In mid- November, Vic and Ric, the Goducate agricultural consultants from Iloilo visited the newly extended model farm to give our workers a short training session. Workers and volunteers soon got to work preparing plots and raised beds and planting a wide range of vegetables, including sweet corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, calamansi, papayas, string beans, bittergourds, “pechay”, okra, eggplants, and cucumbers. A return visit was made in early December to assess progress.
The scanty rainfall meant that much effort had to be put into manual watering of the plants. The efforts have been rewarded, with some of the plants starting to bear fruit by mid December.
The farm has also been experimenting with hydroponic gardening, or the use of water and a nutrient solution rather than soil for the growing of vegetable. This method saves on weeding and the use of expensive fertilizer. In addition, no tracts of land are needed. The plants can be grown in trash such as plastic bottles and Styrofoam containers.
