Wipe Out

As of right now, 25th of March 2015, all my plants are DEAD.
Well not all. My Persimmon is still holding up. But it is showing signs of readiness to leave this earthly plane.

My feelings about it? I am nauseated looking at all my hard work wither up like that. I feel like I lost a kin (I may just be too dramatic about it) to a deadly plague. What plague you may ask? Little stubby bugs called the Mylea bugs. A simple garlic-soap mixture might had done the trick but there are other factors involved. It did not help that I forgot to water them at times. You get too busy at work and forget your kids, they tend to deteriorate especially if they can't get themselves their own water. So for urban terrace gardeners out there here are some things you might want to put into consideration:

1. Water needs of your plant
  If it is high, then maybe you should not put it in a sunny area if you cannot tend to them that much. If you have time to spare them, then by all means put them under the sun! IF they need and want a LOT of sun.

2. Sun needs of your plant
 I charge this to experience. My research was inconclusive with the sun requirements of some of my plants. I think some of them were over exposed, or some of them had less than what they needed. UNIFORMITY is the key. I should have picked plants with the same needs since I do not have a lot of time. Treating plants with different needs the same way is a DEADLY mistake.

3. Mylea mylea
 These are nasty bugs. I notices my watermelons withering. I thought it was because I was not watering them enough. But lo and behold as I took a peek right under their leaves (No I am not a peeping Tom) I saw these tiny incarnations of evil all too eager to suck out the life of my plants. FIRST, I tried to squish them with my hands. It would had worked had I had the squishing speed the same as the reproduction speed (I read they reproduce faster than Rabbits! Eep!). Then, through the squishing days I noticed my plants deteriorating in health. The weren't as vibrantly green as they were. Then a few more days passed and they turned brown, and that's when I knew I had to throw in the towel with the only consolation that those bugs are going to die of starvation if my plants died.

4. Time, Effort, Energy
 This was another issue I had a wrestle with. When I began this voyage, I woke up early for my plants so I can water them and take them up. They responded to me by growing stems and popping out leaves. I had to transplant some of them since they were crowding the nursery. Then the months passed and I had more and more to deal with work. I couldn't get up early because I was up late catching up with my shows, or when I could, I'd rather stay in bed. We tend to forget the things that we set out to do in the beginning and end up losing what we worked for. I had to learn that the hard way, watching my plants die slowly, one by one until none were left, but empty pots that once was home to such promising dreams.

DISCIPLINE is key to combat weariness I learned. TIME MANAGEMENT has to be improved so I can take care of my plants and still do things I want too do (albeit, ride my bike, do my carpentry projects, watch my shows, etc.). EATING PROPERLY may seem trivial but it is necessary for us to have energy to do everything we want to.

5. Experience
 This is one thing that I am equipped with even if it's just a little. I am going to start my garden again with everything that I've learned in my heart then maybe I can have a better urban garden (or a actual one for that matter) and an urban life.

Sling shot

You hold and grip
you load and pull
you pull and pull
closer and closer
slowly but surely
closer and closer
When the right time comes
you let go and launch
the rock flies
momentum builds
it hurts a passerby

but you grin and you smile
not knowing what you've done
you've pulled so hard so closely
only to let go