R0birt

On 6/17/2022 at 1:58 AM, Robin said:

Soil quality is most important.  Most hai soild that I have seen have been heavy clay, difficult to work and not good for veg.

consider mixing your own soil as soil bought from 'garden centres' can be variable quality.

Clay need plenty of humus, rotten manure ( ox, buffalo, pig,) or ground up coconut fibre, from your garden centre, and sand to improve drainage.  Sand from local river bed with small stones, <6mm, is ideal, and sieve o remove large stones.

Possibly some lime, (eggshells?) if th soil is acid.  Gren veg will need plenty of fertilizer with high nitrogen content.

Plot needs to be in the sun, but with scope to shade the bed to protect newly planted seedlings.  Slug killing pellets are essential to protect your plants.

Decide if you want to be totally organic or use chemicals. difficult to avoid pests in a concentrated small bed.

I have a large balcony where I can put 5-6 beds, I was thinking to do it  on the, but the logistics may be hard of moving the soil. I would like to be organic so I was thinking of buying a clear-tarp like covering or manually check myself. This is a small project to feed 2 people so I am hoping organic is possible. 
 

On 6/17/2022 at 12:22 AM, Adumbration said:

These will grow themselves in pretty much any soil:

 

Krapow (basil)

sweet basil

Pak Boong

Long beans

Lemon grass

watercress

Aloevera

Mulberries

Chilli

 

These all require research if you want results:

Tomatoes

Corriander

Pak Choy

Bok Choy

Kale

 

You have not got enough space for pumpkin, watermelon, or corn.

 

Buy youself a little spray bottle and mix dish soap and cooking oil (Youtube). That will keep the aphids.  As the Gecko guy warns catterpillas are also a big problem.  With such a small plot you can not use chemicals and just check you garded everyday to remove them.  Pineapples are fun but way to much effort for reward ratio.  Same applies for banannas.

 

This is my suggestion for best reward for effort:

Two mulberry cuttings at outer edger of your long thin plot.  They grow tall quickly and then you can train them over and tie them in an arch to increase fruit yield and provide shade over your whole plot.

 The following in pots:

chilli

krapow

basil

Aloe vera

 

Then in the soil the following patches:

Pak boong

watercress

lemongrass (put in very middle of plot will help with bugs)

long beans. (put at base of mulberries and can train up the mature plants to save on using trellis)

Thank you, I was going to start with kale and spinach but I think that may be the wrong time to grow? I will go ahead and start with what you have mentioned.

On 6/16/2022 at 8:06 AM, drtreelove said:

Welcome to the Farming in Thailand forum!

 

There are many factors to consider and a lot to learn, but in my experience soil preparation is the most important starting point.  

I like the Grow Biointensive method (formerly called Biodynamic-French Intensive method) pioneered by Alan Chadwick,  further developed and popularized worldwide by John Jeavons and his excellent manual:

How to Grow More Vegetables: Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine: Jeavons, John: 9780898157673: Amazon.com: Books

(I worked at the research garden in Palo Alto California in 1975 and have used the method since then in the US and Thailand.) 

 

Biointensive Gardening - How To Grow a Biointensive Garden (gardeningknowhow.com)

 

The first step in my opinion would be to order a 20 kilo sack or two of Vermicompost from:

Organic Fertilizer Worm Winner Vermicompost from Thailand (biosurgethailand.com)

 

Mix that up to 50:50 with your native soil along with 1 kilo of a COF (complete organic fertilizer) like the 4-4-4 from Best Garden State, or if they have smaller packaging, the bokashi from Organic Totto. (I've only ordered the 25 kilo sacks) (bokashi is predigested by microbial activity and therefore is less harsh chemistry and more readily available for plants).  

 

Search for info on germinating your seeds and planting them out in your prepared soil.  Mulching and water management are other important factors to consider.  

Bokashi fertilizer.docx 59.06 kB · 1 download

Thank you so much for your post. I bought 12kg of coconut compost and another 12kg of dirt. Do you still advise on the worm compost, I have been told the coconut is similar to the worm, is that true?

For 4-4-4 fertilizer do you suggest something like this or can I get it cheeaper: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/gaia-green-4-4-4-all-purpose-organic-fertilizer-500g1kg2kg-usa-mrherbman-i3702953901-s14014013642.html?search=1&spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.i18.14f43597AssOYs 

I see 16-16-16 online and it's quite cheap, but I do not know the difference between them.

Thank you very much for your help
 

Hi,

I live in Prachup Khri khan and I am looking to grow my own food, I am starting with a 200x53x30 cm garden bed.

I plan to grow kale, spinach, tomatoes, basil, baby bok choy, and other leafy greens, anything that takes less than 8 weeks to grow.

If you have any tips about soil, shading, water, fertilizer, how much sun or water they need in Thailand would be most helpful. I'm about t o start in a few days so looking to avoid newbie errors. 

Thank you.

I am looking to grow my own food like leafy greens and tomatoes, is there an online site where I can look at the different fertilizers they offer and order them? I cannot seem to find anything when searching, most require big orders and it looks like they are aimed for farmers.

Thanks.

I am looking at a few houses outside outside of Hua Hin (near mountains/large hills) where the current owners have bought the land and then built the house on there. The houses are surrounded by farmland or grass-land with a main road a 100 meters or so away.  There is no neighbor next door or on the same road (if they are they are a 100m+ away).

I'm new looking at this type of house so I'm wondering what should I be looking for asides for the usual build quality feature when looking for a home because of the location?

Flooding areas?

Foundations of the house?

Alterative supplies of electricity? 
Who owns the land next to me?

In terms of pricing would a house further away from everything be valued less than a house the same size in a moo-ban closer to Hua Hin i.e Hin Lek, khao tao etc?

I saw ads on the BTS for the car website Carsome.co.th

They appear to be an "e-com business" selling cars in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. They buy and sell used cars and their site says they offer warranty for 1 year and that all their cars are checked to be working fine using some 175 point checklist. The Thai version of their site has no English but if you visit the Malaysia version it's pretty much the exact same but it has English.

I am wondering if anyone has bought a car from there, as an expat the site looks friendly enough and they offer a 1 year warranty but looking for feedback from others as I cannot see too much as they look kind of new.