Pruning my fourth avocado plant

The last time I pruned my 4th avocado plant is 14 March 2015. It has a new branch growing from the cut area. It is not branching out horizontally but instead it grows upwards. It has grown 6 leaves already and I think it is time for its 2nd pruning.

4th Avocado Plant

I'm not sure what will happen after I nip off the top two leaves and leave the remaining 4 leaves on the branch. I hope there will be new buds growing out from the other areas. I'm thinking of achieving a bonsai effect with regular pruning. I'm not sure how this will affect its growth and maybe its ability to bear fruits after 7 years. I have the patience to wait that long just to prove whether my avocado plants will bear fruits.

Thick branch from cut area

A thick branch growing from the cut area. It is thicker than the main stem. I hope the main stem can support the new branches' weights.

Pruned on 7 Apr 2015 - 2nd pruning

Pruned the top leaves, leaving 4 leaves on the branch. This is the second pruning for this 4th avocado plant. This plant does not have any browning of leaves and I think the browning of leaves is caused by either lack of water or accumulation of salts. Draining of the soil will be done once a month to remove excessive salts and watering is done every two to three days.

My Sixth Avocado

I was at the Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre for my brunch on 28 Mar 2015. I passed by a stall selling fruit juice and I noticed that it had avocado juice. I ordered one cup and asked the stallholder to give me the avocado seed. He told me that it is impossible to grow avocado in Singapore but I told him that it is possible as I have done it already. He reluctantly gave me the seed in a plastic bag. The avocado is from Sunfresh Australia. The colour of the skin is lighter and brighter green as compared to Avenza New Zealand. The seed was quite big and I removed the outer skin of the avocado and put 3 toothpicks into the pit. The seed was a bit old but I think it should be ok.

Sixth Avocado Seed

The base of the seed that is in the water started to crack open and I noticed that the root is going to break through the crack. It is now one week already and I think in another week, new shoot will appear.

Sixth Avocado seed

You can see that the pit is splitting in the above and below photos. At this stage you have to be careful not to drop it because the pit will split open. In the below photo, you can see a new root emerging.

Pit split open

Root growing out of the pit on 8 Apr

New root appears today. I change the water. In the next few days, the root will grow longer and new shoot will appear on top of the pit.

The pit split open and a new shoot appeared. It is almost 3 weeks since it was in the water. The root has grown longer. At this stage, you have to be very careful not to drop the pit or damage it. The pit is very fragile and you don't want to cause the pit to separate into two. The pit will die if it breaks into two halves.

New buds appeared on third avocado plant after second pruning

Two weeks after I pruned my third avocado plant, new buds appeared on the branches. This was the second time that I had pruned this plant.

New buds appearing

I have placed this near my window where it catches the late afternoon sun indirectly. I noticed some leaves have bent inwards. The browning of the leaf tip has stopped. It didn't become worsed because I had performed water draining every month. This helps to remove the salt accumulation.

The plant on the third week of pruning.

Growing bigger each day

New growths have emerged. Hopefully these can develop into new branches and make the plant short and bushy.

Tribute to Mr Lee Kuan Yew, 1923 - 2015

Our nation is mourning the lost of our first prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. He passed away on 23 March 2015 at SGH @ 3.18am.

I have gone to the HomeTeamNS @ Bukit Batok to pin my tribute on the board.

My life in SG will not be good without the hard works done by Mr Lee. I'm proud to be a Singaporean and he is an inspiration to all and will be remembered forever. Rest in peace.

Bangkok 4D3N free & easy Day 2

The breakfast at Glow Hotel is ok level. There is quite a good spread of choices. The chicken porridge is quite nice. The breakfast area is kind of small so you may need to wait for a couple of minutes to get a table. I looked around and guessed that at least 60% of the guests here were from Singapore or maybe Malaysia. I saw only one couple of European tourists.

We set off early on Sunday because we are going to chatuchak market. It can be very hot and humid at noon onwards. We took a taxi there and the taxi dropped us on the opposite side of a main road. I took the overhead bridge to get to the market. You can feel the heat even when it is 10.30am.

There are many stalls there selling clothes, tidbits, plants, furnitures, fashion accessories, local food, etc.

I found this yellow portulaca grandiflora at a stall. I was thinking whether I can bring them to Singapore. In the end, I didn't buy them. The yellow species will definite add colour to my collection. Well, a it pity that I didn't get it.

Tillandsia, air plant at a stall. I was tempted to buy one too.

This coconut dessert is nice. 

This chatuchak market is big and maybe you want to meet someone here, you can use the clock tower as a landmark.

It was time for lunch, well a late lunch. We went to Nara at Central World for lunch. At least it is air-conditioned.

After a satisfying lunch, we went shopping at NaRaYa.

There was a cosplay show outside Central World.

Bangkok 4D3N free & easy Day 1

During this March holidays, we are going to Bangkok for a short getaway. We left Singapore on a 9.35am flight via Tiger Airways on a Saturday. We arrived at Suvanabhumi international airport at around 11am local time. It was a good day. You can get a 7-day unlimited data SIM card at the airport for 299 baht.

Just a note that you need to queue up to get a ticket to board a taxi. There will be someone to give you a queue ticket. You go to the lane number that is indicated on the ticket. You can save some bahts if you negotiate with the driver that the fare is 500 baht or less. If you ask the driver to run the meter, the fare will probably be higher than 500 baht. The driver may also ask you to pay the toll charge and highway charge. You may tell the driver that the 500 baht include the toll and highway charges (Note that the taxi fare from Glow hotel to Airport is 350 baht includes highway toll charge).

We arrived at the Glow Pratunam Hotel about 30mins later. The room is spacious and clean. The king-size bed is comfortable and air-conditioning is good. Nothing much to complain about the room. We got a room with the bathtub.

Glow Hotel room

Glow Hotel room

Glow Hotel room

Glow Hotel room bathroom

View from Hotel room

The view is good if the room is facing the Grand Diamond Plaza.

There is a one hour time difference with Singapore. It is one hour behind. We were hungry by then and went to the Platinum mall foodcourt to eat local delights. You need to buy a food coupon (card) and use it to buy your food. A bit crowded and there is no distinct queue. You need to tell the stall holder what you need.

You can shop around in mall after lunch. It is quite big and generally selling the same things. Remember to bargain for your clothes.

After shopping around the mall, we headed back to our hotel and booked the massage appointment at 10pm. It was very crowded for massage at night and you need to make the bookings early at the hotel. It is 350bahts for foot or body massage. The one hour massage is good to remove the fatigue after the afternoon shopping. After the massage, you can head straight to bed.

We went to T & K Seafood at Chinatown in Bangkok. It was very crowded at this eating place. I wouldn't call it as a restaurant as the food was prepared in the open space. You can choose to sit outside near the 'kitchen' or inside the building. I think there is a second storey and it is air-conditioned. If you see the long queue, it is for people who want to sit outside. You can walk further into the alley and ask for the lady to give u a queue number for seats inside the building.

Queue ticket

We ordered quite a few dishes and the bill is 2600 baht for 7 people. I wouldn't say the food is fantastic but it is rather cheap and fast. If you mind cleanliness in the area, then you can forget this place.

T & K Seafood kitchen

T & K Seafood kitchen

Menu

Soup

Prawn

Soup

Vegetable

We also ordered a steamed fish, squids, clams and soup.

After the dinner, you can cross the road and go to this shop to buy some goodies back.

Popular store to buy tidbits

The journey back in a taxi will cost about 100 baht. After washing up, we went straight for our massage. During the last quarter of the hour, I thought I had fallen asleep. It was quite refreshing. The cost for foot and body massages are 350 baht each for an hour.

Read my blog for Day 2.

Time to prune my third avocado plant

I had pruned the 3rd avocado plant two months ago. The pruned area has grown 5 leaves and now new leaves are emerging. I think I will prune away the top leaves and monitor its progress.

New leaves appearing - time for pruning

Prune it today, 13 Mar 2015

I had also pruned my fourth avocado plant on 14 Mar. I had also done draining to the plants. I kept a bottle of overnight tap water to remove the chlorine and watered the plants until water drained out from the bottom. This will help to dissolve the salts in the soil.