PinoyEcoFarmer

“The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another’s, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises”. Leo.F. Buscaglia

I was very excited and honored by the opportunity to share my knowledge on vermiculture and vermicomposting to students, teachers, parents and staff at the Bayanan Elementary School Main (BESM) in Muntinlupa City this past Saturday (January 28, 2012). The basic training was a compressed 3-hour event meant to introduce vermicomposting and set up an actual vermiculture and vermicomposting bed.

What I taught and showed them were the actual lessons that I learned in my own vermicomposting experience. The concepts were lectured in Filipino  and supplemented with research from other publications for better understanding. Among the topics covered in my presentation were definition of vermicomposting terms, considerations for the vermibed, and the advantages of vermicomposting.

Flory Tabio, the Executive Director of the Philippine Transmarine Carriers -Carlos Salinas Jr. (PTC-CSJ) Foundation – engaged in programs related to education and people empowerment; marine environmental awareness and protection; livelihood promotion; and literacy, art, music and sports development – facilitated the realization of the training as a great complement to the Foundation’s “Growing Good to Great Kids” or 3G Program that is being implemented in BESM.  The 3G Program aims to improve basic education primarily by feeding nutritious meals to severely malnourished pupils. Organic wastes from the feeding program (such as vegetable peelings and desiccated coconut) which were previously just thrown away, can now be processed by the worms as organic fertilizer (vermicast) and used in the school garden. The worms and vermicast can be eventually shared with the wider community.

It was good to know from the participants themselves that it did conform to what they expected at the onset of the training. The brief lectures and actual hands-on exercise was very helpful in making them understand what vermicomposting is all about. For some who are already into vermicomposting, it was a revalidation and improvement of their own practices. A concrete output of the training was the setup of a vermicompost bed in the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) or waste segregation area of the school.

As an eco-farming advocate, I will always gladly help spread these environmentally sound practices and make people better understand the advantages of farming the sustainable way.

Basic Vermicomposting Training. (click on title or image to download presentation)

Other Useful References:

Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture

Guide to Vermiculture and Vermicomposting

One of the natural blessings in our farm is the abundance of these flowering begonias. These plants cling to the rocks beside the walkway to the river. Their pink flowers provide a magnificent contrast to the greenery.

Begonia is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae and is a perennial. The only other members of the family Begoniaceae are Hillebrandia, a genus with a single species in the Hawaiian Islands, and the genus Symbegonia which more recently was included in Begonia. "Begonia" is the common name as well as the generic name for all members of the genus. The genus name, coined by Charles Plumier, a French patron of botany, honors Michel Bégon, a former governor of the French colony of Haiti. It was adopted by Linnaeus. As a member of the order Curcurbitales, begonias are relatively closely related to such food crops as pumpkins / squash, gourds, cucumbers, and melons.

The pili seednuts given by Dr. Roberto Coronel have finally sprouted in our seedbed beside the river. It almost took two months before breaking free from the seemingly uncrackable hard shell.

Jasmine is one of my favorite plants at home. The scent of their white flowers are very soothing and relaxing to the senses.

I have difficulty propagating them though. I have tried several cuttings before but was only disappointed when almost all just withered away after some time.

Persistence may pay off this time so I got several cuttings again from our creeping vine at home for another attempt. I chose the semi-matured branches and cut them leaving three about nodes each cutting. I soaked them overnight in a mixture of vermicast and Mykovam before transferring them in pots the next day. I covered the cuttings with ice candy wrappers for moisture retention.  I hope that I did it right this time.

JASMINUM GRANDIFLORUM Linn. Local names: Jasmin (Tag., Sp.); jasmine (Engl.).

Jasmin is cultivated in Manila and in other large towns of the Philippines for its very fragrant flowers. It is nowhere spontaneous. It is a native of India and is widely cultivated.

This ornamental plant is smooth, woody vine, reaching a length of 8 meters, often with pendulous branches. The leaves are odd-pinnate, and 6 to 9 centimeters long, with 7 to 9 leaflets. The lower leaflets are shortly stalked, while the upper one stalkless and often somewhat fused; both are ovate, 1 to 2 centimeters long, and pointed at the tip. The flowers are white with faint, pinkish streaks or purplish tinge outside, delightfully fragrant, and borne in lax, terminal inflorescences. The calyx-teeth, which are very slender, tube nearly 2 centimeters long; the spreading lobes are 1.5 centimeters long.

Wehmer records that the flowers contain a volatile oil, jasminol, and indol. Dymock, Warden, and Hooper state for which they propose the name jasminine. Nadkarni mentions in addition the presence of salycylic acid and an astringent principle in the leaves. Sanyal and Ghose maintain that the leaves contain a resinous substance. Burkill records that the essence contains among other substances, benzyl-acetate, linalol, indol, a ketone called jasmone.

The Filipinos use the water in which the flowers were macerated the night before as an eyewash, and a cataplasm of the flowers as a poultice to prevent a flow of milk.

Dymock, Warden, and Hooper state that the Hindu physicians prescribe the leaves as a remedy for skin diseases, ulcers of the mouth, otorrhea, etc. they quote Chakradatta, who mentions the use of fresh juice of the leaves as an application to soften corns, and the use of an oil prepared with it to be chewed by those who suffer from ulceration of the mucous membrane of the mouth. Mahomeran writers consider the plant to have deobstruent, anthelmintic, diuretic, and emmenagogue properties. Mir Muhammad Husain mentions the use of the flowers applied in the form of the plaster to the lions and pubes as an aphrodisiac.

According to Burkill, the oil is regarded as a tonic in China; he quotes Gerini, who says that in Siam an infusion of the flowers is used as a cosmetic after bathing.(http://bpi.da.gov.ph/medicinalplant_j.php)

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.” – Eleonora Duse

Nothing beats the delight of watching the children play and relish the simple joys that go with our stay in the farm. The farm has become a big playground for them. I remember a friend telling me that what we are really giving our children by letting them enjoy these experiences are priceless gifts that will last a lifetime. As for the adults, staying in the farm is bliss and exercise.

December at PinoyEcoFarm was yet another merry mix of more work and more fun. The petsay sprouts were planted on plots along with the other sprouts of vegetables. The unknown vegetables were from the seeds shared by Derry Exconde (a fellow part-time farmer). These were brought home from his workplace in China. The description were in Chinese so we had no way of exactly  knowing them. We also had a few harvest of corn and radishes. More fruit trees (seedlings) were planted. Among them are the Thai sampalok, lansones, rambutan and atis.

A month passing by without visitors will be an aberration from what we have been used to. Henry and Kite’s church group together with their pastors (a priest and a deacon) visited the farm for their end year party. My sister (Nene) who is based in Sorsogon also came to visit bringing along with her the entire family members (Roel, Kim, Dingo, Jorel, Juliana and Denjo). Den, Dorie and their two kids (Gabe and Mai) together with Mama completed the mini family reunion. It was a day of stories, swimming, playing and bonding. We feasted on food prepared in the farm’s makeshift dirty kitchen. A potful of beef kare-kare and buko juice were likewise perfect for a hearty lunch.

It was indeed a month of breakthroughs for us. The groundbreaking for the Arceo farm home commenced which will be hopefully done by February. We finally had a more decent dirty kitchen that will fit our cooking needs. Counting among the other significant beginnings were the first drops of reliable supply of water that we tapped from the barangay water system. We likewise had the electric power system and the wiring connection inside the farm to provide us with the magical light that we longed for during the dark nights spent camping in the farm. It is somewhat surreal to feel like this because as urban dwellers we just take these comforts for granted. Now we have come to appreciate them.

As we ended our first year in the farm, we excitedly look forward to a more productive year ahead in 2012. As for the usual fun, it will still be ours for the taking.

We did not expect to see any macapuno in one of our coconut harvests but were pleasantly surprised when we found two nuts among the heap of coconuts that we gathered. Pinpointing the tree though would be a really big challenge as we have no idea where those specifically came from and there is a great chance that not all the nuts coming from that specific tree would be macapuno.

I guess we just have to rely on luck and just enjoy the little vat of sweetened macapuno for now. Who knows nature may give us more.

November was fun at PinoyEcoFarm. We had small harvests of peanuts and stringbeans from the first trial plantings. We also organized and put more worms (African Night Crawlers) in our vermibed to help us compost the kitchen refuse and all the farm trimmings.  One of the hens that we brought did lay her  first eggs but unfortunately she died of unknown circumstances so we just ate her eggs.

The farm has become our second home and on some nights we even went overnight camping using our reliable tent. Camping under the full-moon and enjoying the bonfire was indeed something to remember.  Family and friends were likewise hosted. Partaking in simple prepared lunches while enjoying the cool breeze. All came home with smiles on their faces. The usual favorite spot is the river and flowing spring below the property. Wanda our chocolate labrador provided extra entertainment with her fetch antics. She likes swimming in the river so much and can spend all afternoon there.

The farm needs more work to be done but it is fast taking shape as planned. Impatiently excited as always.

An opportunity to visit this odorless and relatively fly-free hog farm presented itself when a environmentalist friend suggested it in our itinerary during our recent Bacolod trip. The owner’s son who is also an active environmental advocate in Negros Occidental arranged our trip to their farm in Victorias City.

The farm is located in the vicinity of the city just at the back of a big grocery store but it does not create a problem because of its unconventional way of waste management. It is amazing considering that it houses about 800 heads of hogs in any given time. In addition to probiotic spraying to prevent the multiplication of flies, the farm likewise employs natural processes using azolla and quiapo as consumers of manure. These nutrient-rich plants which carpet the ponds are then used as feed supplements and vermifeed that sustain the other livestock in the farm including ducks and chicken.

Another attraction that is rising within the compound is the a majestic house constructed out of lime and wood. The bricks are made of lime and cement mixture pressed into strong building blocks. The upper portion is primarily of wood and bamboo. The roof is cogon grass complementing the nature design.

A Malay-inspired pond house sits on a body of water teeming with koi and other water plants.  Trellises constructed out of bamboo are neatly positioned along the pathways. A variety of creeping vegetable vines (some with fruits) serve as a shade. No space is seemingly wasted. Plots of medicinal and aromatic herbs are neatly positioned at the sides accenting the whole place creating a garden-like ambiance.

The integrated farm has its own windmill that powers the water pump in the compound. The water requirement is surely enormous considering the number of hog pens that needs to be cleaned. The wastewater drains into the ponds where the azolla grows.

The farm is indeed a showcase of an urban-based food production that blends well with its surroundings. And for the weary, a blissful place to relax.