PinoyEcoFarmer

The three-day 3rd Pinoy Organic Festival will open on May 28, 2010 (Friday) at the AANI Herbal Garden and Livelihood Center at the Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City. The event will end on Sunday, May 30, 2010.

The organic fest will be participated in by organic farming practitioners, advocates from the government, academe and the private sector. Various organic products will be exhibited for sale by growers and processors of various commodities.

Expected to grace the 3-day festival are:

1. Pablito Villegas (trustee of the Organic Produce Trade Association, owner of Villegas Organic Farm, and convenor for Asia of the Intercontinental Network of Organic Farmers Organization)
2. Sen. Miguel Zubiri (one of the principal authors of the Philippine Organic Agriculture Law)
3. Rep. Proceso J. Alcala (Congressman of Quezon Province and a staunch advocate of natural farming)
4. Armand and Teresa Saniano of the Earthkeepers (Teresa Saniano write a book on natural farming)

The Quizon Farm in Antipolo City will also display live turkeys as well as processed turkey meat products.

The exhibits, the forums and seminars are open free to the public. The event organizer, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, is the Agri-Aqua Network International (AANI). Pol Rubia is AANI’s vice president and operations manager.

See you there.

Note: Article is a repost.

This is a list of botanical plants, methods of preparation and insect pests controlled and or prevented.  No formal scientific study was undertaken on the effects of these botanical plants in the control of pests. However, with the integration of other (cultural, biological and mechanical) measures, an experiment at the garden at the Bureau of Plant Industry – Los Banos National Crop Research and Development Center (BPI-LBNCRDC) produced substantial amount of healthy vegetables.

This is worth a try. Afterall, all of them are easy to obtain.

I found these documents from the Natural Farming Philippines e-group and I think these will all be valuable references for the garden/farm. The guides were done and compiled by Josephine Gamboa who is a natural farming expert practitioner.

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Our weekend visit to the University of the Philippines Los Banos to attend an activity at the Boy Scouts Campsite gave us a reason to finally drop-by the Herb Republic Restaurant for lunch. The heavy traffic (it took us 3 hours to get to Los Banos from Cavite) did not dampen our moods. It was already past 12 when we got there. The place was a oasis considering the searing heat of the midday sun.

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I was quite surprised to see a hydroponics set-up opposite the marker of the the Bulusan Volcano Natural Park. The two-table set-up is in a sleepy and laid-back barangay of San Roque, Bulusan, Sorsogon. They grow lettuce and harvest them after 30 days.

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“Worm composting is a process for recycling food waste into a rich, dark, earth-smelling soil conditioner. One of its advantages is that it can be done indoors and outdoors, allowing year-round composting. Worm composts can be made in containers filled with moistened bedding.”

Vermicomposting is indeed a nice way to manage our biodegradable scraps/wastes and turn them into something useful for our garden. I found this Guide to Vermiculture and Vermicomposting from the Bureau Plant Industry website which is a useful reference to get us started. The document focuses on the production of organic fertilizer through the action of earthworms. There are many other resources on vermiculture and vermicomposting including a series of brief articles posted on EntrePinoys which will further enhance our understanding. A more comprehensive reference is the Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture By Glenn Munroe. The document can also be viewed from the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada.

Other Resources You May Like:

• Start Your Own Worm Farm

The Sorsogon City Plant Nursery is just a walking distance away from our home in Sorsogon but I have yet to visit it until my recent trip home. The city nursery sits on a vacant lot at the Sts. Peter and Paul Subdivision near Gate 3.  I went there a day before going home back to Cavite.

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Balai Buhay is nestled on the slopes of Mt. Bulusan in the province of Sorsogon. The farm is in Baranggay San Roque just a few meters away from the chapel. There is a sloping access road from the main highway leading to the parking area. My brother told me about this place two years ago but I have not had a chance to visit it. Finally, we decided to drop by on our way back from a kayaking trip at the Bulusan Lake.

The farm doubles as a resort complete with a function hall and accommodation that can house about 40 guests. A room costs P1,000 for an overnight stay. A day tour will cost P80 per person with a complimentary drink of cold calamansi juice.

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One of the most abundant by-products of coconut is the husk. However, most of it just end up as waste.  One cooperative is turning this abundant by-product into something of economic value.

I saw this small coconut husk processing plant in our subdivision in Sorsogon. The Coconut Husk Processing and Marketing Plant is operated by the Maharlika Development Cooperative (MADECO) in partnership with the City Government of Sorsogon. The equipment is a grant from Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional – Oficina de Tecnica Cooperacion (Spain).

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I spotted these bananas during a trip to Bulusan, Sorsogon. It was my first time to see bananas these big so I asked the name of variety from the lady selling it. She told me that it is the “Tindok” variety. A piece sells for P10 pesos.

I doubt it if anyone can even eat a single banana by himself/herself.  My mother later told me that they slice the banana into pieces and fry them just like those done in the “Saba” variety.

Above: The Tindok bananas (I put my camera cap on top as reference) I am sure Kingkong will be happy to have some of these.