The thing was, while there was a whole section on gardening and whatnot, I couldn't really find much on microwaves. I was quite certain there should be several books scattered about, but whether it was my luck (which similarly affected my search for Chinese books for my Chinese homework, but that's another story), or whether the library was simply lacking, I didn't know.
In any case, I wanted to do research on the multimedia station. Then I realised I didn't know my username and password to log into the multimedia station. And I didn't feel like going up to the librarians to ask them about such a small matter, so I just borrowed two vegetable books and one Chinese novel (for my Chinese homework, remember?) and left for the Bukit Panjang Plaza (BPP) Library.
Why I headed to the BPP Library next was simple. It's the library I visit the most, and from BPP it only takes around 20 minutes back to my house. So even though the library was quite small, I spent some time there searching for Chinese novels, microwave books, and Chinese cabbage books.
Just like that, one hour went by. And I went home with the two vegetable books and the one Chinese novel I borrowed in the Lot 1 Library.
Afterwards I didn't crack open my vegetable books, only rushing to complete the Chinese novel so I can plunge into the world of gardening which I'm not really good at (I'm sure my cactus can tell you that). And I managed to finish the Chinese novel. It was a miracle.
The me, who never read a Chinese novel in years, managed to complete a 215-page Chinese novel in two days. Or, more specifically, around 10 hours, if there aren't any breaks. It was quite a torturous experience since, between the 10 hours, was Chinese tuition.
In any case, just a few minutes ago I finished my reading up on Chinese cabbage. I don't think it's anywhere near enough for a literature review, but at least it provided me with some background knowledge. And I wasn't quite happy with what I read.
I'm having doubts that Miss Tan told me to plant caixin, which I learnt was Chinese cabbage, so I'm going to use that instead. According to what I read (which may or may not be accurate), you're supposed to grow Chinese cabbage in cool temperatures of under 23 degrees Celsius. Or, if it's in warm temperature, grow them in partial shade - and never let them in direct sun for more than 8 hours a day.
Granted, I'm sure I can keep the Chinese cabbage in the confines of my home, so it won't be in direct sun, but I'm more concerned about the temperature bit. To have temperatures under 23 degrees, I will have to put the Chinese cabbage in an air-conditioned room. However, thinking about the ridiculously high electricity bills that will follow after the experiment, I'm having doubts about putting them in an air-conditioned room. For the whole of June, until satisfactory results are gained. Maybe it will even extend all the way to the deadline, 27 July. Who knows?
In any case, I know my parents are not going to let me put the Chinese cabbage in an air-conditioned room. They're already looking at me weirdly after I told them I wanted to plant Chinese cabbage in sponge.
Then there's the matter about the spacing between seeds. The smallest distance I've seen is 7.62cm between seeds, and I'm sure that'll be the entire sponge. Since there would be 10 plants in each batch, that will mean 20 plants in total for the experiment, and no, I am not going to buy 20 sponges just to put one tiny Chinese cabbage seed in the middle of the sponge like a pampered princess on a holey cushion. It's simply not economical. I would rather dump the whole packet on a single sponge and have the plants killing each other to survive rather than have that pampered-princess-on-holey-cushion scenario.
Seeing that these measurements are probably for those looking to grow the Chinese cabbage so that it will one day end up in their stomach, I'm hoping I can find a website that says, "This is what to do when growing Chinese cabbage for experiments/fun" or something similar. I don't think I can find the website, though.
For now, I'm looking towards trying to find a way around that barrier, but so far, nothing has come to mind yet. Miss Tan seems to imply that for every decision we make, there must be sound reasoning behind it. I will just have to work harder in this aspect.
One of the things that bother me the most is the fragility of the Chinese cabbage. It is particularly susceptible to pests and diseases, and I don't think my parents will approve of a rotting cabbage plant on a sponge. Furthermore, I don't deal well with pests. I'm not afraid of insects but relatively wary of them. I don't really like to kill them either because I keep imagining the way their exoskeletons will crack beneath my fingers. It just gives me shuddering disgust, so I am really, really hoping no pest nor disease will plague my Chinese cabbages.
In summary, my problems with the Chinese cabbage are:
- Chinese cabbages may not grow well in warm temperature (they experience bolting in warm and dry temperatures, which is sort of a premature production of flowers etc.)
- More research has to be done on the spacing between Chinese cabbages
- Chinese cabbages are very, very weak and they attract pests.
Next post will probably be tomorrow or so, when I'll be searching up on Microwaving vs. Boiling. Perhaps I may drop by the library tomorrow, if everything goes well, and find out more on Chinese cabbages.
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