Step 11: Is it already a school?

Not yet! But the few farmers working with us for these first steps of the school farm establishment needed a first and fast formation about natural farming. It is better to understand why all these concoctions and how to do it, doesn't it? Three kagawads of Luna were present showing the interest of the barangay to the future school farm.

To surpass the language problem, it was necessary to give this teaching in local dialect and NIRD (Negros oriental Institute for Rural Development, Cabiguhan, Barangay Lopez Jaena, Sagay City) helped us to reach this target in only one day.

Edwin Gelogo and Kagawad Ronnie Diotay presented during the morning:

- the difference between natural and conventional farming,

- the principles of natural farming,

- the preparation and use of IMO (Indigenous Micro-Organisms), FPJ (Fermented Plant Juice) and OHN (Oriental Herbal Nutrients).

During the afternoon, they share their experience about natural farming rice (SRI technology) and corn production. It was a real discovery for the audience. It is always difficult to accept there is alternative to the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other suicide products.

Among many, one interesting question of one farmer was: "Why nobody told us before about this natural farming?"

Everyone can give his own answer...

Step 10: Corn and mungbean plantations

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Day by day, harvests of sugar cane set free new areas. Better planting any crop than leaving the soil going back to weeds!

Until 15th of December corn can be planted around Sagay. As we have not yet the equipment and the place to practice true natural farming, we decided to use only vermicompost (produced by the agriculturist of City Hall with the wastes of the market) as organic fertilizer and to plant white organic corn produced by the BPI in La Carlotta near Bacolod.

To improve the soil in the corn area (3700 m²) and the windbreak area recently planted, we decided to use mungbean as cover crop and green fertilizer.

But mungbean can be stronger and faster than the corn. To avoid any problem of competition, the mungbean (75x10 cm) will be planted between the row of corn (75x30 cm) and 40 days after sowing of corn. (Picture: sowing the corn in the rain) . If no mistake, the mungbean will provide on time nitrogen to the corn and can be harvested at the same time 80 days later. Then, all wastes will be incorporated in the soil for the next crop.

On the other hand, the mungbean between the trees of the windbreaks will not be harvested because incorporated to the soil just at the time of flowering. That's the price for a beginning of rehabilitation after years of sugar cane monocropping and chemical fertilizers.

Here under is what a french poet called " Le geste auguste du semeur..." ( "The noble gesture of the sower..."). And it is true the farmer's work is noble when it is practiced in respect of the nature. Always, the farmers must remember that before leaving the farm to go to the big town, attracted like a skylark by the mirror and get a worst life. Other solution exists.

Post-script: The first flower of Calliandra planted 2 months ago:

Step 9: New rows of windbreaks

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We saw at the step 3, the interest of making windbreaks. An interesting publication about windbreak can be found here. 

In September, we started the creation of the first row of windbreaks with the plantation of shrubs as living fence. We can now, in some place, plant the next rows. The sugar cane is far from fully harvested and we have to adapt to this situation.

A selection of 6 trees has been chosen for the second row, the medium size trees: 

-Azadirachta indica, the neem tree, a versatile multipurpose tree for urban regreening, agroforestry, fuelwood production, and for a variety of other products, including biopesticides. 

- Cassia fistula, the golden shower (picture), is an ornamental and shade leguminous tree used around houses, on the edges of roads, and in the streets, parks, and gardens of towns. 

- The malunggay or Moringa oleifera is a so useful tree that, one day, we will reserve a chapter only for it. The owner of the Moringa farm write: "You can pick its leaves and make it part of a delicious fresh salad, use it in one our many moringa recipes, (It goes especially well with 

chicken). Or you can dry the leaves to make a delicious green tea. You can also make tea with the leaf powder in a traditional coffee maker.  If you have enough leaf, you can dry it and make it into moringa powder, like we do, and use it ‘s concentrated nutrition to balance your diet for increased energy and sense of well being. The possibilities are endless."

- Sesbania grandiflora, known in the Philippines as katuray is also a member of the leguminous  family can be used as fodder for cattle and goats. 

- The banaba or Lagerstroemia speciosa is member of the family of Lythraceae and one of th few deciduous tree of the tropics. Banaba is a well known medicinal plant widely used in the Philippines to treat diabetes and urinary problems and even malaria.

- and the Kamatsile ( Pithecellobium dulce or Manila tamarind) another leguminous. Sometimes, from July to August, along the roads, kids sale the fruits containing an acid or sweet pulp. Many other uses are known for this tree coming from South America.

The next row is the one of tall trees. We selected:

- Artocarpus blancoi, the breadfruit easily recognised with its large leaves until 80cm long and 50 cm large and with fruits consumed as fruit, vegetable, fermented or dried.

- Artocarpus heterophyllus, the jackfruit, so economically important in South-East Asia. And so big fruits also: until 1m long, 50 cm diameter and 50kg!

-Sandoricum koetjape, the santol (see picture of santol growing under coconut) which can grow as high as 45m has been introduced in the Philippines.

- Swietenia macrophylla or mahogany of which everybody knows the high value wood.

- Shorea contorta or white lauan, endemic to the Philippines and depleted due to logging and kaingin-making.

 

The next row is the one of medium size fruit trees:

- Syzigium cuminii, locally named as duhat. The fruit can be eaten fresh or used for jam, juice and wine. It is also a great medicinal plant.

- Persea americana or avocado already cultivated by the Aztecs 7500 years BC.

- Antidesma bunius or bignay (picture of the fruits) commercially used now to produce wine in the Philippines.

- Artocarpus odoratissimus or marang not exported because of the low yields and conservation.

Neem tree, mahogani, white lauan, duhat, avocado and bignay were bought to Negros forest and ecological foundation, Inc. and the other seedlings from our nursery.

300 hundred trees and 700 hundreds shrubs are now planted as windbreaks. By the way, this banaba is the 1000 th plant planted in the school farm!

Step 8: The rice - part 1: from land preparation to transplantation

Rice is the staple food in the Philippines. In a few months, when will arrive the staff and the first students of the school, around 30 hungry filipino stomachs will ask after their daily portions of rice! Even if we wish to diversify and equilibrate the diet with vegetables and fruits, we have to produce our rice and, of course, it will be organic rice. Following the advices of the Department of Agriculture of the City of Sagay, we choose to use for this first non chemical production in that place, the AG-5 variety of MASIPAG rice. MASIPAG means: Magsasaka at Siyentipiko Para sa Pag-unlad Agrikultura we can translate by: Farmer-Scientist Partnership for Development.

Why this choice? Because now, more than ever, high yielding varieties of rice have also high needs of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, high production costs and are not well adapted to 

small filipino farmers. The MASIPAG technology is an alternative solution for farmers who choose the 

organic way of farming, with a choice of dozens of traditional varieties of rice. These rices grow with organic fertilizers and are less sensitive to pests and diseases, especially because of rotation between the different varieties of rice.

Note: as we have not yet any building built, it is difficult to prepare the concoction and to apply the natural farming technique for rice.  We consider this first production as a non-chemical step and we will measure the difference of yield when NF technique will be fully applied later.

Preparing the rice field is the first step and means harrowing, leveling and planing, repairing 

the dykes, cleaning the canal, etc. :

Harrowing of the rice field mixes the rice straw with the mud. It will be rapidly transformed in organic matter. The carabao is the faithful friend of the farmer during this hard work. 

The cleaning of the canal helps to evacuate the excess of water after a big rain. Anyway, in case of big flood the crick becomes a river and 

there is no large enough canal to evacuate the excess of water and the young plantations can be rooted up.

The palay is first soaked inside bags submerged in the river during 48 hours, the time to start germination.

At the same time, in a quiet place, a bed is prepared with soil to elevate the bed over the level of the water and covered with old bags before sowing the  germinated palay. The seedlings are covered with rice straw and coconut leaves during a few days. 

The control of the level of water is essential to not flood the seedlings. A simple half bamboo regulates the level, evacuating the excess of water to the canal.

At day 3, the rice becomes a little green and the cover of rice hull and coconut leaves will be soon taken off for hardening.

At day 8 after sowing, the rice gets his typical luminous green color. A first spraying of an extraction of Makabuhay (Tinospora rumphii) acts as excellent organic insecticide and repellent for snails. 

Note: Soon, we will talk about the organic products which replace pesticides.

It is time to level the rice field with the suyod, sort of big rake to push the excess of mud (the suyod is down) in one place to a place where the mud is missing (the suyod is up).  One more time man and carabao are working together. This step requires practice and skills from the couple of workers.

Another tool, the planer, sort of suyod without teeth, allows the farmer to finish the planing of the rice field. At the end of this step the level must be the same everywhere and the mixing mud and water homogeneous.

As basal fertilizer, we use temporarily vermicompost made with the organic waste of the market of Sagay City and prepared by the EEMO (Economic Enterprise Management Office) under supervising of Engr. Manuel A. Lopez.

Last step of this episode is the transplanting of the seedlings. Some blades of rice are rapidly planted every 20-25cm. Here at day 21 after sowing.

Step 7: Some news from our recent residents

A short pause to see how are our few plantations. Along the fence, the Calliandra begin to acclimate (picture: 16 days after transplanting) but we can observe they really don't like excess of water. We needed to improvise a drainage before replacing dead plants. In other places, the recovery of the seedlings is near 100% showing the good quality of the production of the Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation, Inc. of Bacolod.

The Kadyos also thrive on the bank of the rice field. 26 days after transplanting many leaves appeared and the fight against weeds is won ... for today only!

Life is more difficult for the Madre de Cacao, but even after flood in the rice field, some of them resist and show the opening of new buds, here 29 days after planting of the cutting. 

And the great surprise is the bamboo: after only 13 days, buds have grown and even small leaves appeared.

Step 6: The bamboo propagation

Is it possible to imagine a philippine farm without bamboo? Of course, the answer is: no! From touthpick to construction, the bamboo is useful for all. As we have only three small clumps of bamboos, we need to propagate this king of the family of the poaceae.The Bambusa spinosa we have is the most common bamboo in the Philippines, also called Kawayan (Kauayan) tinik. It can be used inside the windbreaks. For this first trial, we choose the culm cutting-1 node technique. After selecting the culm, it is cut at 2.50m from the soil: the middle third of the culm bears the best nodes for the cuttings. So the top of the culm is also discarded.

The longer branches should be cut at the second node and the secondary branches are discarded.

At the nursery, a medium is prepared with sand and vermicompost (1:1) and used to fill large strong polyethylene bags.

It is now time to cut the bamboo. It is important to have a very clean cutting and the saw for pruning is a better tool than the machete.

The cutting is then buried in the bag with an angle.

Last steps as usual: watering, mulching and spraying of microorganisms.

Our cuttings need now around 7 months of care (watering everyday, spraying,...) before replanting the news rhizomes with new shoots.

Step 5: The coconut clumps

There are a few coconut trees in the farm, not enough to quench the thirst of many students! If  we want 40 to 50 coconut trees in a classic pattern (7.5mx7.5m) we will need 2800 m². It is a too much big area. The clump technique (from Bill Mollison, Permaculture, A Designer'Manual, Tagari publication, Second edition, 2002) consists to group 10-12 coconut trees in a circle 5m diameter. The used space is reduced to 80 m² for 4 clumps of 11 coconut trees each.

In other terms 1 ha of conventional coconut tree plantation can accept 177 palms and very few place for intercropping. The clump technique increases the number of palm to 266 per hectare and 8000 m² are available for intercropping.

As the coconut trees are very closed, they will compete for the light and grow in direction of the exterior of the circle. Another advantage is the center of the circle will be filled with the husk, dead leaves and provide to the trees an excellent mulching and fertilizer. The area can stay clean without too much work.

We have now 44 coconut trees planted (4 clumps of 11 coconut trees) and .... a few years to wait before we can taste our bukos!

Step 4: Continuing the living fence

The boundary of the west side is in the middle of a crick used as ricefield. The barbed wire is really horrible in the middle of the rice and we wish to hide it as soon as possible. But what plant can accept these conditions of life? With Davoy, from Negros Forest and Ecological Foundation, we expect that the Madre de Cacao or Kakawate (Gliricidia sepium) can accept the challenge. If it grows, it will also provide free nitrogen to the rice and food for livestock.

So we deliver long cuttings we reduce to small pieces of 40 cm with a slant cut each side. Then, the bark downside is peeled a few centimeters. It avoids also to plant the cutting upside-down. 

A carabao of the village delivers the 880 cuttings along the ricefield. Everybody is happy to have finished the manual sawing!

A hole is made in the dyke, vermicompost is added and the cutting planted.

Result in a few week!

In fact, this row of Madre de Cacao is not really included in the windbreak and we have to start it from the bank of the ricefield. This place is very sensitive to erosion. A leguminous plant is choosen as usual. This time it is Cajanus cajan or Pidgeon pea or, locally, Kadyos. Use of Kadyos are multiple: food, fodder, apiculture, fuel, fibre, timber, medicine and even host for silkworm. It controls erosion and we need to protect the fragil crick bank. It fixes nitrogen and improves the soil.

Direct seeding is possible but its slow early growth during 2-3

 months can be a problem of competition. That is why we used the germination in plastic tray, transplantation at 25-30 days, vermicompost, protection with banana bracts and mulching. The time life of this plant is 5 years.

The first 100 (on the 250 needed) Kadios planted along the ricefield will fix the the bank with their roots longer than 2m.

Step 3: Beginning of the windbreaks

The multipurpose windbreak we started to plant this month will protect the crops from wind. Of course it will not stop typhoons but the negative effects of strong winds until 50 km/h are drastically reduced. This benefic effect improves the production, protects the soil and conserves water. It will also increase the biodiversity and provide farm products.Its design must be considered very seriously: in the worst case, a bad windbreak increases the destructive effect of the wind! The orientation, the density, the number of rows, the height of the trees is not the fruit of the hazard.

The trees  or bushes we chose are the result of a hard selection: the tree should show good qualities when used as windbreak, it must be available in Negros Island, thrive on clay-loamy soil and show at least one useful property like nitrogen fixer, erosion control, fruit, nut or food, bee or bird forage or food, resistance to dryness or water logging, good growth rate, mulching, medicine. Thanks to Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation, Inc. in Bacolod ( http://www.negrosforests.org ) especially to his Chairman Gerardo L. Ledesma and David "Davoy" Castor who helped me in the choice of species of trees and provided a great number of seedlings.

The first flower of a cutting of Hibiscus

in our nursery will be a component of

the living fence

We decided to install 7 rows:

- the first one is along the barbed wire and will establish a living fence supposed to replace the bamboo posts and the barbed wire when they will be destroyed in 3 to 5 years. Most percent of the plants are leguminous and will be used as forage for the lifestock. This row starts to deflect the wind.

- The second row is made with medium size trees (as neem tree), first real rampart to protect from the wind.

- The third row is the place of tall trees (as white lauan) which will deflect the wind high over the crops on about 10 times the height of the tallest tree.

- The forth row is again medium tree but exclusively fruit trees (as cachew or avocado).

- the 3 next rows are leguminous plants used for cut and carry method to feed the livestock.

Today we will see only the first row: the living fence. This row is the first you will see when you arrive at the school farm. It must be nice to see, that is why you will find Bougainvillea spectabilis so beautiful and much more efficient than barbed wire to keep bad people outside! And Tecoma stans, Duranta plumieri, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and Caesalpinia pulcherrima will color and become more attractive the limit of the lot. A farm should also look like a garden! 

                                        

                                             

Caesalpinia pulcherrima, a beautiful leguminous plant of Asia!

But it is also a farm and the living fence should also be productive and we will plant Cajanus cajan, the pidgeon pea, Calliandra calothyrsus, Sesbania sesban the egyptian pea and Gliricidia sepium the marvellous and multipurpose Madre de Cacao. 

Let see the plantation of the 500 first Calliandra. The seedlings are planted every 50 cm to have a good windbreak effect. As always in a windbreak we give preference to the efficience as windbreak, not to the productivity. As rule of thumb, 500 Calliandra are enough to feed 1 cow or 4 to 5 goats.

 

Here the 9 steps: 

Cleaning of the roots of sugar cane

     Sticking

      Holing

     Adding compost

   

 Mixing of the compost

    Planting

    Protecting from the wind

    Spraying of microorganisms

    Mulching with bagasse