My Special Seminar at UPLB on Feb. 26

Special thanks to Dr. Amy Arquiza, Crop Science Cluster, CA, UPLB, The Health Walk, 

and Ligayang Mabuhay

Kainos Farm Week 5: Making Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ) from Kakawati Leaves

FPJ recipe:

2 kg fresh kakawati leaves

1 kg brown sugar

1 L water

Step 1: Shred/cut kakawati leaves into small pieces
Step 2: Mix in brown sugar and water in a large bucket
Step 3: Crush and pound the mixture into a pulp. We used a round rock to do this.
Step 4: Put the mixture into a net bag. Or in our case, a mesh trash can.
Step 5: Place inside a bucket and cover with cloth.
Step 6: Put a label on the cloth. Include the date the mixture was made/
Step 7: Store in a cool, dry place.

Kainos Farm Week 4: The Seven Step Pinoy-Style Double Dig

* Hello friends! You might be wondering what I'm doing in Calamba every Thursday and Friday. Late last year, I was tasked by a friend of ours to design and lead a team of ragtag farmers to develop a 2-hectare organic vegetable and animal farm in Calamba, Laguna called "Kainos Farm." Kainos means "new" or "of a new kind" in the Greek language.

* My team and I have been working for 4 weeks now, this week will be our 5th. My team consists of 5 people: Nonoy, a seasoned organic farmer from Tayabas, Quezon; Jay, the farm's caretaker; Alex, the farm's security guard; Cris, a pastor; and myself. 

* During our first week of work, I gave a lecture about organic farming and then we watched videos of Geoff Lawton and John Jeavons. Then we drew up our design plans in a whiteboard.

* We spent the rest of the week gathering compost materials like fresh and dry grass and leaves and twigs, and soil. We finished two compost piles.

* Weeks 2 to 4 were dedicated to constructing the beds. The design of the farm is somewhat different. I employed a small-scale, low-maintenance vegetable garden mentality to a 2-hectare farm. The farm is divided into 5 sections: the living area, the vegetable garden, the animal farm, the orchard, and the reception garden. The vegetable garden is the main priority so we worked on it right away.

* After several sketches on the whiteboard and on sheets of paper, I finally decided on a design. The vegetable garden is composed of ninety-two 5x5 feet double-dug beds grouped into 4 quadrants. Each quadrant has a mini-forest guild at the center designed to break the strong winds and to provide appropriate shade during the afternoon. At the center of a the 4 quadrants is a slightly bigger mini forest that ties all the sections together. 

* In this Week 4 blog, I will explain the double-digging method that we used for our beds.

Double-digging is a central feature of the Grow Bio-intensive method. Instead of the usual 12-inch dig, double-digging goes 24-inches down to remove weeds, roots, and increase top soil. I got the idea from John Jeavons' book and video series that a friend gave to me. Prior to Kainos Farm, I have been practicing double-digging in my own garden. I called it "Pinoy-style" because we used some tools that weren't in the Bio-intensive manual.

Step 1: Making a frame. Making a 5x5 foot wooden frame enables us to focus on one plot at a time and measure the area that we are supposed to dig. And you only have to use the measuring tape once.

 Step 2: Moistening the ground and clearing the weeds-first pass. The climate at Kainos Farm is cool, windy, and sunny at the same time. This leaves the ground dry although the combination of different grass keeps the soil moist underneath. To reduce stress and effort in digging, we would further moisten the soil with a hose. My favorite part. And then we would lightly remove the grass with an "asarol" or pick-hoe.

Step 3: Using a hoe, we would pulverize and tenderize the soil 12 inches deep in preparation for the first dig.  The real double-digging method doesn't do this. The original method removes one section of soil at a time with a shovel. Nonoy would remove the weeds by hand before step 4.

 4: After the soil has been loosened, we would dig out the loose soil and moisten the ground to prepare it for the next 12 inches of digging.

Step 5: Instead of using a fork, we used a "bareta" to dig another 12 inches into the ground. Alex usually does this.

Step 6: After loosening the next 12 inches of soil, we would return the 12 inches of soil that we dug out in step 4. Then we would level it using a rake.

Step 7: The final step is mulching. we would mulch the plot with dried grass and green manure such as kakawate leaves. We would then shower the mulch with water until it is glistening. This would prevent the soil from drying out.

This seven step process is performed by 5 people. And we would do this 92 times! The process takes time but it would be all worth it in the end. 

Stay tuned for Week 5 at Kainos Farm!

Kainos Farm Week 3: Preparing the Beds (continued)

It's our second week of double-digging. We divided the area into 4 manageable sections.

Each quadrant has a mini-forest at the center.

DIY Gravel Pathway

At this rate, I guess it may take a while for me to finish this project.

Masarap Magtanim Kapag Makulimlim

Applying damp cardboard for my gravel pathway. It's gonna be a looong project!

Okra and Talong seedlings are looking good! Okra is treated with Soil + Compost + EM-1 mix. Talong is treated with Soil + Compost only.

Raised Beds Project

I tried making raised beds using kawayan for the past two days. Compared to hollow blocks, it's easier to carry and install. And it gives a the garden a more "probinsya" look in contrast to the "construction site" feel of the hollow blocks. When I save enough money I'll buy more kawayan. A bundle of 40 to 50 pieces costs Php 160 in the nearby store. 

Kainos Farm Week 2: Preparing the Beds

Marking our 5x5 ft beds.

Preparing the beds for double digging--a bio-intensive farming technique

Removing remaining weeds from the plot.

Kainos Farm Week 1: Making a Compost Pile

The farm.

Layering dry and fresh materials with soil.

The final pile. To be turned over in 1 month.