FROM MY ORGANIC FARM

Planting Time - a variety of veggies

Ever since I was a child, farming has been close to my heart. I can't say that I have green thumb (more likely a green mind, maybe) as I'm not really that good in growing things, but my fascination for the craft can be manifested in the way I'm glued to the television set whenever a farm-related telecast is shown on Discovery Channel or whenever "Jamie At Home" (Jaime Oliver's show featuring his organic farm and homegrown goodies) is playing on the screen.

Anyway, my wife also had the knack for planting things and was really good at it. She knows a lot of herbs and plants that I didn't even know existed. Well, our place here in Paranaque had a vast open area where we can practice our growing skills in an urban farm setting. With seeds brought from garden shops or seedlings solicited from friends and neighbors, we tried our luck at urban farming. We planted okra, bokchoy, petchay, several varieties of kangkong, chili fingers, onions, cucumber, ampalaya, gabi, eggplant, and squash. The soil in our area was really not that good so we boosted it up with organic fertilizer courtesy of my army of chickens and rabbits also living in the same backyard.

Harvest Time!

After several weeks of battling it out with bugs trying to harvest the crop before we do, we finally saw the fruits (or veggies?) of our labor and harvested everything that is perfect for the picking (except maybe the okra which were all still too small for my liking but my wife harvested them all anyway - too eager to sample our own produce).

My Urban Farm Bokchoy with Luncheon Meat

No chemicals, no pesticides, and no artifical fertilizers - our organic crops were truly magnificent! Even the kids enjoyed the meals that we had, particularly the bokchoy cooked with luncheon meat (hehehe.... preserved meat... sort of anti-climactic here). 


Now, we're ready for another round of urban farming and this time we'll try out other varieties of fruits and veggies. So stay tuned!


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Peter Allan C. Mariano

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