Good day my gardening chums!
Im so sorry for not posting for a while, i have been so very busy with plants etc, well i still am but just wanted to say happy easter.
We have some fully matured herb plants still available, i currently have Dill and Rosemary, they are one year plus, lovely root system and look great, why not pop over and see.
We also have some new hanging baskets of strawberry plants and loads of fruit on them too, better grab them before i eat them all hehehe.
see you soon i hope
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Growing Roses
Good day my gardening chums!
its been a while, we have been growing our rose plants and getting new ones ready for sale so today i thought i would talk about roses.
Being one of the world's most favourite plants, you're sure to find plenty of information about roses online. However, it's harder to find advice about growing roses in climates such as ours. so i wanted to concentrate on information for the warm-climate rose grower.Heat and humidity present two major challenges, sun tolerance,especially burning of the flowers is also something that the rose growers from more temperate and cloudy parts of the world never have to worry about, but here we do.
One of the best ways to grow roses is in pots, they make a patio or decking look amazing. there are several pot types available, a good large plantpot with ample room for the roots is essential. also the soil type is cruicial too. The top layer of the soil should be sandy, and the lower level clay. So, all the soil in the pots is a mixture of commercial potting soil, nitrohumus, super-phosphate, and soil polymer.
The top layer of our soil is very sandy, and the lower level is clay. So, all the soil in our planters have been completely reworked, and the soil in the pots is a mixture of commercial potting soil, nitrohumus, super-phosphate, and soil polymer.
Pot grown roses do take a lot more water, simply because the water drains right through the pots. Pot grown roses need more food. Not stronger, but more often. I feed my roses every week during show season, and then twice a month the rest of the year. I rotate with feedings of chicken droppings, Fish blood, plus I add Iron Chelate and Zinc once a month. Also, I feed them Rose Food twice a year you can get it from garden centres here, Always make sure that you have watered your roses well the day before feeding. If you feed a dry plant, especially one in a pot, you could very well burn the roots, or even kill the plant. I must confess, that I killed ten minis by feeding them dry when I first started growing roses.
Pruning pot grown roses is done the same as for ground-grown roses. However, when miniature roses are grown in pots you don't have to kneel down on the ground to prune them! So, there is much less strain on your back and knees!
so thats growing roses in pots, how about in the ground? One of the very best soil amendments to use for rose bushes is compost. Using compost improves soil structure, texture, and aeration and increases the soil's water-holding capacity. Compost loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. Adding compost improves soil fertility.
So you get your rose home then what to do? If you haven’t planted roses before, here's som,e hints and tips on how to plant roses.
To plant roses you must first of all dig the holes, and place a little potting soil at the bottom of each hole, leaving some just to cover the roots with when set out. Have some strong sticks close by in case a few straggling shoots need support. Now unpack, which is always done at the last minute, if the air gets to them when out of the ground it dries up all the sap and materially weakens the plants.
With a sharp knife cut off all the dead tops of the shoots, and also any roots which look mangled, taking great care not to pull off the fibrous portions (tiny rootlets attached to the main roots), as these will take hold of the new ground, and keep life in the rose trees.Hold the plant upright and steady pour the soil in.
Do not cramp the rose roots.They have been growing in pots, and must have their roots gently disentangled and spread out in the hole. The potting soil helps to start the plants, and they soon penetrate into the heavier soil which is to produce such grand rose flowers.
Only just cover the roots with the light soil, and then fill in with the chicken manure. This must not come higher than two inches above the junction of graft and stock, which can easily be found by the different appearance of the two woods, and also from the mark faintly seen showing how deeply it has already been planted in its original pot.When filled up stamp firmly down. If this is not done, the rose tree cannot possibly make roots, if it is rocked about by the wind, and all your trouble will be a waste of time. Of course the ground must not be made like iron, but, on the other hand, the plants should be able to stand a fair tug without moving from their places. I have noticed over and over again that I had only to pull at a rose tree gently, and it would be lying full length on the ground. What can be expected of the best bush that ever grew when it has been planted in that fashion?
So, i hope you find this usefull information, the roses we sell are of a very high quality, and give them some time and they will transform your garden into something truly special, all the pictures you see here are all examples of some of the roses we have for sale, i hope you pop over and say hello and we can pick the best rose for your garden.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
All this wet weather!
Good day my gardening chums!
sorry for not posting for ages, been so busy with customers and their garden needs. Because i also go to peoples homes to advise on gardening ideas too, if you want to get a quotation for a consultation just let me know! ok, business plug over!
Now, as the title suggests we have been having alot of wet weather, nothing unusual in the rainforest region i know, but you must take some extra precautions during this time of year.
If you have delicate plants, small flowers, your strawberry plants for example it might be worth setting up a plastic roof for them, you can use rigid plastic or sheet plastic like whats found in a plastic bag, but something that will reduce slightly the amount of water your plants is taking on.
If you dont, the plant will simply go rotten due to taking on too much water and its dead. Also with the reduction in sunlight caused by the cloud cover, you will need to feed your plants more regularly. Instead of only once a month for normal conditions you may need to give them food twice a month, just to give them a boost.
Also if you have large bushy plants like Bougainvillea or roses, Hibiscus that sort of thing, now is a good time to give them a haircut, prune them back and this will encourage new growth for when the dry season comes and will then produce more flowers. If you are unsure about how much to cut off then contact me, and i will come and look at your plants and advise accordingly ( a small consultation fee will ne charged).
Well, we are all set for Chinese New Year, although i have not seen many rabbits here in Malaysia.. anyway to all our Chinese friends and customers Gōng xǐ fā cái !!
sorry for not posting for ages, been so busy with customers and their garden needs. Because i also go to peoples homes to advise on gardening ideas too, if you want to get a quotation for a consultation just let me know! ok, business plug over!
Now, as the title suggests we have been having alot of wet weather, nothing unusual in the rainforest region i know, but you must take some extra precautions during this time of year.
If you have delicate plants, small flowers, your strawberry plants for example it might be worth setting up a plastic roof for them, you can use rigid plastic or sheet plastic like whats found in a plastic bag, but something that will reduce slightly the amount of water your plants is taking on.
If you dont, the plant will simply go rotten due to taking on too much water and its dead. Also with the reduction in sunlight caused by the cloud cover, you will need to feed your plants more regularly. Instead of only once a month for normal conditions you may need to give them food twice a month, just to give them a boost.
Also if you have large bushy plants like Bougainvillea or roses, Hibiscus that sort of thing, now is a good time to give them a haircut, prune them back and this will encourage new growth for when the dry season comes and will then produce more flowers. If you are unsure about how much to cut off then contact me, and i will come and look at your plants and advise accordingly ( a small consultation fee will ne charged).
Well, we are all set for Chinese New Year, although i have not seen many rabbits here in Malaysia.. anyway to all our Chinese friends and customers Gōng xǐ fā cái !!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Amaryllis Flowers
Good day my gardening chums,
Today i thought i would talk about one of my favourite flowers, so beautifull and elegant and very easy to grow.
Amaryllis is a genus of plant that has only one species, the belladonna lily. Many lily like plants of the same family, however, arc commonly called amaryllis, including the daffodil, snowdrop, tuberose, century plant, and more than 1,000 others.
The belladonna lily, grows from a bulb. its stalk is 18 to 30 inches high. It is topped by a cluster of 6 to 10 trumpet-shaped flowers which grow about 3 inches long. The fragrant, six-petaled blossoms are typically rose red, but they may be pink, purple, or white striped. Long, narrow leaves appear after the flowers wither.
As a wedding bloom, amaryllis is a novelty among better-known flowers like roses and peonies. But there is no end to the romance of this blossom's tale. According to Greek myth, a maiden named Amaryllis created a red bloom for her true love from her own heart's blood. In Victorian times, the flower was given as a sign of the recipient's "splendid beauty.", amaryllis come in whisper-white, creamy orange, pink, or even yellow.
They are among the easiest plants to growsimply water if indoors 2 or 3 times a week, and if outside, well this time of year, nature will take care of the watering!
at the top of the page is a picture of our variety of Amaryllis variety, very pretty as you can see, pop over and see us for more information.
Today i thought i would talk about one of my favourite flowers, so beautifull and elegant and very easy to grow.
Amaryllis is a genus of plant that has only one species, the belladonna lily. Many lily like plants of the same family, however, arc commonly called amaryllis, including the daffodil, snowdrop, tuberose, century plant, and more than 1,000 others.
The belladonna lily, grows from a bulb. its stalk is 18 to 30 inches high. It is topped by a cluster of 6 to 10 trumpet-shaped flowers which grow about 3 inches long. The fragrant, six-petaled blossoms are typically rose red, but they may be pink, purple, or white striped. Long, narrow leaves appear after the flowers wither.
As a wedding bloom, amaryllis is a novelty among better-known flowers like roses and peonies. But there is no end to the romance of this blossom's tale. According to Greek myth, a maiden named Amaryllis created a red bloom for her true love from her own heart's blood. In Victorian times, the flower was given as a sign of the recipient's "splendid beauty.", amaryllis come in whisper-white, creamy orange, pink, or even yellow.
They are among the easiest plants to growsimply water if indoors 2 or 3 times a week, and if outside, well this time of year, nature will take care of the watering!
at the top of the page is a picture of our variety of Amaryllis variety, very pretty as you can see, pop over and see us for more information.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Name change!
Good day my gardening chums,
now, come on, who noticed anything different? did you? no? oh you did, see, you are clever!
yes, we have changed the name of our blog, in fact we have done more than that, we have changed the name of our web page and our facebook page too,our email is still the same for now so you can use that to get in touch. You see we are changing to meet our customers demands, we have had many requests for flowers as well as fruit plants so now, we have our roses and also amarrylis plants for sale too, we will still have herbs but the demand for flowers has been higher so we will be concentrating on our vanilla, strawberry and flowers now.
Oh, and our Christmas sale has been extended to Chinese New Year! so get your 3 plants for the price of 2 while stocks last, and come and see our new roses, we have white ones, pink ones, red ones, purple ones, LOADS!
now, come on, who noticed anything different? did you? no? oh you did, see, you are clever!
yes, we have changed the name of our blog, in fact we have done more than that, we have changed the name of our web page and our facebook page too,our email is still the same for now so you can use that to get in touch. You see we are changing to meet our customers demands, we have had many requests for flowers as well as fruit plants so now, we have our roses and also amarrylis plants for sale too, we will still have herbs but the demand for flowers has been higher so we will be concentrating on our vanilla, strawberry and flowers now.
Oh, and our Christmas sale has been extended to Chinese New Year! so get your 3 plants for the price of 2 while stocks last, and come and see our new roses, we have white ones, pink ones, red ones, purple ones, LOADS!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Are strawberries really good for us?!
Good day my gardening chums!
Well, im sure we are all in the Christmas mood now, getting the tree ready, enjoying reading Christmas cards from family and friends. Now i know we will all indulge in too much food this Christmas and new year, have too many chocolates and too many helpings of Christmas cakes and then say after the new year i will go on a diet, eat healthy and make myself feel better...and we never do!! Well i wanted to have you think about the health benefits of a simple strawberry and how they are good for you.
Strawberries and their health benefits will help most of us in a number of different ways. We are rewarded with health benefits whether we eat them fresh, dried, or frozen all year long. We all know how good they taste but they are also very nutritious so we should try to enjoy them as often as we can.
A study in the US has recommended everyone eat five helpings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily, it is most unfortunate that most of us do not eat any where near that amount. It would be nice if we would add fresh strawberries, or frozen, to our salads, cereals, or milk shakes as often as possible; we might consume enough fruit servings daily to help our bodies maintain a healthy immune system. We all realize the strawberry has a sweet taste but do we realize the nutritional value of strawberries? Like many of our other fruits the strawberry has plenty of nutrients and antioxidants to maintain a healthy body. The calories of strawberries are extremely low and are better to eat than kerpok, cookies, or fried bananas for snacks.
Strawberries contain vitamin C along with significant amounts of phytonutrients and antioxidants that fight free radicals. Some of you are probably wondering what are free radicals? Well, free radicals are elements that may cause damage to our cells, and are believed to influence the formation of many types of cancer. Strawberries have a phytonutrient that is called phenol which is believed to protect the cells and prevent damage to our organs. Strawberries, because they are rich in phenols, help prevent cancer and protect the heart and lower inflammation. They are also a great source of vitamin K and manganese along with riboflavin, potassium, vitamin B5 and 6, folic acid, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, and copper and iodine. They are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B1, biotin and pantothenic acid.
Our eyes benefit from carrots but also from strawberries. Eating three or more helpings of fruit daily has been linked to decreasing the risk of macular degeneration which is usually related to ageing. This particular vision problem is considered to be the top cause of sight loss. Some of us with busy schedules think that having three servings a day of fruit is too much. Strawberries are so adaptable they will compliment a salad, mix with cereal, blend in milk shakes and become a topping for yogurt. We do not always have to eat strawberries; we can eat any type of fruit we want.
Some of the other health benefits include protection against rheumatoid arthritis. Foods that are high in vitamin-C may protect us from degenerative arthritis, including polyarthritis. Polyarthritis is a type of rheumatoid arthritis. But some studies say that too much vitamin C is not good for us. There is one that says osteoarthritis may even get worse with a high level of vitamin C.
Well, im sure we are all in the Christmas mood now, getting the tree ready, enjoying reading Christmas cards from family and friends. Now i know we will all indulge in too much food this Christmas and new year, have too many chocolates and too many helpings of Christmas cakes and then say after the new year i will go on a diet, eat healthy and make myself feel better...and we never do!! Well i wanted to have you think about the health benefits of a simple strawberry and how they are good for you.
Strawberries and their health benefits will help most of us in a number of different ways. We are rewarded with health benefits whether we eat them fresh, dried, or frozen all year long. We all know how good they taste but they are also very nutritious so we should try to enjoy them as often as we can.
A study in the US has recommended everyone eat five helpings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily, it is most unfortunate that most of us do not eat any where near that amount. It would be nice if we would add fresh strawberries, or frozen, to our salads, cereals, or milk shakes as often as possible; we might consume enough fruit servings daily to help our bodies maintain a healthy immune system. We all realize the strawberry has a sweet taste but do we realize the nutritional value of strawberries? Like many of our other fruits the strawberry has plenty of nutrients and antioxidants to maintain a healthy body. The calories of strawberries are extremely low and are better to eat than kerpok, cookies, or fried bananas for snacks.
Strawberries contain vitamin C along with significant amounts of phytonutrients and antioxidants that fight free radicals. Some of you are probably wondering what are free radicals? Well, free radicals are elements that may cause damage to our cells, and are believed to influence the formation of many types of cancer. Strawberries have a phytonutrient that is called phenol which is believed to protect the cells and prevent damage to our organs. Strawberries, because they are rich in phenols, help prevent cancer and protect the heart and lower inflammation. They are also a great source of vitamin K and manganese along with riboflavin, potassium, vitamin B5 and 6, folic acid, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, and copper and iodine. They are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B1, biotin and pantothenic acid.
Our eyes benefit from carrots but also from strawberries. Eating three or more helpings of fruit daily has been linked to decreasing the risk of macular degeneration which is usually related to ageing. This particular vision problem is considered to be the top cause of sight loss. Some of us with busy schedules think that having three servings a day of fruit is too much. Strawberries are so adaptable they will compliment a salad, mix with cereal, blend in milk shakes and become a topping for yogurt. We do not always have to eat strawberries; we can eat any type of fruit we want.
Some of the other health benefits include protection against rheumatoid arthritis. Foods that are high in vitamin-C may protect us from degenerative arthritis, including polyarthritis. Polyarthritis is a type of rheumatoid arthritis. But some studies say that too much vitamin C is not good for us. There is one that says osteoarthritis may even get worse with a high level of vitamin C.
| Now i know many of you are thinking i am just tying to sell you more strawberry plants! and i would be lying if that wasnt partly true, but seriously i just wanted you to think of the health benefits of such a simple small and tasty fruit. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year from all of us here at Kuching Fruits and Herbs. |
Thursday, December 2, 2010
New Products for your garden
Good day my gardening chums!
i hope everyone is well and getting ready for Christmas, that then gives me the opportunity to remind you of our Christmas sale, 3 plants for the price of 2 on the strawberry and vanilla plants.
now, everyone im sure loves the sound of bird song, nothing nicer to hear their beautiful chorus to refresh the soul, well sadly this may be a thing of the past soon unless we do something about it. many of the trees and shrubs used by birds to make their nests are being cut down in the city areas, and they need somewhere to sleep, dont we all!
You can now make a difference, you can have them nest in your garden using our hand built not imported but made here by my fair hand bird nesting box like the picture below, just place it somewhere fairly high so the cat cant reach it but also somewhere you can see it, therefore you can enjoy watching the babies and mother birds fly the nest. The prices are roughly RM25 per box depends on the type you want.
Also we will be shortly selling bird feeding tables too, again hand made, dont throw your scraps of food away like left over rice, let the birds have it for their dinner, plus you get to watch some real beautiful birds in your own back garden.
just email us for more information.
i hope everyone is well and getting ready for Christmas, that then gives me the opportunity to remind you of our Christmas sale, 3 plants for the price of 2 on the strawberry and vanilla plants.
now, everyone im sure loves the sound of bird song, nothing nicer to hear their beautiful chorus to refresh the soul, well sadly this may be a thing of the past soon unless we do something about it. many of the trees and shrubs used by birds to make their nests are being cut down in the city areas, and they need somewhere to sleep, dont we all!
You can now make a difference, you can have them nest in your garden using our hand built not imported but made here by my fair hand bird nesting box like the picture below, just place it somewhere fairly high so the cat cant reach it but also somewhere you can see it, therefore you can enjoy watching the babies and mother birds fly the nest. The prices are roughly RM25 per box depends on the type you want.
Also we will be shortly selling bird feeding tables too, again hand made, dont throw your scraps of food away like left over rice, let the birds have it for their dinner, plus you get to watch some real beautiful birds in your own back garden.
just email us for more information.
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