Growing strawberry plants from seeds in Singapore

On 15 August 2014, I bought some strawberries from the supermarket in Singapore. I couldn't remember the origins of the strawberries. I'm thinking they were from Australia. I removed the seeds from the exterior of the strawberries. I took the seeds that are brown in colour and scrapped them away from the skin using a sharp knife. I tried to remove as much fleshes from the seeds as possible so that it would rot in my sowing bed. I took a used plastic sushi container and filled it with potting soil. Buried the seeds in the soil and kept the soil moist. I closed the container with a rubber band and this helped to keep the moisture inside the container. I estimated that there were about 100 seeds.

It was almost 2 months later that I saw the seeds germinated. Tiny seedlings started emerging out of the soil bed. It started with 5 seedlings, then a few days later, another 5 seedlings. After that, none appeared. I "ploughed" the sowing bed and exposed the seeds again. Watered the bed and kept it moist. A couple of weeks later, new seedlings germinated. I got another 15 seedlings. So in total I have 25 seedlings. Recently, on 12 December 2014, I noticed 3 new seedlings started to germinate. It is almost 4 months since I last sowed the seeds. My advice to you will be to be very patient when you want to grow strawberry plant from seed. It can take from two months to four months to get the seedling. So, try to sow more seeds, at least 100 seeds. My success rate is not 28%.

The seedlings need a lot of water and sunlight. The seeds germinate faster if they are exposed to sunlight. The seedlings also grow well in direct sunlight.

From November onwards, my window sill is not getting any direct sunlight. I need to bring the plants to the corridor area which is very troublesome. So, in the end, I decided to do an experiment to see whether the seedlings need sunlight. I brought 5 seedlings to my office where they can get at least 4 hours of direct sunlight. I'm trying to monitor their progress.



5 strawberry seedlings on 5 Dec 2014

Last weekend, I had forgotten to bring the container into the shelter. It was raining heavily on Saturday and the seedlings were flooded. Below is the photo of the seedlings after the flood.



Seedlings on 16 Dec 2014

Recently, I chanced upon a post from www.igardenplanting.com and gotten the permission from Dianne to share her post on my blog. It is "How To Grow Strawberries and 10 Best Strawberry Recipes".

Propagating Portulaca grandiflora or Moss rose by stem cutting

I think it is time to propagate my pink portulaca grandiflora by stem cutting. I select a branch which I think is suitable and use a scissor to cut it.

Cutting a branch off the portulaca grandiflora

I place the new stem cutting into a small plastic container and use a piece of wire to secure the stem cutting in place. I pour some water into the container just to cover the cut area. I hope new roots will grow in a few days and I can transfer it into the pot.

The mother plant without one branch on the right.

The new stem cutting in a plastic container filled with water

I left a couple of leaves on the cut area on the mother plant. I hope that new branch may start to grow from the leaves. I will update the progress in this blog. I will monitor the progress of the new stem cutting and will post pictures accordingly.

Portulaca grandiflora or Moss Rose

At last, I know the name to the plants that I saw in Cingjing Taiwan. Thanks to the Green Culture Singapore forum that I'm able to find out the name to this plant.

I was travelling in Cingjing in Taiwan and saw some beautiful flowers outside the Nina de Chocolate 妮娜巧克力工坊. They were beautiful and I couldn't resist plucking one each. One is pink and the other is white. I didn't know whether they will survive one week in my luggage when I'm having vacation in Taiwan. The plants did survive.

Nina de Chocolate

I placed them onto wet tissue to keep the cut area moist and when I was back, I continued to place them in water. Roots started to come out from the cut area and within two days, there were many roots and I felt that it was time to plant them.

Roots from Moss Rose

I planted them into a pot using potting mix from NTUC. The stems were curled because I had placed them into a cup of water and gravity had made the stem curled. It was quite difficult to plant them when the stems were curled, so a portion of the stem was actually buried in the soil.

Portulaca grandiflora planted in a small pot

My friend had a white and pink mixed version and I may try to get one from her when I visit her in the future. I saw the flowers bloomed twice when I was at home. They bloomed at around 9am in the morning and would wither at night on the same day. So, you will need to be there to see them if they bloom. It would be a beautiful sight to see white, pink and white/pink flowers blooming at the same time. Next, I will try to propagate them.

Portulaca grandiflora white & purple flowers

It will be great if I can collect all the colours of this species, Portulaca grandiflora. The flowers are large, about 3 cm in diameter with 5 petals, come in red, orange, pink, white and yellow. So, now I have the pink and white types. Next is to collect red, orange and yellow types. I wonder what is the mixed white and pink type. Do you have the red, orange and yellow types to share?

Second Avocado seedling

I have another avocado seedling that has grown to about 15 inches. It is taller than the first avocado plant which I had planted a couple of weeks ago. This second avocado seedling is quite different from the first one. It is taller, the stem is thicker and the colour of the stem is darker. It looks much healthier than the first one. The leaves are greener. The roots are much developed.

Second avocado seedling @ 14 Dec 2014

I notice that it has a second shoot developing at the crown area. I have seen in the internet that some avocado developed two or more shoots (stems). I will wait a couple of weeks to see the second shoot.

Second shoot developing at the crown area

You can notice in the above photo that the stem is darker and thicker. The plant is definitely much healthier than the first avocado plant. Now, I'm thinking of when I should transfer it to a pot with soil. There are forums that said to wait till the plant is 7 to 8 inches tall and having leaves. This plant is already 15 inches tall and having 3 medium leaves and one small leaf. I suppose that it may be the right moment to plant it. The first avocado plant was only transferred to a potted medium when I noticed the leaves turning brown. I hope that this second plant will not suffer the same fate.

Second avocado seedling @ 15 inches tall

Any expert out there to advise on whether this is the right time to plant it? Thanks.

Bird's nest ferns in Singapore

Bird's nest fern (Asplenium nidus) is a short, large leafy fern which is very common in Singapore. You can see them growing on tree branches, rocks, gardens and in pots. I have known these are ferns and the thing that I don't know is that it can be eaten. Two months ago, I was having my vacation in Hualien Taiwan, the locals recommended me to eat a dish called 炒山蔬.

炒山蔬 Fried Mountain Vegetables

I was wondering what this might be. The taste was very unique and crunchy. It was very good and I was thinking how does the plant look like? I only knew it when a tour guide brought us to climb the Taroko Gorge that I realized that the mountain vegetables that I had eaten the previous night came from the Bird's nest fern. Oh my goodness, it was the young leaves that the tribes harvested and cooked them in garlic and light soya sauce. It looked very delicious. You have to try it to believe it.

The young leaves from the Bird's nest fern in the mountains of Taroko Gorge (Taroko National Park). The local tribe people are selling these vegetables at the mountain trail of the Taroko Gorge. My tour guide bought a packet and told us that he was going to cook them that day. I asked him whether he had cooked them before but he said never. So, he asked the local tribe people how to cook them.

Young leaves of bird's nest fern

Bird's nest fern at the Taroko National Park

There are many bird's nest ferns growing in the Goodview Garden area. But mostly they are on the ground under the shades of tall trees. I saw a few growing along and underneath the MRT tracks. Below are some of the ferns.

Bird's nest fern at Goodview Garden estate

Goodview Garden @ Bukit Gombak

Bird's nest ferns @ Goodview Garden

3 bird's nest ferns on the ground

I'm wondering whether any of my neighbours tried to cut the young leaves and cook them. I don't think so because there isn't any sign that anyone had cut away the young leaves. I think most people in Singapore will not think of eating these. When you are in Hualien, please try this dish.

I was at the Singapore Zoo two weeks ago. There are many bird's nest ferns in the zoo. I passed by the Lion enclosure and saw this big, beautiful giant bird's nest fern in front of the enclosure. You can see the lion in the background. The leaves that the aboriginal tribes eat are the young leaves at the centre which have the curls on the tip of the leaves. I think they don't eat the mature leaves.

Bird's nest fern at the Singapore Zoo

I was wondering whether Singapore can grow bird's nest ferns commercially and harvest the leaves for the delicacy 炒山蔬. I will definitely come and eat but of course that will also depend on the recipe and cooking skill.

Avocado plant

It has been a couple of weeks since the avocado was planted. The growth of the plant seems to be stagnant and two leaves have started to turn brown at the tip of the leaves. Is the avocado plant dying? I hope not. This avocado has been with me for more than 3 months. I wish that it can overcome any deficiency and absorb the nutrients it needs to growth well. I'm very tempted to cut away the leaves that have turned brown. But I think I will wait for another week to see whether new leaves will emerge. If there are new leaves, I can cut away the withered ones and give more nutrients to the young leaves. I suspect that I have waited too long to plant it into soil and the plant may have suffered. Do you have any suggestion to make the avocado plant well again? Do drop me a note.

Avocado from New Zealand

After 3 months of putting the avocado seed in water, it is time to plant it into soil. This avocado seed was from the fruit that I bought from a local supermarket. It was from New Zealand and I tried to see whether the seed can grow into a seedling. 3 months is a long time to wait but it is definitely worth it.

Why do I want to plant it today? Well, I saw two leaves had turned brown and I think something must be wrong. I don't want to wait till all leaves have turned brown before I take any action. So, I planted it today and keeping my fingers crossed! Hopefully, it will start to grow and I will prune it accordingly. This plant will be in my future garden and I hope that it can bear fruit someday!

Do drop me a comment if you need information on how to grow an avocado!

Avocado planted on 30 Nov 2014!