Composting - No Frills

Composting - No frills.

Ever considered purchasing one of those gadgets for making compost? These are usually drum shaped, with a handle to mix the contents and with which you have to sprinkle with water regularly. While these are nice to have, especially if you have space in the garden to place one in, I don't have the luxury of garden space nor do I want to invest in one since the amount of composting that I do is rather modest.  Having a small garden and with pots of plants all over the place, I thought it would be easier (and inexpensive) to do composting as follows:

1. Get an empty pot - this one is about 11 inches (about 28 cm) high. 

A smaller shorter pot should be just fine.

2. Fill it with a little earth - about 2 cm.

3. Put in about the same amount of kitchen waste 

(fruit peels, vegetable peelings, tea leaves, egg shells, etc. but no meat) 

as the next layer.

4. Cut up the kitchen waste into smaller bits if you like 

(this helps to increase the surface area of the kitchen waste 

and therefore helps it to be converted into compost quicker).

5. Fill it with another layer of soil.

6. Cutting up the kitchen waste into smaller pieces using a pair of garden scissors.

7. Adding more kitchen waste.

8. Adding another layer of soil.

9. Yet another layer of kitchen waste

(vegetable cuttings, onion skins, broken egg shells, potato peelings, payaya seeds

- whatever is biodegradable).

10. Yet another layer of soil.

11. Topping up the pot with the rest of the kitchen waste 

(this is about 3 days kitchen waste).

12. The final layer of kitchen waste.

13. Cutting up the kitchen waste into finer bits.

14. The final layer of soil added up to the brim of the pot.

15. With a little bit of acrobatics, turn the pot upside down, without spilling the contents.

16. I place one of my bonsai trees in a pot over the pot 

filled with kitchen waste for composting.

17. When I water the bonsai tree, the water from the pot of the bonsai tree should seep down through the holes underneath the pot with the kitchen waste and so the mixture gets watered regularly.

Mindmapping

Mindmapping* 

(*Mindmapping is a term coined by Tony Buzan)

I have been using mindmapping for various things that 

I thought it is time I shared some thoughts and mindmaps here.  

Introduction

Mindmapping is a way for you to put on paper, the words, symbols, images and codes that are related to your thoughts, ideas, concepts, expressions and even emotions that are unique to you.  

You draw, write or express your thoughts and ideas in a global, free-flowing, free-associating and visual manner, rather than in an analytical, linear manner. 

It encourages the use of both the right and the left brain since it combines the analytical, logical and linguistic part of your brain with the images, feelings and musical part of your brain.

 General Uses

Mindmapping can be used in many aspects of work and play.  It is particularly useful for

• making notes
• preparing assignments
• preparing papers
• planning presentations
• planning and thinking out projects
• preparing speeches
• brainstorming
• exploring ideas in a free-associating manner
• doodling
• taking down minutes of meetings
• thinking
• exploring ideas
• making decisions

Advantages over traditional methods

Mind-mapping is superior as a note-taking and memory-recall device, compared to the traditional full-sentence technique for some of the following reasons:

• Saving time in recording and later re-reading words (eliminating about 65% of the words)

• Key words are used and the association and connections are precise as well as can be in image form.  This translates to more effective and quicker recall.  It is possible to mind-map key concepts and terms on 1 to 2 pages for a chapter consisting of between 10 to 20 pages.

• Your creativity and personality is highly involved.  This makes your notes very much more personal and valuable than using those made by other people.  

• Mind-maps are free-flowing, spontaneous and free-associating.  This means that there is less rigidity and “confining” of thoughts compared to the traditional style of taking down notes

• On the whole, the use of mind-maps allows the learning process to be somewhat accelerated.  Once the mind-maps are drawn up, the material can be mastered from 2 to 5 times faster, compared to the traditional way of learning from written notes.

How do you mind-map?

• Begin at the centre of the page with the main topic or idea.  Placing the paper in landscape format is recommended.

• Work outwards from the main idea in all directions to produce an image of ideas and sub-topics; that reflects the way you see things in your mind.

• Use key words and images to reinforce concepts and ideas.

• Use 3-dimensional perspective and colour to create more interest and “drama” in your mind maps.

• Printed, rather than cursive, words should be used to make the words more distinct and memorable as images.

• Words are written on the lines and not at the end of the lines (I break this rule all the time and put my words in bubbles).

• Normally one word is used per line to make it more concise (I break this rule often as I need to put phrases and sometimes whole sentences for better recall).

• Arrows, colours and designs can be added to show connections and associations.

• Make use of personal short-forms, codes and symbols for fun and effectiveness.

• Be creative, original and have fun.

Examples of Mindmaps

 (My apologies for the maps placed on the side but this is partly so that the maps can be bigger than if they were to be placed right side up.)

1. This is a mindmap of mindmapping.

 2. This is a mindmap of the Dr. Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences 

(now 9 have been identified)

3. This is a mindmap of the SQ3R method of studying

(Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review technique)

4. This is a mindmap of a chapter from a Strategic Management book. 

The chapter consists of 20 pages. 

his mindmap was done just for fun on an A3 size sheet of paper.

 It has too many words and would be more useful 

if broken down into many more mindmaps. 

5. This is a mindmap about the different ways in which a person learns. 

 It is based on the book "Power Learning" by Gwen Gawith (1995)

6 This is a mindmap on the benefits of having a personal time table 

as well as what should be considered in doing one.

Photos of deleafed bonsai from my garden

Photos of deleafed bonsai from my garden

The following are photos of bonsai that I recently deleafed and what they look like a few days later.

On average new leaves starting sprouting around 3-4 days after the deleafing treatment.

 This ficus tree took me some 3 hours to totally deleaf it.

One advantage of deleafing is that it allows me 

to get a better view of the structure of the tree 

and to facilitate trimming of the branches.  

This ficus tree was shaped more or less into an umbrella shape.

It is more than 4 feet in diameter.

The ficus tree 10 days after deleafing.

These are smaller trees (up to about a foot in height) 

which generally took about an hour to deleaf one tree.

A closer view of one of the bonsai that was deleafed 

(from the previous photo)

A closer view of one of the other bonsai 

(from the photo previous to the above)

A bonsai that originally was damaged 

and now a nice specimen after 20 years.

Another well-balanced specimen.

A deleafed bonsai with part of the roots exposed.

A smaller bonsai with exposed roots.

A bonsai with more spreadout branches.

A bonsai with many nice branches overall.

The top view of the bonsai from the previous photo.

A bonsai with exposed roots 

and a nice crown of branches on the top.

A taller bonsai with exposed roots.

A bonsai with one of the branches made to swoop downwards.

Another view of the above bonsai.

A larger bonsai (about 2 feet across) seen from the top.

Another bonsai with beautiful branches.

A deleafed bonsai starting to sprout new leaves.

A bonsai with its branches giving it a rich crown.

Another view of the above bonsai.

Another view of the above bonsai.

Top view of a deleafed bonsai with outspread branches.

A deleafed bonsai starting to sprout new leaves.

Bonsai with new fresh leaves after being deleafed.

Closer view of the above bonsai.

Bonsai with new fresh leaves 

sprouting out from the branches.