drtreelove

On 2/9/2022 at 8:56 PM, kickstart said:

 

And why a Thai school teacher would know, beats me.

I believe its an off topic derogatory insinuation that Thai school teachers cane their students. 

Our daughter, who is a compassionate and progressive Thai school teacher, says brutal disciplinary practices of the past are not acceptable or tolerated in her school or throughout the system with her generation of peer colleagues and administrators.

12 minutes ago, drtreelove said:

That's SK Exchange at 70 Charoen Prathet (the one way northbound road along the west side of the river, one block over from Night Bazaar) , near Iron Bridge and next to the Reggae Cafe. 

Super Rich is on Lai Kroh Rd.  Both are open and have best rates in town from my experience, (SK a slight edge better) but check on the limited hours and unexpected early closures when business is slow. 

And while you're there ---  I go to SK because I buy their dark roast coffee beans.  Then I cross the street and walk up a block to have a bowl of the best fish ball noodle soup. 

1 hour ago, blanes2007 said:

Super Rich exchange office near the Iron Bridge is open and offers the best course as usual.

Google maps 18.784054,99.003061

 

That's SK Exchange at 70 Charoen Prathet (the one way northbound road along the west side of the river, one block over from Night Bazaar) , near Iron Bridge and next to the Reggae Cafe. 

Super Rich is on Lai Kroh Rd.  Both are open and have best rates in town from my experience, (SK a slight edge better) but check on the limited hours and unexpected early closures when business is slow. 

Consider the low cost alterative: 

Local ladies kicked butt on our farm.  

Assuming you are in Chiang Mai, I highly recommend Big Smile Dental Clinic. Dr Supachai and Son.  I and my family have used him for almost 20 years, highly professional and good communications, always presenting affordable options with no 'upselling' of expensive or unnecessary services.  He has successfully repaired my wife's bridge when another dentist insisted on a new replacement. 

They used to be on Arak Road on the southwest corner of the old city, but the new location is on the 1001 CM - Phrao Rd, between the SuperHwy and the middle ring road.  Going out from CM toward Mae Jo, its on the left, before the MeeChok Plaza intersection. 

https://www.facebook.com/BigSmileChiangmai/

D. I. Y.

Scissors Sam says be sharp;: An authentic manual on the sharpening & care of scissors & tools: Long, Sam: 9780912020280: Amazon.com: Books

If your plants are already in the ground or in pots, and you are not re-potting, then maybe its not potting soil that you need. 

Worm compost or other organic fertilizer top dressing will enrich the soil and support healthy plant nutrition and growth.  

Kamtieng plant market vendors used to carry a composted chicken manure product called Maw Din from CP that I have used. And an ag shop in MaeJo has a composted bat guano and chicken manure product.  I also use bokashi fertilizer from Organic Totto.  

Best Garden State has some good COF blends (complete organic fertilizer). 

In my educated opinion, avoid high salts chemcial fertilizers like 15-15-15.  This will stimulate a growth and greening response, but at a great cost of supressing or with repeated use, totally killing off the all-important beneficial soil biology that is essential for real sustained plant health. 

15 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Cannabis plant .......... looks like it needs some sun.

Water it when the leaves droop.

Let's hope it's a girl.

(So a friend tells me)

Water it before the leaves droop.  Wilting indicates physiological stress that is best avoided with preventive care. 

It's hard to find quality potting soil and hard to know what you are getting in the garden shop sack products. 

Go with the black stuff and mix some real mineral soil and fine textured sand with it if you can scavenge some. It may have sewage sludge from waste disposal sites like many of the cheap sack potting soils does, but since Christina plants (Syzygium companulatum) are ornamental and not edible, you don't have to worry so much about toxicity, heavy metals and such. 

I just looked at Lazada potting soil products, but it appears that they may be raw uncomposted organic matter .  That can be a problem for plant health in the short term while decomp, soil maturing and stabilizing takes place. 

Best Garden State on FB has potting soil that they sell in bulk for their legal cannabis/hemp grower customers, but I can't find a sack product in their FB marketplace.  

I mix small quantities of my own for home use, with bulk topsoil from a materials yard on the 1001 near MaeJo, 1/3 soil, 1/3 fine mortar sand  from the  same yard, 1/3 high quality vermicompost that I order delivered, and I blend in some other goodies like bokashi complete organic fertilizer. I inoculate with forest soil rich in beneficial micro-organisms that I collect from an undisturbed forest area in the hills of eastern Sansai. 

Tons of info online. Search "How to grow .......  plants".  Try growweedeasy dot com. 

Don't be careless or naive about legal issues and the socially unacceptable status with some neighbors and communities. 

Here's another informational: 

PowerPoint Presentation (hawaii.edu)

Regarding the mango trees, are you sure that its CRB and not a different issue?  What signs are you seeing?  Photos?

This is a Dept of Agriculture affiliate program with main office in Chonburi.  I have not been in touch for over 3 years and I don't know their current status of services offered, but they did have an active biological control program for pests of coconut palms. 

Mr. Thiwa, Director 

Chon Buri Pest Management Center

Government office in Pattaya, Thailand

Address: 15 Moo 11, Tambon Nong Prue, Amphoe Bang Lamung, Chon Buri, 20150, Thailand

Phone: +66 38 231 271

There have been multiple discussions over the years, on this forum and the dog and snake forum, (a.k.a. Plants, Pets & Vets.)  Maybe you can search for some of that information. 

The two big categories of management are chemical control (stem injection with systemic insecticide, spraying with a residual barrier insecticide), which is an option for ornamentals, but problematic with food products due to likelyhood of pesticide contamination. 

Then there is the "organic", preventive approach, with multiple methods available (sanitation/cleaning up of beetle breeding habitat, trapping of adult beetles, repellents, biological control of larvae and adults, building soil fertility, plant health and natural pest resistance), a couple of which are presented in the Indian video. 

Practical issues that influence decisions on control methods are size of trees and access to the foliar crown, size of property and number of trees, nature of the property and status of downed wood, debris piles, including neighboring properties/trees and possibility or not for a community cooperative program. Because adult beetles can fly in to your trees from other nearby property, even if you've cleaned up your larvae habitat. 

Physiologically stressed trees are more susceptible to pest infestation. Dry season drought stress, nutritional deficiencies, methods and materials that are damaging to the beneficial soil biology, like use of high salts NPK chemical fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides can be contributing factors. 

Red palm weevils are often associated in tandem with the CRB infestation, so you have to be aware of their different life cycle and management. 

Coconut hispine beetle and coconut black headed caterpillar are other common devastating pests to be considered for management. 

coconut_rhinoceros_beetle__melanesian_057.pdf coconut_red_palm_weevil_180.pdf

19 hours ago, drtreelove said:

Best Garden State on FB.  Its not listed in their products yet, but call for availability and pricing.  

Anywhere else, be sure what you are getting is Calcium sulfate and not Calcium oxide or some other variation of a Calcium product.

The difference is profound in affect on soil chemistry and on the beneficial soil biology that we should be trying to protect and cultivate.

Misrepresentation and mislabeling is common.  And sample quality before buying a quantity.  I have bought a 50 kilo sack of gypsum from Limsakdakul Chemi in Chiang Mai. I'm confident it was gypsum, and it was cheap, but it was a crude, brown, unscreened lumpy mined product that took a hammering to break up the large, rock-hard clods before I could use it. 

Off topic from the Mulch discussion, but since gypsum is being discussed, here's some background that some readers may find useful in making decisions.

Gypsum as an Agricultural Amendment: General Use Guidelines (usagypsum.com)

For strict Soil Food Web - Regenerative Agriculture standards, gypsum is a concentrated substance that can be harmful to the beneficial soil biology. But in an early stage of soil improvement, it can help to bring the major cations into balace and aid in leaching excesses, without significantly impacting pH. 

Heavy metals are a concern with some sources. 

From The Ideal Soil by Astera

If a large area is to be balanced and cost precludes applying the full amounts of all of the needed minerals, start with the most important cation minerals, Calcium and Magnesium. They are fully as important in the soil as they are in the human body and the least expensive to buy. In a very loose and sandy soil with a low exchange capacity you will want about 60% Ca saturation and 20% Mg saturation, in a heavy clay soil with a high exchange capacity, 70% to 80% Ca to 10% Mg. This is because the higher the ratio of Calcium to Magnesium, the looser the soil gets, and as the Magnesium portion gets higher, the soil gets tighter. A higher level of Mg will pull a loose sandy soil together; a higher level of Ca will open up a dense, heavy soil. 

Calcium sources: Agricultural sweet lime (Calcium carbonate) and gypsum (Calcium sulfate) are the preferred sources of calcium. Gypsum supplies readily available Calcium, and is also a good source of Sulfur, an element that is seriously lacking in most agricultural soils. Agricultural lime supplies Carbon as well as Calcium. Carbon helps make a soil less sticky. If you already have plenty of Carbon in your soil as organic matter, but are low on Sulfur, gypsum is a better bet. The various rock phosphates and regular superphosphate also contain significant Calcium, but their Calcium content is chemically bound to Phosphorus and is not available in exchangeable form, so should not be considered as part of the Calcium being added to balance the CEC ratios.

As a rule, don‘t use Dolomite lime, regardless of what you may have read in various gardening books, unless you are sure that you need Magnesium. Dolomite is a high Magnesium limestone. Using dolomite will tighten the soil, reducing air in the soil and inducing anaerobic alcohol fermentation or even formaldehyde preservation of organic matter rather than aerobic decomposition.

On 11/28/2021 at 6:47 PM, djayz said:

Hi. Do you have any photos of the packet? Where do you buy it? Know what it's called in Thai? 

Thank you. 

Best Garden State on FB.  Its not listed in their products yet, but call for availability and pricing.  

Anywhere else, be sure what you are getting is Calcium sulfate and not Calcium oxide or some other variation of a Calcium product.

The difference is profound in affect on soil chemistry and on the beneficial soil biology that we should be trying to protect and cultivate.

Misrepresentation and mislabeling is common.  And sample quality before buying a quantity.  I have bought a 50 kilo sack of gypsum from Limsakdakul Chemi in Chiang Mai. I'm confident it was gypsum, and it was cheap, but it was a crude, brown, unscreened lumpy mined product that took a hammering to break up the large, rock-hard clods before I could use it. 

And I assume that you have seen evidence of an actual pest and not a "perceived" pest or skin disorder. 

On 11/26/2021 at 8:05 PM, purplesage said:

Here's an update on this situation. After applying Chaindrite a few times, and thoroughly cleaning with a vacuum cleaner and washing clothes in batches my friend is still plagued by insects, although their numbers have declined.

 

She contacted Rentokil, who came to inspect and took away samples of the insects. They have said they cannot identify the insect, which seems rather strange. However, they have offered her a 10,000-baht package which I believe involves three or four spray treatments, of which at least the first would necessitate vacating the room overnight. Is it worth going ahead with such a treatment if they can't identify the insects?

 

She also contacted CNX Pest Control, but they said they couldn't help and told her to ask a cleaning company. Maybe they only deal with people who live in houses and not those who live in rooms in a condo.

 

Regarding Dellboy218's suggestion to use diatomaceous earth, does anyone know where this product can found in Chiang Mai?

 

Thanks once again to everyone who has made suggestions on this thread.

 

 

 

Sorry to hear that your friend has to go through all this.  Can you get a macro/close up photo of the pest?  

There  are some pest identifier phone apps available now, like Picture Insect and Pest Identifier. I haven't used them.

Pest Identifier for iPhone
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pest-identifier/id675370471?mt=8
Android app on Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.agilerocket.pestidentifier

My opinion is to not hire a pest control company who cannot identify the target pest and provide detail of the treatment method and pesticide product to be used, and a guarantee of effectiveness for a specified period of time. 

I'm surprised that Rentokil can not identify it. They are a huge international chain and must have entomologists and lab resourses, or the local branch is just not willing to try very hard, and they offer the 10,000 baht fumigation package that they are guessing will kill anything and everything. 

Has your friend inquired of the condo management or neighbors in the building, if anyone else is having this pest problem. A responsible pest management company would have investigated that important factor, which is a key bit of information. Because isolated treatment of one condo unit may not eradicate the pest from the building, and the  problem could return in time when the pesticide residual effectiveness has expired. 

That may be why CNX declined to even inspect it. They are probably aware of how complicated that can be in an condo apartment building with multiple owners.

Diatomaceous earth is an interesting option for some pests, but without an identification it's still guessing on appropriateness and effectiveness .  I haven't seen it at garden and ag shops. Try Aden Health Food Store at JJ Market, near Lotus Kamtieng.  Lazada Philippines and Alibaba China list it. 

I'm not an experienced grower, but I've had fairly successful rooting (three out of five) by just planting them in compost amended soil, in the ground where I wanted them to grow. Not too deep, leave the top of the husk with sprouts above grade.  Mulch the soil surface for moisture retention, keep them watered and be patient.

But recognize that this may not be the best time of year to get rooting and growth. The weather will cool down considerably next month and through Jan and early Feb, especially where you are in the hills. You will get better results in the early growing season, March, with water management since it will be hot and dry.  Or wait until the beginning of rainy season in May or June if you don't want to have to irrigate. 

On 11/24/2021 at 6:05 PM, cooked said:

Yeah it seems to be bad drainage, even though I have improved the soil a lot, also something like verticillium wilt, which prevents anyone in the village from growing solanaceae and a few other plants.

That's a huge statement, for a Thai village not to be able to grow phrik, makuathep and makua. My wife would die without her gaeng keow wan. 

For others who may be interested and for those not familiar: the plant family referenced, Solanaceae, includes potato, eggplant, tomato and peppers.

If vert wilt has been confirmed by a plant pathology lab, or if it is in fact a fusarium wilt or phythophthora, or other soil borne pathogen or combination, then it is absolutely a result of poor soil structure, growing conditions and management, and difficiency in beneficial soil biology that would naturally suppress pathogenic fungi and water molds.   The village should get it together and really be looking at public education for better practices to build soil health along the lines of regenerative ag principles. There is a wealth of information and emerging science coming out of that movement. (See the farming forum discussion on "regenerative agriculture" and the links to videos and papers in English and some in Thai).  

There is no good quick fix, chemical fungicides would exacerbate the problem in the long run, by killing off the beneficial soil biology.  A comprehensive program of soil improvement is essential, along the lines of Soil Food Web and perhaps starting with intelligent compost inputs. 

But a best shot at a quick fix alternative that I would start with, is a biological fungicide that has a lot of attention and tons of recent scientific research demonstrating effectiveness: Trichoderma harzianum, some specific patented strains and some other Trichoderma species. 

Trichoderma harzianum - Wikipedia 

On 11/22/2021 at 5:02 PM, cooked said:

I had a few lovely fig trees, quite heavy bearing. From one year to the next they decided to die,I could just pull them out of the ground. I don't think that any fertiliser would have helped much, my garden doesn't like quite a few species of plants.

Many exotic (non-native) plants do not adapt to the tropical monsoon climate and months of wet soil creating conditions for root rot.  Especially if the soil does not drain well, and does not have healthy soil structure and an active soil biology population that supresses soil borne pathogens.  High salts chemical fertilizers and pesticides will suppress soil biology and not help the situation. 

Organic, regen ag principles, methods and materials may help.

And then there are possible toxicity issues .  We have one small area in our yard where I can't grow much of anything inspite of my best shot at soil improvements.  I suspect its a construction materials dump spot, paint or fuel spill. I was hoping that the rains would leach out the toxic factors, and my good organic matter and humate inputs would buffer the problem, but its not happening.  A few feet away plants are growing fine. 

I like the Theme: Soil is alive, dirt is dead.  In my opinion this is the most important information of our time for growers. 

I hope that the World Soil Day contributors/presenters are aware of and will draw on the incredible new information, emerging science and revisions in modern eco-ag practices coming out weekly from some of the active researchers and educators on the subject of "soil is alive" . 

There are some amazing webinars, YT videos, blogs and case histories  being presented weekly by Soil Food Web School, Advancing Eco Agriculture, In Search of Soil and others.  

Anyone who's approach to agriculture and horticulture, growing methods and input of fertilizer materials and pesticides is based on education and experience more that 10 years old, has some catching up to do. 

Welcome to the farming forum.  Please post details of the soils forum here.  

7 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

How many do you need?  Can't you just dig some up for free from your garden / land?

 

I don't think they have to be special compose worms.  Every time it rains heavily I get hundreds of them crawling over my garden path to escape drowning.  

 

 

 The Difference Between an Earthworm & Compost Worm - Memes Worms

Tony worm farm Thailand - Home | Facebook

 What's wrong with this picture?

"...reenactment of an attempted murder in a banana plantation ... "

Looks like a bamboo grove to me.

And just think, there were less violent alternatives:

EM for odor control

Organic Totto - Our Products

Or banana fritters?

21 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

Many thanks for that information. Very informative.

I don't think bats carry fruit to a remote location to feed on it, so you must have the fruiting fig plant near your palm where you see the fruit/seed remnants, or the bats are feeding on a palm fruit, some of which are smallish like you describe.