Mga dahong hugis-puso

Amoy-halaman pa rin ang kamay ko. Kakabunot ito ng mga mamula-mulang homalomena. Nakikiagaw kasi sa hydrangea sa gulong. Nasa labas ng gulong ang homalomena pero nakuhang isuksok yung mga ugat niya sa loob. Si Dad ang nagdala rito ng halaman, at maganda rin talagang may pula, pero madali naman iyang mabuhay, magtira ka lang ng kaunting ugat, maya-maya may lilim na naman ang mga hydrangea.

Grabe pala ang pinagdaanan ng hydrangea. Matagal ko na rin itong hindi natutukan kahit laging napapansin tuwing nagtatapon ng pinaglagaan ng kape at pinagbalatan ng itlog. Alam kong nakikiagaw ang homalomena at yung mga anak-anak ng palmera—at na sila sa huli ang mananalo—pero antindi pala ng laban! At may namamahay pang hantik sa isang kumpol ng mga dahon. Buti buhay pa ang hydrangea, sa totoo lang. At nakuha pang mamulaklak.

Hindi kaya tumulong din ang homalomena kaya hindi masyado nabilad ang hydrangea? At nabawasan ang nasalong buto ng gulong nito mula sa mayabong na palmera?

Katakataka

Kailangan pang magparami ng katakataka lalo’t kapakipakinabang. Marami-rami na namang ashitaba kaya itong katakataka muna. Ngayon magandang ikalat dahil bagong gamas. Puwedeng doon maglapat ng dahon kung saan nadisgrasya ng mga manggagamas ang mga sibol ng sampalok. Sa ibang puwesto na lang kaya yung bromeliad, pero maganda nga sana roon kasi malago ang tanglad. Pamigil sana, sakali mang manganak ng lamok mula sa pusod ng bromeliad. Tabihan na lang siguro ng isang latang tanglad (at/o oregano) kung saan man mag-iiwan ng bromeliad. At ugaliing palitan ang tubig sa bromeliad tuwing nagdidilig.

O doon na nga lang mag-bromeliad kung saan may pirmi nang tanglad. At ilapat na lang ang katakataka sa paanan ng lalaking papaya.

Full afternoon sun

A rose bush has withdrawn itself. The leaves of the baby kamuning crisp despite the shade. I doubt the San Francisco cuttings will make it. All this should be good news for the aloe. 

Elisha asked me if I wanted merienda. I asked her if she wanted to plant some oregano. Showed her where to cut (right above the leaf base) and how (diagonal). Poked holes in the ground with the long bar. Noam planted two while Elisha did around twenty—eight of these at the drip line of the kaimito, easily viewed from the back door.

Joy of the mountain

Spread out three buckets of oregano cuttings. Cut two from the San Francisco then planted these where I used to burn leaves under the guise of boiling water. Two ashitaba sprouts placed where the blue flowers had withered. One papaya’s nearing knee-height as its eldee approaches the hip. The atis stands. The black pepper and the parent ashitaba continue to climb, about a yard and a half from each other.

A good time to weed. The mulch spots could be improved, packed, covered with peelings, manila paper, grass cuttings, then fronds (the new one in front would benefit from more raking). Calamansi and kamuning seedlings might then be placed over one of the mulches, freeing up the first plot for loosening and fertilization.

Should put the girls’ stones and shells back where they belong.

Papaya

Auntie uprooted a papaya seedling for transfer to Los Baños. It came with alugbati, aloe vera, some braided dracaena. Feared for the dracaena because it’s been going on water. Aside from some thyme and mint propped on dad’s old green bottle, I’m not willing to care for more water roots. Algae, mosquitoes. The plant would have to learn soil.

It’s been up for a week, fed mostly by the rain. But it’s been windy too and this seems to have taken its toll on the papaya, its larger leaves shed, the smaller ones intact but downcast. It’s bowed but still up on a patch cleared of mulch, four strides from the young atis.

Enough wire and palm stalk to secure the atis with a tomato cage. With enough left for one more cage, should the papaya survive.

Silver Queen

Pulled out four roots from a clump of evergreens to make two pots. It’s Ma’s plot, planted before Noam was born. Though the leaves bear traces of bugs, you may still consider them whole rather than truly chewed out.

Made the mistake of leaving the pots out in full sun. Amended this after learning both name and care: Aglaonema, low light. You’ll find the pots cooling under a shade near the door, beside some thyme and chocolate mint.

Cordyline

Heard my mother refer to these as Dugo ni Kristo. Dracaena might do as model for propagation, as you could note some easy  similarities in terms of leaf and stem. Soil’s wet enough for putting in cuts without pre-soaking for roots, but you’d have to put up with initial wilting.

The plant might serve for marking a plot of ginger, turmeric, or more garlic. Maybe a row of eggplant, come summer.

Cordyline could fence the yard itself. Malunggay presents another fence option, along with other contenders: Auntie’s flowers (cans are overflowing), Mother-in-law’s tongue, or Song of India.

Garlic

Have been converting the baby’s emptied milk cans into pots, each seeded with two cloves. Twice now, Elisha and Noam have been asked to lend a hand. The cans have also been acting as a sort of fence, marking off a small rectangular plot from the girls’ play area. Worked some humus and sawdust into this bed, then seeded nine additional cloves. Sixteen sprouts so far, expecting three more, by weekend maybe.

The cans are re-purposed as they come, so it’s staggered planting, which means harvest can’t be a one-off. This set-up might encourage some useful exercise reading the leaves, that day-to-day tug between brown and green. Shuffle the cans perhaps, for a bit more challenge. Accordingly, curing will require sequence markers. Could be as simple as colored yarn: red, orange, yellow, so forth.

Damian emptied another can over the weekend. It now has soil, some organic matter, drainage holes, ants. After classes, whether or not it rains, the girls will have to put in a clove each. 

Sheet mulching with a banana leaf base

Laid the fresh leaves around the kalamansi. Not exactly along the tree's drip line, as you should have somewhere to plant a ladder for harvesting.

Braced the sheet base with wood. Layered with carbon from dry leaves of kaimito, coconut, and the kalamansi itself. Then, nitrogen from grass clippings.

Made a smaller version around the turmeric plot. At some point, all this must benefit the lemon grass and that younger avocado.

Should sprinkle in soil to mask possible smell of rotting from the greens. Or rake in more browns. Fresh leaves from birds of paradise laid over the mulch might help, as all you need is a few sunny days and you get that burnt smell from back when they ironed clothes, resting the iron on banana leaf shreds.

Mostly rain though. Should give up the big, ruined tire from my brother (brought in by my sister) as it could brace a smaller but thicker mulch, a weed layer over which will sit fourteen inches and eleven months.