Sea-Hawks

Planning to apply for the 60 day Tourist Visa for USA citizens. I will apply by mail to the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles. My flight will have a return date of 90 days out. (plans are to extend my stay by 30 days, go to Jomtien Immigration for an additional 30 day extension). Since, I plan to take the 60 days and extend once for a total of 90 days: my question ...they require a copy of flight itinerary....they will then notice that my ticket return is not within the 60 day period, will they naturally assume I plan to stay/apply for the 30 extra days or do I need to include a letter explaining my intentions? Or will this sort of thing complicate/deny my tourist visa?

....Mmmmm - Nong Khai & Surat Thani ? Never had those on my travel list. Maybe will take a peak after my Chiang Mai visit. Just put in an offer for a place in Patts, but this next time around, plan to visit other parts of Thailand, not just BKK/Patts

Sorry, not gonna cut and paste to Line up report/headings. So this week, working from home still. No real work so email check daily for about 15-30 min and then about 6 hours daily in the garden/picking/cooking/canning. Zucchini everywhere- this week zucchini sticks with homemade ranch dipping sauce. Cooked in Air Fryer. Basil lettuce leaf - daily morning tomatoe/basil/ mozzarella with balsamic vinegar breakfast. Basil - Pesto: used all the leaves to make a full jar of pesto and put it in the freezer Pickled my cucs: whole & spears. Raining here, so not have to water today. Pesto pasta with chicken for lunch today....gotta go cook now 😉

Blossom End Rot - happens to tomato & zucchini. I started to notice that my zucchini plants that are growing in dirt has started to show signs of end rot. End Rot - the ends of the flower/fruit are rotten or yellowing and not growing. Why - my zucchini has already flowered and fruited 1 cycle already. It has used up all the calcium around its area/pot. I need to replenish the calcium. Also - avoid watering extremes back & forth. If you water too much & then let it dry out too much, this can also cause End Rot. Also too much fertilizer or manure/compost can cause this to tomatoes/zucchini. Simple fix - add a couple of tums tablets to the soil or container pot

...yes, that was initial concerns.

...btw, on the jalapeño poppers, I used regular and thin sliced bacon. Cut them into thirds as that was long enough to wrap. Realized that after the first batch, best to stick a toothpick through the middle of the bacon peppers or else it will fall off ( i cooked mine in the air fryer). I made an extra set, in which I left in the seeds, it was super hot & spicy, i would dip those into homemade ranch dressing before devouring.

So, in past condo purchases, I had my own real estate agent find me a condo. This time, I found my own place. Should I just use the seller’s agent to handle all the paperwork for both “buyer & seller”? I believe the seller usually pays the realtor commissions? Or, should I get my own realtor to handle the paperwork on my behalf or get someone like Magna Carta Lawyers to review all my paperwork? ...btw, should I be asking in anyway for 1/2 the seller agent’s commissions to be kicked back to me???

...there is grab in KK. I used it to get from KK airport to Kosa Hotel. And used grab to go from KK to UT Btw, I wrote up a report on my trip in KK last year. I had a great time there

This week, did my usually clippings of my basil. Chose to make my own pesto sauce, then used it to make Chicken Pesto Broccoli. Today, still picking my jalapeño. My two mature plants just keep on producing tons of peppers. I canned some whole and some sliced. Then made some jalapeño poppers wrapped in bacon. My apples were a bit small as I didn’t bother to thin out my trees this year, but made apple cobbler. Thinking about stuffed green peppers for the weekend. My zucchini have already flowered and some of them are about 2-3 inches long. I have 35 zucchini plants so I ll be eatting a lot of zucchini soon I grew most of my zucchini this year in styrofoam coolers. They’re a bit jammed together, but in the long run easier to manage ...next time I’m back in LOS, I think I’ll grow the mini roma. It seems like the perfect size for a balcony/pots. Anybody else out there growing any tomatoes on their balcony???

...hey Bazle, you wouldn’t happen to have some before & after photos of the work you had done by chance you could post? What type of work did you require? thanks!

Can anybody recommend a company that does condo remodel jobs. I need a full remodel - bathroom, kitchen, bedroom. A complete demo and build out

looks great! Looks like an enclosed area/greenhouse with raised bed??? I also saw some wire fencing, whatcha trying to keep out?

... just had some fresh basil & tomato with mozzarella dipped in balsamic vinegar. I find that growing herbs works better with the soilless method. Helps to keep the bugs from eatting my lettuce leaf basil. Will begin harvesting tomatoes, cilantro and jalapeños today, to make pico de gallo and fire roasted salsa. In thailand, I had problems with flower drop, so I began growing my jalapeño inside until the flowers set. Typically, you need night temps to be at least 24 degree or lower to keep the flowers from falling and allowing fruit to set. ...for those of you who see the gardening a bit boring, here’s another diff. pic

.Pick some tomatoes and hosed down plants today I pruned the first group of tomato plants now 3 times, but they grow like crazy carrots coming in nicely, will use for sunday pot roast & crock pot cooking ...the same soil & ph reader is $17 USD and in Thailand it is only $6

#6. Companion Planting Herbs: I try to grow lots of Rosemary and Mint as these two herbs do a great job in repelling insects. They give off a smell a lot of insects don’t like. I would encircle my vegetables/balcony with lots of rosemary and mint plants. I would also snip a tiny bit of the rosemary needles regularly and snip the tips of my mint to give off more of its odor. If I were still doing row gardening in soil/in the ground I would be alternating herbs with vegetables row planting. I would plant dill to the left & right of my cucumber plants, do the same with oregano with squash/zucchini. So, the first year I started my garden in Thailand, I wasn’t so successful as there are a number of challenges. I learned from my mistakes, had a lot of help from Thai friends and found ways to be successful. I’ll provide some insights and instead of giving a report based on my timeline, will provide you a timeline based on growing/establishing your own garden in a very hot/humid climate. #1. Seeds I initially bought my seeds from a couple of garden stores in Thailand. The problem was that most of the seeds I bought were very old and had a very poor germination rate. Since that first year, growing my garden on my condo balcony, I have bought better seeds in order to start off on the right foot sort of speak. I am from the states, in growing zone 8. Thailand is in zone 12. When deciding what to plant, you have to take into consideration the zone you will be planting in. You also have to decide how to start “from seed”. After a lot of trial and error, it is easier and you’ll have a higher germination rate by planting indoors in most situations. It is so bloody hot in Thailand and most of what I wanted to grow germinated better in 70-85 degree temperatures, so initial seed germination was started indoors with peat moss/peat pellets. I also bought my seeds from reputable vendors from the states. As I was going back to the states for a couple visits per year or friends were coming to visit me, I had plenty of opportunities to get seeds to plant. I also buy mostly Hybrid & F1 seeds. They are more resistant to CMV, scab, MMV and resistant to many fungus and bugs. A great many of the Hybrid & F1 seeds have better germination rate and days to harvest is shortened. I also bought some seeds at the Russian Night Markets in Thailand. There are a few varieties of Russian Brand pickling cucumber Hybrid seeds that are very good and they also produce “80% female flowers to 20% male flowers”. #2. Soil So, my initial soil composition was horrible and that alone led to a lot of my failures. When I learned to correct soil issues, my garden thrived. It also has a domino effect. By starting off with good soil, I also cut down on insects, bugs and watering issues. I initially bought soil from the Thai Garden Shops, which sold horrible soil. My first decent soil, I received from my Thai secretary at the time. She had her cousin drive down a truck full of really good soil from Nong Pu Lampu. Later on, I bought even better soil. You can now easily buy great potting soil and amendments via online retailers such as Lazada and others. Now, my soil: Due to spacing issues I chose to garden using containers “container gardening”. Over the course of time, I learned that container garden is much more efficient and you can handles the pitfalls of gardening in Thailand by using the container gardening method, I will elaborate more in my Udon Thani home purchasing notes below. The soil I eventually stuck with was actual “Potting Soil”. But, I also amended my soil by adding perlite to make it drain better (eliminate overwatering, sitting water (bugs) and by adding sand and peat moss for nutrients. So, my soil consisted of high quality: Potting Mix, Peat Moss, compost soil, Perlite & Sand. I even bought 3 different kinds of sand and tested how long it would take for a 2 cups of water to drain through the sand and how much of it drained to the bottom. Now, here in the states, I can buy potting soil and know that it is free of bugs and bug eggs. In Thailand, I don’t trust anything. So, what I did was always sterilize my soil. I would take my soil and bake it in the oven @ 200 degrees for 30-45 minutes to kill off any bugs and eggs. Once I got my soil problem fixed, it solved a lot of problems, as everything is connected. #3. Containers Due to limited space, I chose to use containers and pots to grow. Now, when I buy my house in Udon Thani, I will still grow in containers vs. growing on a plot of land. I will explain more later. Now, here in the states, in my location, I grow my jalapenos in black containers. They love the extra heat and works well in my growing zone. But, in Thailand, it’s already dam hot….actually too hot. So, I avoid using black pots as it has a way of burning the soil/roots. Now, my vegetables like tomatoes, I put them in containers that have plenty of drainage holes, one that doesn’t absorb too much sunlight/heat and is the proper size and depth of the type of “hybrid/resistant” variety I want to grow. Now, there are a lot of bugs and insects when you grow your garden using soil. Also, water/moisture that sits on your soil is a breeding ground for insects. I usually water very early or very late, never during the middle part of the day. I also, take a white plastic bag and cover the tops of my containers. It takes a bit of work, working around the stems, but I try to cover any openings/soil that bugs can land on. Not only will bugs/insects land on your plant & leaves, but they will land make a home in your soil. So, I avoid that part by covering the soil. #4. Insecticide: Where I am currently at in the states, I have very little to worry about in terms of bugs and insects. So, I can use the most basic method to get rid of bugs. I can begin by using the hose down method. I hose off my plants everyday with water. By hosing off everyday from the beginning, I don’t allow an infestation to even begin (another reason why containers work better than a live garden). I use to every night from my second floor balcony, lift up my container onto the railing and hose down my plant. Eventually, the condo manager came and said that the Russian family down below me weren’t too happy with water falling from up above lol. I would then let it dry off a bit and then spray it with insecticide. Every time I went back to the states, I would pre-order spray bottle of the best insecticides that were made for a vegetable garden. They would arrive in a cardboard box. I would wrap the box in wrapping paper to make it look like a present and then take the wrapped box and put it in a shopping bag. I never had a problem bringing in insecticide from the states to Thailand. You can buy insecticides on Lazada here in Thailand, but I liked the ones I could get from the states. (I did the same thing with fungicide spray). Homemade Bug Spray: In Thailand, during the late afternoon, I would see lot more bugs in the air. I know some people use dish soap & water mix/solution to spray on their plants. I used a better homemade formula for the afternoons. I used: ½ tsp dish soap ½ tsp canola oil 1 tsp baking soda And then fill the rest of my spray bottle with water. I would spray my plants in the late afternoon to keep the bugs of my plants. I would also even spray the air to get rid of the bugs flying around. Now, the homemade formula is a good accompaniment, but nothing works as good as insecticide. RECAP - on bug spray from most simple/less effect to full on infestation problems Water spraying method Homemade formula Organic spray like neem oil or any spray that says organic gardens Insecticide sprays and commercial grade insecticides #5. Powdery Mildew & Fungus: In Thailand, the high humidity level causes a lot of powdery mildew and fungus. I am currently growing squash/zucchini here in the states. And even here, my giant size zucchini leaves will eventually have powdery mildew on its leaves. So, I will begin, right away a homemade spray of milk + 8 parts water spray. I will spray my leaves so that I limit the formation of powdery mildew/fungus. In Thailand, I can take dry laundry soap + water and spray my leaves, even scrubbing the leaves. I tend to like the actual fungicide spray as it is stronger and really does the trick… and yes, I bring bottles of this stuff back from the states to Thailand too. #6. Companion Planting Herbs: I try to grow lots of Rosemary and Mint as these two herbs do a great job in repelling insects. They give off a smell a lot of insects don’t like. I would encircle my balcony with lots of rosemary and mint plants. I would also snip a tiny bit of the rosemary needles regularly and snip the tips of my mint to give off more of its odor. #7. Maintenance: A lot of issues can be limited from early maintenance. For example, my tomato plants. #1. I buy varieties of tomato seeds that can be successful in hot Thailand weather. Buy bug resistant hybrid seeds. #2. I scoop out 6” of soil every so often and replace the top soil with sterilized soil that I baked in the oven. #3. I cover the soil with a white plastic bag. #4. I hose down my plants every night. #5. I spray insecticide and fungicide on the plant and leaves and soil. I also do proper plant maintenance. Here in the part of the states I am in, if I chose not to do anything with the plant, I can still be successful. In Thailand, with the humidity, I have to do proper maintenance of my plant. #5. Pruning: On my tomato plant, I need to prune any weak, dead, yellowing leaves right away. I also need to prune to air-rate, allow air to flow easily through my tomato plant. The center of my tomato plants need to be pruned to allow proper air flow. #6. When my flowers have set and fruits are young and more susceptible to bugs, I cover my fruit with plastic bags and tie them shut. #7. I also sprayed my tomato plants with Epsom Salt water mix on the foliage. The chemical reaction mimics that bugs may be being attacking the plant and it naturally puts it defenses up. #8. Get ride of insect infested plants or move them away from healthy plants (again, easier to do when you grow in containers). Herbs: I grow a lot of herbs for eating/recipes. But whenever people use to come over to my place in Thailand, they saw that I had herbs encircling my tomato/vegetable plants. I grew a lot of Rosemary & Mint. Those two plants will repeal a lot of insects. So, I would alternate those herbs pots that encircled my potted container garden. I would regularly snip the leaves of my mint plant and needles of my rosemary to give off the odor that insects hate. That is why companion growing herbs are so important too. #8. Looking to buy house in Udon Thani So, the last time I was in Udon Thani, I began looking around/shopping for a house to buy. A big portion of what I was looking for involved buying a place so I could have a “container garden”. I saw a couple of houses I liked, but didn’t like the outside location for my garden. I need a place with good sunlight. A place that isn’t swarming with insects/bugs, a place that isn’t a breeding ground for bugs. I saw a place I liked, but the wall surrounding the house had a lot of standing water that attracted a lots of bugs. Also, there was a darker area with a banana tree and lots of dried leaves/compost which was a breeding ground for disease and insects. In ground gardening: The reason I don’t like in-ground gardening in Thailand is because it is much harder to minimize problems, fix issues and there are a number of difficulties to solve. In Thailand, the soil is usually poor and takes a lot more work to solve that problem. Also, bugs/insects in-ground is harder to control. Whenever a plant is sick or needs maintenance, it is easier in container gardening to move it somewhere else or just throw it away. Most of my gardening these days involves soil-less. It solves a lot of the bug/insect, watering issues, diseases etc… A lot of problems disappear with soil-less gardening and I tend to only have to worry about is the tops of my plant.

Snails & Slugs: So the very light lines you see are the slug tracks from the past night. The deeper lines you see below, on the porch deck, are older tracks that were left behind a few years ago. I use to grow a variety of lettuces in containers. There was a bit of a rabbit problem in the front yard, so I grew my lettuces in containers and kept them in the backyard on my deck porch. Every night the slugs would come out and encircle my containers. In the backyard, no rabbits, but a crap load of slugs hiding everywhere. I used containers to grow my lettuces and then would wrap my containers with 3 plastic bags. As the slugs try to climb up the bagged container bags, they would fall off. So, my 3rd and final succession growing crop are just sprouting or younglings. They are easy pray for slugs/snails. I usually just put down used/dried off coffee grounds as a barrier to halt the snails, but ran out. I ended up putting salt over the old coffee grounds as my protective barrier. I used up my old coffee grounds recently as “initial” fertilizer for my jalapenos, tomatoes, blueberry and basil. I try and only use grade fertilizer “after” the first harvest of a plant to give it the extra juice to continue to flower and produce more fruit and also to not shock/harm the plant with grade fertilizer until the plant is in the mature faze. I bought slug/snail killer, but haven’t had to open it as the used coffee grounds & salt combination are working just fine. If I were to have used the snail killer, I would have put it on the opposite side of the coffee grounds/plants, under the car on the left side. The slugs/snails would have been attracted to the slug bate under the car and went that direction. Whenever I was thirsty and went into a 7-11/Family Mart to buy a beverage, I wouldn’t necessary buy what I actually wanted to drink, but buy something to drink which would be a container I could use for both propagating or protecting my young plants. I would cover my young lettuce plants with old plastic beverage bottles. Leave the top cap off and cut the bottle offs and stick it over the plant.

...wish was there! They’re not letting us in the country lol. Our group from the states are/will be the last group allowed in, actually we’re having a huge second wave of infections atm. Cheers! and Hopefully see you end of the year! Todd

...Rosemary & Mint are two herbs that do a great job as companion plants to ward off insects. For bigger problems you can use insecticide. For preventative measures- start with herbs & hose down method & homemade bug spray. My lemon tree in Thailand was always full of bugs, so I switched my soil to sand & perlite mix, sprayed the top of my mix with insecticide, and had tiny pots full of rosemary plants & mint plants encircling my larger Lemon tree container pot. In the picture above, you’ll see some young pepper seedlings. There is a small rosemary plant in the center of the large black container. My dwarf apple tree in thailand always had apple mites...the only thing that fixed that was insecticide spray. Later on, I did preventative maintenance by using neem oil &/or horticultural oil I’ll post more when I get up from my nap.

...well, last of the blueberries for this season. At one time my plants had a bunch of baggies covering the berries. Where I am at, here in the states, the birds like to eat all the berries off. Down to just of few baggies/berries left. The first of the tomatoes came in. The first set I grew in containers. I usually do succession growing so I can have a harvest all season long, well into the late fall. I planted the 2nd set a month after and chose to keep them growing in jugs of water and avoid soil/bugs and snails. I usually grow rosemary & mint to accompany my tomatoes to help ward off bugs. The rosemary I use for cooking, but don’t really use my mint. I pruned the center area of the tomato plants to allow for airflow to minimize yellow leaves/fungus/bugs...not a huge problem where I am currently at, but had the time so did some basic maintenance. If I were still in Thailand, I would do it on all the tomato plants due to all the humidity there. I pruned off all the suckers and at least 1/3 of the secondary leaves. On the 2nd group of tomato plants in the jugs, to minimize on the weight, I’ll probably prune all the suckers and 80% of all the non flowering stems/leaves. mint The 3rd and final tomato succession growing, I’ll probably replant into styrofoam coolers/water to help keep the bottoms/roots warm as it will be cold at night as it gets late into the season/fall. I try and always avoid containers/soil in the final succession growing so that I can begin/end most of my garden/clean up without having to wait on my late fall crop

when I was living in Thailand, I didn’t have bug issues on my tomato plants, but did have issues with bugs on my dwarf meyer lemon tree and dwarf fuji apple tree. I used netting to protect my plant from bugs and got in the habit of wrapping a lot of my vegetables with sandwich bags to protect them when they were just developing. Is there a possibility of spraying your plants with actual insecticide? or are you trying to stick with the soapy water method? Also, is buying netting through Lazada for all your tomato plants an option for you? (btw, tell me about the washing liquid you were using)

In thailand - only garden on my deck. 2nd floor. I seem to have less bug issues. It was close to Cozy Beach, so had a nice breeze most days that kept bugs from landing and staying on the plants. Probably combinations of 2nd floor, breeze and on condo balcony made things a bit easier. Never had to deal with garden issues on ground level / in a garden. The biggest issue in my area was fungus on my leafy vegetables as the salt air and humidity caused powdery mildew on my plants at an alarming level.

1. consider buying hybrid tomato seeds that are bug & disease resistant. 2. Use the spray setting on your hose and wash down your plants everyday. I like pots for my tomatoes. I have them close to the pavement, I can drag the potted tomato plant to the road and hose down both the tops and bottoms of the plant and I inspect my success after spray down. 3. for smaller bug issues, I use a homemade and/or organic spray. 4. For major bug problems, I use actual bug spray...better to feed me than feed the bugs 😉 5. For both fungus & bug problems, I use the 3 in 1 sprays you can buy at any garden store.

1. Were your seeds fresh? From the latest season? 2. Did you start your seeds indoors, using peat pods/peat moss starter soil? 3. when planting outdoors, how good was your soil?

...looking great!