Taking care of baby curry plants

Well i did distribute almost all of my plants and other than a few for myself i am not left with any more.

The reason for this post is that no matter who i gave the plants too they all asked, "how do i take care of it". It was as if it was a precious gift and no one wanted to make a mistake. I felt the same when i had got mine so i totally identify with the feeling. Most people that get these tend to lose them when they are little so the post to share my experience.

There are my 3 golden rules with respect to Karepak plants.


1. Don't over water. This plant will be OK even if the soil gets to be dry on the surface. The plant should be watered only after the top soil feels dry. Which to me means that it is no longer moist to touch on top and feels lighter. The cup should feel significantly lighter before watering and after watering should feel heavier. In a pot, the plant can hold water longer so when in doubt hold off.

2. Don't Panic if you think your plant is drooping. If you look at the plant in the afternoon sun it will appear to be droopy, you might think there is less water and rush to water it. Don't do that. Wait till the sun sets and after an hour or so check the leaves they would perk up. If the leaves don't perk up by around dusk then there is a problem, otherwise the plant is OK.

3. Watch the Weather. Anything below 55 degrees Fahrenheit at night, bring the plant indoors. Unless you want to take care of a leafless stick for the winter and hope that it springs for the summer. Here in Arizona, though we have mild winters a cold spell can do significant damage to this plant.

If in California, this can be considered a full sun plant, however in Arizona, this plant does well with a few hours of sunlight in a patio or under light shade like that of a mesquite. This has a tendency to put out shoots and is considered invasive,but in the last 3 years i have not seen shoots. So for those that have HOA regulations, please grow these in containers only and use good quality potting soil.

Currently the baby plants that i have need not be transplanted till roots appear at the bottom. Now you know why i bought transparent cups. So, while they are still growing happily in little soil, i am planning which pots i will plant the ones i am left with.


This plant is a happy camper, will do good. It at least needs 2 winters or be about one and a half feet tall before planted in the ground. I do not have experience with it in the ground and care of it in the ground in winter however will blog about that when i can based on what information i have gathered from friends that do.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all of you and your family.



The above plack i had created a few months ago, took just a few hours to get done but served the purpose of having something simple to hang on the top of my door. Cost me about 2 dollars in materials, the rest was available at home to make and turned out pretty good as you can see. On the occasion of ganesh chaturthi i wanted to share creating this with you.


This is how i made it.


Materials

1 orange sculpey clay- can get in Michales for about a dollar

1 plack ( i liked the circle) this too from Michaels for a dollar

Some toothpicks

acrylic colors - green red and yellow - from another project that i will blog about later.

wax paper/plastic paper( reuse from a Ziploc or any other0 should be a bit thick)

a pencil

school glue

nail

hammer

thread/ribbon


How to make it.

First i took the clay and conditioned it. That is spent a good 15 minutes mixing it up like aata or dough. Once well conditioned it felt softer to the touch like from a dough for a puri to that of that to make chapati. Then i took about a third of the dough. The rest is put in a zip lock for use for some other project.

I put it between two sheets of wax paper cut to the size of the plack and rolled it out to about 1/8" thickness. I then took a tracing of Lord Ganesh and drew it on top of the the paper. This led to a slight impression on the dough. I now removed the paper and deepened the lines by tooth pick and pulled out the sections. Since the dough is pliable they will not come out in the same shape but what it will provide is the right proportion of clay to get things looking right. I now put it on the design and sort of pushed it into shape within the lines. With the toothpick i also made the impressions i need to make on the dough, like eyes, line on the nose, the hand the fingers in the leg, the ears etc.

Once the pieces were on the picture completely i put it in the oven and baked it as per the instructions for about 20 minutes, then removed and cooled it. This need not be painted as it is already in the final color needed.

While this was getting done in the oven i tool the plack and colored the top and the sides green. I also mixed a yellow and red to get a shade close to that of the clay. I painted the outline on the plack and lines on the sides to make it look good. Once dry i hammered a nail on the top and attached a green thread to hang it by.

I then removed the pieces of clay that is cooled from the wax paper and stuck them on the plack. making sure my picture was aligned and let the glue set. Once this was done i hung it on the wall.

It was simple and very satisfying to make. The picture i selected seemed a bit complicated but i wanted to incorporate all the parts that need to be in there. One can select an easier picture that you can handle one and choose colors of their own choice. Since orange is auspicious i selected that color.

Again, have a happy Ganesh Chaturthi