Natural farming 101

(This week, Succulentophile gives way to this article by Adele Jaucian)

Have you heard of pigs that don’t smell yet they don’t take a bath? Would you like to know how to make chicken feed and pig chow that cost less than commercial pellets? Or even take care of healthy, yummy chicken that feed on grass and fruits? Yes, you can now make your own homemade flowering formula, fertilizer, insecticide and pesticide using natural and inexpensive raw materials and which will not cause any harm to man and the environment.

These are some of the things the more than 100 participants who joined the Natural Farming seminar sponsored by the Finex Foundation Environment Committee, in cooperation with Flor’s Garden, the Earth School, learned recently.

Andry K. Lim, the DA Secretary Awardee for Outstanding Organic Agriculture Initiative: Individual Advocate Category 2009, was the main speaker. Participants came from as far as Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Laguna and Palawan. They were either beginners, have farms already, or are from the LGUs. The youngest participant was the son of Irene and Ador Abrogena, while the oldest was Arling Gozon, the 95-year-old mom of Flor Tarriela, who listened intently throughout the afternoon session. “Let’s try the concoctions. I will expand my chickens right away!” Gozon said after the seminar.

Other comments were:

“I find the wealth of information very useful and the fee worth it.” — Jeanne Sy Krebs

“I really learned a lot. It really makes all the difference to hear someone with knowledge and experience explain the theory and materials to you.” — Butch San Juan, Picazo Law Office         

“I’d like to work on my property in Tagaytay. It will be my next big project.” — Dick Baladad, FINEX        

“This seminar is very timely as we are starting with our malunggay project and we want to apply the natural method.” — Patricio Baltazar

“I brought my sons Adrian, Aaron and Aldrich for this. Sayang nga Ador couldn’t make it. He really wanted to attend.” — Irene Abrogena        

“We were sent by Mayor Oreta of Malabon to attend this.” — Rita Santos

“I have already attended this seminar in Korea but I’d like to meet Andrey personally.” — Vicky Adriano, Adriano Farms

 Andry is a strong advocate of natural farming. He talked for almost eight hours non-stop with just a 30-minute lunch break. His wife, Jojie,   handled the actual demonstration in the garden for the pig pen without smell, for the one-day-old chicks heated by beddings of dayami and charcoal in cans, vegetable plots double layered with kakawati, ipil leaves and molave branches, which will not require fertilizer for the next five to 10 years.

Dr. Ponching of Flor’s Garden talked about the Hardin ng Buhay as an added bonus to those who came early. Even with a small area, you can have a square foot gardening plot planted with different medicinal or edible herbs such as gotu kola or takip kuhol, the herb of longevity, a good memory enhancer, oregano against cough and colds, or talinum kadok, which grows so fast that “no Filipino should be hungry!”

Natural farming makes use of beneficial microorganisms in bringing the soil and the environment back to its original form without need for insecticide or fungicide. Nanotechnology basically works on the same principle of making use of good microorganisms.

Andry talked on the Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) good for decomposing garbage with no smell, the Fermented Plant Juice and Fruit Juice (FPJ and FFJ) as growth hormones and to make the fruits sweet and even as medicines for cancer and other ailments.

A priest diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer was reportedly cured by taking the” 3C,” a fermented carrot, cucumber and celery combination. Other topics were on mulching, which makes use of dried leaves that fall on the ground for naturally enriching the soil, calcium from eggshell, Fish Amino Acid (FAA), and many others that if put to use can significantly cut down on our garbage, increase production at a much lesser cost compared to traditional farming, and are environmentally friendly. The carbon footprint of one bag of urea, known as NPK, is reportedly equivalent to the carbon emission of four cars.

After typhoon Ondoy and Peping, the challenges of global warming or the garbage in our homes, neighbors, and community is a responsibility that we now have to seriously consider for the present and for future generations. We have to make the environment our personal advocacy and support any effort to help save Mother Earth.

Finex Foundation, in cooperation with Flor’s Garden, will hold another Natural Farming seminar in the first quarter of 2010.

* * *

Flor’s Garden is at Km. 35 from Masinag Market via Marcos Highway just after Touch of Glory. For inquiries, call Fely Sadio at 635-6092 or SMS 0919-5567121. For seminars, call the Finex Secretariat through Cherry Basilio at 811-4184 or SMS 0917-4309863. The Finex Environment Committee is chaired by Manny Duenas and Adele Jaucian with Flor Tarriela as liaison director.

3C

Materials:

1 k cucumber

1 k carrot

1 k  celery

Procedure:

Slice and chop the cucumber, carrot and celery into pieces.

Add 1 kilo of muscovado sugar (means 3 vege: 1 sugar).

Then ferment for at least 10 days.

Get the juice and that’s already the 3C.

The sludge is good for spaghetti sauce. Drink 2 tbsp. of the juice morning and evening for good energy and good sleep.

CALCIUM PHOSPHATE

(Animal Bone)

Induces flowering, prevents overgrowth. Calcium phosphate is applied when the plants are about to flower.

How to make the concoction:

• Boil or broil 2 kilos of animal bones to separate meat and fat until the remaining meat on the bones is charcoal-black. Scrape charred meat and let it cool. Do not burn the bone.

• Place bone in a plastic container and five gallons of pure coconut or sugarcane vinegar. Cover for 30 days. Filter and use. Keep container air-tight .

FISH AMINO ACID (FAA)

Make nitrate from fish; it contains abundant nutrients and various amino acids.

How to make the concoction:

• Put whole fish or bones, gills and guts, scales, tails, etc., in a plastic container. Add the same amount of molasses or muscovado sugar. Mix sugar in container with fish ingredients, then remaining molasses. Prepare at night to prevent flies from breeding.

• Cover and keep in a cool place or shaded area. Drain to extract liquid after 10 to 15 days. Transfer liquid into clean plastic bottles. Wait till tiny bubbles disappear before sealing the cover and storing.

Application:

Apply using 2 tbsps. to 1 liter of water. Apply directly to the soil or the ground, not to the leaves. Keep concoction from direct sunlight. Store in a cool, dry place.