Wazzup #FARMily! Do I sound like a YTuber? Nah. LOL. BTW. How’s your farm/garden? Are you enjoying it and now having plans to level up into a larger farm? Or just interested to retire in a simple and quiet farm? Here are some farm lands I went to and personally want to own (but don’t have the budget yet. hehe).

1. Masbate

A 10-12 hour land travel plus 3 hour RoRo boat ride. They have big farm land. Some are hilly some are flat. Perfect to grow rice, corn, and vegetables. You can also grow forages for your grazing ruminants. There are also lots of cow ranches in the area!

2. Mindoro

The weather can be extremely hot and dry or raining hard for days. But the soil is fertile and good for crops like corn, rice, cassava and onion. Just make sure you have water source if you are planning to plant rice during the summer season.

3. Isabela

The first time I went here I was amazed by the large areas planted with hybrid corn. From afar, you’ll think that you are seeing Bermuda grass but when you take a closer look, they are corn. Although lands are dominated with corn production you can still innovate and customise your own farm.

4. Laguna

I specifically want farm land in cold areas in Laguna like Liliw, Nagcarlan and Lumban. Aside from the favourable temperature for high value crops, there are enough moisture and fertile soil needed by plants.

5. Quezon

An area for coconut production but lanzones, pomelo, banana and other fruit trees can also grow well here. There are flat areas where you can grow rice, corn and veggies. You are also near the ocean and seafoods are easy to access.

6. Cavite

Another place to grow high value crops. The environment is favourable to any crop. During my undergrad, we would always have trips to lettuce, bell pepper and tomato farms here and the produce are amazingly good looking and big than the usual I see in public markets.

7. Batangas

A place known for its yummy lomi and best beaches. This place is also a perfect spot for your dream farm. They have nice weather for your crops and animals. You might also consider including coffee (kapeng barako to be specific) and cacao for that early morning coffee and chocolate aroma.

Visayas and Mindanao have their own beautiful and productive farm lands worthy of your investment. I just personally picked those in Luzon because my home is in Laguna and these places are travel-friendly for me.

This pandemic has shown us how important farming/gardening/agriculture is to survive during a lockdown or even if we go back to the ‘new normal’ settings. Your farm or garden will be your source of food. If your farm is managed well, then you might not need to go to the supermarket for a week or a year and just depend on your produce.

Here’s a quick and simple guide you can follow. And if you still need a thorough planning, you can get me as your consultant! LOLjk.

First, ask yourself. Do you really want to do it? How far are you willing to go? Establishing a garden no matter how big or small requires commitment and passion. You can’t leave your farm unattended. And you can’t just plant something and wait for it to bear fruits. You have to have time for your farm despite your busy schedule.

Second, you need to know your objective/s. What are your garden goals? Are you doing it to produce your favorite basil leaves? Do you want a farm complete with all the crops that your body needs? Or is it just to establish a new hobby? Whatever it is, you need to have YOUR OBJECTIVE/S. List them down.

Third. What resources do you have? Did you inherit a 10-ha farm? Or you are leaving in a condo and the only space you have is the terrace? Adjust your objective/s based on what you have. It is ok to start in a small area and if you find yourself wanting to expand, then do it. I have a post on how to do farming in a soil-less condition and the crops you can start with. Also, how much are you willing to spend for other garden needs like seeds and fertilizers?

Fourth. After having the objectives based on your resources, do you have the basic knowledge on the crops you want to put in your garden? Not knowing your crop is a sin in farming. A lot of resources is available in the web. Instead of scrolling mindlessly on your social media accounts, why not read on how to grow your crop of interest?

Fifth. What will be your plan? How are you gonna start with your objective, resources and knowledge? Do you want to plant rice first on a hectare out of your 10-ha? If you are gardening for your own food, how are you gonna schedule your planting date to have a daily source veggies?

Sixth. Start. Do not waste too much time being scared that the small garden or the 10-ha farm will fail. If not now when? Have you answered the first 5 questions? If yes, then you are ready to go! Go on, buy your seeds, prepare your land and plant!

Lastly. Monitor and record everything that you will experience in your farm/garden. Whether good or bad take notes. From those things that you listed you will learn and the next cropping season will be better. This will show your future gardener self how much you have grown from the day you begin your garden.

This is a simple guide. You will learn more as you progress. HAPPY GARDENING/FARMING! 🙂

Are you one of those kids who climbed your neighbor’s tree to pick fruits? Because I was.  When you were born in the 90’s and grew up in the province, you most likely know the fruits below. They are rich in vitamin C and may bring good old memories.

1. Guava (Psidium guajava)

Let us start with this fruit I still see in the market. I want it ripe but my playmates back then would find it rewarding to have even the baby guavas. Did your parents also boil its leaves to wash you after a fever or use it after your tuli? Old folks in our province use the leaves a lot for medicinal purposes.

2. Indian mango (Mangifera indica)

I still crave for Indian mango from time to time. I remember when I was a kid, I’d sit under the canopy of our mango tree with a bowl of alamang, soy sauce with hot pepper, or salt. I’d pick those manibalang (crunchy light yellow flesh stage), peel, and dip to my sauce! I can’t help but salivate right now. LOL.

3. Santol (Sandoricum koetajape)

In our school when I was elementary, there was this santol tree that had lots of fruits every start of classes (around July), we would pick new fallen fruits, squeeze it between our legs to open and then dip it to salt. YUM! In some areas, people make sinantulan (viand made of grated santol flesh with small shrimp and gata).

4. Duhat (Syzygium cumini)

Remember shaking your stick-o container this fruit and salt? It was fun shaking the bottle, right? Then, you enjoy perfect combination of sweetness, sourness and saltines. Can you still recall how your hand and mouth turned purple?

5. Sampaloc (Tamarindus indica)

Some people only know this fruit from the packaging sinigang mix. Others who experienced picking one may still remember the satisfying sound of the cracking casing of the fruit. We like it ripe if we will eat it raw but our mothers prefer the unripe as part of our favorite sinigang.

6. Balimbing (Averrhoa carambola)

Grown ups use ‘balimbing’ as an insult or joke to a politician, friend or officemate. It means a person changes allegiances for personal convenience. As a kid we didn’t know that, we just love the subtle sweetness and sourness of the fruit.

7. Siniguelas (Spondias purpurea)

We rolled the fruit between our hands until it soften. We love it with or without salt. Some hate its big seed others don’t mind. I rarely see this fruit in the market now so I always grab the opportunity whenever I encounter a vendor selling this.

8. Caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito)

Star fruit to some but I grew up with Caimito. My classmates in gradeschool would be excited to go out and pick some of the fruits of Caimito. This is also one of those fruits we cracked open between our legs. We scoop it with spoon or just squeeze until the milky and sweet flesh comes out.

9. Aratiles (Muntingia calabura)

My parents would always warn me not to eat too much of this fruit (because one small and cute fruit houses several thousands of seeds) as it may cause appendicitis but lo behold! No hard scientific evidence proving that eating seeds may really cause appendicitis. Yay! We still have 2 trees of this fruit nearby.

10. Mansanitas (Ziziphus jujuba)

Just like Siniguelas you roll it between your hands until it softens and ready to eat but this one has smaller seeds. You can actually eat the whole thing even the seeds if you like.    There are trees of this fruit inside the compound where I work and I still enjoy picking and eating some.

11. Berba (Garcinia intermedia)

Not really encountered this one when I was a kid but we this in our office and when my friend from Bicol saw it, he started reminiscing the times they picked Berba fruits not just to eat but also to sell them. Thus, I included it here. It has sour and sweet taste, and you eat it like small version of santol.

12. Lipote (Syzygium polycephaloides)

This one resembles the look of duhat but is not the same as duhat. But just like duhat, you put it inside a container and add salt then shake. It tastes like mangosteen. I just learned that you can make a good wine out of this fruit.

13. Macopa (Syzygium samarangense)

A bell shape fruit that is abundant during the summer season in the Philippines. The word copa is a Spanish word for goblet and macopa resembles a cup shape if turned upside down. This one is not as tasteful as the other fruits. But I love the crunch you get from each bite you make.

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In this fast pacing world surrounded with technologies, we sometimes crave a simple life we used to live and I hope these fruits somehow allowed you to time travel.