My plants were practically dying due to the extreme heat. Last summer, our son, Ted, tried to revive two of my dying plants by spraying them with a natural concoction made from fish innards. He was pleasantly surprised when the plants started to show signs of life. He was hooked! And wanted to learn more about my concoctions.
Vanilla, the exotic 2nd most expensive spice in the world, thrives in the Philippines. It is an “Emerging” new industry. A group of vanilla enthusiasts led by Dr. Reynaldo Lantin of UPLB, Basil Bolinao etc. formed the Vanilla Industry Devt. Association Inc (VIDA) with former DA Usec Evelyn Lavina of High-Value Crops as adviser. The goal is for the Philippines to be a top quality Vanilla producer. This means starting right with the correct planting material, the vanilla planifolia and to practice the proper planting protocols.
Fortunately, the Department of Agriculture (DA), through its training arm, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), sponsored Flor’s Garden a workshop on Natural Farming, Jadam, and Vanilla Planting in early June. Jadam means “People resemble nature”. Trainers were Natural Farming/Jadam gurus Andry and Joji Lim from Davao, while the Vanilla portion by Maila Toreja of Viela Farms in Batangas.
Participants were a good cross-section which included former DA Usec Evelyn LaVina, experienced organic farm owners Pabs and Susy Villegas, Rubi Arreza, from academe Vicente Mauricio of UAP, and four participants from Wesleyan University and the Carolina L. Gozon Institute of Lifelong Learning, new farm owners, several farm hands, etc. Learning came from the seasoned trainers, the knowledgeable participants themselves, and the environment.
I found the Natural Farming system by Han Kyu CHO of Korea quite revolutionary. The natural farming concoctions are cheap, already using easy-to-find materials like grasses, leaves that grow fast, bones (from your bulalo, etc.), and eggshells. But because of the need for molasses which may not always be available or expensive, Mr. Cho’s son, Youngsan CHO came up with JADAM which is even more ultra-low cost as it doesn’t use molasses. The ingredients are practically the same except that instead of molasses, substitute with water and leaf mold. Leaf mold is decayed leaves that’s already converted to soil. Look for leaf mold under heaps of dried leaves in your garden God is good indeed.
Do you know that plants, like people, have growth stages? The stage from small seedlings and before flowering or fruiting is the vegetative stage; when the plant matures and small flowers start to show, that’s the cross over, then the flowering, fruiting season. Different nutrients and fertilizers are required at distinct stages.
Do you like to know how to make ultra-low cost Jadam Liquid Fertilizer (JLF) which has no expiry, and as it age, the better? Here it is.
JADAM Liquid Fertilizer (JLF) Ingredients:
- Water. Soft water. Rainwater is the best. Or if chlorinated, let stay for 24 hours before using.
- Natural Sea Salt
- Leaf Mold
l. Vegetative-Food or fertilizer for leaves of Plants.
- Grass, Leaves that grow fast such as ManeManean, Kamote, Kangkong, banana trunks etc.
Procedure:
- Fill pail with the grass and leaves, add water, natural sea salt and leaf mold.
- Cover the pail
- After 30 days, water turns blackish, very concentrated. Harvest the JLF and put in another container.
- To use, dilute 1:100 before watering the soil around the plants.
- Can reuse by adding water, grasses, leaves, leaf mold and salt. Harvest after 30 days.
- The sludge (left over grasses/leaves at bottom) good compost, organic matter.
- Fish (Produce amino acid, the building block of protein)
Same procedure. Just fill pail half full of fish, then fill up with water. No need to add salt if fish came from the sea. Can use hasangs, gills, innards that fish vendors throw away and considered wastes in the market.
Instead of 30 days, keep for three months. Dilution is 1:400. Concentrated and so cheap!
ll. Cross Over Stage/Flowering Fruiting
To induce flowering and fruiting for matured plants and trees- use any ripe fruits, bones from your bulalo (calcium phosphate), eggshells, oyster shells, clam shells (calcium) and follow same procedure.
Right after the workshop, our son Ted immediately started on his goal to make the mango trees in Ed’s farm more productive. He made JLF with mango leaves and is now gathering bones and eggshells to get ready for the fruiting season. Gardening teaches patience and hope. Looking forward to more fruitful farms with our new “disciples” in natural farming and Jadam technology!
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Ms. Tarriela was former PNB Chairman and now serves as Board Advisor. A former Undersecretary of Finance, she is lead independent director of Nickel Asia Corp., director of LTG Inc. and FINEX. A gardener and an environmentalist, she founded Flor’s Garden in Antipolo, now an events destination. The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FINEX.