Vegetables and Goldfish in the Backyard

I started planting seeds for vegetables last week and now see the kangkong shoots coming out after the weekend. The chinese celery (parsley) is taking more time. So is the butterhead lettuce.

This afternoon, I spent time converting the downstairs spare room (previously maid's room) into our laundry room, making space in the back patio for my vegetable garden. Rearranged the worm farm to make space for vegetable boxes. Planted seeds for salad and bok choi in rich potting soil.

At the same time, I got 3 goldfish from the petshop nearby to replace the 3 which died from fin rot 2 weeks ago. So now my solitary goldfish has new friends.

My backyard is now so nice to be in.

Affordable Good Books at BookXcess, Amcorp Mall

Post the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale, I found the bookshop on Level 3, Amcorp Mall. Yesterday, I got a hardcover book by BBC's Gardener Bob Flowerdew (Going Organic) for a bargain RM29.90! Sold in UK for SP19.90. Got another hardcover for the same price - Thomas Pakenham's The Remarkable Baobab. Yep, I am also into Gardening books now.

The same books would have cost at least RM80 at the normal bookstores. Now these are worth every cent. Happy Reading!

VermiCulture & Greening the Planet

People nowadays keep calling for a greener planet so that the next few generations to come are able to enjoy the world we have today which is already deteriorating fast. Well, don't just call. Do it now. In my small garden, I have trees, shrubs and flowers covering every inch of ground. At the back patio, in a small 3' x 3' hole which was meant for a water feature, our housekeeper plants herbs.

In containers, I have more plants. And in 2 boxes and a jar, I am composting. I get coffee grounds from Starbucks to feed my plants and worms. We get horse dung from an equestrian club not far from our home. And the worms are nice and fat.

A plant seller who sold us the flame tree we planted in front of our house 10 years ago told us that a sizeable tree is like having 7 air conds in a room on a hot day.

Greening the planet? Start at home. NOW.

Gardening my way out of the blues

One of the things I did during my recovery from this recent bout of depression was to get back to my garden and gardening which was left unattended when I was down and out. I really got on my knees, started digging into the soil, moving my plants around to create a new look for the garden.

In my garden, there are different types of plants interspersed with river stones collected from Ulu Langat river clearing many years ago. Some of my plants are about 10 years old.

At the same time, I started on vermiculture. Vermi what? Composting and worm farming. Working with soil and worms, I grew to enjoy handling these creatures some people would steer clear of. More about vermiculture in my next article.