Monday, November 5, 2012

seedlings and seedlings

Seeds will be obsolete if stored for far too long especially in the kind of weather we are having in Malaysia.  One eggplant was allowed to grow and grow and finally turned yellow. It was so big. I scooped out seeds, and it could easily be thousands.  I germinated immediately, filling up 104-tray. There is no intention of selling them at all, and the whole process is to satisfy my earlier hypothesis that fresh seeds will germinate better.

So, as expected every single seed germinated...... 104!. The most I am going to use is 20 in the vegetable patch over the left side of the backyard.... The rest is for the neighbours and visitors, - kakdah's green giveaways, in a down to earth reply to modern cry - sustainable living. Kakdah may not have the capacity to champion 500,000 strong march down Kuala Lumpur for green living or stop jungle clearing campaign. And all she has is the green pencil to give some colour to the canvas in form of little seedlings giveaways....


eggplant seedlings


two rows of zinnia on the left,  a tray of spinach on the right

After years of  germination attempts,  we can almost gauge what's the outcome, given the age of seeds and weather conditions.  My way is crude, no lab, no meter readings.... just plain layman approach. Like an old fisherman who can tell storm is coming, not repeating weatherman's report on TV but understanding the tingling feeling at ear lobes..... hmmmm...hmmm... haha.




___________________________
bangchik and kakdah
mylittlevegetablegarden

31 comments:

  1. either a case of intuition or a practice makes perfect

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  2. wow 100% germination - that is fantastic!

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    Replies
    1. Fresh seeds can do that!, almost every time.

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    2. How I envy you KakDah. 100% success rate! I have zero luck with eggplants... none seem to grow for me; much less germinate.. 8(

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  3. good for you! Those seedlings are so pretty in their cells.

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    Replies
    1. Yes they look good in their little cells.... then comes another stage..., the way we handle transplanting. that's crucial too.

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  4. fresh seeds germinate better..emmm..selama ni saya kumpul benih simpan baru semai, rupanya lagi fresh benih lagi cepat tumbuh ye, kalau benih yang moist sikit tu tak perlu jemur bagi kering dulu ke?

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    Replies
    1. Setakat ni saya benarkan benih kering dulu... bukan jemur tengah panas, keringkan dalam bekas, dalam rumah. Kalau tenguk pengalaman campak biji benih betik, akhirnya tumbuh jugak walaupun benih masih basah!!

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  5. Tingling feelings at earlobes, huh, that's a new indicator for storms, hahaha! I love planting eggplants, but they cannot withstand pests and diseases in my area. Organic farmers in other towns build big mosquito nets, but i only need a few plants.

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    Replies
    1. Andrea.... even earthquakes and tsunami send signals and captured by animals, birds far better and faster than the most sophisticated modern gadget!...... pests here dont seem to bother eggplants that much. I have three still growing.

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  6. 104 eggplant???Wow! That's really champion!

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  7. Sometimes in the hot season seeds would not germinate at all..even if germinates ..the seedling could die easily due to hot weather if we overlook ...like my case...:)

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    Replies
    1. seeds are like babies..., they cant stand extreme temperatures...

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  8. Practising and intuition turns often better out, yes like fishermen with the weather. It's great to have so many give aways of your eggplant.

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    Replies
    1. Janneke, I dont have millions of dollars, but I have plants to give away....

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  9. Wow..I love eggplant and plan to grow them this summer.

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    Replies
    1. Eden..., one or two plants is enough for a family.

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  10. Great start to all the seedlings. When fully grown, it'll be like a mini terong farm!

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  11. Such power in one single eggplant - 104 new eggplants! You and your eggplant are empowering us all :) Imagine if everyone who receives a plant from you does the same, it will be a plant revolution, which is just what we need!

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    Replies
    1. Rosemary, plants are positive in their thinking... it's always about legacy, about future generations. They produce lot of seeds!!

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  12. You do your seeds by habit and practice, you don't need to be a scientist. Hope the march goes well!

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    Replies
    1. HRH The Queen, if I am damn good at it, then I am a scientist or at least an expert! haha.

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  13. I don't have much luck with germination Bangchik.
    A few days ago, my sunflower germinated but today dead! :(
    I don't know what went wrong.
    You've done great with yours, congrats!

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    Replies
    1. Keep trying Ash.... I guess practice makes perfect. After a while we will appreciate the importance of seeds age and weather condition.

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  14. mcmane nk dapatkan anak pokok eggplant secara percuma tu? hehehehe

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  15. Sigh.. no matter where the seeds I buy from, I cant seem to germinate even one!! What is your secret KakDah?

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  16. I tried to germinate brinjal too, but three turn out to be one germinated. How come you are so brilliant and good at planting?

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  17. Such a good post. I've been trying to start seeds indoors for eggplants. I had two varieties, the black beauty and the rosa bianca. The black beauty was nearly 100% germination but the rosa bianca has been 0%. Practically the same conditions have been used for both. At first I thought it was because the rosa bianca might have been a difficult variety but now I think they may have been older seeds.

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