Mosquito repellent

Indian Borage (bangun-bangun) + Mint = mosquito repellent.

Not sure if this is true or not but I will be rooting this two plants in water. I know Indian Borage (Plectranthus barbatus) is better to be planted straight to ground (as adviced by many in the Malaysian Gardeners Facebook group) but I just like to see it in water for a while.

According to one blog, the Indian Borage is an effective cure for cough and even recommended by her doctor friend.

Ulam Raja rooted

Placed this Ulam Raja stem in water and it finally rooted.

It wasn't fast. Took more than a week to see this small root growth. Still it's satisfying. :)

This gives me encouragement to root even more Ulam Raja stems.

Mosquito experiment

Left this bottle of water out in the open and of course living in a mosquito infested place it didn't take long for mosquito to lay eggs in it.

I figure half a day for the larvae to hatch so I have time...

The camera can't seem to capture a clear picture of all larvae, which is like a dozen of them (trust me!)

There! one clear shot of the larvae. Water was just left overnight. That's how fast they hatch.

Of course, it's bad to let them become adult mosquitoes so immediately they serve a greater purpose as fish food !!

I only have one lone guppy in there, but it is one happy guppy :) 

P/S: Incidentally guppies are also known as mosquito fish as they have a healthy appetite for mosquito larvae. The pot is part of my mini aquaponics with perlite where I first germinated my durian seed.

Will leave the water bottle out again to collect more larvae.

Results - Mint in water - 1 week

This is my follow up for my mint in water experiment.

Managed to change the water used (from aquarium) and the leaves still look ok after a week.

Since I live in an apartment, I like to experiment growing mints in small cut off glass bottles like this (using a little soil). Still looks alive...

Only this bottle shows some leaves getting yellow. So I changed the water, and also reduced by half.. perhaps soaking all off the roots in water is not so good ?

Durian - 2 weeks after germination

Little shoots starting to show after 2 weeks.

Potting the durian

Finally decided to temporary pot the durian in this small plastic container first. Bought it at Giant for RM 2.

Added some perlite to improve water absorbtion and the durian seed did germinate in perlite so I guess it should be ok.

Added soil but leaving that root just jutting out a bit.

Will tranplant it to bigger pot when necessary.

The extra pot I got is planted with mint.

My new favourite vege - Ulam Raja

First had this strange ulam in a mamak mixed rice shop in Shah Alam. It went well with my chicken kurma curry and rice. It had that hint of tangy mango taste which I really liked.

After that, I Googled it to find out it's name is Ulam Raja. Next I wanted to plant it so asked a Malaysian who posted on YouTube about this Ulam Raja. He even sent me the seeds (all the way from Sabah!!) for free. 

(his youtube link here)

Anyway I did receive his seeds safely in an envelope which I did plant and is now growing fast.

At the same time my mom got some from the pasar for just  RM 1 a bunch. She saved the stems and planted it in soil.

After a few days it looked like it was dying.

However after 2 weeks the leaves started growing.

This is after 2 months ....

Together with the grown seeds I now have a good supply of ulam with my dishes ... :) 

Give it a try. This vege can grow from stems/cuttings.

Mint Tea

Normally my beverage of choice is Milo for tea time but with prices going ridilously high, Milo is becoming a luxury.

That's the price of a 2Kg Milo pack at Giant supermarket. Ridiculous considering I remember buying a container 2Kg for RM 20 many years ago. I still have that plastic container!

Trying to get used to mint tea instead. Add sugar and pour it on ice glasses makes this quite a refreshing drink,

Mint plucked outside of garden :)

Can mint live in water?

Been rooting mints in water bottles and it is working fine, rooting after a couple of days.

After rooting and a 2 weeks later, I was wondering if they can just stay in the water as they still look healthy. The rooting water is from the aquarium since it's aerated and has more nutrients than plain water. 

So will try leaving them in water and change  the water after a week or so to see if they can really survive long term in just water.

Will update  here if the mints live or die :)

Where to plant lah ??? (part 2)

Still don't know where to plant my first germinated durian seed  so I left it in small plastic container with some perlite.


After a week I forgot about it until this morning when I saw the "root" thingy jutting out of the perlite.

Pulled it out of the perlite and surprised to see little tiny roots from the big root thingy !!


Same dilemma. Where to plant lah ??

Where to plant lah ?

Now that it germinated where to plant this durian kampung seed? And what kind of soil or pot can I use?

Oh my god ! I collect trash now !

Morning walk in my hometown Teluk Intan revealed, sadly, that the some of residence here have become litter bugs. 

Anyway I managed to pick out two useful items from the trash. One VSOP bottle and some chinese liqour mini bottle.

A little wash, and filling it with aquarium water (more nutrients than tap water), they become nice containers for my recent craze for Ruella Simplex plant.

Added to my collection to be transported back  as balcony plant at my apartment later.

My durian seed actually germinated!

 

It's durian season and of course I was browsing the internet on the iPad reading about people germinating durian seeds successfully (while eating a durian with my other hand). So instead of throwing away the seed I saved one to see if it can germinate.

Soaked the seed for about 3 days in shallow water in tupperware and the durian seed actually germinated.

Not really planning to get actual fruits from this but as a fun experiment to grow a durian tree as a houseplant. 

Will post pictures of it as it grows (and as long as it survives!!)

Any advice on what type of soil and pot I should transplant this in?

Here are the related links I was browsing on my iPad..

• My baby durian seed is germinating… | Dedicated to Durians

• How to germinate Durio species seeds - Durian Seed ...

• Year of the Durian: So You Want to Plant a Durian Tree