This article is a re-post from 2014, but is especially relevant given Colombo’s weather this week I see it everywhere. Naked soil when now is the time to add more mulch. This is not a great situation in any climate, but especially not here in the tropics. The rains are beating down and the mud is splashing. The precious nutrients in your … Read More
Yes, you read that right. In this week’s post I shall try to shed some light on propagating roses using potatoes. I came across potato roses while browsing through the interweb for better ways to propagate my roses. Now I admit, I’m not a pro rose gardener. I’m no pro gardener at all. I identify my roses by their colours – red, yellow, pink and white. … Read More
I’ve had a lot of bad luck with the mealybug. Plants that have succumbed to this little white bug include a couple of frangipanis (Araliya), a cane palm, a lime tree, a white rose, and more than one succulent. It’s easy for this pest to go unnoticed because the bug attaches itself to the under-side of the leaves of the plant it attacks. Fortunately, … Read More
A common plague of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants is the brown spot that appears at the bottom, or blossom end, of the fruit. There is no cure but to pluck it immediately and take measures to avoid losing anymore fruit. This blossom end rot is caused by a calcium deficiency so that the end of the fruit furthest from the plant does … Read More
This guide is brought to you by a new member of the IG team, Rajitha Yasarathna. My garden interests initially came out of a love for seeing things grow. Anything really – animals, plants, whatever – that will grow because of the nutrition and care I provide for it. Since our home already has three dogs and two cats, I thought it best to turn … Read More