Rotten potatoes? Great for rust!

If your potatoes are already sprouting on you or going bad, don't throw them away.  Nick Engler has a way with potatoes to help get rid of rust on metal surfaces.  Be prepared though.  Anything left to rot in water is bound to stink!



OK, if that is not your cup of tea, try using your potatoes to propagate wood stem cuttings.

Learn how to do it right from Back Yard Diva.  You can't fail growing something with this method.  If the cuttings failed to take root, most likely the potatoes will.

The roofs are alive!

I believe that just a little sunshine, water and love will keep roofs of many high rise buildings in Malaysia alive with greens.

I hope this presentation shared by Kristin L. Getter and D. Bradley Rowe from the Michigan State University could help steer Malaysians into considering working towards gardening on their roof tops.

Selecting Plants for Extensive Green Roofs from Farrah85p

Scroll to the last page of the article, you will find some plants mentioned that are suitable for climate in Singapore, which should also be suitable for our country.

Of stones, lallang and snakes...

My neighbours spotted snakes in their compound! What should I do to protect my family against being bitten by one? I called the MPkj personnel covering Zone 8 in Kajang about it and was told to call Jabatan Bomba at "994" if assistance is required to capture the snake and for some guidelines on what to do on sighting one. I also did a search on "snake like to hide in" and came across a link to "How do snakes hide?" and found the following answers: 1) Depending on the snake they usually are hidden in grasses (lallang) or small tight spaces like under parts of rocks and some even live in trees. (Oops, there are lots of trees, tall weeds and rocks where I live.) 2) Probably somewhere warm and dark. Popular hide outs are under floorboards, in unfinished basements, under beds, or under shelves. (Seen this often on Discovery Channel.) 3) anything that they can go under................ (That sounds scary.) My neighbour told me that snakes eat frogs and that is worrying as we have a water feature in our garden that attracts them to breed there. So, how can I encourage my neighbours to work together on getting rid of stones or tall lallang that are often see in vacant units in a new estate? Herb Spiral to the rescue. What's that? Find out in my next posting.

Trees? Sense them.

Yes, Blog Action Day 2009 is over but that shouldn't stop us from talking about climate change.

You see trees?

View more presentations from Nancy Poh.

It's a nice day for...

"It's a nice day for weeding".

That did not get me the response I have expected from my children as they went off to see their weekend kids' programme on TV.

I should have said, "Let's build a secret hiding place". With "The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian", still fresh in my daughter's mind, she was keen to be involved when she saw me digging a hole in the garden.

I told her to dig it big enough for a plastic pot that came with a plant I bought and went off to do my indoor chores. Not too long after, the older brother joined in the fun.

"It's ready! It's ready!", they shouted, very keen to see the outcome of this project.

I put the pot into the hole and decided that the hole is not deep enough and it's top will show above the ground surface. So, I placed garden stones around the hole.



So, what is the purpose of this hiding place? They wanted to know.



"Now, Mummy, has a place to dump dried leaves and weeds removed from the garden."



And to make it less of an eye sore, I placed a pot of plant over the pot.



It is a mini compost bin for a mini garden.



I have a lot more of these plastic pots and I am sure I will not have any problem getting them to dig more secret hiding spots. It should be fun for the kids, when it's time to count the worms.

Going on vacation? What about the plants?

I have been able to re-use my plastic bottles and bags to create Watering Pals for watering my plants while I am away.

Here is an easier method by Liz Gilman of Better Homes and Gardens and you still get to re-use your plastic bags and ...



... your kids' balloon holder.

"I am always away" is no longer a valid excuse not to grow some greens in your home.

Food wastage? Reduced with values.

I have put on some weight! I have been eating my children's leftovers because I don't like the idea of throwing away food that I have taken so much time to cook. They have not thought about the cost in getting the supplies and energy needed in the processes. They have forgotten about the children with no food to eat in war torn countries. They obviously do not value the love and efforts I put into cooking for them as much as I do.

I should put these thoughts and feelings to use by teaching my children how to grow their own vegetables and cook them. After all the efforts, I am sure they are less likely to throw away their own greens.

If you think that children are not capable of such tasks, then you have obviously not heard about "The Edible School Yard". It is a programme of an urban public school, Martin Luther King Junior Middle School, in Berkeley, California, where the students have more than an acre organic garden and a kitchen for classroom.

Hear what the founder, Alice Waters, and teachers in "The Edible School Yard" have to say about the effects this programme have on the children.







And, just in case this posting has inspired others to start a similar programme in their community, don't forget to check out their "How To" link. You can also try googling "edible classroom garden" to see if there are any such programme in your own country.

You may also want to read about "Forest Gardening" or download Dave Sansone's booklet on "Edible Forest Gardens".

Here are some videos of "Forest Gardening with Robert Hart".





I have covered composting in my earlier posting.

Planting trees? Get 10 free!

Thinking of planting trees but you have no idea how to go about it? If you are living in America, you are in luck because all you have to do is be a member of The Arbor Day Foundation and they will send you 10 free trees, guaranteed to grow in your area or they will replaced them free.



On top of that, you will also receive:

1) A Free Copy of The Tree Book, your expert guide to tree care and conservation.


2) Arbor Day Foundation's bimonthly publication.
3) Member Savings of 33% - 56% on the purchase of trees, plants and bulbs.

The annual subscription fee is USD10 but if you are a member of Woodmen of the World, you need only pay USD7.50.

If you are living in Malaysia and thinking of planting timber trees commercially, you can look into getting an 80% or 90% loan for your venture from "The Forest Plantation Loan", offered by the federal government. This is a 15-year programme to ensure that there will be enough raw material supply for the plywood, veneer and furniture making factories in the years ahead.

The loan is not open to applicants who intend to grow oil palm trees and species of high commercial value you can consider planting are:

Kelempayan
Bantai Binuang
Rubberwood
Khaya
Acacia mangium

If you opt to plant rubber trees, you will have to be able to fund 10% of the investment in your plantation. Eligible participants will receive RM5,400 per hectare. Applicants for other kind of timber trees must be able to fund 20% of the investment and if eligible, will receive RM3,200 per hectare. You will start repaying the loan once your trees are mature enough to be harvested. The payback rate of 3.5% is not compounded.

Need more information about trees before you take the plunge commercially or for a greener environment?


Maybe The Tree Guide posted by Arbor Day and the tree database from World Agro Forestry Centre will help you some.

Plants? Let's eat them.

I have been reading in the newspapers that vegetables we frequently consumed have been found to be highly contaminated with carcinogenic pesticide residues. Though the findings done by the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia were later refuted, I still have my doubts when my vegetables taste more bitter than they should. I wonder if it is because of my greens shopping habits. It could be that I have not been soaking them long enough...

While I am figuring that out, I am also looking into other options; like growing my own! To have a wider variety, let me see if I am able to generate the interest of my "common backyard" neighbours to join me in this green effort. First, I will have to convince them that it is easy with this "Plant Propagation by Leaf, Cane, and Root Cuttings: Instructions for the Home Gardener" article.

So, what can we grow? I am sure we will all decide on something after going through "Plants of the Future". We can also consider root planting from bulbs, corms, tubers and rhizomes; so, no more throwing that partly rotting whatever. Just try planting them. Does not matter that it will rot further when it will organically fertilise our greens, right?

Talk about root planting, it is time to be friendly with the cook at the Char Kueh Teow stall if I want to get hold of some clam shells.

Seashells? Grow plants with them.

Many people think that plants from cold countries will not grow well in our sunny climate. That is why one of my neighbours had been planting his daffodils from Netherlands in the shade. To encourage the plant to bloom, he fertilized it so much that there are baby bulbs growing all around the giant main bulb right in the centre of the pot. He gave up growing them when they failed to flower and I became the lucky new owner.

I did a search on daffodils and discovered that if the main bulb keeps developing new bulbs they will not have as much energy to develop leaves and flowers, so, over fertilizing the plant will not help the blooming process. Also the plant only blooms in its home country only in Spring. So, I separated the smaller bulbs from the main one and placed the plant where it will get the sun and not too long after that, my daffodils started blooming.

In Netherlands, Jaap Leenen grows his daffodils not in soil but in 2m square trays of 5cm thick layer of seashells that have been thoroughly washed. Why use seashells? Unlike soil, they are bacteria, worms and fungi free thus enabling his company to harvest the cleaner bulbs for pharmaceutical use. And the daffodils grown this way also produce longer lasting blooms. The bulbs are sold to companies who used them to prepare galantamine that can be used to treat Alzheimer's disease.

So, take time to talk to the older folks in the family to see if they have any hand me down herbal remedies that use bulbs from plants. Then pop by Wayne Schmidt's Flowering Bulbs web page to learn how to grow them properly.

Once you are able to grow them in large quantity using seashells, of course, then head down to Kedah BioResources Corporation Sdn Bhd to see if they can help you commercialise your herbal formula.