Hobbies﹕Gardening
【明報專訊】Nowadays food safety is a public concern, so the Smarties are picking up gardening to grow their healthy, organic food.
◆Tools
．watering can (澆罐)
．trowel (小鏟子)
．pruner (修花剪)
．rake (耙子)
◆The trend
Hydroponics (水耕種植) at home has become popular as it allows crops to grow with just a little amount of soil, keeping the gardening environment clean and tidy. It can also be done in small-scale production. (photo.2)
◆Mysterious numbers
Fertiliser is where the plants get the nutrients from. However, what do the three numbers (24, 0, 11) on the package mean? The numbers represent the amount of nitrogen (氮), phosphorus (磷) and potassium (鉀) as a percentage of the fertiliser's total weight. For example, 5-10-10 means that 5% of the total weight of the fertiliser is nitrogen, and 10% each for phosphorous and potassium.(photo.3)
◆Check-in
To encourage the public to participate in environmentally-friendly activities, the government has set up many community gardens in different locations, such as Lai Chi Kok Park, Jordan Valley Park (above photo) and Wan Chai Park. Those who want to pick up gardening can join the introductory course where you can learn basic gardening skills from experts. (photo.4)
■Glossary
gardening (n) 園藝
organic (adj) 有機的
small-scale (adj) 小規模的
basic (adj) 基礎的
[Smarties' Power English 第207期]
