Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. — Mark 4:27, NIV
The start of the year 2021 has been promising to me, but it went rough like the minority I belonged to.
I fought in my own ways, but to no avail, the voice was unheard. The appeal I sent to the ineffective leadership went stale and eventually led me to leave my appointment to avoid giving further burdens to my colleagues and friends because of my personal decisions.
It was hard, there was a battle of suppressed anger to the corrupt system and the agonizing anxiety, but there is no help of being unproductive especially in moments where the financial streamshave ceased to flow.
January of 2022 has been difficult to me and my family, but instead of growing my anxiety, I focused on improving the orchard and to better practice sustainability.
After much hardwork and a promising progress at the orchard, I decided to take a visit at the farm. No work, just a moment to sort things out.
I went with my sister and Mama on a Saturday morning, but instead of doing farm chores, I asked permission to do nothing on that day.
There were men cutting lumber that day, but weirdly, the sound of a distant chainsaw is nostalgic to me. During my childhood, Mama would make us sleep during the afternoon, and our lullaby during the hot summers would be the distant music of men cutting lumber.
Illegal logging was prevalent just a decade ago, now it is well regulated to avoid deforestation. What is often heard are just men harvesting mature coconut lumber for building houses.
The peaceful view on Aurora Hill is truly an escape from the anxious world that lies beyond the horizon. On the foothills begin a vast patch of rice fields and at the distant edges on the west are coconuts plantations and the residential area.
Our farm dog, Tako Boi, has called our orchards and farms his home. He would run happily around the verdant hills and plains, but sometimes he is a bit emotional too, maybe he worries also, maybe thinking about what lies ahead in the future.
The next day, work begins again. I decided to have a lunch at the orchard, so I can make most of day.
There is electricity in the cabin at the orchard, but I rarely visit the cabin and only stay near my garden.
I brought some eggs from our poultry farm then harvested kamote tops for lunch, which was cooked on an small fire in a repurposed electric kettle.
The copra season was coming to an end, but there were still some young coconuts to harvest—I really enjoy drinking coco water everytime I'm outdoors.
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Before and after the lunch, I was busy improving the garden. At home, I found out that my sister has been using the rice water from washing the rice into her garden. Although the nutrients are trace, it would be beneficial to introduce minerals on a daily basis—hence, I duplicate it in my garden too!
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Since implementing DIY insect repellents and biopesticides, I have saved my vegetables from pesky caterpillars and beetles. With just simple act, the improvements has been drastic, it worked and I trust it now.
The cucumber season has just began, in a few more days the garden will see its the first harvest of the year.
One issue at the orchard, which was partially solved by implementing raised-bed gardens, is the weather-dependent soil—it was super muddy on rainy days and rock-hard during the dry season.
Still, one final touch wad missing, I needed to do mulching. I am grateful to our generous neighbor who allowed me to collect rice hull from their mill.
Immediately, it was used to mulch over four of the raised-beds, then in just a day after that, I saw improvements in the soil quality.
Why do I employ mulching? Here are some of the benefits of proper mulching that I've heard from my fellow farmers and have read in the internet:
- regulate moisture and lessen watering
- produce compost tea as it degrades
- improve soil condition and quality
- discourage the growth of weeds
- host beneficial fungus
- add garden aesthetic
To accomplish those things, keep in mind to mulch only about 3 inches, thinner mulching is useless and thicker mulching will encourage plant infection or even rotting.
It is also high time to use the trellises I built last year, else it would rot without being useful. I made more than 10 mounds tp grow string beans (snake beans) and hoping for it to grow well.
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So far, I already have insect repellants, biopesticides, and fish amino, I hope to add more to weaponry to get better yields in the garden.
It is already February, and I'm proud to begin the year with abundance, the dream that took me a decade to fullfil. I have ordered more seeds to grow this summer and I intend to plant sweet potatoes too.
There are watermelons and some squash, but I guess it will take about four months to begin harvesting. I hope the flowers begin to bloom by that time, so more bees can pollinate the cucurbits and other crops.
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Farming and gardening, is not innate with nature, plants fight to grow in the wild, but as humans we employ food security through agriculture—and the crops we grow has traveled miles and has been curated to find seeds with the best yields, but not in flavor and nutrition.
To many, whom native or heirloom crops has been lost through years of dependence on food markets, we new farmers secure our crops from hybrid varieties, often without choice.
My goal is to 'grow' more volunteer crops that become hardy enough to self propagate with lesser support, but for the coming years, I will be continue planting and collecting seeds—and maybe sharing it to my future farmer friends.
Happy farming!
PINNED POST
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About Me
@oniemaniego is a software developer, but outside work, he experiments in the kitchen, writes poetry and fiction, paints his heart out, or toils under the hot sun.
 | Onie Maniego / Loy Bukid was born in Leyte, PH. He grew up in a rural area with a close-knit community and a simple lifestyle, he is often visiting his father's orchards during summer and weekends, which has a great impact on his works. |
© 2022 Onie Maniego and Loy Bukid
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