Food always in the home

In the Philippines still some 20% of the pre-school population is found to suffer from severe or moderate underweight. Likewise 17% of the Filipino school children fall below the standard weight for their age. Especially malnutrition through deficiencies in iron and vitamin A is taking its toll. This qualitative poor nutrition easily leads to irreparable damage to the brains. Only well-nourished children can grow to their physical and mental potential and fully benefit from education opportunities.

Henrylito Tacio

PCARRD (1988) claimed that backyard gardening of vegetables and fruits could help alleviate the problem of malnutrition. It has been found that home gardening can reduce by about 20% an average family's daily food expenditures (Torres 1985). Considering the high costs of vegetables and the rate of malnutrition in the Philippines today, as well as in other Asian countries, home gardening should be taken seriously by low- income families. With this background the non-governmental Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Centre (MBRLC) has developed since 1974 a systematic way of gardening which is called Food Always In The Home (FAITH). It has been reported to provide vegetables throughout the year. It does not build upon heavy inputs of costly fertilisers but emphasizes the use of locally available resources. For FAITH gardening ten basic steps have been developed: - Step 1: Locate the best site Criteria for an optimal site include good water supply, good drainage, good initial soil fertility, sufficient sunlight and aeration. - Step 2: Provide enough space To provide enough vegetables each day for a family of six some 100 m2 are adequate. - Step 3: Prepare the plots thoroughly Clean the site and save cut grasses and weeds for composting later on. Dig the land to a depth of 15-20 cm and pulverize clods. If necessary make raised beds (1015 cm above ground level) to provide proper drainage. - Step 4: Manure with compost Make compost baskets of wire or flexible bamboo strips around stakes to make forms of at least one foot high. Plant seedlings 5-8 cm away from the baskets. Watering should be done inside the baskets and not directly to the plants. - Step 5: Plant 1/3 of the section to early maturing vegetables Divide the garden into three sections. Set aside this first section for vegetables that you can harvest within 2-4 months such as tomato, pechay (Chinese cabbage or Brassica campestris and B. pekinensis), or sweet corn. Do not plant the whole section but keep half of it for relay planting. - Step 6: Plant another 1/3 to semi-annuals This section can be exploited for vegetables with a maturity of 6-9 months such as winged bean, bitter gourd, cucumber, or ginger. Reserve again half of the section for relay planting. - Step 7: Plant the remaining 1/3 Here you can plant year-round vegetables such as lima bean, pigeon pea, upland 'kangkong' (water spinach or Ipomoea aquatica), or 'alugbati' (a local vegetable). And of course you reserve half of the area for relay planting. - Step 8: Plant surrounding area to (semi-) permanent crops The area that surrounds the garden is well placed for fruit trees. They contribute to the establishment of a favourable micro-climate in addition to the benefit of the fruit production. - Step 9: Plant the reserved sections on time Plant the relay crops in the first section when the first crops are flowering, in the second section after 4 months and in the third section after some 5 months. . - Step 10: Practise crop rotation This is to maintain soil fertility and to prevent the spread of pests and diseases.

Basket composting The merits of compost are known and praised by many a gardener. However, making compost still requires considerable amounts of labour, especially when one wants to turn the organic material once or twice. Fanatic compost makers even turn heaps or pits three times. It must be admitted that a very pleasant and friable material is the result, but not every gardener wants to spend so much time on its production. As an acceptable compromise, and especially for home gardening, the basket method has been developed, practised and proven to be well performing. How does it work? Simple baskets of some 30 cm high are made of bamboo and/or wire. They are placed at regular distances in the beds. Crops are planted at some 5-8 cm from the outer rim of the basket. The baskets can be filled with home garbage, garden and farm wastes, dung, leaves, soil scrapings, in short all sorts of organic material. Put predecayed material into the basket first while fresh material is to be put last. When the bottom material is almost decomposed the crops can be planted. Do not plant any crop into the basket because they would not survive due to the substances produced during decomposition. Regularly add new material onto the old material. Water only the centre of the basket so that readily soluble nutrients will seep into the soil for uptake by the plant roots. After the harvest you can spread the remaining organic material evenly over the bed.

More tips 'Harden' seedlings before transplanting them by gradually exposing them to more sunlight or more water stress. Cultivate or loosen the soil around the plants to enable full root development. Some crops such as okra, eggplant, bitter gourd, winged bean, string bean or sweet pepper can be rejuvenated by cutting them 15-30 cm above ground level. Crops like cucumber, bitter gourd, winged bean or string bean need trellises for support. Mulching is a 'must' in the dry season to reduce unnecessary moisture loss. FAITH gardening is not the final word in family gardening. It just gives a general overview of some outlines that can help to improve home gardening in order to provide adequate food with minimum cost, labour and land utilization. Ultimate shaping of your garden will depend on local biological circumstances but also on your own preferences and interests. You are very welcome to share your experiences.

Henrylito Tacio MBRLC PO Box 94 Davao del Sur 8005 Philippines