Missed Valentine's Day? There are still a weekend left this February to celebrate the season of love with your significant other, family, or friends. Those who want to experience nature and get hands-on with plants and animals will surely enjoy spending a day or two with their loved ones on a farm. Farms offer a mix of nature adventure and surreal firsthand experience with the origin of food.
Here are some of the farms that are great for couples and families alike who want to celebrate the month of love with a dose of agriculture:
Balay sa Hardin
Started from a retiree couple's dream to grow their own food, the 3,000-square-meter Balay sa Hardin in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte is a beautifully landscaped farm and garden offering visitors farming and livestock workshops and a farm-to-table dining experience. The integrated farm takes pride in giving its guests fresh food directly from the crops they grow and an enchanting experience with nature as they get to it in their restaurant surrounded by vast greenery and colorful flowers.
Read: Retiree couple’s edible garden inspires others to farm
Fresca Farm
For those who want an easy escape from the urban jungles of Metro Manila, this farm in Amadeo, Cavite, offers a relaxing environment with nature and delicious farm-to-table samgyup meals. Initially, the farm started growing lettuce but integrated a fusion of Filipino and Korean dishes to deal with the lettuce oversupply problem back in 2019. Today, the “Samgyump sa Farm” restaurant continues to gain popularity as it offers customers a refreshing view of the surrounding greenery while enjoying their meal.
Read: Cavite farm’s “unli samgyup” proves that innovation unlocks unlimited opportunities
The Beehive Farm and Kitchen
From marinades to dressings, honey has been proven to have a lot of uses in the culinary world. Its rich taste, texture, and health benefits enamored many to use it either as itself or an alternative to sugar in many dishes. The usefulness of honey in cooking has been exemplified by this bee farm in Lipa City, Batangas which uses honey infusions in nearly all of its dishes. The owners integrated their bee farm with their restaurant to bring customers direct and fresh honey supply for the honey-infused cuisines.
Read: Lipa City restaurant serves fresh honey-infused dishes from their bee farm
Umanika Eco-Cultural Farm
Umanika means “You harvest, come here,” “Uma ni Kalinaw” and “Uma ni Kalipay”, hence the farm's delectable offerings to visitors who want to spend their weekends with nature in the highlands of Bukidnon. The farm showcases a sprawling field where visitors can walk and enjoy outdoor activities and its signature restaurant offers meals made up of ingredients directly sourced from its garden. For those who would like to level up their knowledge of farming, the farm also offers hands-on workshops on organic farming and farm-to-table activities.
Read: Bukidnon natural farm guarantees good food and a great learning experience
Taal Maranan’s Farmville
Literally inspired by the online game Farmville, this farm in Taal, Batangas not only sells fresh produce, but also enjoyable sceneries and cuisines where families can appreciate farming. It is a five-hectare agritourism site offering family-friendly activities, accommodation, farm-to-table meals, and more. Despite the eruption of Taal Volcano in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, the farm continues to thrive, not only providing smiles to its satisfied customers but most importantly, to its local community by providing continuous livelihood amidst the pandemic-related lockdowns.
Read: A farm stands strong after the Taal volcano eruption and now, amid a health crisis
These are just some of the farms across the country where people can engage with nature and gastronomic adventures this love month. Aside from relaxation, farm visits also help people get more engaged with the origin of the food they eat and appreciate the importance of agriculture in society. It doesn’t have to be Valentine’s Day for you to spread the love for agriculture by visiting a farm with loved ones.