5 more strawberry seeds germinated after 3 months

5 more strawberry seeds germinated after 3 months. Every few weeks, I will get strawberry seedlings from the seedling bed that I created 3 months ago. I remember it was 15 August 2014 that I had placed about 100 seeds into the seedling bed. I kept the bed moist and occasionally stirred up the soil to break it up and exposed the seeds to sunlight. I think this helps to have more seeds germinating.

The idea is to keep the bed moist and create high humidity so that the seeds will think that it has the best environment to start to grow into a seedling. Well, the effort pays off and I'm getting about 25 seedlings now. However, the strawberry seedling grows very slowly and I start to think that maybe something is not favourable for them. I will continue to monitor and blog on their progress. 

Do drop me a note if you want to know more.

Growing strawberry plant in Singapore

I know that people say that it is impossible to grow strawberry plant in Singapore. I can only tell you that they are wrong!

On 15 August 2014, I bought some strawberries from the local supermarket. If I'm not wrong, the strawberries were from Australia. I used a sharp knife and removed the seeds from the surface of the strawberries. I chose the seeds which were darker and looked more ripen. It was quite a tedious task to remove the seeds as they were very small to handle. After removing the seeds, I placed them into some potting soil and watered them thoroughly. I kept the soil moist and placed it under direct sunlight. If I'm not wrong, they will start to germinate after two months.

I would have placed 100 seeds into the soil and only 20 seeds germinated. I re-potted them as soon as they germinated into seedlings. I cut the plastic bottle into halves and invert the top and create holes in the cap. The holes in the cap will allow water to be drained away.

I notice that the seedlings need strong sunlight to grow and I have placed them under direct sunlight. However, in November, the sun direction has changed and I'm not getting sunlight to my window sill. So on 26 November, I have taken 5 seedlings and placed them under direct sunlight in my office balcony. Hopefully, I can see whether the sunlight will make the seedlings grow faster.

Strawberry plant seedlings

Close-up shot of a strawberry seedling using my macro lens

Wide angle, fish-eye & Macro lens

While traveling in Taipei, I saw this wide angle, fish-eye and macro lenses in a gadget shop. One brand I saw was selling at NT490. I thought it was too expensive for these lenses and so I went to other shops to check out the prices. In one shop at the underground mall at the Taipei station, I saw another brand selling at NT350. This price was reasonable and so I bought it.

No brand universal clip lens

Immediately, I took out the lenses to check. Actually there were only two holders because the wide angle and macro lenses were in the same holder. I need to unscrew the wide angle lens in order to use the macro lens.

Picture taken using the fish-eye lens

Picture taken using iPhone 5S

I just need to clip the lens to my iPhone 5S to take the picture. The macro lens works very well as it can capture my palm print very clearly. The disappointment was when I went to another shop, another similar brand was selling at NT250. 

Post-credits scene of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

There is post-credits scene for The Hunger Games 3 but you will be disappointed after you have waited about 7 minutes for the credits to end. In my opinion, you can skip this if you are in a hurry to rush home or catch the last train home. The post-credits scene shows the burning Mockingjay in a black background and later the Mockingjay spreads its wings and beaks free. That's all. Nothing much and I would be heading home if I knew about this.

Identification of Flower and Plant

Got this plant from Taiwan when I was having a holiday there in October. Can anyone help to identify this plant and flower's name? Thanks in advance.

There are two types of this plant. One gives purple flower and the other gives white flower. They are gorgeous looking and I try to cross pollinate them to see whether they give any seeds. I saw another type in my friend's garden in Malaysia which gives white and purple coloured patches in a single flower. I was thinking whether this was caused by the cross-pollination of the purple and white flowers. Anyway, I will ask my friend to pass me a single stalk so that I can grow them.

Purple & white flower

This plant is very easy to grow. You just need to pluck a stalk (stem) with leaves on it. Place the stem into a cup of water and you can see the roots coming out very quickly. In a few days, you will see many roots coming out from the end of the stem. Once the roots have been established, you can plant them into the soil.

I notice that this plant likes to be in the sunny place. The leaves will open widely under the sun. When night falls, the leaves will fold up in a closed position.

The flower will only bloom for one day. So, when it blooms, quickly enjoy the flower and then at night the flower will collapse. But a new bud will grow quickly and the flower will bloom again in a week or so.

What is the name of this plant/flower?

The white version, what is this plant's name?

Drop me an email or comment. Thanks.

Growing pineapple

Pineapple is an auspicious fruit in Asian countries. I tried to grow one. This is how:

You have to pluck away the crown and remove some leaves to reveal the roots. I think you have to remove about 5 to 6 layers of leaves and then expose the roots. I cut the remaining leaves and keep them short. I put the crown into a recycled bottle and put in water to cover the roots. After a few days, you can see roots growing. You may want to change the water regularly.

After a few weeks, you will get many roots and then you can plant it.

Roots forming

Roots are mature for planting

Pineapple crown in water

$2 plastic pot from Daiso (Yellow to match the pineapple)

Well drain soil. Pineapple in the sun

I keep the pineapple on my window sill and hope that it can bear fruit. Well, let's see how long it takes to bear a pineapple... Huat ah!!!

Welcome to my blog!

Hi, welcome to my blog!

The theme to my blog is "Life Can Be Marvelous!". Yes, my life and even your life can be marvellous if you try.

I will blog my journey to have a marvellous life and share with you this journey. You can feel free to comment and we can discover a meaningful life. You only have one life and don't waste this.

Time waits for no man and woman. I hope that my blogs will give meaning to other people and will help to encourage each other to have a marvellous life. Stay tuned!