Articles · Learning path · Beginner

New findings every home grower should know

20 lessons: myths checked by research, unusual crops for Thailand, helpful microbes, natural fertilisers and food safety.

20 lessons · about 105 min in total

  1. 1 Electroculture copper rods: what a 2025 controlled trial actually foundCopper-wrapped sticks in the soil are said to pull energy from the air and boost vegetables. A 2025 trial on four crops found no consistent gain. Here is why. 5 min read
  2. 2 Coffee grounds and eggshells in the garden: what extension research saysEggshells take 1-5 years to break down and do not stop blossom-end rot. Fresh coffee grounds can hold back seedlings. How to use both the safe way: in compost. 5 min read
  3. 3 Lead in city garden soil: which vegetables take up most, and how to testRoot crops carry the most lead, fruiting crops the least, and soil dust on hands and leaves is the bigger risk. How to test, read the ppm, and garden safely. 5 min read
  4. 4 Microplastics in compost: what 2025 studies found and what to do at homeProcessed compost held 1,500-16,000 microplastic particles per kg, and a 2025 Thai study found particles in lettuce, radish and tomato. Calm, practical steps. 5 min read
  5. 5 LDD microbial starters (Por Dor): what each number does and how to use themThailand's Land Development Department makes numbered microbe sachets: PD.1 for compost, PD.2 for liquid ferment, PD.3 against root rot, PD.6, PD.7, PD.9 and more. 6 min read
  6. 6 Trichoderma at home: the good fungus against damping-off and root rotTrichoderma is a living fungus that keeps damping-off and root rot organisms in check. Sunlight and fungicides kill it. How to grow it, mix it into pots and store it. 6 min read
  7. 7 Sunn hemp green manure in a home bed: when to dig it in and how long to waitSunn hemp is a nitrogen-fixing legume. Grow it 45-60 days, chop it in at flowering, wait 10-15 days, then plant. Seed and nitrogen worked out for a small bed. 4 min read
  8. 8 Azolla, the nitrogen-fixing water fern: grow it in a tub, feed your vegetablesAzolla hosts a cyanobacterium that fixes nitrogen; dried, it is about 4.6% N. Grow it 5-10 cm deep, scoop out half when the tank is full, and mix it into potting soil. 5 min read
  9. 9 Rice husk biochar: big gains on poor acid soil, little on good soilA Timor-Leste trial more than tripled vegetable yields on acid, nutrient-poor soil; on good soil yields barely moved. How to charge, dose and make biochar safely. 6 min read
  10. 10 Wolffia (khai nam): the smallest flowering plant, grown in a tub as a vegetableKhai nam grains are under 1 mm, high in protein by dry weight, and one cultivated strain was tested for B12. How to grow it in a tub, and why the water matters most. 5 min read
  11. 11 Chaya (tree spinach): easy and heat-loving, never raw, boil 15-20 min uncoveredRaw chaya leaves release cyanide. A 15-minute boil cut it by 99.94% but took some vitamins too. How to grow chaya from cuttings, harvest it, and boil it safely. 5 min read
  12. 12 Sweet potato greens as a hot-season leaf crop: cuttings, first harvest, regrowthSweet potato handles heat and wet better than many greens. Plant vine cuttings, pick tips 45-90 days after planting, recut every 2 weeks; heavy picking shrinks roots. 4 min read
  13. 13 Nitrate in leafy greens: why hydroponics runs high, and the plain-water fixA Thai study swapped nutrient solution for tap water 48-72 hours before harvest and cut lettuce nitrate by 61-63%, at some cost in vitamin C. Plus light and timing. 6 min read
  14. 14 Hot nights drop more flowers than hot days: what research shows, what to doIn controlled-climate trials, tomatoes set far less fruit once nights reached about 26 °C, even when days were moderate, and Thai nights are warming faster than days. 5 min read
  15. 15 Roof rainwater for vegetables: first flush, which roofs work, and mosquitoesRoof rainwater suits a vegetable bed if you divert 0.4-0.8 litres per square metre of roof first, water the soil not the leaves, spare salad greens, and seal the tank. 6 min read
  16. 16 New holy basil varieties seek protection: what home growers may still doThailand's Plant Variety Protection Act B.E. 2542 covers only registered new varieties, not traditional kaprao. What home growers may grow, eat, save and sell. 6 min read
  17. 17 Does a potted citronella or mosquito plant keep mosquitoes away?An untouched plant releases little scent, the shop mosquito plant is usually a scented geranium, and what really cuts mosquitoes at home is emptying water every 7 days. 5 min read
  18. 18 Pandan and jasmine rice share one aroma, 2AP: how to grow and keep itResearch finds 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP) in pandan leaves and Khao Dawk Mali 105 rice. Your nose catches tiny amounts, but it fades. How to grow pandan and store rice. 5 min read
  19. 19 Tinned and bagged bamboo shoots and botulism: why boil 10 minutes, every timeBoiled bamboo shoots sealed in tins or bags are low-oxygen food where botulinum can make toxin. Boil at 100 °C for at least 10 minutes, discard bulging packs, call 1669. 6 min read
  20. 20 Why butterfly pea tea changes colour: anthocyanin, lime and baking sodaButterfly pea colour follows pH: pink-red in acid, blue near neutral, green in alkali. A kitchen test with lime and baking soda, and how to get the hard seeds to sprout. 5 min read