Kainos Weeks 13-14: Welcome Goats!

I brought my goats, Twinkle and Bumblee, to Kainos Farm this week so they can have a good summer vacation. I'll take them home again before the rainy season. Take care my goats!

Earth Day 2014

I Shall Focus on Building Soil this Summer

Compost Heap # 1

* Everyday I face the strong temptation to sow a seed, plant a tree, or transplant a seedling. But I have to stay focused on building up my soil and fortifying and diversifying my garden edges before the rainy season and the "ber-months."

* As of today, I have several multipurpose and multifunction kakawati trees lined up in Zones 2 and 4. And my lemongrass, citronella, and dill hedges are getting thicker and taller. I will transplant my basil plants from the raised beds to the perimeter and I will sprinkle cosmos seeds near the fence. By June I'm expecting a thick hedge of assorted herbs and plants bordering my Zone 2 garden and Zone 4 fence line.

* As for the soil building part, my worms are doing quite well eating sacks and sacks of kitchen waste. Better harvest their castings soon. While I'm still building my compost heap number 2 and waiting for compost heap number 1 to finish sometime in the first week of May. 

* I've been gathering dried leaves and fresh cut grass every morning for my raised beds to serve as mulch/compost. Forage is still a problem for my goats so my 10 pesos/sack of lapnis offer is still open to everyone. 

* On May 5 to 9 I will be conducting an organic backyard gardening workshop for 30 youth delegates from San Pablo and Cavite at Kainos Farm. I'm still thinking if I should bring my goats, Twinkle and Bumblebee, to the youth camp.

Los Banos Community Supported Agriculture (LB CSA)

Photo by Ann Papag

LB CSA is a joint project of Herb Republic, Cafe Antonio, and Daang Kalabaw Community Garden through the healthy lifestyle movement, The Health Walk. 

LB CSA supports Los Banos-based organic backyard farmers.

The Concept: Every Sunday, members of the CSA will receive a mixed basket (4 kilos) of readily available produce from local farms.

There is no fixed set of produce so every week will feature a different array of vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

How to Join: Referrals only

What you get:
A weekly supply of fresh organic produce; a bayong (for 50 pesos); and free delivery to your home.

Contact Person:
Jabez Flores - 0906-455-0522

I Need Lapnis for My Goats!

Gardenerd Trivia for the Day: LAPNIS (Paper Mulberry) - it grows everywhere. but it's the tree that nobody wants. BUT I NEED IT! Tell you what, if you need a quick buck, I'm willing to pay TEN PESOS (Php 10) per sack of LAPNIS leaves! Why do I need it? Because my goats are LAPNIS addicts. 

LAPNIS is everywhere, I haven't seen a vacant lot without LAPNIS here in LB. I'm a LAPNIS NINJA, I grab as many branches as I can whenever I pass by a LAPNIS tree. I even plant LAPNIS intentionally here in my garden (in Zones 4 and 5).

To learn more about the uses of LAPNIS, please read the article on Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_mulberry

Remember, 10 PESOS PER SACK!

Today at DK Community Garden

* I was trying to make sense of what I have been doing lately so I drew this flow diagram to give me a bird's eye view of my projects. 

* I have been harvesting okra for two weeks now from my small okra plot. The fruits are sweet and very crunchy. I have been using EM-1 for this batch.

* Paulo Sandoval and his mom gave me these papaya and narra seedlings for my garden. Thank you! I also transplanted this mango seedling that's been growing in my compost pile for quite some time now.

* Summer is definitely scorching hot that's why I already invested in a 50-meter hose and water sprinkler to help me with my daily garden chores.

* I found a lot of flat concrete slabs buried in Zone 4, my orchard zone. I don't know where it came from. I gathered about 8 pieces and turned it into a convenient path way inside Zone 2, the vegetable garden.

Tara Farms Permaculture Project

* I'm currently helping my friend, Paulo Sandoval, design his family's farm using permaculture design principles. What's great about his farm is that their structures, trees, and gardens are already in place. So my only job is to guide him in the technical, ecological and entrepreneurial aspects of the farm. 

* Paulo is an enthusiastic and eager young farmer who want to make a sustainable farm that will provide healthy and organic food for his family. I am really happy to have a friend, who I used to jam with during the Cafe Antonio Sessions days, to be interested in farming and planning a sustainable future for his family.

* Good job, Paulo! I hope you inspire more people. See you in our next workshop this Tuesday. :)

Kainos Farm Week 11: New Additions

It was amazingly hot in Kainos Farm this week due to the lack of trees in the vegetable plot section. Our working time was limited to 4 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon. That's why instead of installing our raised bed boxes, we did other productive things.

* We made 2 compost bins and placed them in strategic locations to simplify gathering of cut grass and dried leaves.

* We hired local villagers to gather bamboo poles for us.

* We installed a portable water sprinkler with stand to help us with keeping the plots moist.

* We made 2 raised beds using the lasagna method. We will plant vegetables for the staff's personal consumption in this section.