How We Created A Productive Vegetable Garden

Baby vegetables in the shade

Turning an idle plot of land into a productive vegetable garden is not an easy task. We had an unused plot and although we had dreams of how it could be, the difficulties involved made us reluctant to even start.

However, earlier this year we were contacted by the young and enthusiastic technicians working for Baybay City Agriculture Office (CAO) headed by Ms Mora Abarquez.

Technicians Mike Jefferson Camposano and Myrna Romero informed us about the Baybay City project “Climate-Smart Integrated Crop Management on Vegetable Production Project” “Gulay Na Sapat Para sa Lahat”.

An initiative of the LGU of Baybay City led by the City Mayor Hon Jose Carlos L. Cari.

After visiting our vacant site the technicians together with Technical Service Provider Jane Cando-Llanera gave us advice about the project and we were invited to attend a number of training seminars on vegetable production.

Laying down black plastic mulch

While it is necessary to include both inorganic and organic fertilizer to gain maximum yield, the project encourages the use of herbal pesticides, insect traps and herbal growth enhancers to ensure the safety and nutritional health of the consumers of these vegetables.

To get us started the CAO sent a tractor to plow our land twice. This enabled us to remove the huge stones littering the plot as it had once been a riverbed. A hand cultivator was borrowed from a neighboring barangay and this enabled us to quickly clear the land and form several raised beds for vegetable production.

As well as the seminars and trainings, the project gave us many of the inputs needed to start a farm: seeds, seed trays, fertilizers, plastic mulch, crop production protocols and hands on help. The technicians are only a text away if you need help or advice.

We have already planted out more than 300 plants each of Pipino, Kamatis and Atsal. Next we will be planting Eggplant, Ampalaya and Petchay. We hope to start harvesting the Pipino early next month.