Why Garden: Co-creating With Nature Is A Step Towards Less Consumerism

 

Moringa Oleifera (Malunggay in Filipino)

One of my favorite non-fiction author, Michael Pollan, whose books include "Botany of Desire," "Cooked," and "The Omnivore's Dilemma," posed the question, "Why make your own bread or beer when you can buy them for only how much at the store?" to paraphrase him. Indeed. 

The answer is that we've lost touched with how our food is grown and produced. We've left the growing and production (also over-processing) to faceless workers and corporations who make us laboratory rats of their sinister recipes. Maybe, we shouldn't be surprised if the young kids (or new generation) thinks the food they eat are grown in supermarkets. And talk about the current state of obesity and poor health.

Every Seed is A Promise of Life: Sowing Peanut Butter in My Small Garden

Peanut Butter seedling 31 days after sowing seed

2 Seeds, 1 Life

My best buddy, Ironwulf, gifted me with an unusual present last holiday season -- two peanut butter tree seeds from Davao. I would've requested for more had I known this but went ahead and planted them in my small balcony garden anyway. The present was especially auspicious as they were given to me on the same date as the passing of my brother, the 29th.

I'm happy to say that the seeds got a 50% germination rate. The plant showed new growth daily ever since the seed sprouted in my second pot after just a week.  I've transplanted it just yesterday and found the root system to be extensive, balling up in the small pot where I've sown it. I've gardened for most of my life and up to now, I don't take seeds for granted. It's really amazing how such a small package hold the blueprint of life. I can't wait to post again after another month and see how tall this plant will grow. I know it takes two or so years before it fruits but I want to enjoy the process.

This simple act offers lessons -- one, is that life continues, and two, to give things a try. 

Gardening Notes: When The Universe Sends You Something To Affirm Your Faith In Humanity

A green set of gifts -- Alocasia and Caladium

It's been a kinda bittersweet couple of months, especially, the last few weeks. I would've thought that there was relief coming to my corner of the world after a trying period from last year -- losing my job, getting sick with Long COVID-19 (4 months), selling my belongings to survive, being scammed, getting close to getting employment about thrice but not clinching it, getting sick with psoriasis, getting scammed again, and getting scammed still one more time. The past month, one of my brothers suffered a stroke. Honestly, if there's a reset or reboot button, I would've pressed it long ago.  I admire my sister for all she had to put up with. I can't do even half of what she does.

The other day, I was particularly on the low side of moods -- my two-month-old Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse faltered (my best bud called it Lugi-tech). I'm facing a payday with one day less pay. I mean, c'mon Universe. 

Then, I met a 2-3 year old cute kid wearing a shirt that says "Today is going to be a great day." Hmmm, I get the humor but I feel pained. I felt like telling the Universe, "you think that's funny, huh?" 

Urban Gardening Notes: The Wind, The Afternoon Sun, and Pressing On

Bitter gourd/melon

I got mixed results from sowing seeds a bit too late in the year.  Or is it?  It's El Niño season so I can be wrong. The wind funnel effect of living in a building sandwiched in between other buildings is proving to be tricky in trying to grow my own bitter gourd (ampalaya) which is a climbing vine. I'm still trying and the vines are still holding on so we'll see. The wind may just have an effect in making the surviving vines stronger and more resilient.

Basil getting bigger

I also moved some of the potted plants around, taking the basil and hot chili plants out of the longer western sun exposure (my balcony faces west though the ledge casts a shadow on one side of the balcony area) along with my dragontail plants (Epipremnum pinnatum) which thrives more on reflected light compared to its cousin, the Pothos plants I have in abundance (I use a few pots indoors for cleaning indoor air and letting a bit of nature inside).

The basil is thriving, growing larger leaves which in a few weeks' time, I can use in cooking or to make an aromatic olive oil mix since I would have to trim it anyway.  But I'm so happy it's doing well. The other time I tried growing some, the Eurasian sparrows who I used to feed in my former abode, would feed on the leaves when they ran out of birdseed.  I miss the birds and I wonder if they themselves wonder what happened to the human who used to feed them daily for almost two decades. In time, I would go back to feeding the birds and hopefully some of the sparrows can find my new location.  For the time being, I'm happy growing some of my own herbs and edibles.

An Empath's Indoor Garden & A Short Note on ANSI LED grow light

My indoor garden & ANSI LED Grow Light

I've been gardening ever since I was a kid so I personally know the joy of getting your hands on the earth (I don't like calling it dirt), making do with whatever resources I had at that time, growing plants either from leftover seeds from eaten veggies or cuttings culled from the neighborhood gardens.  The resurgence of interest in gardening last year IMHO, is both a good and a bad thing.  

ANSILED 24W grow light (ANSI website)

Good because it made a lot of people connect back to nature.  Bad because even my erstwhile favorite store (not anymore as she turned snooty) at the Cartimar garden stores is charging so much for plants I used to grow from free cuttings.  Also bittersweet is that I used to see really humongous Alocasia in the forests when I used to go hiking up the mountains.

Plants such as Pothos (also called Devil's Ivy) and Adansonii (Swiss cheese plant because the leaves have holes in them when receiving adequate sunlight) were among my favorite shrubs before.  Now, a small pot of pothos (depending on the variety) can cost P200-400.  Some enterprising sellers (a lot of them non-gardeners) even sell on a per-leaf basis which is like highway robbery.