Aloe Vera Family

Look at aloe now. It's leaves are very green and succulent as when I saw it in its sorry state last May. This is the mother plant (the original one which was given to my mother a year ago).

After just about 2 months, 5 of the original plants almost doubled. The mother plant is the one from the right, 3rd pot. The smaller aloes are the newest ones.

Just beneath these two plants are 5 new additions to the family... and growing fast too. ^_^
Once these babies have produced a root of their own, I will transfer them in pots that they could call their own. =)

These are the newest addition (or should i say newly separated babies?). Once they have further develop a root system of their own, I will transfer them in one plot in the garden which receives full sun. I bet they will love that!

*****

I use aloe vera for my hair and face. At least, these plants help maintain my hairs' healthy shine., and leaving my face free of pimples! =)

Voila... It's a Viola!

How to Grow Violas

Violas are primarily cool season bloomers. They are perfect for starting and ending the season in colder climates and for bridging the seasons in warmer zones, where they can remain in bloom throughout the winter. So when to plant violas will depends on your climate.

Starting Violas from Seed Indoors - Violas are easy to start from seed. In fact they are quite happy to self-seed all over your garden. But if you would like to start your own indoors, the process is very straight forward.

Start seed about 4 - 6 weeks before transplanting. Violas can withstand some freezing temperatures, so cold climate gardeners can pick a transplant date that is about 4 weeks before your last expected frost date. Warm climate gardeners transplanting in the fall should start their seeds in mid-summer.

1. Use a sterile potting mix.

2. Moisten the mix and fill your flats or pots to about 1/4 inch below the top edge.

3. Sprinkle 2-3 seeds in each cell or pot and cover lightly with more moistened potting mix. Note: Violas need darkness to germinate, so cover the seeds completely.

4. Set in a warm (65 -70 degrees F. / 18 - 21 degrees C.) location and keep moist. On top of the refrigerator is a good spot. Seeds should begin to germinate in 10 - 14 days.

5. Once the seeds sprout, move them to a sunny window or place under plant lights.

6. When the first true leaves appear, thin the pot or cell to the strongest looking seeding by pinching or cutting the others at the soil line.

7. At this point, a temperature of 55 - 60 degrees F. / 13 - 15 degrees C. is fine. You can also begin feeding your seedlings with any good balanced, water soluble fertilizer.

Moving Your Viola Seedling Outdoors - When temperatures and weather permit transplanting outdoors, let the seedlings get adjusted to the change by hardening them off.

1. Move the seedling to a shaded or protected location outdoors.

2. Leave them outdoors for about 4 hours the first day and increase the time outside by 1-2 hours each day, slowly moving them into brighter light. The seedlings will tell you if they are unhappy by their appearance.

3. Make sure the soil stays moist. Outdoor winds can dry pots quickly.

4. Seedlings can be transplanted into the garden or containers after about 10 - 14 days of hardening. Just be sure the weather isn’t taking a down turn. Violas can withstand some frost, but not a late season snow storm.

Direct-seeding Violas into the Garden - Weather permitting, you can start viola seed directly in the garden.

1. Good well-draining soil with organic matter is recommended.

2. Loosen the soil in the planting area and moisten.

3. Sprinkle the viola seed.

4. Cover with about 1/4 soil and water well.

5. Keep the seed bed moist.

6. As seedlings develop, thin plants to about 6- 8 inches apart. Transplant excess seedlings.

Spacing: Mounding violas should be spaced about 6-8 inches apart. Trailing or spreading varieties can be planted 10-12 inches apart.

Days to Bloom: Violas begin blooming about 12-14 weeks after planting seeds. V. tricolor varieties bloom about two weeks earlier than V. cornuta. ‘Penny’ and ‘Sorbet’ will bloom 9-10 weeks from sowing.

I got this from another site. Basically, this will be my 2nd attempt at growing violas. ^_^

Wish me luck!

Marigolds

The marigold seeds are shaped like an arrow with a black or gray “tip” and white fussy “feathers” at the back.

The seed itself is the solid (black/gray) part. The white feather like fussy stuff is the “tail” which can be removed, if desired. (commercial growers will buy de-tailed seeds for their automatic sowing machines).

You can lay the seed flat and cover with mixture, or you can stick the seed vertically into the mixture with the solid part first so that the top of the tail is at the soil level. This is probably the easiest.

Start by moistening the growing media in a small bucket. It has to be damp, but not soaking wet. This is very important. Do not place the media into the trays dry. If you squeeze a handfull hard, no water should drip, maybe except for a drop or two.

Fill the trays with damp media without pressing it in. Just fill it and then tap the containers on the side of the potting bench to settle the mixture in the container. Then top off with more media if needed. This potting technique is very important. It insures maximum air in the growing media. Roots need air as well as water continously to grow.

A common beginners mistake is potting in a manner which excludes air which limits root growth and can lead to problems. Putting dry media into the pot will exclude air, as the media will expand when wetted and this drives air pores out of the growing media. Pressing the moist media down heavily into your container with your thumb/hand can also drive out air. Therefore, I recommend the filling and tapping procedure explained above.

Once the pots are full with potting mixture, stick the seeds into the mixture with the tail up, or lift out a 1/4″ of material, put the seed down and gently replace and pat the mixture back. Do not compress too heavily. you want to retain air in the mixture. Light firming of the mixture on top with your fingers is perfectly ok.

Next put the containers in a pan of water to wick up moisture from below. When the top surface of the growing media starts to turn black (from brown) and glistens, you can remove the containers and put them aside to drain. Then finally return to their place in a window or under fluorescent lights. Make sure the container has been given time to drain for a few minuttes.

It helps to cover the tray with plastic wrap or the plastic dome. This keeps humidity inside the container. most seeds germinate best - and the seedling is able to escape the seed coat - in high humidity. Check daily. When germination occurs (e.g. the seed sprouts) remove the plastic wrap promptly.

Warning: when covered with plastic, the temperatures inside the dome/wrap can sky rocket to unhealthy temperature levels if placed directly below fluorescent lights or in a sunny window. Keep at least 1 foot away from fluorescent light bulbs or in a northern facing window, or behind sher curtains during germination face. once germination (sprouting) is underway, remove the plastic and then put the seedlings in bright direct sunlight (or directly below fluorescent light bulbs).

Marigolds usually germinate fast at temperatures around 70-75 deg F. A warm place in the house gives best result.

Growing Lobelia Plants from seeds

Beginning with seeds

Starting lobelia from seed requires considerable patience, since seeds are slow to germinate (15 to 20 days), and you may not have seedlings large enough to plant outdoors until two months from sowing.

Plant lobelias in moist, rich soil. In hottest areas they need partial shade, but in mild coastal climates they’ll take full sun.

Germinate at 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees F). Do not cover seed. Usually germinates in 2 to 3 weeks. Professional growers should use a fungicide to control damp-off. Transplant in small clumps or use multi seed pellet.
In mild climates, you can continue planting lobelia through late spring and into summer. Where seasons are short, try to get them into the garden as early as possible, once danger of frost is past. Plants will self-sow if conditions suit them.

Going Green

There it was sitting in one corner of the garden, slowly wilting away its days, shrouded by plants taller than it. Its once-succulent green leaves going brown each passing day.

"I want to end this agony!" It seemed to scream in silence.

Maybe it was just pure luck or maybe its prayers were answered when one day I noticed a lot of weeds sticking out from under the plants surrounding it. As I was about to remove the weeds, there I saw these aloe vera plants wilting away. Just looking at its sorry state would make you want to give up.

I took these plants out into the open and took a good look at each one. There were 5 aloe vera plants all in all. 3 plants in a small pot and 2 plants in another pot of the same size. It was crowded for all of them.

Like any sane person, I separated each aloe into a pot for each plant, watered them once every 3 days and most importantly, placed them under the sun. I have noticed a change in them after 2 weeks. Their leaves are no longer brown and thin. They were turning greener & more succulent each day thereafter.

Now, these aloe vera plants are doing well in their sunshine spot. From saving these 5 aloes, I got 8 more plants growing from the original ones!

Heart of a Plant

What caught my eye of anthurium is that surrounding its flower is heart-shaped. When I was a kid, I mistook these plants as fake ones. LoL! Now... Not anymore! =)

MAKEOVER 911: A Bridesmaid's Beauty Regimen

By Kinny Salas
Inquirer
Last updated 11:49pm (Mla time) 04/19/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- There’s nothing like a special formal occasion with glamorous guests expected to attend to force a woman to scrutinize herself from head to toe and beef up on her beauty regimen.

My tall, model-slim childhood best friend is getting married next month, and she has appointed me bridesmaid. She is very pretty so outshining her is something I won’t even attempt, so I just aim not to suffer too much in comparison.

The other three bridesmaids are equally stunning just to add to the pressure bearing down on me. For those in the same boat, I have written down the regimen that has helped improve my appearance a lot.

Puffy eyes

The moment I hit my mid-30s, cucumbers stopped working for me, and I have since been more and more prone to swollen eyes that look horrid in photos.

Certain eye creams actually give eyelids a slight lift to offset slightly hooded upper lids due to age and shrink eye bags caused by fluid retention.

My tried-and-tested treatments since late last year for puffiness, slight dark circles and lids that are beginning to droop: Clarins Advanced Extra-Firming Eye Contour Cream; Guerlain Orchidee Imperiale Eye and Lip Cream; Origins Plantidote Mega-Mushroom Eye Serum; Clinique All About Eyes Rich; and The Face Shop The Skin Nutritious Effect Eye Cream.

These were my lifesavers during PMS pig-outs and allergy season. They also prevent and eliminate fine lines and crows feet.

Smooth, even-toned skin

Glutathione won’t actually make you that much whiter than your original baby skin, but its antioxidant properties will register first on your skin’s texture. So you will not look like Michael Jackson as everyone fears, even if you take it for 10 years straight.

You may not be that much whiter at first, but your skin will be even-toned and silky from head to toe.

Since the treatment repairs skin from the inside, you will recover faster from a tan. Those who go under the sun often without SPF protection will tan evenly and not in uneven patches. One will only get noticeably whiter when you overdose, but since the body needs glutathione in large doses, it will take some time because it takes effect.

Glutathione taken orally is difficult to absorb in the system as most of it dissolves in the intestinal tract so you absorb less than half.

For better absorption for speeding up whitening, the best solution is the IV GLG— it’s a needle and syringe with liquid glutathione that is slowly injected on your vein then flushed with distilled water to get every last drop. The going rate is P5,600, VAT-inclusive, at Belo, which uses vitamin C as a flush to boost the whitening power.

It stings even more, though, because vitamin C is thick, but three to five sessions will already make you a half to full shade lighter in foundation color. Those with lower sting tolerance may opt for distilled water flush like that of Godiva Skin Station and Blooming Center. Results will show after six to nine sessions, which become cheaper per session. A package includes 10-15 sessions, and one comes in twice or thrice weekly for the first three weeks.

Gluta Snow Liquid Glutathione (P60) at Watson’s and SM grocery is incorporated into isotonic water so it is absorbed into the body. It’s great for the liver and kidneys; it detoxes your intestines by flushing out backlog.

Even the most constipated of people will use the bathroom a minimum of six times a day for the first two weeks with one bottle a day.

Downside: I could not leave my house for a month as stomach would literally quiver and high sodium content left me bloated at times.

Research by Harvard Graduate Dr. Theodore Hersh shows that Glutathione is better absorbed through the gums so Natasha has brought in the chewable form (P1,995 for 30 pieces of Natasha Spa Thione Complex, 500 mg). Melt the grape-flavored lozenge between the inner cheeks and teeth so it will be absorbed through the gums so as to be distributed to the rest of the body and not break down in the intestinal tract.

Upsides: it tastes good and is painless.

Weight control

Having neither the time or funds to join a gym, I had to do something to shed the pounds I packed from being house-bound with gout.

I clipped a step counter/pedometer (P200) on my waist band and aimed for 12,500 steps daily for weight loss. I strap it on the moment I get off bed in the morning and check how many steps I have totaled before I sleep at night.

Walking in the rain on incline surfaces was tricky so I would recommend Crocs Mary Janes (P1,875) for traction, arch support and comfort. There will be no foot odor or sweating and you can even walk over mossy surfaces so 10,000 steps will be a breeze.

The downside: Not pretty.

E-mail the author at kinnysalas@yahoo.com

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I found this follow-up at Inquirer (July 6,2007), re: Glutathione

Improved formula

Remember Gluta Snow whitening water? It is Glutathione in liquid form incorporated into isotonic water, which is best absorbed by the body for the benefit of the kidneys, liver and immune system. The water contains antioxidant precursors that boosts glutathione levels in our body like alpha lipoic acid and vitamins C and E.

The first formula was great on my skin, making it instantly silkier in only a week’s time, and with visible lightening after a month. The only drawback was the strong laxative effect on the user.

Gluta Snow now has a new formula that has the same effect on skin but with a much gentler laxative effect, so you are, in fact, detoxed without the discomfort and can go on with your job and daily errands. Now you can take the maximum amount of two bottles a day to speed up the whitening results.

Available at all Watson’s and SM grocery stores at P62.50 per 500-ml bottle. Tip: Drink it during a workout or sports activity to keep you hydrated and to fight off free radicals released by exercise.

Call 0918-6768440.

E-mail the author at kinnysalas@yahoo.com