TD, with the room you have you can as you mention install a few different spaces. Is PJ keen? I suppose your biggest decision is firstly formal or informal; the formal route obviously lends itself to defined spaces such as a separate orchard area, veg garden, Brit space (lawn, roses & beds), jungle area but you could blend them. I would however caution against too much lush greenery up against / close to the house as you'll just give the mozzies a place to lurk.
For me the garden is the best part, the house once done remains relatively samey, the garden and its constant change is what i find attractive. Of course dependent upon size and complexity it can become a burden so consider the upkeep and how much involvement you want. Its also important when planting to try to imagine the planting in 10 years to avoid having to get the chainsaw out and with trees to shape and prune them when they are young. I've planted all my trees from saplings as i have time and i like to remember them that way when they are big, so you may want to stomp up and get in mature statement trees to get immediate impact but remember to plant some littluns as you'll appreciate them more as they grow.
The thing is though a garden will always give you an excuse to get out and walk around every day, on those days when things don't look so bright, just seeing a new flower or fruit emerge lifts your mood.
Yeah, Dills very happy in the sports room at the mo. Good grief, are you another?
Ha ha, she is Thai and its all about food. #
Mine was the same and its taken 5 years to get her remotely interested in anything you can't eat but she quite likes her flowers now. Its funny when i ask her what the latest newly dug patch is and she gets all coy because its not veg and she knows i'll take the piss, nicely tho. Gotta say one of my favourites is Som O, or Pommelo, i like to eat them they're not just sweet like much of the fruit and the bonus is their flowers which come out nighttime smell really lovely. You have to get a couple and they're not large. Get a small citrus grove with lime, lemons, pommelo and maybe oranges.
That sounds great and will be happening!
We (she n I ) need to start really thinking about what to put where now... December is approaching and I will be back in ChonBuri.
By that time K.Pot will be all but finished, though the plot clear-up (remember to put that in the contract!) will not happen until the very end i'm sure
What did you plant to fight the fight with mozzies?
I mean.. what works here?
Nothing for the mozzies, not much you can do but in the same way you try for white in your outside areas because they like to hide and avoid white background and light areas, then don't give them any hiding places too near the house in load of foliage.
If you start planting i am in favour of waiting until near the wet season which means the new plants are watered, you don't have to spend too much time doing it yourself (or paying someone) and it gives them c 6+ months to establish in damp ground so their roots can start to anchor. So you can do stuff in Dec but you'll need someone to look after it if your not there, its a bit depressing coming back to dead plants you've invested time and money in.
Also not everything will grow where you are, we found mangosteen just won't take for us which is a shame as the Mrs loves it. Durrian which the family grow for fun in Chant and which look great as Fruit on trees are not easy for us as well but i'm planting three more but this time on a raised little hill as they don't like their feet wet. Soooooo ask around and also check around at to what others grow and it'll give you a good indication - doesn't mean you can't grow stuff just may take perseverance. But most of all its about the future and the pleaurse it brings for relatively little expense.
Nothing works 100% against the mozzies, but there are 3 plants that not only help but also grow well here, AND 2 of them are edible ....Lemongrass, Basil, and Marigolds.
They don't work, you know that.
Thanks TD, not an expert just trial and error really but trees are the ones you have to get right but you know this, you can't move them so siting is crucial they'll probably outlive you.
I really think you've got the fun bit ahead and think of it this way. You and PJ largely devolved from the build due to geography but the garden is definitely something you can plan and actively work on together so you'll really get a sense of joint achievement and with fruit and veg guaranteed of NO pesticides, coz for all the fresh stuff in thailand i worry about this a lot . Finally, PJ is bound to like NamPik, my Mrs does and it makes me smile when she just walks out pick chilis, limes and garlic and hey presto fresh as you like - i of course stick to me pie and chips , bloody foreign muck.
I'm on a run. With trees, don't underestimate the amount of leaves they'll shed. or trimmings. With a large garden, see Ootais thread in Farming & Gardening where JPPR even with a modest garden has heaps to clear up.
Now burning is the way unfortunately and the why is snakes. They'll be a fact of life anyway (hopefully infrequently) but i try view them as visitors with just as much right to the land as me. If you compost you will really have to watch because the heap is the ideal medium for them to lay and incubate their eggs - apologies if this is old news. Sometime you have to put behind you some of the green ideas you harbour for practicality.
We get the odd one but the dogs and cats either warn us or sort them but remember they're more afraid of you so just make noise when you walk around dense foliated areas and they generally do their best to slink off and avoid you. Cats though are crucial, Snakes only live where there is a food source and if you remove the rats and mice they'll move on so like them or not cats are a must. Right this really needs to get back building.
i'm coming at this from a different angle. kids are 10 n 14 and generally follow mum, albeit reluctantly sometimes.
Enter me, complete with a load of recipes from round the World (Feijoada, anyone!?)
but the recipes not for PJ who is stuck in the chilli with everything thai food is amazing farang food is crap... no im teaching the older one to cook. carbonara (she loved it and took some to school, chill con carne but with pork, again good, fish n chips (not stupid french fries!) was an instant hit. her friend ate 4 pieces of fish, and Indian curry... a bit suspicious of it but again her friend ate it 2 days running. now I am asking her what she would like to learn to cook.... undermine the defense and win the war, eventually i hope
lol PJ's cooking is all 'alloy' of course, including English breakfast which she also eats. oh... and we discovered she loves Ardennes pate on toast with thin sliced baby tomatoes and a drizzle of redcurrant jelly.
i'm getting there, slowly, by going in a generation down!
by far my biggest victory was getting PJ to eat lamb which she discovered was delicious after telling me for 2 years she hated it.
Last edited by Thai Dhupp; 21-10-2018 at 03:40 AM.
TD, you are not alone, i suspect most here will have had similar culinary challenges with their wives, kids or both. I have and the lamb thing made me laugh because it was the same for me. Indian food the same and she's still suspicious but cleans a plate when i get her one. Still you cannot go wrong with a pizza oven and Rhubarb did a great thread on his which he also included a seating area and you cound use it to keep warm laer in the evening A La UK. check out the BBQ idea from JPPR with a small Ong (large pot) which you can set a BBQ in the bottom and a lid on top and it works a bit like a tandoor but great for BBQ chicken 1/4 s etc.
Forget any idea of growing root veg, i.e Potatoes or Carrots they just wont be worth the arse ache unfortunately. Greens though will be great but as with anything here they'll be fair game for insects - butterflys/caterpillars - my solution was raised veg beds with concrete posts which you curtain off with thick nylon netting which defeats the butters - so pak choi, bok choi, kales and other leafy veg all of which is great and no spraying.
Last edited by NamPikToot; 21-10-2018 at 04:05 AM.
Be sure to start off with some decent top soil after clearing the lot, very hard to find though, most of the soil in Thailand is off very poor quality, goes like cement in the dry season and quicksand in the wet season, after bringing in topsoil best to put grass down just to hold everything together, then take it from there. If you are going to have a large garden plan on having lots of water available, in the dry season we use ~ 5,000 litres a day, maybe more.
Mossies, tried everything, lavender, lemon grass etc - works great in the direct vicinity when there is no wind! there still around at sunset, even after months of no rain
We get one good crop of potatoes here in the Isaan winter, planted now and they will grow while it is cool, took a couple of years to get the soil in good enough condition, soon as it gets hot they die off quickly.
TD, think you need to start up a separate TD & PJ garden thread.
Another word salad (as Bsnub says) from me, check out your prevailing wind direction. For us it comes one direction most of the day and reverses in the evening, the so what is that if you intend to plant fragrant flowers, and here specifically Frangipani ( which are very easy to grow and propagate) then try to position them so that the breeze if you have one carries the scent to the house or your outside area when they flower. They are quite nice structurally so have interest when not flowering and can be planted close to the house as they are not a dense plant so will likely not harbour mozzies.
Ooops and the lack of density allows ground level planting around their bases to provide more interest. Ever practical and doffing a cap to utility my Mrs grows Chili around some of ours, clearly chilis are not permanent but can last 2-3 years
Last edited by NamPikToot; 21-10-2018 at 01:57 PM.
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