cooked

For many hundreds of years people used to plant by the phases of the moon - root crops on the wane of the moon etc. I can't remember the details but if you are interested you can google it. Many old farmers used to also put posts into the ground or put foundations for building on the wane of the moon. It may sound completely unscientific but experiments i have done do support the idea to some extent. just as the moon has a influence on tides and liquids and so on it has some influence on plants.. It was common world wide but was put into the old wives tales category and forgotten about. At first i thought this was what you were asking about.

For certain actions, mainly connected with forestry work, I agree about respecting the phases of the moon. A waning of the moon in November is supposed to be the best time to cut spruce for general carpentry but especially the making of shingles. This seems to be correct. Try:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/9010443/Moon-planting-just-a-passing-phase.html

I'm not sure that the moon phase thingy would work in the tropics anyway.

I worked in horticulture for 40 years and I can assure you that I wasn't going to wait three or four days for the correct moon phase to come around when I was stood before the seed bed on the first day without rain for weeks. Losing three or four days can also result in a loss of growth, especially in Autumn for instance when you have a short window for sowing lambs' lettuce.

I once lost an anthroposophic customer because I planted strawberries on the wrong day, silly cow, the plants were dying of thirst in their pots. I also encountered the same problem when pruning fruit trees. It took me some time to work out why another customer would insist on me coming only on certain days, she wanted me to come on 'fruit' days. I tried to tell her that any advantage that might be gained would be far outweighed by early frost of lack of pollinating bees. She was annoyed, a right anthroposophic twit. And anyway, what's wrong with pruning on a 'flower' or 'root' day?

If there really was something in it, commercial growers would have adopted it a long time ago, correct cultivation is much more important than having the nature gods bless your rhubarb.

I sow anything I feel like all the year round. In the dry season we seem to have less problems with pests. Planting just before the rainy season is obviously making things easier.

We water young seedlings twice a day, mature plants every day or two days. Chilli will appreciate the heat, and will survive without too much water... I had to find out the hard way, despite receiving excellent advice on this forum, there are so many differences in soil and climate, that it is difficult to apply general 'planting time rules' to gardens in Thailand.

However if you don't want to water regularly, I don't think you will have much success.

Cooked,

Great User Name, , also, great Info.

When you state you plant/sow year round, does that apply to as you note "anything". I truly am striving myself also to figure out what grows best during what time of the year. Back in the states in the Pacific NW, right on the Canadian border, we had four distinct seasons. Here, well, hot, hotter, and hot and wet. Not complaining, just trying to come to terms with the difference. It was easy back in states, when the ground stopped freezing you could plant. You then harvested before it started freezing again in the fall.

I guess I am getting long winded and the question is simple. Hot and wet season is coming. (monsoon season). I live S of Bangkok towards Cha Am, so we do not get as much rain as others N or S. I have a small city plot garden. I just harvested corn, carrots, tomatoes, peppers and misc others such as kale and lettuce. Now that we are headed into the hot and wet season, would you say go ahead and plant everything again. Or, are there some that are going to do far better than others. The reason I ask is that I am trying to focus on those that have a better chance of "doing good" during the hot and wet season.

Thanks Man

Well to start with, I live in Isaan, often when I go to Bangkok I find that it has been raining for days when up here we haven't seen a drop.

The beginning of the rainy season is generally thought to be the best time of year to sow most stuff, I realise that you have a problem getting used to the idea of a tropical climate. At the beginning I certainly was, without realising it, putting things off for the winter time. Switzerland, where I come from, definitely has seasons,and you can't afford to miss certain sowing dates.

I still think that the best way is just to sow stuff that takes your fancy, you may find yourself obliged to decide between using pesticides or not. I am continually cultivating yard long beans and cucumbers to keep up a steady supply, same for herbs. I have found that if it is difficult to find certain seeds in the shops, it is likely to be because they don't grow well, I have stopped importing stuff from Europe, although the F1 Sunflowers are worthwhile, and get eaten eventually.

I gave up on melons some time ago, I don't want to eat stuff that has been sprayed every week. Pumpkins grow all over the place and try to take over the garden, we still have seedlings coming up all over the place a year later.

Ok a list: garlic, bunching onions, chives, onions, basil, dill, tomatoes, bell peppers, two different beans, cucumbers and sweet corn, lettuce, and chinese cabbage. We also have passion fruit growing all over the place, pappaya and other stuff that my wife knows the name of..

Good luck

On the run up to our marriage my now wife turned out to be 6 years younger than we had thought. Didn't make any difference apart from meaning I have her menopause to look forward to.

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We ?

Yes, we. Some people around here don't even know when their birthday is.

No rain for 8 months a year, no water reserves. Come on you agricultural geniuses, you must be able to think of something.

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What is the geography? Terrain? Any chance of bore water? But it's costly... not sure it will pay off. Definitely not for rice.

Thais unfortunately rarely think out of square box. Just do what the neighbor does...

If climate change predictions are anywhere near correct, it may well be adapt or perish.

Well, let's repeat the small detail about 8 months without water shall we? Thanks for the idea of sinking a borehole I might look into that. The son in law has tried ALL of the above mentioned suggestions. Fertilizer, pesticides and theft made them unprofitable and time consuming.

I imagine that most of the posters on this thread don't have much of an idea about farming up here. I too thought that I was going to revolutionise farming when I moved here.

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On the run up to our marriage my now wife turned out to be 6 years younger than we had thought. Didn't make any difference apart from meaning I have her menopause to look forward to.

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No rain for 8 months a year, no water reserves. Come on you agricultural geniuses, you must be able to think of something.

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The posters are belligerent and abusive

That's it.

I started giving friendly advice and ended up detesting this guy, not that I'm not sorry for him but he seems to have serious problems that won't be solved by fleeing his present situation. He himself throws abuse about and then can't take it when some comes back. Sad.

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We had a visit recently, no problems. The lady probably sold all the syringes to drug addicts (joke).

Without meaning to offend , this kind of posting reminds me why I only visit Thai restaurants here. Go buy the ingredients for a pizza- mozzarella and parmesan cheese, maybe olives.... The pizza you make yourself turns out expensive but much better. I have tried a pizza in Chiang Mail that was more expensive than I would have paid in Switzerland and it was uneatable .

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The reluctance of Thais to 'make waves' is one reason why it is difficult to get anything done about stuff like this. We have no problems like this at all in the private school we use, if anything they are too lax.

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Let's not get started on what happens to parking spaces reserved for invalids.

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Maybe this belongs on the general forum but here goes. Many vehicles have roof racks but I never see them being used and I cannot find an explanation. I can generally work out most Thai-thainess things but this one has me puzzled. Especially as you see all kinds of crazy loading 'techniques'. I am thinking about getting one myself because I need one and not for decoration.

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Post removed. This is a legitimate sponsor promotion.

Ok fair enough . We don't know that and then risk getting banned if we say something ?

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Some people still take a bus ? Stupid or suicidal ?

Good answer. So we are expected to walk? Driving isn't necessarily a safe solution , the Bangkok express train from Buriram is regularly 2-3hours late.

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I hate the blo**y things and I had a couple of guys that refused to use them for the above mentioned reasons.

At the risk of losing all credibility on this forum, it looks as though I have to say no for the third time. No money! No beer looming up as a dread future.

This looked really interesting and I was looking forward to meeting up, oh well. Maybe I'll win at Lotto or something.

Clutching at straws. For Buddha's sake close this stupid thread.

I sow anything I feel like all the year round. In the dry season we seem to have less problems with pests. Planting just before the rainy season is obviously making things easier.

We water young seedlings twice a day, mature plants every day or two days. Chilli will appreciate the heat, and will survive without too much water... I had to find out the hard way, despite receiving excellent advice on this forum, there are so many differences in soil and climate, that it is difficult to apply general 'planting time rules' to gardens in Thailand.

However if you don't want to water regularly, I don't think you will have much success.

We have had our Almera for a year now and like it. It runs fine and while one should not expect massive acceleration it serves our purposes.

My only irritant is the engine shutting off at each stop sign/stop light. I automatically hit the disengage button as soon as I start the car. I don't like the delay and think that it puts undo wear and tear on the starter. Plus, with such a small engine I figure that I am contributing enough towards fuel savings.

Would I buy another one? Probably, although I would have the mechanic hard wire the system to permanently override that pesky engine shutoff system before the car left the dealer.

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I agree up to a point. Question: what is happening when you are stationary and you have your foot on the brake pedal? Nothing being slowly wasted away?

Secondly, in Bangkok traffic for instance you can find yourself waiting for 5 or 10 minutes in front of a red light, but I don't know why people can't be trusted to turn off the motor themselves if they want to. I tend to turn of the idle stop also.

Almera?

Up to you, did you do a test drive? I drive at least 100Km per day doing the school run and other general taxi work, and am happy with the Almera. It generally has three adults and a chit of a child in it. A combination of country roads, highways and town traffic. I have been to Bangkok from Buriram twice, We also went to Vientiane going through Pitsanaluk and that stuff. I never noticed a problem due lack of umph, the acceleration although not fantastic, is sufficient. I get about 18 Km per litre, which is not to be scoffed at. Three years insurance included in the price and three years roadside assistance.

The automatic transmission is a dream for me after years of driving all sorts of trucks so maybe I am a bit overwhelmed by this car. It would be nice to know how you decide and what your experiences are.

Cooked, I am a bit confused, is your Almera automatic or is it stick?

I normally like a stick shift, and if I had my way would never buy an automatic, But I also like sex so I need to keep the wife Happy.with an AT

I think a stick shift Almera would be fine, it is the Automatic that I have concerns with.

mmmm.... as I state in my last line, automatic. I know, I know, many people think that they prefer stick. Don't forget my 40 years truck driving, including a couple that I had to double declutch. If you really want to go for boy racing in bangkok traffic or on the highways, I'm afraid that my interest in that kind of thing left me many years ago. Thai driving is about smoothly fitting into to the flow, anticipation staying cool and not dying. The new automatics (CVT) are a revelation, I love it. I hated the earlier automatics also,

Almera?

Up to you, did you do a test drive? I drive at least 100Km per day doing the school run and other general taxi work, and am happy with the Almera. It generally has three adults and a chit of a child in it. A combination of country roads, highways and town traffic. I have been to Bangkok from Buriram twice, We also went to Vientiane going through Pitsanaluk and that stuff. I never noticed a problem due lack of umph, the acceleration although not fantastic, is sufficient. I get about 18 Km per litre, which is not to be scoffed at. Three years insurance included in the price and three years roadside assistance.

The automatic transmission is a dream for me after years of driving all sorts of trucks so maybe I am a bit overwhelmed by this car. It would be nice to know how you decide and what your experiences are.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0088278#abstract0

A difficult to follow scientific study here, which doesn't necessarily prove anything, that indicates that vegans and vegetarians are more prone to disease and die earlier.

If you get a Nakhonchai card you can order tickets by phone.

Why not just shoot them 1 by 1 ? It could save many people lives !

Shooting one in ten should do the trick .

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Illegal yes, you pay a ฿600.- fine for brewing (I think this includes distilling) for your own consumption. The problem is that the ideal temperature for brewing in 23°C more or less, and that you should be able to store it cool for a month or two for best quality results (which is why Thai beer is a/expensive and b/not as good as it could be. You could rig up a thermostat to a freezer to brew, people have done that but I myself am slowly going off the idea altogether. Try the home brew forum Thailand for ingredients, and try to use rain water.