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Organic farming is talk of the town

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05 November 2010

Edsa Garden House Organic FarmingWe have been traveling throughout the country the past several months and everywhere we go, everybody seems to be getting into some kind of organic or natural farming. It is the same in Iloilo, Negros, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Mindoro, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Bicol, Davao, General Santos – everywhere. Farmers are growing crops as well as livestock and poultry the natural farming way.

Even in Metro Manila, interest in natural farming is growing. In fact a group of professionals have asked Andry Lim of Davao City to conduct a seminar on natural farming on August 1 at the Cancio Calma compound in Pasong Tamo, Makati City. He will also conduct a similar one at the Clark Development Zone in Pampanga. Previously, he and wife Joji had been invited to Bicol to conduct similar trainings.

Andry Lim focuses his natural farming on the use of beneficial microorganisms and herbal extracts to nourish his crops as well as his farm animals.

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Scientists develop a practical way of storing fresh tomato

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05 November 2010

Edsa Garden House TomatoTomatoes can be kept field-fresh for three weeks without using cold storage, according to the researchers from the Laguna-based Philippine Horticulture Training and Research Center (PHTRC).

One economical alternative is to use the Evaporative Cooling and Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) Technology which prolongs the storage life of fresh tomatoes under ordinary condition using locally available materials.

Developed by the team of Gloria Masilungan, Dr. Edralina Serrano and Kevin Yap, Evaporative Cooling and MAP Technology utilizes coconut coir dust and polyethylene (PE) plastic packaging and a suitable crate or container for storing tomatoes.

Masilungan said that the technology can be easily adopted by vegetable farmers at the village level production especially during periods when the price of tomatoes is low due to abundant supply, giving them up to three more weeks to store their produce while waiting for higher selling price.

“It is important, however, that the tomatoes to be stored must be green and firm to maximize the benefits of this technology,” says Masilungan. Otherwise, storage period will be shorter than what is expected. She also emphasized that the fruits must be free from injury and mechanical damage.

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