TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) – While agricultural services served by government agencies under the Department of Agriculture continue to flow despite the shortening possibilities of planting brought about the searing heat and sparse humidity, an aggie official said “there is no barren land, only barren mind.”
Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Information Officer 2 Jun Oliver, who came to the Kapihan sa PIA to discuss programs, projects and activities of the government’s Department of Agriculture presented ways on how people can contribute to the much-needed food production, if the projected El Niño phenomenon happens.
“Kon diha sa balay nato, maingon ta daan, dili ko makatanum kay wala koy lugar, pwede ka motanum,” he said as a matter of fact. (If at home, we say we can’t plant because we do not have space, you actually can. “…through containerized gardening,” he pushed.
Containerized gardening is growing plants in pots, and having the opportunity to move these into areas where the planter knows the plant can thrive and flourish.
Plastic containers, empty water bottles, broken pails, plastic basins, empty sacks, grocery bags, everything that can hold the soil is fair enough.
Fill these with good soil: which could be a combination of fertilizer, rice hull, mulch, something that would give enough nutrients for the edible plants you wish to grow.
You can make your own soil medium through vermicomposting activity, according to Oliver.
He said people can ask from the Municipal Agriculture Officers for the technology and the African night crawlers, some things that people can ask from the MAO.
You already have house refuse, dry leaves, just add a little of animal manure, as long as it does not contain any e-coli, making sure this is safe as this is for edible plants.
Then, considering that these would need a little bit of water more than those planted on the ground, he suggested planting cash crops.
And since these are for the family’s own consumption, he proposes to plant eggplants, tomatoes, petchay, okra, something than can give you a yield within a month or so.
“Do not throw your kitchen wastes: vegetable peel, rotten fruits anything biodegradable, because in time, it will rot and become organic soil, which can be mixed with rice hull, and you can have a good soil medium,” he said.
Parallel to this, he also talked about introducing a technology called wall gardening or vertical gardening.
“This is still containerized gardening, we only need to hang these to our walls, Oliver, who is also a trusted livestock artificial inseminator, hinted.
Plant alugbati. Kangkong which you can hang, its safe food, and its secured, you only need to nip from it to cook
Posed with an issue on water shortage especially with the rains getting fewer and farther in between, Oliver, who had over three decades of government service as agricultural training officer since the ATI once was named the DA’s Bureau of Agricultural Extension, advised: Save on water.
But with fewer rains, Oliver said save water and go for cash crops.
By saving water, he hinted that since fertilizers are salt based, dishwashing water refuse can be used to water plants.
I wash my dishes outside so the water I use can also water the plants, he said.
Beyond all these, the ATI as the government’s training arm, is always there, offering the kind of training to equip people with the skills and the technology to help ease the food production clutch.
“We all can do this, all we need to have is a little of hard work, because as long as you stop thinking creatively, then you are done,” he summed. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
