Gardening On The Islands

[samuijimmy]

Here is a case of Magnesium deficiency in Hibiscus... other plants showing similar symptoms would looks the same, yellow mottling in the leaves....

My soil is fairly sandy and needs more organic matter,... that would also help to "hold" the fertilizer in the soil... and help feed the plants!

My struggling remaining tomatoes.... got an attack of leaf minor over night! I used an organic spray to see if it clears up!

Definitely too much work and time trying growing Toms!

iron and magnesium deficiencies look similar, and they often occur together. Heavy clay soils tend to prevent the plant from absorbing certain minerals which means you have to find easily absorbable micro element fertiliser.

Rosemary doesn't suffer in this respect! (private joke)

Thanks Cooked..!

Yes it could be iron deficiency too ....

Some times I wished I had the soil I had at my old place, which was totally different...(not sandy) more like a silt than some areas of Samui has... plants seemed to do better!

I do use soluble fertilizers too....( absorb-able micro element fertilizer, as you call it, with the minor elements in it... including iron! ) ..... perhaps just need to do more often! .... plus I add coconut fibre mix too, when planting most things.... but anything organic disappears fairly quickly (usually a year) ....one just need to keep adding more that helps with fertilizer etc, "clinging" to the soil !

I assume your Rosemary is doing well!?

I took out images to save a long scroll!

[cooked]

It takes quite a while for the plant to absorb these elements and then of course, leaves that are yellow are going to stay yellow. I started feeding a peppercorn plant with microelements in June, results became visible after a couple of months. In my opinion, you can have too much of a good thing, so don't over do it, two or three doses a month apart should do it. I did this for 'my' rosemary plants too, but only one dose, they like alkaline soil which is what we have.

[samuijimmy]

It takes quite a while for the plant to absorb these elements and then of course, leaves that are yellow are going to stay yellow. I started feeding a peppercorn plant with microelements in June, results became visible after a couple of months. In my opinion, you can have too much of a good thing, so don't over do it, two or three doses a month apart should do it. I did this for 'my' rosemary plants too, but only one dose, they like alkaline soil which is what we have.

Yes agree.... and it's not an "overnight " result or "cure".... just in case some might think it is!

I will take a picture of the package of one of the soluble fertilizers and post later, ... it's not that easy to find here on the islands! But some shops garden centres, do carry it!

[cooked]

Mine is called Bayofol, I can't remember where I bought it and the label is nearly washed off.

[samuijimmy]

Here is a picture of the two I have... on hand ...

A formula of 20 20 20 Is available too... as an "all purpose"

(for those on Samui I think I got it at the farm supply shop, in Lipa Noi, up behind the Chevrolet Dealer... )

But think I have seen at Home Pro, but over priced!

Key thing when using any fertilizer is to make sure soil around plants is moist, before applying... better done at cooler time of day...or when cloudy!

This type of fertilizer can be used as a foliage feed, but only 20% is absorbed through the leaves ... so better to feed via the roots...

Granular fertilizers can be just as effective, as a fertilizer, but they usually do not have the micro nutrients....

For finishing off plants for crops or even flowers, using a granular fertilizer 8 24 24 would be good!

Size and type of plant will determine how often and how long to apply... but generally about every two weeks for the soluble stuff pictured ^

Potted plants it is better to use the soluble stuff! ... or the slow release stuff called "Osmocote" which will feed for a few months.

I just feed some of my plants... but now it's starting to rain!

[samuijimmy]

For those on Koh Phangan...

Composted soil / coconut fiber on Koh Phangan.... is never been easy to find in bulk, but yesterday I noticed a place near the Main Police station on KP that has... (Same side of road)

I did not stop to ask how much ... but worth asking if anyone needs!

On Samui there are a number of places that sell composted soil in bulk.... ask at some of the nurseries especially in Lipa Noi area.

Or there is a place on Ghost Road in Ban Rak/ Chawang area.

[Rooo]

Well Jimmy, took your advice & bought this plant about 18 months ago, did nothing for a while, then started shooting up the stair railings & was just leaves.

Now look at me it says.

The funny part is , when it flowers it sheds / drops a lot of leaves, they look burned. The plant is still in the original pot I put it in.

[samuijimmy]

Well done Rooo, ^ ...... mine died after I moved last year....

Today I gave up on my tomatoes and basil.... it's been a frustrating and time wasting experiment !.....I just could seem to get them to grow.... and I know Old Sailor 35 has had problems too....

The guys at the Hydroponic farm are having better success..... I am not sure if they sowed the seeds yet, that Virt kindly brought over.... I will check on that next time I am by there.

Ready for the fire pile! Roots were very poorly developed...

At least various cuttings of various plants, I made a few weeks ago are doing OK!

Just a tip, with the rainy season soon to be upon use, it's probably a good time, to put some oil on garden tools... to help prevent them from rusting!

[samuijimmy]

Well Jimmy, took your advice & bought this plant about 18 months ago, did nothing for a while, then started shooting up the stair railings & was just leaves.

Now look at me it says.

2014-10-08 07.43.09.jpg

2014-10-08 08.27.13.jpg

The funny part is , when it flowers it sheds / drops a lot of leaves, they look burned. The plant is still in the original pot I put it in.

Apparently this plant will grow from seed, so watch out for when the pods come.... although it may take a few years to grow and flower!

Certainly one of the Kings of flowering vines!

[mika]

Thais told me it is a Elephant flower, but when I google it, the elephant flower look very different

[steven100]

that's the purple elephant flower .... they have a distinct smell, quite strong ... don't see too many of them around.

[samuijimmy]

It's Amorphophalliua paeoniifolius, the plant itself is quite common, all over Thailand, so I have been told, but finding the flowering not so common, I was told it blooms every seven years...

But the one I have potted bloomed this year, and last year...too! It's a bit like the Raffleasia that is the Provincial flower of Suratthani ... has that dead meat smell, especially at night!

Where and when did you see this? They usually bloom in May or June! although I did not see in the wild this year...

After the bloom dies off (a few days) it sends up a stem to about 6 feet high ... which usually dies down to the ground...

Somewhere I have a pic of the full grown plant, but cannot find at the moment!

[samuijimmy]

Here is mine, as of today... I am actually surprised it has not died down to the ground yet... it will at some point.

As said it is fairly common, but I am sure many are cut down when they weed whack the coconut groves etc... there is a lot growing off Soi 5 Maenam, in one area.

Yellow flowers are not part of it!

The mottled stem is quite distinctive...

Perhaps an idea to move to Gardening....?

[ocejanic]

It is called "New Guinea Creeper".

[samuijimmy]

It is called "New Guinea Creeper".

Beg to disagree but this is not a creeping plant.... it's one root, and habit is more like a herbaceous perennial

[ocejanic]

That is the google result of "New Guinea Creeper"

[samuijimmy]

ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1416135761.350302.jpg

That is the google result of "New Guinea Creeper"

ah, that image did not show up ... OK stand corrected, I thought you were referring to the other plant !

[oldlady]

Hello All,

I am new to Samui (moved here in July) and I brought all of my plants down from my Bangkok apartment with me. I've gotten them all planted and surprisingly enough, almost all of them have survived the move, the different climate and some are even thriving. I make no pretenses of being a good gardener or even a gardener at all in the true sense of the word. I basically just make do but truly do enjoy a beautiful garden. I've managed so far to 'fill up' both the front of the house and one side with my efforts but it is now time to tackle the back of the house and I really need someone who can plan out a proper garden for me.

I stumbled on this site today and am truly excited as I think I've found some experts! Is there anyone out there who can help me plan a garden? I'd very much like to have something with loads of color and yet not have too very much water consumption to keep it up. Are there any landscape architects on Samui or any amatures who might help me. Any/all advice is truly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

Cathy

[samuijimmy]

Hello All,

I am new to Samui (moved here in July) and I brought all of my plants down from my Bangkok apartment with me. I've gotten them all planted and surprisingly enough, almost all of them have survived the move, the different climate and some are even thriving. I make no pretenses of being a good gardener or even a gardener at all in the true sense of the word. I basically just make do but truly do enjoy a beautiful garden. I've managed so far to 'fill up' both the front of the house and one side with my efforts but it is now time to tackle the back of the house and I really need someone who can plan out a proper garden for me.

I stumbled on this site today and am truly excited as I think I've found some experts! Is there anyone out there who can help me plan a garden? I'd very much like to have something with loads of color and yet not have too very much water consumption to keep it up. Are there any landscape architects on Samui or any amatures who might help me. Any/all advice is truly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

Cathy

Hi Cathy, welcome to Samui... !

Plants are generally tougher than most people sometimes think! Usually the initial period of the first year, plants need a little extra care and watering and fertilizing, while the roots get established (same in any part of the world) ... of course it depends on plant used some times too!

There are a number of landscapers around, some have nurseries some not... some good and some not so good!!! ..... quality of service and work does vary ... the better ones will have you improve the soil for planting, some will just dig a hole and plant in existing soil... which may or not be good for optimum growth... It's going to vary some areas around Samui, the soil is not too bad, but other areas are just sand and gravel, which really needs amending...

For composted soil there are a number of sources... trucking is relatively expensive depending how far one is from the source... One company on the Ghost Road in Banrak/ Chawang area from my experience, has about the best mix, other places in Nathon / Lipa Noi area, not usually so good... one really needs some one to look first.

Having said that, and depending on how much planting you wish to do, you may get away with using the bagged soil and using a bag or two for each plant... Getting weeds controlled first is a good idea...

Being the coolest and wettest time of year now, if much better than planting in say April, when it is hottest and driest .... & needs more care with watering etc!

Using a Landscape architect, in my opinion is not always the best way to go... a person with good plant knowledge is better...(architects are usually "text book" designers!) Some of the nurseries around the island, I think can do you better, although they will generally only sell you plants that the have in stock ....

PM me if you want some names.... I don't have some of them on hand to name them...

[cooked]

Hello All,

I am new to Samui (moved here in July) and I brought all of my plants down from my Bangkok apartment with me. I've gotten them all planted and surprisingly enough, almost all of them have survived the move, the different climate and some are even thriving. I make no pretenses of being a good gardener or even a gardener at all in the true sense of the word. I basically just make do but truly do enjoy a beautiful garden. I've managed so far to 'fill up' both the front of the house and one side with my efforts but it is now time to tackle the back of the house and I really need someone who can plan out a proper garden for me.

I stumbled on this site today and am truly excited as I think I've found some experts! Is there anyone out there who can help me plan a garden? I'd very much like to have something with loads of color and yet not have too very much water consumption to keep it up. Are there any landscape architects on Samui or any amatures who might help me. Any/all advice is truly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

Cathy

The first thing i asked customers was 'what do you want from a garden?' I sometimes got indignant stares, obviously they want a 'nice' garden. Big initial investment and minimal maintenance? Cut flowers? vegetables? Japanese, English? Impress the neighbours or satisfy your needs? Keep the dogs in/out? And so on.

Sort that out and read up a bit and don't be afraid to press forward with your own ideas. I once did quite a large garden based on the colour blue... plenty of ideas around!

I don't do designs any more by the way!

[samuijimmy]

Another New year in the garden!

I am sure most peoples gardens are like mine and need a bit of serious pruning of shrubs etc even the grass cut, if it has not done for a while, like mine!

The rains generally has not been excessive over most areas of Samui at least.... certainly no serious flooding to speak of ... it just seems to be an longer than normal showery season!

Plants always do better when the temperatures are a bit cooler with a bit of rain... probably us humans too!

I did get my grass cut and some pruning done this afternoon ... I thought that would be off to a bad start, as my weed whacker would not start, so I popped down to JJ's Castrol Shop in Maenam, who work on machines now... and within 15 minutes has it up and running with a new gas line! Bill, was 40 baht and I was on my way!

Next project is to try the Tomato seeds before it warms up too much, ...

There is a lot of seaweed around many of the beaches currently, so if anyone is inclined to go get a few bags and put it around their trees or shrubs, it will add good nutrients to the soil! In addition, if plants are looking a bit "off colour", perhaps add some 15 15 15 fertilizer around the plants (Blue colour prills) ... just make sure soil is moist and if rain expected, that would be a good time to do!

Gai Pharmacy on Soi 4 in Maenam, usually has cheapest selection of fertilizer around, in 1 kg bags.. ... just turn around if facing toward main counter it's there on lower selves! ... She usually has a good selection of vegetable seed too... I see Thais starting to put in their veggie gardens, now ...

[retell]

Hello got this stingy thing growing in my flowers , my guess is that it is a seed pod, anyone seen it before?

[samuijimmy]

Hello got this stingy thing growing in my flowers , my guess is that it is a seed pod, anyone seen it before?

2015-01-29 08.16.47.jpg2015-01-29 08.16.38.jpg

Just so people know, retell pm'd me on this first...I asked him to post here...

I know the plant, but not the name.... I flipped through my books to try find it and also took the picture to one of my local nurseries to see if the could help.... no luck there either...

The images were too small and the larger image would not print! So that made it difficult... for the girls to ID and there were none that I saw in the nursery...

So if anyone happens to know the name, that would be a useful start!

For the time being, I think if that pod is on the plant, it has to be a seed pod... although I have never seen, it's quite unusual

[samuijimmy]

Hello got this stingy thing growing in my flowers , my guess is that it is a seed pod, anyone seen it before?

2015-01-29 08.16.47.jpg2015-01-29 08.16.38.jpg

Just so people know, retell pm'd me on this first...I asked him to post here...

I know the plant, but not the name.... I flipped through my books to try find it and also took the picture to one of my local nurseries to see if the could help.... no luck there either...

The images were too small and the larger image would not print! So that made it difficult... for the girls to ID and there were none that I saw in the nursery...

So if anyone happens to know the name, that would be a useful start!

For the time being, I think if that pod is on the plant, it has to be a seed pod... although I have never seen, it's quite unusual

Found the answer on part of this... we learn something new every day!

It's Allamanda, which I only thought had yellow flowers... but it has pink and red colours too! Quite common as a shrub or semi vine plant...

The Thai who helped me with this things the seed pod is a different plant/ leaves! ? So that is still in question...

Lots of pictures here! >

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=allamanda+vine&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=42nLVOKwL4bd8AXmxYHYDQ&ved=0CCgQ7Ak&biw=2560&bih=1332#imgdii=WifHH-pdZBoSfM%3A%3BOy0j10O8L2p1LM%3BWifHH-pdZBoSfM%3A&imgrc=WifHH-pdZBoSfM%253A%3B88hIBG1v2XIO0M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.georgiavines.com%252Foptimgs%252Fothervines%252FAllamandablanchetii.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.georgiavines.com%252FSeeds%252Fvineseeds%252Fvineseeds-a3-.html%3B400%3B300

Edit I just added "Allamada seed pod" to a Google search, it could well be the seed pod !

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=allamanda+vine&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=42nLVOKwL4bd8AXmxYHYDQ&ved=0CCgQ7Ak&biw=2560&bih=1332#tbm=isch&q=allamanda+vine+seed+pods&imgdii=_&imgrc=4frJJMBod36eyM%253A%3BpJ04WaT9JgIfOM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F-5jBR7BVO77E%252FUWxe-3DaFwI%252FAAAAAAAAFTg%252FDE3fCUq8zgo%252Fs1600%252F2013_Apr15d.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fbotanicalmusings.blogspot.com%252F2013_04_01_archive.html%3B1600%3B1200

[retell]

Thanks ,it is definitly the same plant as the flowers , so will leave it gonna plant it later ,

thanks for your help

greetings from a dry,cold Mukdahan

[samuijimmy]

Here we are into March, and each day seems to be getting just a little bit hotter!

I can't even remember when we last had some rain, but it a good idea to keep a closer eye on plants that need watering, especially potted plants.... I have seen some around that are quite stressed due to lack of water.... if plants in the garden have drooping foliage, it is a sure sign of needing some water!

If potted plant soil is very dry, add a little dish soap before watering, then water once and leave a few minutes and water again... If pots are not too large to lift, place them in some kind of tub and leave until bubbling stops.... usually a few minutes will do it!

Some plants like Bougainvillea and Frangipani, do not need a lot of water, providing they are established....(in the ground for a year or more!) ... These generally bloom better when they are on the dry side...

There are some beautiful flowering Bougainvillea bloom now... many different colours!

Frangipani, for those who don't know!

[Tropicalevo]

Hi Old Sailor!!....

The day I see a ripened tomato grown here on the islands, I'll eat my hat!!!

I've tried both here on Samui and KP... And the fact still remains, I've still not seen a tomato plant, with fruit on it! So when you or Joe produce fruit, or any one else for that matter.....I'll come and take pictures! and post here!

Now, the other day I did see three volunteer plants growing at one of my neighbours, about 12 inches high.....they had obviously seeded them selves... as growing amongst something else....

I asked why people did not grow tomatoes, The answer I was given was that they (Thai's) did not like the smell of the plant... I thought that was a bit of a stretch for a reason...

Hi Jimmy

I vaguely remembered a few posts here a long while back on tomatoes and whether they can grow here on Samui. I know that it is an old post and tempus fugit and all that, but wifey brought home some nice tasty toms from work today. They were grown at the ISS.

If anyone wants advice on how to grow these - the kids that planted/nutured them are the kindergarten section. (Age 2 - 5 years old!)

(Please do not eat your hat )

[samuijimmy]

No ... I have given up on Hat eating! Congrats to Mrs Tropo on her success!

Thanks to Virt, who brought some tomato seeds over last year, I gave some to the local Maenam Hydroponic farm has been experimenting with Tomatoes with some success, I think... I've not seen to owner to speak to him about which did the best... or sure if he kept track of the varieties .... I have seen red toms hanging about!

They have been focused on the "Sheep viewing/ petting farm" and the lettuce he's not been around when I have dropped by.... He's growing them in hanging pots... with a drip system...

Oldsailor35 and I have not had a chance this year, to sow what's left of the seed... I have had too many visitors and he keeps falling off his bike ! ... ... We keep talking about doing some more trials but we've not quite got there yet!.... His / my neighbour who had some success last year, but through them out before done has not tried again this year...

Maybe we'll do it tomorrow!

__________________________________________

I keep hearing from locals, that there will be a severe water shortage this year, around Samui, perhaps being reported on Thai News channels? There sure has not been any rain for quite a while now... that will affect anyone with especially with new plantings, more so than with established plants, if we don't get a bit of rain soon! I have now got a one inch hose (flexible) connected to the washing machine, that I can move around the garden.... that helps! ..... Grey water seems to be fine on the plants

[Tropicalevo]

Your friends are correct about the water shortage. We have no government water up here and some wells are drying up already.

Grey water is good for most plants and it stops aphids etc. (We always used grey water on roses for that reason)

[samuijimmy]

Your friends are correct about the water shortage. We have no government water up here and some wells are drying up already.

Grey water is good for most plants and it stops aphids etc. (We always used grey water on roses for that reason)

Your lucky to get roses to grow, I yanked my last one out a few month ago.... they just don't like my sandy soil and never did enough for the effort....

I wish the grey water would do in the grass hoppers, that are a plague chew holes in the leaves...... I don't seem to have a problem with aphids, but have noticed Mealy bugs (White fuzzy stuff ) on the tips of a few plants, lately... either a good hard spray with water (if you have it) or the blue alcohol with a Q tip or sponge works for them...

Canna lilies and Caladiums are looking nice now...