Showing 11 - 20 of 32
Soil food
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 06/09/2015
» Plants are like people. Give them their basic needs and they will grow up happily. Keep them healthy and fit and they will be better able to resist disease.
High and dry
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 26/07/2015
» Where have all the flowers gone? Last time I was on our farm six months ago, the flowering plants and shrubs were blooming in all their glory. But during a visit two weeks ago, there were very few flowers, and even the bougainvilleas, which bloom nearly all year round, were missing.
How to play it cool
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 05/07/2015
» The severe heatwaves that gripped India and Pakistan in May and June, killing more than 4,000 people, must be a matter of grave concern for us in Thailand. With the Earth’s changing climate patterns, there might come a time when temperatures of up to 40-45C could sweep this country, too.
Don’t waste a drop
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 12/04/2015
» It is a Thai custom to make merit on religious and other important holidays. This Songkran, three days of celebration which starts tomorrow, you can be sure that large crowds will be converging on Sanam Luang and major temples in Bangkok and the provinces to make merit by giving alms to monks.
Try hedging your bets
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 05/04/2015
» Reader Poonsri Pupipat wrote to say that she lives in a very busy lane used as a shortcut by all types of vehicles from early morning to late at night. She planted rows of Polyathia longifolia var pandurata trees, known in Thai as asoke India, along both sides of her fence to alleviate noise and air pollution, but two died recently.
Nature’s melodious alarm clock
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 25/05/2014
» Every day around 5am, I am awakened by a riot of sounds from an assortment of birds. As if by cue they start all at the same time, with sounds ranging from the loud “kawow kawow-kawow-kawow” of the common koel or Asian koel, known in Thai as nok kawow (Eudynamys scolopacea), to the explosive “chee-yup, chee-yup” of the common tailorbird, or nok krajib (Orthotomus sutorius) and the plaintive coo-crooo-crooo of the spotted dove, or nok kao yai (Streptopelia chinensis).
Casuarina and effects
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 23/02/2014
» For some people, the mention of “sun, sea and sand” calls to mind a clear blue sea and a beach fringed by coconut fronds. For others, it evokes having a picnic or lazing the day away by the sea under the shade of a casuarina tree. The truth is that the former is a sight common only in travel brochures; from Rayong in the East down to Phuket in the South, it is Casuarina equisetifolia, commonly known as ironwood or horsetail casuarina (son talay in Thai) that is an integral part of Thai coastal areas. There are more casuarinas on Thai beaches than coconuts.
Facing the curling questions
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 20/10/2013
» In last week's column, I mentioned that reader Alan Platt sent me an email saying that his potted bamboo plants needed constant watering. If they go without water for 24 hours, their leaves curl up into thin needles and many drop off, and he once returned from a three-day trip to find them totally bare.
When they can't stand the heat
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 13/10/2013
» A mother sent me an email from the UK to say that she was coming to Thailand in November and would like to bring vegetable and flower seeds for her daughter, who lives in Rayong. "She mentioned growing plants in pots and I suggested that she plant vegetables in her garden. What would be the best flower and vegetable seeds to take there? I would appreciate any advice you could give me," she wrote.
Hedging your bets with bamboo
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 06/10/2013
» When we talk about reafforestation and greening the environment, the first thing that comes to mind is to plant trees. Millions of trees have been planted as part of environmental awareness programmes initiated by conservation groups, government agencies, and companies wishing to improve their corporate image. But I have yet to hear about bamboo being used to rehabilitate degraded forests.