NOT all the king’s men can stop the march of armyworms. What the king’s men failed to do, however, a farmer succeeded in beating back the invading hordes that have been destroying Negros Occidental’s food crops.

A young Kabankalanon farmer-scientist harnessed nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) as a biological weapon against armyworms, the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist recently announced. Roland Quimpo experimented with an NPV solution against the armyworms feasting on his peanut plants.

Within three days, the horde was kaput. Quimpo tried the NPV solution against the armyworms in his Tamlang farm. His purok was one of the worst hit with the attack. Said he, “I observed that the worms vomited, no longer ate the leaves of my plants, became weak, their rears turned up, and died.  I found black spots on their abdomen.”

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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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Our backyard garden may be small but nothing compares to the simple joys of harvesting something from it. We gathered the first fruits of our pipinitos (mini cucumbers) after just barely two months after we first sowed the seeds.

For breakfast, we  sliced the pipinitos into thin pieces as salad and it was great with rice, sardines and scrambled eggs. We also prepared a blended pipinito smoothie out of our harvest. All we did was mix some calamansi juice, add honey to sweeten and some crushed ice. The result was a refreshing and delicious drink.

Growing pipinitos is easy. Sow the seeds directly and put a trellis near it (a tree branch will do), water regularly and wait for nature to run its course. We did not put any fertilizers nor applied pesticides but we got good results. Imagine doing this in your own yards.

I came across products developed by scientists of Biotech UP Los Banos in Laguna which I think are very useful in farming and other applications.

Above: Taken from BioLife (Quarterly Magazine of Biotechnology) Vol1 No2 April-June 2005 Issue

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Carbonized rice hull is a crucial ingredient of bokashi organic fertilizer and can also be used in composting toilets and animal bedding. CRH results from the incomplete combustion of rice hulls under high heat and low oxygen conditions (pyrolysis). Pyrolysis causes the decomposition of organic materials such as lignin and cellulose, leaving a residue of carbon and mineral nutrients.

Click on Carbonized Rice Hull to view in pdf format.

The document was done by one of the members of Natural Farming Philippines.

“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.

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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My trips to my home province of Sorsogon will not be complete without visiting the Our Lady of Penafrancia Seminary which is my highschool alma mater. The visit this time was doubly satisfying because it gave me an opportunity to see and admire the Sustainable Agriculture Center (SAC). The SAC manages the greenhouses on the seminary grounds in front of the Home for the Clergy and the open field farm at the back part.

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I recently learned from a fellow blogger  and friend (www.PinoyOrganics.com) that Starbucks has been giving away their used coffee grounds as part of their recycling and reducing waste program. Starbucks dubs it as “Grounds for Your Garden”.

In the Starbucks website, they state that:

We introduced Grounds for Your Garden in 1995, which offers customers complimentary five-pound (2.27-kilogram) bags of used coffee grounds to enrich garden soil. And where commercial composting is available, many stores are able to divert other food waste and coffee grounds from the landfill as well.

I decided to get mine from a Starbucks outlet in Market2, Global City. The staff were very helpful when I inquired. They even offered to pack some more bags for me if I wanted to. I had to decline because I did not bring my car with me. I just got 4 bags which was just enough baggage for me to handle.

Some of the used grounds will go to my compost bin and the remaining will be spread on the sides of my plants at home. The instructions on how to use the discarded grounds are clearly printed on the sticker label. The aroma of the used grounds is still retained which pleasantly fills the air with coffee goodness.  I would have collected more had I known about this program before.

So for the gardeners out there go grab some free used coffee grounds from your nearest Starbucks and feed your plants with it. I wonder though if other coffee shops have a similar program of managing their used coffee grounds.

Green is definitely in. But do most of us really understand what green is and what it represents? Sadly, there are still those who have so many misconceptions that sometimes border on the hilarious.

Take this as an example. A friend (Jenny Bonto of Green Babes*) who is a very engaging speaker/writer/artist/entrepreneur related some rather awkward encounters with customers while selling “green” chicken in tiangges (bazaars). The most common would be “kulay green ba ang chicken? patingin nga…“  (is the chicken green, let me see).  – as if they were really expecting Incredible Hulkish-chickens inside the coolers only to be disappointed to see “typical” dressed chicken. Others would ask:   eh bakit daw mahal??? pareho naman ng timbang.? (why is it more expensive? it weighs the same as ordinary chicken?). To which she would patiently explain that ordinary chicken is TINIMBANG KA NGUNIT KULANG (loosely translated as “you were weighed but found lacking”) in protein.. antioxidants.. sobra ng (too much of) hormones.

They are called “GREEN” chicken because they “are raised outside on pasture rather than in crowded poultry houses. They have constant access to a natural diet and enjoy plenty of fresh air and sunshine. It does not use artificial growth promotants; does not feed meat or bone meal; and does not use antibiotics”.

Sometimes it frustrates her realizing that it is indeed hard to sell the truth (mahirap magbenta ng katotohanan!). Stories like these  made me realize that we still have a long way to go in educating most of the consumers. We must keep on patiently pushing though. If it is any consolation,  some corporations are now actively helping spread the sensibility of truly living the “green” way of life.

If you have a choice, would you rather have “green” chicken for your family knowing that it is safer? Or you’d rather go for the usual factory-raised, hormone-pumped and antibiotic-injected chicken we have grown accustomed to? You decide.

*Green Babes is a group of women entrepreneurs who are into the green advocacy. They are marketing/selling organically/naturally produced items. These women participate in various small bazaars to bring these products closer to the consumers. They will be at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center (Filinvest, Alabang) bazaar on May 3-6, 2010.

Jenny Bonto gets the “green” chicken from the Herb Republic at Los Banos, Laguna. She told me that Herb Republic is already selling “green” pork.

Note: The green chicken glassware image was lifted from www.allaboutnature.org

open source video, online video platform, video solution Although his natural remedies for everyday minor ailments frequently use plants that we would consider to be exotic, many of these will grow really well in our own back gardens.

James shows us how to use lemongrass in an insect repellent spray, transform olive leaves into a pampering face mask, make a soothing burns treatment from aloe vera and chamomile and, perhaps most surprisingly of all, reveals that, not only can you grow tea bushes in this country, you can also turn them into a zingy mouthwash to help fight plaque and freshen breath.