jandtaa

Hi Folks

Had a long delay flying out from Bangkok a couple of months ago and decided to look out for some high contrast shots to mess about converting to B&W these were my favourites. Shot on an old compact and converted in Lightroom. Want to try and develop my technique (looking for a strong graphic style but trying not to overcook them ) interested in any thoughts, suggestions you guys might have.

cheers J

Workmen repairing revolving door.

Taxi Queue

Just to clarify as it's quite important.... "or available for free when you empty your steam kettle i.e it's P.H. neutral.)"... "sterile" water is not distilled water. Distilled has been evaporated and the steam collected.... boiled water, although sterile, can still contain minerals that will affect the pH.

 sorry must have had too much Chang when I posted. What the hel_l is a steam kettle ?? I was thinking about using water from a condenser clothes dryer to fill a steam iron (recommended to stop a build up of minerals) !!

"Natural water usually contains a number of microscopic contaminants, along with dissolved minerals such as calcium and iron. One way to remove these elements from water is to boil it until it changes to steam, a process known as distillation. When this steam is allowed to cool down and condense into liquid form again, the result is a purified form called distilled water. Distilled water should ideally be nothing but hydrogen and oxygen molecules, with a PH level of 7 and no additional gases, minerals or contaminants.

The distilling process relies on the principle that most solid materials found in water are heavier than the water molecules themselves. When water is heated in a distiller, any dissolved solids such as salt, bacteria, calcium or iron remain solid while the pure water converts to a much lighter steam and is drawn out for condensation. Distilled water has a noticeably bland taste because all of the minerals which give water its flavor have been removed."

sorry once again for "spouting" gibberish

cheers J 

Hello jantaa, to quote you "open pollinated seed only, the idea being to grow it out, find strains adapted to local conditions".

Does this mean that the Red Lady HYB. papaya seed you ordered from the USA will be left at the station?

rice555

Duh!! Fairly obviously

J

Hi Guys'n'Gals 

I've been thinking about this seed swapping idea and come up with the following idea:

posting messages with what you are offering are then uneditable and could end up with you being inundated with requests you cannot fulfill (I could edit them for people but it could be too much work).Therefore I propose a "seed train" : a "station master" loads up the train with seed excess to his requirements along with a brief description of the the variety and its provenance (open pollinated seed only, the idea being to grow it out, find strains adapted to local conditions and help with genetic diversification) includes a list of destinations and passengers and posts it on to the first "station". The first "passenger" unloads the "freight cart" takes a little of what he fancies restocks it with some of his own collection and gives it the green light to the next "passengers" destination (posting on the forum that the cargo has arrived safely and then again to indicate the train has begun its forward journey. After 8-10 stops the train returns to the sideings at its original point of departure. 

I'm more than happy to start the ball rolling but the Chiang Rai "Night Train" will be delayed until early October due to the wrong sort of leaves on the line (those from the UK or any tourists unfortunate enough to experience BR and its platform announcers will get my drift !!) and looking for a driver to replace James "get on up" Brown.

PM me for tickets (including your address both in Thai and English) or feel free to "stoke your own engine" give it a name and shout "all aboard"

cheers for now

J (AKA The Fat Controller)

Hi PL

yeah totally agree !! I think the usual red coloured blocks are made from laterite with a touch of cement (any builders amongst you please correct me) I was lucky/unlucky enough to labour for a Thai builder for 3 months and one of our jobs was for a Thai building materials supplier. he had recently purchased the moulds and equipment to produce these blocks (he had a good buisness producing the standard cinder blocks.) he was more than happy to produce a custom load to my specifications . Another alternative would be to use split euca poles cut to length and wired together, will last longer than bamboo.

cheers for now J 

Hi Folks

I intend to use blocks, not the small red bricks or the concrete blocks but the ones that are about the size of a uk house brick but with circular holes through them where the rebar goes. I reckon the holes will be ideal to hold bamboo/steel/pvc hoops to support shade cloth/netting/plastic.My raised beds will be a good 18" deep at least. This is obviously not the cheapest solution but is a long term investment. Love Loongs idea of plastic bags would be a great place to grow companion plants/trap crops etc..

cheers for now J

Hi Folks

the above post by SoiDog2 gave me the idea to start this thread. I know that there is already a food forum on TV but lets have a thread here by organic growers for organic growers. After all the reason we all work so hard and care so passionately about organics is to put tasty,healthy and nutritious food on our plates, happy in the knowledge it's chemical free.

So post here with pictures of your culinary creations, share your favourite recipes or ask for advice on what the hel_l to do with that strange looking gourd you've just grown !!

Here's a pic of some bangers I knocked up the other year from some pork I raised. Although the pigs weren't raised entirely organically (something that I will be doing in the future) all the herbs and spices came from the kitchen garden.

On the left are some good 'ol British breakfast sausage whilst those on the right are based on a recipe for Sai Ouah a Ciang Mai speciality that I smoke over coconut husks before griddling.

Cheers for now J 

Great stuff fellas

Altman your an inspiration to us all !!

Know what you mean about the bamboo ties, taken me 5 rice harvests to get the knack and bizzarely enough it only works if I don't look at what I'm doing, if I concentrate it just wont twist properly !!

From experience I find that the ties only last one wet season and when I recently built an arbour in the garden to grow a trumpet vine over I used wire for strength but over-wrapped with bamboo for cosmetics.

Any one interested in building an ark using bamboo should check out this thread bamboo

here's a direct link to a PDF on bamboo construction/connection techniques Bamboo connections

cheers for now J

Hi JDG and fellow posters

Another alternative would be to graft your "Hollands" onto mountain papaya-carica pubescens(sp?) rootstock as this wild strain is less susceptible to root rot. Check out this guide for info on bi-sexual plants Hybrid papaya cultivation

It basically comes down to the fact that the shape and size of the fruits are preferrd in the market to those of the female and many of the hybrids have been bred to produce a greater than average ratio of bi-sexual plants from seed.

Here's another link for anyone interested in growing papaya organically Organic Papaya production

and some good general info here Fruits from warm climates- Julia Morton

Just recieved my seed from the US 

Tropical red F1

Red Lady #786 F1

Tainung no.1 F1

Sun Gold F1

Known You no.1 F1

Solo sunrise improved

Red Maradol

Red Maradol improved

Mountain papaya

So trials will begin later in the year !!

cheers for now J

Hi guys

Yeah unfortunately I have to agree with Bina, agriculture up here where I am is in a pretty sorry state.Most families have about 15-20 rai and grow a single rice crop per year. About 5 years ago many grew garlic and shallots between rice but after Thaksins disasterous free trade agreement with China that no longer happens. Some do manage to grow a maize crop but only if they have access to mains water for irrigation. Some neighbours have tried to do eggplants and chillies but failed miserably due to lack of knowledge about cultivation practices (they grew chilli seedlings in a nursery bed far to densely seeded, resulting in very stretched plants and then ripped them up trimmed off the roots and cut back the stems before replanting (just like they do rice).I was given some of the leggy seedlings and out of consideration stuck them in my kitchen garden, everyone came round and told me I needed to cut all the leaves off to get a good crop !! 

Organic methods are just not practised full stop apart from a few of the older women in their kitchen gardens !! My compost heaps cause much amusement although people are more than happy to give me their vegetable scraps.

Hopefully my little project if successful may encourage locals to try some organic low input methods and help free them from the burden of debt caused by reliance on unsustainable methods of farming.I would really like to get the local school involved at some point and try to educate the youngsters, giving them a realistic chance of making a living without leaving for the cities. This has become a real problem recently and this year my wife tells me there are not enough workers for the rice planting with outside labourers coming in. Usually everyone in the village helps each other out, trading a days labour or rice from the future harvest.

Growing monocultures is something that I am trying to move the family away from as disease or lack of water etc. can wipe out a crop and that means zero income.

I feel that co-operatives are the way forward and think that it would be possible, the locals just need a bit of leadership. If they can be shown that by pooling resources and labour profits can be increased I think many villagers would sign up.One of the main problems they face is being unable to raise the capital for basic infrastructure such as irrigation systems, digging ponds, fencing to keep out cattle and so on. 

At the local market in town I originally asumed the stallholders were all farmers but have since found out they buy the produce from trucks that come down from Chiang Rai who are middlemen that buy from hill tribe farmers and Burmese traders up in Mae Sai. An aunt has a stall here but she sells herbs and plants that she collects from the mountain so she is interested in buying any produce we can supply.

Oh well hopefully brighter times lay ahead!!

cheers for now J

Hi folks

Came across this exhaustive list of compostables and their N:P:K values could help with giving you a general idea of the macro-nutrient content of your compost and help out formulating specific compost fertilisers for specific plants. Notice the Potash content of the citrus rinds, string beans and potato skins and check out cucumber skins values !! 

Alfalfa Hay: 2.45/05/2.1 

Apple Fruit: 0.05/0.02/0.1 

Apple Leaves: 1.0/0.15/0.4 

Apple Pomace: 0.2/0.02/0.15 

Apple skins(ash) : 0/3.0/11/74 

Banana Residues (ash): 1.75/0.75/0.5 

Barley (grain): 0/0/0.5 

Barley (straw): 0/0/1.0 

Basalt Rock: 0/0/1.5 

Bat Guano: 5.0-8.0/4.0-5.0/1.0 

Beans, garden(seed and hull): 0.25/0.08/03 

Beet Wastes: 0.4/0.4/0.7-4.1 

Blood meal: 15.0/0/0 

Bone Black: 1.5/0/0 

Bonemeal (raw): 3.3-4.1/21.0/0.2 

Bonemeal (steamed): 1.6-2.5/21.0/0.2

Brewery Wastes (wet): 1.0/0.5/0.05 

Buckwheat straw: 0/0/2.0 

Cantaloupe Rinds (ash): 0/9.77/12.0 

Castor pomace: 4.0-6.6/1.0-2.0/1.0-2.0 

Cattail reeds and water lily stems: 2.0/0.8/3.4 

Cattail Seed: 0.98/0.25/0.1 

Cattle Manure (fresh): 0.29/0.25/0.1 

Cherry Leaves: 0.6/0/0.7 

Chicken Manure (fresh): 1.6/1.0-1.5/0.6-1.0 

Clover: 2/0/0/0 (also contains calcium) 

Cocoa Shell Dust: 1.0/1.5/1.7 

Coffee Grounds: 2.0/0.36/0.67 

Corn (grain): 1.65/0.65/0.4 

Corn (green forage): 0.4/0.13/0.33 

Corn cobs: 0/0/2.0 

Corn Silage: 0.42/0/0 

Cornstalks: 0.75/0/0.8 

Cottonseed hulls (ash): 0/8.7/23.9

Cottonseed Meal: 7.0/2.0-3.0/1.8 

Cotton Wastes (factory): 1.32/0.45/0.36 

Cowpea Hay: 3.0/0/2.3 

Cowpeas (green forage): 0.45/0.12/0.45 

Cowpeas (seed): 3.1/1.0/1.2 

Crabgrass (green): 0.66/0.19/0.71 

Crabs (dried, ground): 10.0/0/0

Crabs (fresh): 5.0/3.6/0.2 

Cucumber Skins (ash): 0/11.28/27.2  

Dried Blood: 10.0-14.0/1.0-5.0/0 

Duck Manure (fresh): 1.12/1.44/0.6 

Eggs: 2.25/0.4/0.15 

Eggshells: 1.19/0.38/0.14 

Feathers: 15.3/0/0 

Felt Wastes: 14.0/0/1.0 

Field Beans (seed): 4.0/1.2/1.3 

Feild Beans (shells): 1.7/0.3/1.3 

Fish (dried, ground): 8.0/7.0/0 

Fish Scraps (fresh): 6.5/3.75/0 

Gluten Meal: 6.4/0/0 

Granite Dust: 0/0/3.0-5.5 

Grapefruit Skins (ash): 0/3.6/30.6  

Grape Leaves: 0.45/0.1/0.4 

Grape Pomace: 1.0/0.07/0.3 

Grass (imature): 1.0/0/1.2 

Greensand: 0/1.5/7.0 

Hair: 14/0/0/0 

Hoof and Horn Meal: 12.5/2.0/0 

Horse Manure (fresh): 0.44/0.35/0.3 

Incinerator Ash: 0.24/5.15/2.33 

Jellyfish (dried): 4.6/0/0

Kentucky Bluegrass (green): 0.66/0.19/0.71 

Kentucky Bluegrass (hay): 1.2/0.4/2.0 

Leather Dust: 11.0/0/0 

Lemon Culls: 0.15/0.06/0.26 

Lemon Skins (ash): 06.33/1.0 

Lobster Refuse: 4.5/3.5/0 

Milk: 0.5/0.3/0.18 

Millet Hay: 1.2/0/3.2 

Molasses Residue 

(From alcohol manufacture): 0.7/0/5.32 

Molasses Waste 

(From Sugar refining): 0/0/3.0-4.0 

Mud (fresh water): 1.37/0.26/0.22 

Mud (harbour): 0.99/0.77/0.05 

Mud (salt): 0.4.0/0 

Mussels: 1.0/0.12/0.13 

Nutshells: 2.5/0/0 

Oak Leaves: 0.8/0.35/0.2 

Oats (grain): 2.0/0.8/0.6 

Oats (green fodder): 0.49/0/0 

Oat straw: 0/0/1.5 

Olive Pomace: 1.15/0.78/1.3 

Orange Culls: 0.2/0.13/0.21

Orange Skins: 0/3.0/27.0

Oyster Shells: 0.36/0/0 

Peach Leaves: 0.9/0.15/0.6 

Pea forage: 1.5-2.5/0/1.4 

Peanuts (seed/kernals): 3.6/0.7/0.45 

Peanut Shells: 3.6/0.15/0.5  

Pea Pods (ash): 0/3.0/9.0  

Pea (vines): 0.25/0/0.7 

Pear Leaves: 0.7/0/0.4 

Pigeon manure (fresh): 4.19/2.24/1.0 

Pigweed (rough): 0.6/0.1/0 

Pine Needles: 0.5/0.12/0.03 

Potato Skins (ash): 0/5.18/27.5 

Potaote Tubers: 0.35/0.15/2.5 

Potatoe Vines (dried): 0.6/0.16/1.6 

Prune Refuse: 0.18/0.07/0.31 

Pumpkins (fresh): 0.16/0.07/0.26 

Rabbitbrush (ash): 0/0/13.04 

Rabbit Manure: 2.4/1.4/0.6 

Ragweed: 0.76/0.26/0 

Rapeseed meal: 0/1.0=2.0/1.0=3.0 

Raspberry leaves: 1.45/0/0.6 

Red clover hay: 2.1/0.6/2.1 

Redrop Hay: 1.2/0.35/1.0

Rock and Mussel Deposits 

From Ocean: 0.22/0.09/1.78 

Roses (flowers): 0.3/0.1/0.4 

Rye Straw: 0/0/1.0 

Salt March Hay: 1.1/0.25/0.75 

Sardine Scrap: 8.0/7.1/0 

Seaweed (dried): 1.1-1.5/0.75/4.9 (Seaweed is loaded with micronutrients including: Boron, Iodine, Magnesium and so on.) 

Seaweed (fresh): 0.2-0.4/0/0 

Sheep and Goat Manure (fresh): 0.55/0.6/0.3 

Shoddy and Felt: 8.0/0/0 

Shrimp Heads (dried): 7.8/4.2/0 

Shrimp Wastes: 2.9/10.0/0 

Siftings From Oyster Shell Mounds: 0.36/10.38/0.09 

Silk Mill Wastes: 8.0/1.14/1.0 

Silkworm Cocoons:10.0/1.82/1.08 

Sludge: 2.0/1.9/0.3 

Sludge (activated): 5.0/2.5-4.0/0.6 

Smokehouse/Firepit Ash:0/0/4.96  

Sorghum Straw:0/0/1.0 

Soybean Hay: 1.5-3.0/0/1.2-2.3 

Starfish: 1.8/0.2/0.25  

String Beans (strings and stems, ash): 0/4.99/18.0

Sugar Wastes (raw): 2.0/8.0/0 

Sweet Potatoes: 0.25/0.1/0.5 

Swine Manure (fresh): 0.6/0.45/0.5 

Tanbark Ash: 0/0.34/3.8 

Tanbark Ash (spent): 0/1.75/2.0 

Tankage: 3.0-11.0/2.0-5.0/0 

Tea Grounds: 4.15/0.62/0.4 

Timothy Hay: 1.2/0.55/1.4 

Tobacco Leaves: 4.0/0.5/6.0 

Tobacco Stems: 2.5-3.7/0.6-0.9/4.5-7.0 

Tomatoe Fruit: 0.2/0.07/0.35 

Tomatoe Leaves: 0.35/0.1/0.4 

Tomatoe Stalks: 0.35/0.1/0.5 

Tung Oil Pumace: 6.1/0/0 

Vetch Hay: 2.8/0/2.3 

Waste Silt: 9.5/0/0 

Wheat Bran: 2.4/2.9/1.6 

Wheat (grain): 2.0/0.85/0.5 

Wheat Straw: 0.5/0.15/0.8 

White Clover (Green): 0.5/0.2/0.3 

Winter Rye Hay: 0/0/1.0 

Wood Ash: 0/1.0-2.0/6.0-10.0

Wool Wastes: 3.5-6.0/2.0-4.0/1.0-3.5

THATS ALL FOLKS !!!

cheers J

Hi Guys

Been researching into pest control of the cucumber beetle as I intead to grow a fair quantity of curcubits in the autumn and have had plant damage from the little critters in the kitchen garden previous years. It's not so much the damage to the leaves (although they can interfere with pollination by eating stamens in the flowers) but the bacterial disease they spread that is the problem. Seems that a neem oil spray will work as an anti-feedant and I posted in the companion plants thread abot intercropping curcubits with rat-tailed radish. Have now come across a biological control; The wolf spider !!

David H. Wise and co-workers in the department of entomology at the University of Kentucky thoroughly investigated spider predation of cucumber beetles (Snyder and Wise, 2000, Williams et al., 2001 and Williams and Wise, 2003). Wise found that both striped and spotted cucumber beetles reduce their feeding rate and emigrate from cucurbit plants in the presence of the large wolf spiders Hogna helluo and Rabidosa rabida. Spider presence reduced plant occupancy of diabroticine beetles by 50 percent. Curiously, adult female beetles are far more responsive to the presence of wolf spiders and alter their behavior to avoid capture. Consequently, males were 16 times more likely than females to be killed by R. rabida in one experiment; only 5 percent of males survived a two-day exposure to H. helluo in a second experiment. In general, populations of predaceous spiders and ground beetles can be enhanced through habitat modification using straw mulch (Snyder and Wise, 1999), straw shelters (Halaj et al., 2000) and beetle banks (Master, 2003).

So next time the missus wants to give one the old flip-flop treatment rescue the little bugger and pop him in your veg patch !! 

cheers J

hi folks

Thought I'd share this Potatoes Fertilizer Programme with you

Fertiliser Requirements

Potatoes are an extremely productive crop and so a greedy crop. Their requirements and an exact feeding regime will depend on the variety grown as well as the amount of nutrients already in the ground for them.

Assumptions Regarding Nutrients Available 

The assumption made here is that the soil is in good heart and that a reasonable level of NPK is there to start. If breaking new ground, or exhausted ground then an additional 10% to 20% of fertiliser would be beneficial.

Fertiliser Programme 

Adding manure the previous autumn at a rate of a barrow load of 20Kg per square metre will provide the starting point for the calculation. The manure is around 0.7% nitrogen so you have added 140g of nitrogen. However, nitrogen washes out of the soil and only around 10% of the amount you added is going to be available to the crop. So we've actually added 14g /M2 of nitrogen to get the crop going.

As well as nitrogen to form the haulm (foliage) potatoes need a high level of potash for the tubers. A good source of this is to lay wilted comfrey leaves in the base of the trench, covered with a little soil under the seed potatoes. 

First Early Potatoes 

For first early potatoes the addition of extra fertiliser is probably unnecessary, assuming you manured in the autumn. If you have not manured previously, adding 200g/M2 of Growmore or fish, blood and bone will provide enough to get a decent crop.

Second Early & Maincrop Fertilisers 

Second early and maincrop potatoes will certainly benefit from additional feeding prior to planting even if previously manured and again at the point where the tubers begin to form. This is effectively when the foliage canopy between the plants begins to touch. 

The reason we are adding nitrogen through the growing season is that nitrogen is the element that has the lowest life in the soil. Heavy rain or irrigation washes it out but phosphates and potash remain to be available for the crop.

A good source of additional potash is wood ashes - if you've burnt some wood pruning then don't waste this valuable resource. 

Calcium nitrate applied at 70g/M2 will provide (at 15.5% nitrogen) an additional 11g/M2 of nitrogen plus effectively lime, thereby reducing soil acidification and this will improve total yield, improve the skin finish and improve keeping quality.

Organic gardeners with a lot of comfrey liquid feed available could water weekly or fortnightly around 5 litres per metre of row or add around 100g/M2 of dried blood.

The late maincrop varieties are in the ground longest and these need the most feeding. Adding additional nitrogen around ten to twelve weeks after planting should carry them through.

cheers for now

J

Hi Pondlife

Managed to find aforementioned bookmark (Opera browser now has an entire history search function).The variety is called "Uberlandia" here's some info on it;

UBERLANDIA CARROTS WILL SET SEED IN THE TROPICS. In the spring of 1992, William Tabeka wrote from Uganda. He wanted to grow carrots, but seed was not available. We sent information on the difficulties of producing carrot seed in the tropics. Carrots are biennials; they normally spend a winter dormant in the ground, then produce seed the second year. We also enclosed just a few seeds from a packet we had just received from Dr. Warwick Kerr in Brazil. He said that this carrot, called Uberlandia,' would set seed even in the tropics, and would do so in a single season.

Our interest in this carrot increased greatly when Mr. Tabeka sent us this picture of himself standing by what appeared to be carrots in full bloom. I wrote right away inquiring if that is indeed what I saw, and what he thought of the taste. He replied, "I assure you that the carrots really did put on seeds. The taste of the root is good and there is a difference, because that one which put on seeds has a root that is a bit longer than the others (some high carotene carrot seeds we had sent). There is no difference at all in the appearance of the seeds." A recent letter says he is now growing carrots from seeds that he harvested during the last rainy season.

We planted a few plots in the spring to produce seed for our seedbank. By early summer, they blossomed heavily and eventually produced seed. We need to work on timing to see if we can get seed during the dry season, as the heat and humidity of our rainy summers make it difficult to obtain high quality seed. Nonetheless, we can now offer our network seed with about 70% germination.

We allowed most plants to go to seed, so we have little information on size or taste of the roots (by the time seed was mature, the roots had shriveled up). I sampled two 3-inch carrots, trying them both raw and boiled. I prefer the varieties I am used to, but if they were the only carrots available, I would be glad to have them. In other trials, we found great variation in the plots, from commercial-sized, bright orange carrots to small yellow roots. Someone familiar with plant breeding could do a great service to the small farmer. Presumably a variety with superior qualities could be developed which would also still produce its own seed. ECHO has plenty of seed, and we continue to select better-quality carrots each year. If you try this seed, we will be VERY interested in your experience with and impressions of this carrot.

Dr. Kerr provided more information about these carrots. "Carrots do not usually flower in the tropics. Eighty years ago a group of Portuguese growers planted carrots from Portugal and the Madeira Island in the southernmost state of Brazil. Some of these plants flowered and produced seed. Plant breeders from Sao Paulo and Brasilia independently collected seeds and developed varieties called 'Tropics' and 'Brasilia.'

"I used these two in my work at the Federal Universities of Maranhao and, currently, of Uberlandia. For five generations I selected the best carrots using the following criteria: (1) size between 12-18 cm, (2) parallel sides, (3) red xylem, (4) resistance to local diseases, (5) late flowering, (6) no green on the top of the root. I call the resulting cultivar 'Uberlandia.' The vitamin A content (carotene) is between 9,000 and 11,000 I.U.

"It is advisable that people who grow the carrot in other areas carry out their own selection. Here is how to do it. After 90 days dig up all the carrots. Select the best 30 according to the above standards or standards of your own. Re-plant these carrots right away and allow to go to seed. The red xylem can be observed by cutting 3 cm of the inferior tip (narrow end) of the carrot. Discard if the xylem is yellow."

Dr. Kerr has made a great contribution to third world gardeners. In the USA, nearly all work by private industry and much of the work done at universities is for a hybrid so that people will need to purchase seeds each year and money will be available to fund research programs. We need more breeders working on seeds for the poor. 

Seed is available here ECHO seedbank

hope this helps J

Hi Pondlife

From what I've read carrots, even if you can get them to flower will not set seed in the tropics so it could be a bit of a challenge. If I remember rightly I think there is a guy in Brasil who has successfully bred a couple of varieties of open-pollinated carrots that will set seed but I cant find the link amongst my bookmarks.The problem is that carrots are biennial and spend a cold season before flowering in the second year.I checked out the method of saving carrot seed in the "seed savers hand book" and if not grown from seed to seed the carrots are harvested the best roots are selected stored over winter and then replanted to flower.Possibly a spell in the fridge could induce them to flower.

cheers for now

J

Hi folks just fixed links in OP

J

No Problem Loong !

Gary yeah the alium family are recommended companion plants for carrots. Chives are supposed to be particularly good. They act as a deterrent against carrot fly, the smell confuses them. Not sure whether they work against wireworm (the larvae of the click beetle), although I know there is some research being done with mustard being sown and turned in prior to planting root crops.

cheers for now J

Hi Loong

Here's a UK guide to growing carrots that includes a spacing recommendation. You could try increasing the spacing between rows to 30 cm's if you find excessive top growth is causing problems with rotting. Carrots are highly susceptible to a wide range of rots wiki guide to carrot disease

You're spot on with the idea of trimming back the foliage to help prevent disease these guys had the same idea !!

carrot foliage trimmer

Types of Soil /Climate and growing position 

Carrots develop normally within a great range of temperatures and are grown throughout the world with the exception for the very warmest areas. Carrots are tolerant of long days but need low temperatures to induce flowering. 

Carrots are fairly fussy growers. They love light, stone free, well drained, fertile soils with plenty of well rotted organic matter in them. Rich sandy peaty soils are perfect in providing the best conditions for the carrot roots to penetrate deeply and to swell. 

The pH value should 6.5 to 7.5 for best results. Potassium promotes solid, sweet carrots. Wood ashes contain soluble potassium which reaches the plant quickly. Excess Nitrogen causes branching and hairy, fibrous roots. 

It is much harder to grow good carrots in heavy clay soils or soils which are compacted or stony. Such conditions can cause the forking of roots. Water logged sites are also less than ideal. If you have a heavy soil, dig in plenty of manure several months before planting. Never work fresh manure into the soil as this encourages sappy growth and forking of roots. Add leaf mould to lighten heavy soil and rake in Nitrogen fertiliser before sowing a crop in poor soil. 

Early carrots appreciate a sheltered position but main crop need an open sunny site. Carrots should be rotated around the garden to avoid the build up of diseases. It is recommended that you grow them in a different bed each year over at least a three year cycle. 

Soil temperature can be critical for successful carrots. At temperatures below 5 ºC they will struggle to germinate. Slightly higher temperatures and they could take up to 35 days to start. 

If you wait until the soil is 10 ºC germination will occur within ten days. Basically if the soil is chilly to touch do not plant. 

Curiously even within a variety a carrot's colour and shape can vary according to the type of soil and commencement temperature. Lower temperatures give yellower carrots and reduced size and shape. 

Proper watering can make a difference. Carrots need 2cm of water from rainfall each week during the growing season. Soaking well when watering helps to promote good root development. 

Seed Sowing Methods 

Carrots are normally grown straight in the ground and then thinned in stages to obtain the correct distance apart. Never plant in cold or weedy soil as carrots are difficult to weed once established. 

Carrots are cool-weather vegetables, so start sowing about two weeks before the last expected frost in your area. 

Make successive plantings every three weeks but avoid the hottest part of the summer. 

Sow in drills about 2cm deep and 15cm apart. With this spacing the foliage of adjacent plants will make a dense canopy when the plants are mature. 

Place a 1cm layer of peat moss in the bottom of each furrow, 

Sow the seeds sparingly on top, then cover with about 0.5cm of soil. Seeds must be kept moist to germinate. Mulching with straw will help hold the moisture, and will also make it easier to water without disturbing the seeds. 

When sowing seeds, try to space them 1cm apart. The tiny seeds make spacing difficult, but it will be easier to thin without disturbing the plants you plan to leave, if there is a little space between them. Seeds can be mixed with sand to make sowing a little easier. 

You can try mixing radish seeds with the carrot seeds. The carrot seeds are slow to germinate, and the radishes, which germinate and grow very quickly, will mark the row until the carrots come up.

Thin the carrots out to 5cm spacings (the thinnings can be eaten as baby carrots)

Here's some further info on optimum temperatures:

Carrots are grown in the tropics where high elevations give cool night temperatures . Optimum growing temperatures for these crops are 15 to 20 C with a minimum of 5 C and a maximum of 24 C. . The optimum germination temperature for carrots is 25 C. The maximum temperature for germination is 30 C .Root growth is fastest at a temperature between 15 ºC and 18 ºC, while optimum temperatures for shoot growth are somewhat higher. Seeds of carrot may germinate at low temperatures but the germination period is shorter at higher temperatures and a soil temperature of at least 10 ºC is therefore recommended.

These crops therefore favour cool season conditions.

I also recommend mulching with rice straw which will help prevent green shoulders and apparently improves the sweetness of the carrots ! I think this could be due to temperature although yet to find any papers to confirm this.

cheers for now J

--------------------

oops wrong spot !!

J

Hi Danny

Well keep reading here and I'm sure with the help of the knowledgeable advice of the forum members you'll have even more success with a wide range of fruit and vegetables in the future, all without any chemical imputs ! I recommend you have a read of the pinned topics that focus on building up and maintaining soil fertility via organic inputs such as compost and green manures as well as those that discuss building up the soil micro-herd (the workhorses that break down organic matter and make nutrients available to the plants) via compost teas or effective micro-organisms.  Mulching is also essential and there is some useful information about materials to use and how and when to mulch. Also check out the useful resources thread for some good reading material about growing organically in the tropics.

Best of luck with your endeavours

J

Hi Bernie66

Yeah salt will do the trick !! It kills the slugs via the process of osmosis unfortunately it also reduces plant growth via the same mechanism (reduced osmotic uptake and toxicity) and although obviously only relatively small amounts are required to kill slugs the addition of sodium and chloride salts to acid-sodic tropical clay soils is definitely a bad idea as they will bind with the clay displacing calcium, the sodium weakens bonds between soil particles when wet leading to clay particles blocking soil "pores" reducing the amount of oxygen available to plants as well as causing soil surface crusting and increased waterlogging.

cheers for now J

Hi

Here's a great link for building your own ACT brewer (google for a shock at how much commercially available models are  )

After quite a bit of reading I think I'm going to build a "vortex" brewer looked to see if there were any plans on the net and came across this;

Turbo Vortex Brewer

cheers for now J

Hi SD2

Look good !!

Reckon I might be able to find some space on the plot !! Did you bring them on from seed yourself ?? what's the ratio of males to females needed ?? any other special requirements ??

cheers J

Hi Folks

Anyone any experience of using one of these?? unlike a traditional fork it doesn’t turn the soil, microorganisms, insects and worms are not disturbed and they benefit from the added oxygen and keep the soil open and friable.I reckon it could be the ideal tool to aerate raised beds after the wet season and before mulching but wonder how it would cope with heavy soil ??

USING YOUR BROADFORK...Aerating the soil with your broadfork once a year will greatly enhance the long-term productivity of the soil.

Work backwards down the bed to avoid stepping on the freshly worked area. With the tines on the side of

the fork facing you, press the fork into the soil by stepping on the crossbar. Pull back on the handles

approximately 45º as you step backwards off the crossbar, and lift the broadfork out of the soil. Move the

tool toward you 6”-8” from the last insertion point and repeat.

When you use your body weight to insert and leverage the tool, instead of your back and arms, this work

seems almost effortless. After some practice you will develop a nice rhythm.

Cheers J

Hi Lickey

Any growth yet ??

Been looking into it a little bit and found some useful info on spud production in Northern Thailand.

There's two types of farmers, hill farmers (for this read Hill Tribes) and valley farmers. The hill farmers farm above 800 meters and use local seed. valley farmers farm above 600 meters and buy seed potato from Dutch suppliers. the dutch seed potato varieties grown in Thailand are "Spunta" or for chipping "Fennebec"(sp?).

I've located a UK supplier of "spunta" mini-tubers (a fairly recent method of producing seed potato from tissue culture that means they are available all year round) so will be bringing some back with me. I also had a look at potato cultivation in Florida and the recommended variety is "Yukon Gold" a variety that is becoming more popular here in the UK but no seed available until next season.

I'll also be popping up to a Hill Tribe Market in Chiang Rai to get some local spuds (These aren't sprayed with inhibitor and readily sprout.)

My Plots at 500 meters above sea level at the foot of a range of mountains and its definitely cool from December through to February (lows of 3-4C) so hopefully might have some success.

cheers for now J