I started this site in April 2025 to document and share my learnings with other people. I enjoy trying and learning new things across different topics. Growing plants, cooking, and writing code are the three main things I do on a daily basis. Thus, I named this site "Grow. Cook. Code."
Grow
In the past, I've attempted to grow different kinds of plants from flowers to herbs. A few were successful but most of them died. Over the years, I've learned from my mistakes and also realised that while growing certain plants can be simple, it's not exactly as simple as "put any seed in any kind of soil and water them everyday".
I learned about:
- Techniques like hydroponics and its various systems - DWC, Kratky, etc.
- Grow mediums that aren't just soil - coco coir, clay pebbles, sponges.
- Soil mixes that are meant to help with drainage and pests. For example, adding perlite and rice hulls into the mix.
- Watering techniques - bottom watering, using terracotta pots, using cloths.
- Propagation, trenching, hilling, and many more.
I am not writing as an expert in this regard. If I use any information from any specific resource - books, Youtube videos, subreddits, I will mention them.
Cook
I love cooking. My parents used to sell home-cooked meals and I spent a lot of time in the kitchen as a kid. Growing up in the Philippines and then moving to Austria in 2022, I had a hard time finding ingredients for my favourite dishes. When I do, they are often expensive and not so fresh anymore. I have decided to combine my hobby of growing plants with my love for cooking. At the moment, I am trying to grow crops in my apartment that I couldn't find in Austria. I've also learned to modify some authentic Filipino dishes and use ingredients I could find locally.
Code
I'm a software engineer. Designing systems and writing code is what I do for a living but outside of work, it is also a hobby. My goal is to use my technical skills to monitor and automate certain aspects of growing food while minimising waste.