A Little Home Made Compost Can Revive A Dying Plant

I don't have green fingers so I consider it lucky if my plants don't shrivel up and dry. Still it's nice to see my few plants thriving and looking in the best state of health.

I don't have many plants - two potted palms, some curry leaf ( gives added flavor to my curries!) and "snake leaf" (good for sore throats). It's better to have a few good looking greenery rather than many half dead ones. Don't you agree?

Well lately my mini garden has bloomed out beautifully. This was despite my husband's suggestion to throw  out the palms as they were scrawny, brown and unsightly. My secret was home-made compost! No amount of artificial fertilizer that I had been using seemed to improve their condition. Adding fresh compost has given new life to my dying plants.

How to make a simple compost heap


1. Use a big container / gardening pot. Make sure it has holes for drainage.

2. Ingredients for the compost - freshly cut grass, dead leaves, vegetable peelings, tea leaves. If adding twigs and other woody materials, the decaying process will take much longer.

3. If possible, have a balance of green and brown ingredients. List below.

4. Keep compost bin in a sunny or semi-shaded area.

5. Cover with a lid. Don't worry if you don't have one.

6. Turn the heap regularly to mix up the ingredients.

7. Once the materials have decomposed you can use the rich, dark crumbly compost for your plants.

8. I use two bins - one for the already decomposing plant materials and the other for new ingredients.

Green (nitrogen rich) ingredients


Raw vegetable peelings

Tea bags, tea leaves, coffee grounds

Grass cuttings


Brown (carbon rich) ingredients

Cardboard - cereal boxes

Newspaper

Wood shavings

Woody prunings


More on How To Make Compost

How To Avoid The "Heatiness" From Eating Too Much Durians

Is there such a word as "heatiness"? The double-tongued dictionary defines heatiness as characteristic of certain foods said to cause emotional or physical reactions associated with fever, temper,etc.

The durian sure comes under this category. Don't ask my how but anyone who has eaten durians will tell you that  this fruit is definitely heaty. So if you want to enjoy your durians without suffering its ill effects here are some tips. I don't have scientific proof but from the many tales of durian lovers some of these remedies have worked.

1. Drink plenty of water. The secret is to drink it from the shell of the durian. Not sure how that works but many have sworn by its effectiveness.

2. The heatiness of the durian can be countered by the mangosteen. No wonder the two fruits are often in season together.



3. Coconut water is another cool way to quench your thirst after a thirst of durians. Some stall offer fresh coconut water for sale to cool off the heat.

4. I personally take 2 grape seed extract tablets after a big durian meal.

The grape seed extract seem to have a cooling effect so now I can safely enjoy eating durians as often as I like.

5. Of course the most obvious remedy is not to overeat if you know you have a tendency to develop heatiness after eating lots of durians. Easier said than done, I know.