Blooming Friday: False Start

I googled for false start, and  two definitions kept cropping up, first being as a premature start as in a race or football match, the second being an unsuccessful attempt to begin something as in task, work or career. I guess the theme refers to activities within the boundary of gardening.

Growing Kiwi

kiwi seedlings in pure sand

kiwi seedlings in potting soil

The worst experience must be growing sweet peas. They grew but never to the level of health I  am looking for. I am guilty of asking too much from nature. The  hot climate here will not mellow down for sweet peas. I keep sowing new seeds, in the hope that I get the right combination of primary parameters that make sweet peas happy. So far not too good.

I move a step further by including Kiwi as the new member. From the single kiwi fruit, seeds were scooped out, cleaned and separated into 3 sets. The first set went to little pots filled with just sand. The second went to little pots with proper potting soil. The third went to the refrigerator for a month, then-after will be taken out for germination. I think the process is known as stratification, simulating the dormant stage imposed by winter.So it seems, kiwi seeds are happy without stratification

Now kiwi seeds are sprouting well at the first pair of leaves. 30 little kiwi seedlings are ready to run wild!! Pure sand seems to improve germination, that they germinate faster. I wonder if Kiwi will be like sweet peas...., tried again and again.... with a long list of false starts.

I am not about to back out yet....

Kiwi isn't the only first timer in our garden. There are timun tikus, ubi badak, ubi kemili, ubi itik, and many others. Each offers its own set of difficulty for me to cope.

first timer: ubi badak

first timer: timun tikus

 and the followings are photos of a red flowering plant.  They are spectacular with fine needle-like leaves.   They are climbing up nicely now, a lot bigger since Feb 25th post of  Blooming Friday: A Pinch of Green . First timer too.

So no flowers today, all plants with potential series of false starts. There goes the whole fun about gardening, learning to cope with failures, trying as much to give each plant the best condition to thrive... There will be more fall starts here : Blooming Friday - False Start at Katarina's Roses and Stuff 

bangchik and kakdah
Tanah Merah.