Showing 1 - 10 of 17
Embracing bee season
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 31/07/2016
» I was standing on the veranda of our country home when I noticed a swarm of little white butterflies milling around the canopy of a rainbow eucalyptus. The tree was in bloom, and as I watched the butterflies fluttering from flower to flower, I could not help but marvel at the wonders of nature. Where did the butterflies come from? Other plants were in bloom as well, but why were they only attracted to this particularly tree? I had no doubt in my mind that the flowers were also pollinated by bees and other insects, but why were they visited by only one kind of butterfly?
No need to dig deep into your wallet
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 16/08/2015
» My friend, Imee, is a keen gardener and an incurable plant lover. She would rescue dying plants discarded by her neighbours and nurse them back to health. She has a green thumb, and in no time these would be thriving and bearing flowers or pups in her beautiful garden in San Diego, California.
Space invaders
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 02/08/2015
» What’s in a name? It may not sound funny to you, but I find it amusing how American lawmakers could waste so much time and energy, not to mention taxpayers’ money, deliberating over what to call a fish. Last year, Senator Bill Hoffman of Minnesota was concerned that the name “Asian carp” was “hurtful” and “offensive” to some people so he sought to change the name to “invasive carp”. And guess what, the Minnesota Senate approved the bill.
All the fruits of the fair
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 24/05/2015
» Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha seems to have the lot of agriculturists at heart. Once again he turned the road behind Government House into a marketplace, this time for Thai fruit and vegetables, and presided over the opening ceremony himself on May 6. Dubbed the Thai Fruit and Vegetable Festival, the market opens at 10am every day. It closes at 7pm from Monday to Thursday and at 8pm from Friday to Sunday until the end of this month.
The bugs that make a meal of the garden
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 30/11/2014
» Reader Margaret McMillion sent me a picture of a pest which she said had been periodically attacking plants in her Bangkok garden. “It is most prevalent at the end of the rainy season, but it can appear at almost any time,” she wrote.
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).
A luscious-looking remedy
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 13/04/2014
» A reader wants to know where he could buy the improved variety of mulberry which was mentioned in Green Fingers two weeks ago. One of the new cultivars found at the recent Kaset Fair at Kasetsart University, this mulberry was certainly more fruitful than the Morus nigra, or black mulberry, that we have on our farm.
A seasonal treat
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 06/04/2014
» I posted a picture of Manila tamarind from the recent Kaset Fair on Facebook, and was surprised at the response it received from my Filipino friends. Many were nostalgic for the fruit, and lamented that they haven’t tasted it for decades. Many of my friends and former classmates have migrated to various parts of the world, so this is understandable; the fruit is seasonal and no one has found a way to preserve it. Unless they visit the Philippines or Thailand when it is in season, they won’t be able to eat it. What is surprising is that even those who live in the Philippines said they haven’t seen it for years.
The heart grows fronder
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 09/02/2014
» Born into a family of vegetable farmers in Ratchaburi, Nukun Potakarn had not seen a fern until he was 16 years old. When he did, it was love at first sight.
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.