Organic-Cebu - Argao

22/07/2021

Vermicompost is... sexy!! 😁

19/06/2021

Madre de agua

11/05/2021

Jesa, my partner, is the Queen of Vermicompost!

05/05/2021

16/12/2020

Hibiscus (Gumamela) grow well in our terrible soil. When planting, dig a bigger hole than needed and backfill with 50% compost.

17/11/2020

Smallholder beef cattle open yard housing for cut and carry feeding.

15/11/2020

Eureka! 😁

Last time we tried to impregnate a cow we failed because we never knew when the cow was in heat. So, I devised a plan to use a bull to tell us that. But, I was worried about stopping an excited bull from getting what we he wants. Little did I know there's a thing called a "teaser bull." Now.... who can do a vasectomy on a bull? 🤓

A teaser bull is a term describing a bull whose reproductive system has been surgically altered to render him sterile. The purpose of such bulls is to aid in detection of cows in estrus to facilitate when to artificially inseminate. The bull is sterilized by either vasectomy or caudal epididymectomy.

https://www.vetfood.theclinics.com/article/S0749-0720(08)00055-8/fulltext #:~:text=A%20teaser%20bull%20is%20a,either%20vasectomy%20or%20caudal%20epididymectomy.

19/08/2020

New flower beds... and a place to sit.

04/08/2020

A welding machine is a great investment. The shops in Argao overcharge me badly. Now I just my hire my own welder. Our big steel ladder cost only P2500 for the steel, welding rods, grinder discs and labor. I also ordered 4 8" caster wheels for about P2000. I'll have those attached after they arrive. The ladder will let us harvest mulberry leaves more easily, not to mention cleaning the eaves. :)

18/05/2020

Coconut crisis is coming. Someday.

I hope so! :) There's no coconut processing plant in Cebu paying P25 for coconuts like in some places. At P5, we use ours as animal feed. It's more cost-effective than selling them... when done right. But, I do hope coconuts increase in value. We could sell them and buy a different concentrate for our animals.

https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/coming-coconut-crisis

Better stock up on coconut water, because coconut palms are dying out

17/05/2020

Future heroes of Philippines Agriculture...
..will be milk producers.

The Philippines produces about 1% of its dairy consumption. The rest is imported: creating jobs abroad and higher prices at home. The trend only continues despite record spending by the Dept Agr.

Senator Cynthia Villar is miffed while everyone else is confounded.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1220647/da-vows-to-increase-dairy-production-after-villar-bares-lack-of-milk-supply

Within a few years we plan to expand from beef production to milk and beef. The country needs it. So, I study it, everyday. And it just doesn't seem that hard. Right now, there is a lot of investment in Bohol. I live a short boat ride away from Bohol. All I need is a boat! And a portable milker... :)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday said it will boost its efforts on dairy production following the observations of Senator Cynthia Villar, where she

17/05/2020

Hooked on nitrogen?

I know I am. I want my grass and forage plants to grow faster. But be careful with nitrogen fertilizers. They will acidify your soil and harm the microbes that are needed to make nutrients bio-available. Urea is the least harmful. As an organic compound, that makes sense. Even so.... fertilize with a little wood ash occasionally to keep the pH of your soil from dropping too much. Avoid chemical fertilizers completely. They just destroy your soil over time. So, start your composting project, buy worms... and if you really want a nitrogen boost... use urea. :)

https://www.blinc.com/role-nitrogen-fertilizer-soil-ph

Acids soils are becoming an important issue worldwide, even in areas where most people think of high pH as the bigger issue.  One of the primary reasons for our soils becoming more acidic (lower pH values) over time is through the use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers containing ammonium-N.  As the ammo...

17/05/2020

The final quarter of 2019 showed an almost 20% increase in the price of beef. Thank you to Jollibee, McDo and all pocherohans. :) What will happen this year with the lockdowns? Will we have to hang on to our cows and wait? Or start direct-to-consumer beef delivery? I think it's definitely time for Filipinos to start making burgers at home. Hmmm... time for a video on burger making.... :)

https://psa.gov.ph/livestock-poultry-iprs/cattle/prices

17/05/2020

Mara mais vs Napier

The first picture is MM. It is very palatable and has higher crude protein than Napier. The second picture shows napier cuttings being propagated. This is why we have so much more napier. MM must be allowed to grow a full season and go to seed. The seeds can then be used to propagate more. Ease of propagation means napier wins out. :)

12/05/2020

Our newest cow. He's a very little male and very cute. Small cows mature fast, are easier to handle and are usually more profitable in the long run.

26/04/2020

Madre de Agua loves repeated pruning. This was a MDA graveyard a month ago as we switched from branch pruning and pollarded them all. A bunch of sticks... not even skeletons. But they grow back fast. Forage trees produce the most biomass by planting close together with frequent pruning. MDA grows very well in partial shade so use them in those areas. Our next project will be Mulberry alternating with MDA. Shade from the Mulberrry trees will not hamper the MDA.

02/03/2020

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvopasture

Silvopasture (Latin, silva forest) is the practice of integrating trees, forage, and the grazing of domesticated animals in a mutually beneficial way.[1] It utilizes the principles of managed grazing, and it is one of several distinct forms of agroforestry.[2]

22/02/2020

Time to start pressing coconuts. To remove the milk (mostly fat). The remaining copra meal is a great feed for almost all animals (except fish). Studies in Australia show copra meal as a superior concentrate to supplement forage-based diets in cows. Adding a little urea makes it even better in terms of the ratio of bypass protein to soluble protein. Very effective.

Now, I just need a presser for my coconuts. We should be able to DIY one of these. I hope. hehe

More beef for your feed dollar:
https://stanceglobal.com/stance1/how-gypsum-works/

09/02/2020

Someone posted a question in one of my groups that was interesting. Here's my reply on a printscreen pic:

07/02/2020

Glen is making our deep drip stakes. Cut the pvc, drill holes, whittle pointed wood stoppers for the bottom. We have little water in Jampang. Our 35 new deep drip stakes will let us deliver water directly to the roots of our plants! :)

06/02/2020

Glen went to the Mantalongon Livestock Auction today to get our 2nd cow. Gonna fatten her up, too.

30/01/2020

Drought is coming? Water your plants and trees underground. Seriously. Deep drip stakes are the ticket. Make your own deep drip stakes from PVC. Watering from above the soil means that most of the water will evaporate and never reach the roots.

This is what happened to me here in Jampang in 2016. I desperately tried watering my Made de Agua trees to keep them alive. Most of them died. It was the worst drought to hit Cebu in 30 years.

This year I will be better prepared. Soaking the ground below will help your trees so much more and use much less water.

El Nino predicted again this year:

https://www.bworldonline.com/scientists-predict-el-nino-in-2020-based-on-earlier-warning-method/

The devastation of 2016 in case you missed it:

https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2016/02/19/el-nino-hits-philippines-farmers-drought-rats

https://www.silent-gardens.com/blog/drought-2016-philippines/

27/01/2020

Our Heliconias love the compost we gave them. They grew so fast they filled up their flower bed and broke the concrete. So naughty. Now, they're in seedling bags while we find a new place for them. And we patched up the flower bed with cement. Someday, we'll put something nicer there.

27/01/2020

Our mulberry trees are growing. They're taller than the kids. :) I'll prune them to produce a bushy plant with lots of berries, rather than encouraging a tall tree.

27/01/2020

After finishing the corral we were able to re-focus on the makeshift greenhouse. Cementing in some actual posts made all the difference. Before and after in the photo. :)

25/01/2020

Our new corral built by Glen and Cyril. We will cut and carry forage to give the cows. Keeping them penned up means we can easily capture all manure for our composting operation.

23/01/2020

I was sitting outside and a monarch butterfly landed next to me. I watched it walking around on the grass. Then a white butterfly flew by and the monarch flew up in the air with it. An hour later a yellow butterfly flew by. So, I started researching how to attract more butterflies. It turns out, that butterfly and bee populations are dwindling and need to be protected. So, I'll be ordering seeds for their favorite plants. I'm a big fan of butterflies. :)

https://www.manilatimes.net/2015/04/17/lifestyle-entertainment/life-times/10-ways-to-help-bees-and-butterflies-thrive/176331/176331/

23/01/2020

23/01/2020

Napier grows fast! 😁

23/01/2020

Bougainvillea comes back fast. Lots of color coming soon... :)

23/01/2020

When you run out of space for plants? String a 2x2 in between a couple coconut trees and throw over some plastic. And then dream about the day you build a real greenhouse. 🤔😁🤓

23/01/2020

We took 100 cuttings from the Sampaguita. I wish I had a picture. Too late. It's coming back super fast, too. I timed the cutting for when it finally started to rain. That is helping a lot. :)

20/01/2020

20/01/2020

Popagating Duranta. It makes a good hedge and is useful for other purposes. We'll let them grow big and then sell them to save our customers time when planting a hedge.