Disaster!

My chilli plant died - from soil poisoning, I think! Last weekend, I noticed that a bag of burnt earth seemed too sandy and not like the other bags. I think there was too much potash in it which proved fatal for my chilli plant, sob, sob! Two papaya seedlings and a winter melon next to the chilli plant were also affected but not as badly.


I cut away almost all the leaves of the turmeric because it was infested with little translucent moths and some black bugs. The roots are all right - so I figured the leaves should grow back soon enough.

I guess life goes on and today I planted some okra and snap beans seeds that I bought and hopefully seedlings will sprout by next weekend, in time for my next update.



The lime is fruiting bountifully and I took one lime to make juice. The lime is much bigger than what I usually get from the market and it is also riper - I wonder if it will be sweeter.




The winter melon has reached the top of the fence and maybe now it will climb along it. Its stem and underside of the leaves has very fine prickly spines that I painfully discovered today when I unknowingly grabbed them while installing my automatic watering system.

My trusty old watering system is put into service once again as the days seem much hotter now and I worry that my beloved plants wilt before I water them in the evenings if I were out. I will set it for about 4.30 and do the manual round in the mornings.


Lemongrass may grow roots easily but it looks like not all of them are going to survive - only two look alive and have grown some leaves. The leaves should smell nice.

The red capsicum seedlings which have grown somewhat were split into two clumps and planted near the tomato, which by the way is doing poorly with the leaves browning out. Maybe I should avoid getting water onto the leaves when I water the garden.

Today I celebrate ......

.... my first earthworm!


Think me crazy if you will, but seriously, earthworms are to be celebrated and welcomed in a happy garden! Earthworms are garden helpers as they help to aerate the soil when they burrow, and their presence is an indication that the soil condition is healthy. But I wonder where and how this first citizen migrated to my little plot!


The second resident that I found today, the snail, is not so welcomed as snails are considered pests. Exactly why, I don't know!

Two toadstools, different from the umbrella gang, that appeared near the aloe and turmeric are also not welcomed. The bulb-head burst into a wet yucky slimy blob when I removed these two with my garden spade. Yucks!



White spots - on the underside of the chilli leaves are worrying. Guess this is the time to test out Irene's organic pesticide. I sprayed on the spots after I split the seedlings into two and replanted them, giving them more space to flourish. Maybe it was the dense foliage that resulted in the white spots thingy.


Constance's rosemary doing very well and sending up new shoots. I think I will pass it to her next week.


A melon is a melon - the leaves of the rock melon look similar to the winter melon's leaves. I topped up the soil for the rock melon to level it as it was a bit too waterlogged when it rains.




The two creeper plants, old cucumber and winter melon seemed to have settled down and are slowly climbing the fence.


The winter melon leaves look sizably impressive. I like the delicate serrated edges!!


In the picture above, some coiled tendrils ensure anchorage without growing pains for the winter melon.



It was so easy to prepare the lemon grass for planting. After peeling off the outer leaves and shortening the main stem, I soaked them in water for 3 days and voila, the roots and shoots appeared. I hope I have not planted them in the ground too soon but I think they should be all right!



The big bulge at the base of the turmeric must mean that the ginger is growing very well and I suppose I can harvest the tuber if I know what to use it for! Hahaha!



Nice to see these pinto bean shoots racing each other for the sky. I wonder when the pods will appear!



View from the top after I moved the cherry tomato plant to the centre as I felt that it was too crowded out next to the chilli. Hopefully it will do better from now on because some of its foliage have withered :( but there is one tomato ripening for my snack the next couple of days.:p