Borders

Interesting how Natividad Farms was able to utilize spaces, almost to the perimeter walls!

Notice how most farms form plots with slanting sides? Sides that are basically unused and space is wasted?

This farm had devised a good one. NO wasted space. It is sort of lego blocks that you just put together. In our everyday life, its like the fencing used for NLEX.

Prefabs that they themselves make. There are several molds, depending on utility. You put holes as needed, which are good for drainage :) They are held together by nail pegs or were they wires? Good about it too...it is movable and less laborious than making plots.

They have practically used these for everything. Vegetable plots, walk ways, etc.

And also for their vermiculture :)
You have to be imaginative and innovative to stay sustainable.

Worm Out Stress

When we visited the 2nd day old chicks in Natividad Farms, last Valentine's Day, we were shown that they were given worms already for food. In their natural habitat, mother hen really hunts for worms to give to her chicks. This was in supplement of the chopped bamboo leaves with brown rice that Jojie Lim prescribed to them.

Even then, you can see the Sunshines loved the worms, although they were two day energized then.

Five (5) days later, as we were commenting and observing the chicks eat and what they ate....Ed Fajardo said that we should hear their sound as worms are brought to them.

Watch and let me comment later :)

Geezzzzz....I wasn't prepared for this! As the Natividad boys came with their trays of worms...the Sunshines literally BUZZEDDDDD and jumped all around! You saw and heard it yourself.

They brought in 1kg at that time of worms. Retail value of about PHP1000 :) But remember, this farm went into Sunshines to get rid of their worms.

The hosts were so happy and proud about the chicks' behavior. Am sure you will be too...unless you are a veterinarian or a poultry man hahahahhaha

STRESS in capital letters! They really bump into one another. Maybe a new game of Bump Chicks will be developed after getting inspiration from this.

Doc Rey didn't tell them outright DON'T....he suggested that the chicks numbering 200, be given about 2kgs of chopped worms in the fermented feeds. If chopped, that way the chicks have no need to be excited with the wiggly, live protein. If chopped, they can be relaxed eating their high protein diet and Natividad Farm's vermi is rid of the over production.

Originally I titled this as Worm Bank...owing to the amount of worms in this farm. But, the stress it brought to the chicks was the point I wanted to bring out after reviewing the video.

Stressful matters may be turned out to good...if properly handled :)

Organic Farming

When Zac Sarian said that our driver in Gen San is a windmill designer, I knew it will be an interesting farm visit and said "GO". I love windmills...the ones that you see in fairy tale books...it gives me the dreamy feeling like seeing lighthouses.



Ok...all they said was windmill. When we got to Capt Bong Reamon's and Gay's farm, I was like "HUH" when I saw this cell site tower that turns with the wind. Oh no...uhoh...it was the award winning windmill!

But the design is very good! It doesn't take a gale to turn it. See how there are two separate windmills? One may be for water, the other for electricity. Capt Reamon says you can have several floors....a windmill condo.

We go through the healthy looking veggie plots. You will want turn vegetarian when you see how they take care of your salad greens.

Our tour is backwards...next was showing us how the farm was being fertilized. You tend to listen and appreciate the HOW, after seeing the WHAT. He must be an educator of short attention people!

We went around the vermiculture plots. Capt Bong showed us how gigantic his African Night Crawlers were. He gives back to them the microorganisms they produce. He sprays the vermi plots with the vermi tea. We were all surprised at how healthy his worms were...like baby snakes :)

We were all awed at how his fruit bearing trees were productive. His vines had the largest leaves we had seen and trees were fruiting off season. No chemicals here...just his vermi tea.

After all that walk, we sat by in his kubo to have the sweetest and freshest aromatic coconuts. We have had three (3) nuts each. Nut, nut nut.....then off we went to Ryan's Lechonan. The resto is owned by Capt Bong's sister. We had home cooked Gen San style.

Capt Bong is a commercial pilot, but says that he wants to go fulltime farmer soon and immensely enjoys his R&D (research and development) inventions.

How did he get into vermi? He called Zac Sarian one day before to ask where he can get vermi to feed the Eels he plans to farm. Zac talked him into rethinking. It will take a lot of time and effort before you can gain from the Eel....but look into vermiculture.

The Reamons now talk, dream and think worms! Read more...