Showing 1 - 7 of 7
Jack of all fruits
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 09/10/2016
» The world population was listed at one billion in 1804. Statistics show that 123 years passed before it reached two billion in 1927, but it took only 33 years to hit the three billion mark in 1960. From then on it rose by leaps and bounds, taking only 14 years to reach four billion in 1974 and 13 years to rise to five billion in 1987. I still remember reading about the world population reaching six billion in 1999. It now stands at 7.5 billion, and it took only 17 years to reach that number.
A date with destiny
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 06/03/2016
» If I remember it right, Thais started to plant Phoenix dactylifera, or date palm, in the 1980s. I have never heard of the trees successfully bearing fruit, so I put it down to the climate.
Getting it all ship-shape
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 28/02/2016
» Sean G wrote to ask for help with contact information for a phytosanitary certification. “I hear that it is done at Kasetsart University but I can’t find anything online and this is the only article I can find that is relevant,” he said, referring to the May 17, 2015, Green Fingers page titled “Have plants, will travel”.
I heard it through the grapevine
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 13/12/2015
» When I was in grade school, my father tried to germinate seeds of grapes imported from California at our home in the rice growing region of Central Luzon in the Philippines. He did not expect the seeds to germinate, as he knew the fruit was grown in a climate so different from ours.
Master of a growing art
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 21/06/2015
» If Caladium bicolour, or fancy-leaved caladium, can be compared to works of art, then the plants you see on this page are masterpieces. They are the works of a master breeder who creates hundreds of cultivars with just one stroke of his brush. No two plants are exactly the same, so if you want to be the proud owner of a masterpiece or two, or even more, head for the plant market being held along Phadung Krung Kasem canal behind Government House before next Sunday. It is open from 10am to 7pm daily.
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.
Thai growers plant allure for foreign buyers
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 25/08/2013
» I have a friend in Manila who comes to Bangkok several times a year just to take a look at the latest cultivars for sale at the Chatuchak mid-week plant market. Sometimes, a group of his fellow plant lovers tags along with him. Another friend, who hails from Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, southern Philippines, comes every December in time for the annual plant fair at Suan Luang Rama IX Park.