“There is no humanity without the cultivation of the land; there is no good life without the food it produces for the men and women of every continent. Agriculture thus demonstrates its central role.” Pope Francis
Because commodity prices and taxes on real property, such as houses and Lots, were increasing, my husband and I decided to nurture our small farm and plant root crops and veggies. Last weekend, we went to our little farm in Kayam, San Remigio, Cebu, to plant more dwarf coconut and sweet potato. In my previous blog, I mentioned that this little farm was barren and had tall shrubs and grasses. So, I looked for a farm laborer who could remove the shrubs and long grasses to partially clean this up before we plant more dwarf and sweet potatoes next weekend.
I paid the farm laborer who cleared the land PHP 600.00 for about 13 hours of clearing the area. Each hour will cost PHP 40.0O. Thus, if we continue to hire farm employees for our fields, and buyers or consumers will market our product at a low rate, we will have no profit due to our farm expenses. So, the majority of our farmers were no longer cultivating their land. Supposedly, I will hire a farm laborer to harrow the field unfortunately, there is no longer any carabao to carry the harrowing equipment. We don't have tractors in our country that small farmers can utilize. As a result, land preparation and cultivation were the primary reasons some farmers lost interest in farming.
How We Plant Dwarf Coconut
1.First, dig a hole for almost 50 to 60 inches.
2.Add organic manure or compost to the pit before putting the seedlings to ensure soil fertility.
3.Cover or fill up the newly planted seedlings with soil.
4.Water the newly planted seedlings.
How We Plant Sweet Potato
Growing sweet potatoes is very easy. It will grow well if it is exposed to sunlight. It matures for about 90 to 160 days. Here are the tips to grow sweet potatoes.
- Cleaned the area.
- Dig a hole for almost 6 inches.
- Circle the end part of the stem.
- Burry the stem and cover it with soil.
- Fill the newly planted seedlings with soil and press firmly and gently.
6.Water the newly planted sweet potato.
That's how we planted our dwarf coconut and sweet potato. I had almost 25 newly planted sweet potatoes. On our next visit, we plan to grow cassava and vegetables like okra, batong, and squash. Im exhausted on that day and so with my husband but it was a very productive day for us. We are very excited to harvest the fruit of our labor soon.
That's all for this blog. Thank you and see you on my next blog.