Showing 1 - 10 of 23
Nurturing fruits of your labour
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 11/09/2016
» Many gardeners could not get their plants to bloom, much less bear fruit. Reader Murray Thomas' problem is just the opposite. His potted lime tree is exploding with fruit and more flowers are on the way. "As many as 15 small fruit on a single small branch," he wrote. "The tree is about 1.5 metres tall.
Sparing some expense
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 21/08/2016
» When my now adult children were in primary school, bananas were so cheap that we fed kluay namwa to our pet birds. My late father, who was visiting from the Philippines, made it his duty to feed the birds while my husband and I were at work and the children were in school.
Time for cutbacks
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 29/05/2016
» We have had thunderstorms and rain this month. Hopefully the summer heat will soon be a thing of the past as the rainy season starts.
Passing the smell test
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 17/04/2016
» Ten years ago, Kriepob Limkangwalmongkol wrote to say that Phuket, where he lived, had many Chinese Taoist temples and they burned quite a lot of mai juang, or theptaro wood, to cleanse the atmosphere during their numerous ceremonies, especially during the annual vegetarian festival.
The best way to turn over that new leaf
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 03/01/2016
» I have a young friend who lives in Fresno, California. She teaches science in high school but does volunteer work in her spare time, taking a group of elderly people to a public park to do gardening. “There are plots in the park where the elderly can plant flowers or vegetables,” she said when we talked on the phone recently. “They love it. They find it invigorating. Growing plants has given them a new purpose in life.”
Grow your own grub
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 22/11/2015
» Readers must have heard of His Majesty the King’s por piang (self-sufficiency) economy for farmers. Based on the assumption that a farmer owns 15 rai of land, it advises the land be divided four ways: 30%, or 4.5 rai, for a pond or water reservoir, 30% for a rice field, 30% for vegetable and fruit orchards, and 10%, or 1.5 rai, for a residential area.
Government stumped on tree pruning
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 18/10/2015
» I had a strange dream last night. The mahogany trees along Rama IV Road from the railroad crossing to the Klong Toey market were so huge that their branches reached to the middle of the road, providing much-needed shade for motorists stopped by the red traffic light. In reality the trees are spindly for their age.
More than their rare share
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 11/10/2015
» The early bird gets the worm, so serious collectors do not visit Chatuchak plant market on Wednesdays and Thursdays. They go on Tuesdays, in order to be the first to get their hands on rare or newly introduced plants. The market does not really get busy until 6pm, when office people have returned from work, but many stalls are ready for business as early as 3pm.
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.
Seeing the light
B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 22/02/2015
» Vichai Atichartakarn, MD, wrote to say that many of his potted plants have leaves with brown edges. The leaves then die. “What is the cause?” he asked. “Is it because of lack of certain nutrient(s), too much sunlight, insects or disease? How can we correct and prevent it?”