Despite the El Niño, his lowland rice crops reached harvesting stage with more filled grains and more seeds per panicle.

Bernardo Calilung, Magsasaka Siyentista of Farmers’ Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center in Tarlac City, proved that the combined application of vermicompost and vermitea can improve soil condition and agronomic performance of selected rice varieties.

Calilung’s farm in Barangay Amucao, Tarlac City was used as a Science and Technology-based farm (STBF) demonstration plot. The Tarlac College of Agriculture (TCA), Tarlac City FITS Center, Central Luzon Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (CLARRDEC), and the Philippine Coun-cil for Agriculture, Forestry and Natu-ral Resources Re-search and Development (PCARRD) assisted Calilung during the STBF implementation.

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We had our vermicomposting bin setup with the help of two friends (Xavier and Malou Peña) over the weekend. They brought a kilo of African Night Crawlers (ANC) worms and showed us how to properly prepare the bed.

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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.

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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Vermiculture and Organic Gardening: A summer day course offered by Bantay Kalikasan Eco Academy

With the aid or earthworms, food scraps and garden wastes can be converted into valuable compost that is perfect for growing healthy organic produce. Whether you’re a budding gardener or an experienced agriculturist, this one day course will offer a wealth of knowledge and practical training that is not only good for you and your family but to NATURE too.

Where: La Mesa Ecopark, Greater Lagro, Quezon City

When: May 1, 2010, Saturday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Internet has surely revolutionized a lot of things. One of the many advantages it brought is that it has eased the access to information and collaboration among like-minded individuals. As farmers we can also take advantage of the internet. The information is just there for learning and discussion . It is just up to us to discern what would be the best practice that will most benefit  us and the environment.

These are some of the local groups that I recommend:

1.  Natural Farming in the Philippines

(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/natural_farming_philippines/);

Worldwide, the growing demand for safe, pesticide-free and naturally-farmed products trigger interest on natural and organic farming. Still considered as a budding sector in Philippine agriculture, nonetheless, organic food production belongs to the top ten priority sectors for revenue development in the Philippines (DTI, 2006). Thus, the Executive Order 481 aims to “promote agriculture development, conserve environmental resources and promote social equity and product access to foreign and domestic markets.”

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