Vietnam

A Rising Star - Tanya Seifert

Tanya (my older niece) is currently studying literature and film studies at university. Despite her heavy workload she has managed to record a number of songs some written by her.
You can hear her sing on www.myspace.com/tanyaseifert Just click to hear her magnificent voice.
Look out for her new collection of songs including some ballads that she has composed. These are due out in December.

Some Scenes fom Kua lumpar

Some Scenes from Kua lumpar and Vietnam. Some of the landscapes I saw were an inspiration for my own mini landscapes.

These are scenes from everyday life in Vietnam in September 2009

They were an inspiration for my mini landscapes and instilled in me an even greater respect for the Vietnamese People.

Tanya Seifert

Tanya Seifert, my older niece has done a number of gigs to hear her wonderful voice go to:
www.myspace.com/tanyaseifert

Blog authors note: Jacobs Ladder was originally established on Kibbutz Machanayim in the upper Galilee

A Message from the founder Menachem Vinograd
Dear Folks
It would seem that our website has been hijacked. We hope this is a temporary
situation and we will soon get it under control.In the meantime anyone wishing to order tickets for the Winter Weekend can do so by phone, Sun -Thursday 10.00 am - 13.00 hrs.04-6850403.We have a fabulous program lined up, with Hans Theessink the Bluesmaster fromHolland, and Michael J and Band from the USA .
Michael is the USA's foremost Tribute to Johnny Cash artist.There are many more artists, workshops and sing-alongs lined up.There are a few hotel rooms left at Ginnosar, so book now - 04-6700320 Wishing you all a Peaceful, Healthy and Musical New YearMenachem & Yehudit Jacob's Ladder Winter Weekend Nof Ginnosar December 4th&5th 2009

Latest Work

My interest lies in creating landscapes rather than a single lone tree in a pot. Usually the trays will have a rock. There are some rocks in the first tray but they are not visable as they are supporting the beach which has a concrete base to contain the water. There are three chinese elm in the tray which will be left outside which means that the trees may well lose their leave unless we have a mild winter.

The next pot is serissa foetida (tree of a thousand stars) which will be kept inside. All being well the tree will keep it's leaves except for a slight yellowing. As you can see the tree is perched over a rock. I have experimented with this by slightly nicked the cambium to encourage root growth from the treunk into the rock known as airlayering. There is a 50/50 chance for this to work. The cut is covered by some moss and the area is secured to the rock.
The last trees is an older piece left outside which because of the changable weather it lost some leaves which are now returning. The Chinese Elm is planted in a rock and surrounded by water. You will see that a man is sitting astride the rock fishing.

A selection showing the garden and mini landscapes.

A number of the mini landscapes are for sale.

Later October views of the Plot and some of our garden.

The Vegetable plot is in a constant state change even at this time when there is less to do. Next year I plan for it to look very different and with a larger variety of vegetables. My strategy is that when one type of vegetable has been harvested to immendiately replace it with another. I haven't been able to apply it fully this year due to a late start.

The Autumnal look

Photos of the garden taken on the 10th October 2009. The bananas have been wrapped with a straw and fleece coating to protect against the winter freezes. I started early this year as I used a more elaborate process. I started by creating a tepee of canes around the trunk. I pushed straw beteen the canes and the trunk. Finally wrapping with fleece which was secured with wire. I decided to do this earlier than necessary due to the process being more involved.

Horticultural suggestions for the week

25th December 2009
I have just sowed red florence onion seeds in two trays which have been placed in an electric propagator. Once they reach a reasonable size (almost pass the curled stage) I will turn the propagator off as onion seed are quite hardy. In January I will consider sowing lettuce seed for growing inside.

Traditional Chinese Internal Martial Arts

Traditional Internal Chinese Martial Arts with Paul Brecher.

I would say from personal experience that Paul is an outstanding teacher.

Please see below;

The College of Chinese Martial Arts Paul Brecher is the Founder and Chief Instructor of The College of Chinese Martial Arts. All his martial arts experience (he has been training since 1977) is contained in the Training Manual of The College of Chinese Martial Arts.This 400 page book contains detailed information about the three Chinese Martial Arts Systems of:Wu Tang Shan Nei Jia Chuan ( Wudang Shan Nejia Quan )Tai Chi Chuan ( Taiji Quan )Pa Kua Chang ( Bagua Zhang ) The College of Chinese Martial ArtsPaul Brecher is the Founder and Chief Instructor of The College of Chinese Martial Arts. All his martial arts experience (he has been training since 1977) is contained in the Training Manual of The College of Chinese Martial Arts.This 400 page book contains detailed information about the three Chinese Martial Arts Systems of:Wu Tang Shan Nei Jia Chuan ( Wudang Shan Nejia Quan )Tai Chi Chuan ( Taiji Quan )Pa Kua Chang ( Bagua Zhang ) .

To see more about the new manual and more information about classes please go to: http://www.taiji.net/

Tour of Eastern Holland, The Netherland

These are a few photos from our trip to The Netherlands. The focus of the trip was on arts and gardens.

Bonsai information

I have noted that there seem to be some problems with chinese elms this year. In one particular case the tree had lost all it's leaves and some of the smaller branches were brittle but the tree was alive. I checked this by gently scraping the cambium (outer skin) on the trunk. I recommend planting the tree outside. i have used this technique myself and found it very beneficial.

Dracunculus vulgaris

Further down on this site is a photo of an usual plant which I labelled Konjac lilly. I have now been informed that it's correct name is: Dracunculus Vulgaris. The flower only lasts for 3 or 4 days.

images of Vietnam

Photos taken in September 2009 The Landscape was the inspiration for my landscapes and has instilled a deep respect for the Vienamese people.

Our trip to Vietnam left me with a deep respect for the people

Views of The Garden

New projects in the garden

I am planning to add to the banana jungle and have just cut out an overgrown clematis from the left border. I also heavily pruned three Camelias which had not produced many flowers.
I have also sowed some followon crops in our small veg patch.
The lower pond on the rockery is full of tadpoles
so I am leaving the duckweed for now

News from Jacobs Ladder Folk Festival Israel

Jacobs Ladder Folk Festivals are held in Israel. Jacobs Ladder Folk Festival was first established on Kibbutz Machanayim. It has since grown to become a major national and international event.

Spring Festival Thurs-Sat 7/8/9 May 2009
Winter Weekend Fri-Sat 4/5/ December 2009 Please join website mailing list for updates.www.jlfestival.com

The New Vegetable plot.

Photo 1. Carrot, Onion and Potatoe area.
Photo 2. Onions and Potatoes
Photo 3. Brassicae area
Photo 4. Mixed Vegetable area. Beans, Spinach,
Late Potatoes


My intention is to run this project on a limited budget and grow as manay crops as possible in a small area.

Scenes from Vietnam

This movie shows scnes from our visit to Vietnam

This slide show shows pictures of;

Ho Chi Minh's house which was rather simple . The larger bulding was used for receiving foriegn dignitaries.

There are also pictures from The War Remnants Museum. The museum contains many exhibits of 'The Americam War' (term used by the Vietnamese).

Jacobs Ladder Folk Festival

Jacobs Ladder Folk Festival was first established on Kibbutz Machanayim in the Upper Galilee, Israel, by Menachem Vinograd. Many famous folk artists have performed at the festival.- . For details go to the link.

A question of Water

It's nice to have visitors view my landscapes. You can see some examples here and on the rest of the site.
These have been done by a process of trial and sometimes with error. Nothing is mechanical in nature.
For me it's about observing and learning.
I have been asked a number of times about watering. People have often asked me for a define answer of once a week or twice a week. I tell people about the finger test. A simple process of feeling the soil. If it is hard and the finger can't penetrate you definitely need to water. Never let the tree dry out!. If you go away you need to make provision for the tree just as you would with a pet.
A few other garden scenes have been added because nature has been mentioned
It's nice to have visitors view my landscapes. You can see some examples here and on the rest of the site.
These have been done by a process of trial and sometimes with error. Nothing is mechanical in nature.
For me it's about observing and learning.
I have been asked a number of times about watering. People have often asked me for a define answer of once a week or twice a week. I tell people about the finger test. A simple process of feeling the soil. If it is hard and the finger can't penetrate you definitely need to water. Never let the tree dry out!. If you go away you need to make provision for the tree just as you would with a pet.

Most of our banana Jungle is made up of Musa Basjoo though there are also some Musa Sikkimensis and others which I am testing for hardiness. I wrap the bananas in fleece but they do become hardier as they get older. The plants gradually lose all their leaves and only the stump remains. The first signs of rejuvenation can be seen around March. We have yet to see how they survive this winter which has been one of the worst in years!

Many of the plants have been propogated by me by chopping side shoots. This isn't easy as it is essential to cut the side shoot with some root.

The year before last and in previous years one of the older plants would produce a flower but there were none last summer. I put this down to low light levels. We had rather a dismal summer.

Two trays of a more common design

Both the tray of elms and the lone serissa (tree of a thousand stars -serissa foetida) have been with me a long time. The elm forest is a bit short on leaves because of being outside for part of the winter. Elms are deciduous.

I did mention that I sell some of my trays or design new ones according to request this enables me to continue this hobby. My main interest these days is in rock plantings surrounded by water. i hope someday to do one on a much larger scale in the garden. I saw many while in Vietnam. Unfortunately whereas in vietnam resources are easy to find here they are quite expensive and not locally available

Snowed in and other scenes

Panorama of the garden and bonsai landscapes.

The rock plantings are based on the Vietnamese style of minature landscapes style 'hon non bo'.