A good year that was

While my daughter Bella helps me with the mulching , I go about transplanting the okra.

I decided to chronicle my accomplishments as a novice farmer of 2015 not to boast but to boost my morale into moving forward. My love affair with the soil came in so slowly..but when it finally warmed up..Oh boy.. it’s unstoppable within me. Like a good read it keeps me in suspense. And like some comfort food , keeps me wanting to always go back to it to balance my rhythm. January was when the time I made a pact with myself to start sowing seeds and start baby steps in living sustainably.I ate everything along the way to help me in my quest for a natural brand of farming. I was led to attend 3 major seminars that shaped the way I farm now. Natural Building , Intensive Beekeeping and Natural Farming. All of which only made my thirst for knowledge become severe that I decided to make my own backyard my lab to experiment with plants , seed saving and soil-buiding.I made quite a lot of progress and quite a couple of mistakes too that enriched my experience even more..

Frehly harvested ginger. I sowed them eight months ago.

Native pigs are my newest addition to my farm. They eat taro leaves and banana trunks that thrive in the farm.

Every week , I formed this habit to sow seeds. This actually paid off..for this allows a steady supply of harvest every season .Plus,you get to hone your green thumbs.

I grow these kind of chillies called panigang( finger peppers) and the siling labuyo; combination of which become naturally processed hot sauce.

When I have ample supply , my husband and I process and bottle to sell.

A sampling of a variety of harvest on a weekly basis.

 

 

After the typhoons

There were two typhoons that hit the farm these past weeks ..And while I was busy working  here in the city , I was half praying too that somehow Mother Nature would spare my mahogany and bamboo trees that form the hedge of the farm , and oh ,my still-delicate tomatoes and eggplant  in the open field.

Something’s gotta give, and so several guyabanos and mahoganies went down along with some layers i carefully nurtured .

Last week as I surveyed the damage, my heart sort of sunk a bit with broken fences , tomatoes that need to be transplanted and sporadic branches and trunks of uprooted trees scattered all around.

It’s a good thing my bamboo greenhouse has been completed and with it, the lettuce , cucumbers and all seedlings thrive. I can swear by the wisdom and efficiency of a greenhouse.My farmworker recommends we multiply the bamboo greenhouses since they can definitely give us more yield during off season.

Speaking of off season vegetable production, for those enthusiasts wanting to start growing their vegetables, be it commercial or just in their own backyard , you may sign up in East-West Seed training that offers a 4 day training in san Rafael Bulacan.I attended their Aug. 9- 12 training .Their comprehensive lectures and hands-on would definitely gear you up.