I have harvested my mint. Well, basically pruned them and put the leaves into my drink. Really glad to have fresh mint in the yard.

  RED GARDEN BALSAM  

Next, my red garden balsam. Here's how they are now after transplanting them more than a week ago. You can read my blog here.

Glad they didn't die after transplanting them more than a week ago. They seem to be growing happily.

Here's the rest of them which I planted later on.

 

They started growing just 4 days after.

About 7 days after

Here they are now! As you can see, something's up with the seedling on far left. Any idea what could be happening with it? Or I simply need to transplant them into a better home?

  FOUR O'CLOCK  

I was also clueless about this plant when I bought the seeds. But, they seem pretty on the package's photo, and seem to be easy to grow, so I purchased one. I have read from several blogs on how keeping the seeds in a damp paper towel can quicken germination. I did that with my four o'clock seeds. Unfortunately, I ended up with not so good results. Most of the seeds had white molds on them. But, thankfully, seedlings started to sprout from some of them. I didn't throw away the seeds with molds. I sowed them instead. To my surprise, here they are now.

They are getting bigger day by day. Yay!! :)

This one obviously needs help. I have a pest in my yard!

Any idea what could it be? Is it Gary (snail - see Spongebob Squarepants)? I always see them around my seedlings.

I'm sorry animal lovers, especially snail lovers, for I always kill them whenever I see them. I used to enjoy watching them crawl, but after finding out that they can kill my little ones, I've become a cruel person (only towards snails, and other pests though).

So happy that they actually survived that "molding" in paper towels. Should I try doing that again?

  BIRD'S EYE CHILI  

Inspired by My Little Potted Garden's blog, I bought a bag of chili for RM1.00 (USD0.31) from the supermarket's unwanted-veggie rack. When I got home, I just tore them apart, then sowed the seeds. Took 2 weeks to sprout, but well, here they are now.

Such a cute seedling. Regardless, they actually sprouted.

I simply sowed seeds, 3 chili in every paper pot.

And 1 paper pot ended up having more than 5 seedlings. Wow!

I'm still surprised that I can actually get seeds germinate. :)

Thanks to fellow home-gardeners-cum-bloggers, I know what's in store for me with these chili plants, as they are very vulnerable to pests. I guess, I'll just hope for the best. Anyway, I plan to place them near my Marigolds, in case they grow(fingers-crossed). Otherwise, I will simply place them far away from the rest of the plants. Just in case pests attack my chili, others will be safe from them. I check them out everyday though to make sure it has no unwanted dwellers.

  SUNFLOWER 

Just like the four o'clock seeds, I kept my sunflower seeds in a damp paper towel before sowing them. But, none of them sprouted! Had white molds instead. But, yes, I didn't throw them away. And now, I have 1 surprise. Thank you, Mother Nature!

See that little thing sprouting?? It's exciting! ;)

I have my fingers crossed on this. The seeds were really covered with molds. I just washed them off then sowed the seeds. Result is 1 out of 5 paper pots has a small seedling. Hopefully, the rest will sprout too.

  CILANTRO 

Here's another store-bought seed. Except for my mint, chili, eggplant and calamansi, all of my seeds are bought for RM2.00 (USD0.61) a pack. I have 7 pots of this, but only 1 pot is showing good signs.

This how it was few days ago. 

 Here it is today, 26 September 2014. Planted on the 17th.

It looks very thin. Time to place it in a better home. I thought of waiting it to harden before transplanting. Should I wait or not? Hmm.... As long as it won't die.

  CALAMANSI or CALAMONDIN  

I bought a bag of calamansi to make "Limau Ais Kosong"(simply calamansi juice without sugar) at home. Actually, I just wanted the seeds. I soaked them in the water overnight, again, just learned it from fellow bloggers. Then, sowed the seeds the following morning. So far, 2 pots are making me excited.

2 out of 3 pots. Not bad... at all.

Looks like I will have 4 seedlings, whatcha think?

  MARIGOLD and EGGPLANT 

 Of all my seed-sowing projects, only these 2 failed. It might be too early to tell (not really), but nothing is sprouting whatsoever from the seeds. It's almost a month for my eggplants, but I'll give them another month and see, though I have a strong feeling that they are gone for good. :(

But, I'm really hoping that my marigold can make it. Learned that they are good anti-pest plants, so they will be a great help for my future garden. So please, Mother Nature, let 'em live.

Well, that's all for now. They still are very young, but they all give me such hope that I can turn seeds into a garden of my own. Again, special thanks to Mother Nature, and to fellow bloggers. 'Til then.

My First Store-Bought Seed - Red Garden Balsam

My Garden Balsam as of 17 September 2014

I had no idea about this plant when I bought this packet of seeds. I just wanted to get seeds to start with. 

I bought it for RM2.00 (USD 0.62). If you'll look closely, the packet says it has 20 seeds. I counted it, and it has more than that. It also says (behind the packet) that it is easy to plant, and it loves the sun. So, off to the cashier, I bought it without hesitation. 

When I got home, I checked it online, and wasn't impressed by it. I was a little bit disappointed. I mean, look at the picture, they look like beautiful, red roses. But in reality, they really are not.... sorry balsam-lovers! But anyway, at least I still have some seeds to start with. Still, they are not that awful, I guess.

I sowed the seeds in the early evening of 28 August 2014. I just simply filled my small pot with soil, scattered 10 little, dark brown seeds, covered it with soil, then watered it. DONE!

I sprayed them with water everyday (of course), but kept them under the shade.

Red Garden Balsam Seeds for RM2.00 (USD 0.62)

After 7 days, seedlings started to grow (hooray!!) 5 seedlings to be exact. I wasn't able to take pictures then. But, below are the pictures on day13 (10 September 2014).

Seedlings on 10 September 2014

Red Garden Balsam on 10 September 2014

Seedlings after 13 days

I sowed the seeds in a really tiny pot. The seedlings are slowly growing, and I thought each seedling needs a bigger space to grow, as they were really close to each other.  So today, after 20 days, I decided to transplant them.

Seedlings on day 20

The leaves look healthy

The pot is really too small for them, so I decided to transfer them to a bigger one.

Transplanting my seedlings from that tiny pot

(By the way, this is not their final home)

I carefully (definitely stressing the word "carefully") separated them from each other.

Then re-planted them. I just made sure that all the roots are buried under the soil. That simple.

Bigger space to grow

It's a good feeling to see them growing everyday

Make sure to water them after planting

Just like what I've said in my previous (first) blog, if I managed to succeed, you surely will, too. It'll still be a long wait for my first gems to grow bigger and produce flowers, but being able to see those seeds turn into these beautiful seedlings is surely fulfilling. 

That's all for my Red Garden Balsams, for now. I will keep you posted! ;)

Thank you for reading! ^_^

A Date to Remember

Credits to www.streetwaterarts.com

13th of September 2014 marks the day that I actually started blogging.

I have always been fascinated by people who blog and are active in updating their readers. I am a person of few words, therefore I am terrible in anything that has to do with sharing and expounding a story or an experience. And that is why these bloggers (good, truthful ones btw) have my admiration.

Gardening has always been something I'd like to do, but never had a chance to do so. Well, technically I did, but I wasn't really able to give time and effort needed to take care of those plants. Then finally, I got the chance.... my blogging starts as well.

Caught myself reading blog after blogs after blogs (esp. Malaysians') to acquire knowledge to successfully grow plants. Special thanks to those gardeners/bloggers who unknowingly inspired me not only to grow plants, but to document and share my (future) experiences as well. I shall name them when the time comes.

Through this blog, let me share with you my successes and failures in growing plants from seeds (well, as the name above suggests ;D). I am an amateur, so if I ever managed to succeed, there is no way you wouldn't. But if I fail, it doesn't mean you would, too. AND, if you know why I failed, I would appreciate some enlightenment - thank you in advance!;)

I hope, YOU - yes, my dear reader - will find this blog helpful and inspire you to start doing something you've always wanted to do - whether it's gardening, blogging, or even bungee-jumping (grins). 'Til then.

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious; and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths"

 -Walt Disney