I think people really underestimate the power of just wanting to do it, and hard work, and competitive spirit, and preparation. — Joe Burrow
In the past few days, the weather has been the same.
It is scorching during the daytime and is cold and stormy at night. Even if I prefer my windows to be open at night, I needed to close it because of the strong winds and heavy downpour at irregular times.
Electricity Issues
And now that the '-ber' months are here, the age-old rumours are out again. The usual repetitive brownouts are starting to happen furiously until the year ends, purportedly to increase profits by 'shocking' the electric meter every time the electricity is back and spiking the reading on older meters.
I'm not so sure about that though, but we turn off our main circuit breaker every time it happens because it might cause damage to our appliances, like how our other refrigerator 'died' after the intermittent brownouts a few months ago.
At the orchard, we do have electricity there, but the wiring and lightbulbs were stolen when it was abandoned a few years ago. We still get a 5 peso monthly bill on that cottage which is about 0.09 USD at the moment of writing, unlike our 52 USD monthly bill in our main house.
Before the year ends, I am planning to gradually transition to solar energy since solar panel sets and installation has become more accessible and cheaper now. It is still a long-term investment with a high capital and with an ROI within 2-4 years. I don't know if that's worth it, but being enslaved by the privileged electricity provider is not of my liking anymore.
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Gardening Updates
The thunderstorms are really nurturing the soil because unlike the unchlorinated tap water used for watering, it really has a dramatic effect on the plants. Both weeds and crops visibly grow faster after a stormy weather.
Maybe it is because of the nitrogen that the lightning produces and the rain that brings it down, I might need to find some articles later to support that. I have read it somewhere but I forgot where.
As the days get wetter, the weeds become more abundant again and are always out of control. I am planning to invest in bringing in gravel to fill along the pathways and more mulch to cover areas where the fruit trees, bananas, and other crops are transplanted.
One of the problems is logistics since one feasible option is to have it dropped at home, then hire labor to finally transport it to the orchard. I'm stuck again doing it all by myself to lessen the expenses.
After treating the new apple cuttings with iodine solution, I finally transplanted it in the orchard. Although I have more than 10 seedlings already, so far I only have two varieties since all are just clones from two apple trees.
If those will survive, it will just potentially take 1-3 years before fruiting since the parent trees are already about 3 years old—please correct me if necessary, HAHAHA!
Luckily, the mulberries are doing better now, maybe its roots had gone deeper to the ground already. Sad to say, all the mulberry cuttings died off due to the intense heat during the day—I should have potted it first and placed in a shady area until it was mature enough to be transplanted.
Because of the scorching daytime and stormy nights, my ginger plants began flowering. I don't know what will be its effect on the rhizomes, if it will reduce in size and numbers or not. But if the flowers will produce seeds, maybe I could save some or just directly sow it to grow more gingers outside the raised beds.
I have also been harvesting cucumbers, but they aren't doing well. The luffa vines just kept on flowering but no signs of success, not yet. The kangkong are also teeming with beautiful, white flowers which I'll wait until I can collect its seeds. The squash is still busy crawling and wandering around in its raised bed, still need a few more weeks before it will bear fruit. The Chayote (Chokos) was attacked by bugs and in about a day no leaf was left!
I also replanted the last snake beans that I waited to dry up before harvesting and collecting the seeds, I will do the same to the 'Baguio' beans to propagate more.
Aside from mulching, I also added more wwooden pegs and stakes to make it sturdier. On the tree seedlings, I secured all of it with stickings to make it more visible to people who go inside without permission as they might step on it.
Flood Prepping
Even Noah was called crazy for building an Ark.
I'm not gonna be complacent with the annual floods when the typhoon season hits our region again. You see, our property is located near the only outlet of any excess water during the rainy season. The Guimbalot-an (Kambayut-an) river cuts on two side of our property and another brook cuts on the eastern side connecting to the main river.
Whenever too much rain is funelled from our side of the mountains and hills, it will flood over the rice fields and over our property. And since it is a sad reality, I hope whatever preparation I did throughout the year is sturdy enough to lessen its effects, but who knows?
My recent additions were lemongrass and turmeric barricades that I know will hold no power to the undercurrent, but will eventually become useful when established in a year—aside from being important herbs for cooking.
My grandma is also offering me her Chinese bamboo that she has been growing for decades as a decorative fence at her home, but might use it to deter trespassers instead. On the other hand, I was also trimming my 20-year-old spiky plant, forgive me for not knowing its name.
It is a woody bush with spiky leaves, whie flowers, and red angled-berries. I will be transplanting the cutting at the orchard to deter people from going inside without permission, because why not?
How about you, what are your big plans before the year ends? Share in the comments down below! ;)
PINNED POSTS
 | Clearing the Damage After the Storm Instead of falling into anxiety, I took time to make use of what the storm had given. |
 | Building Abundance with More Fruit Trees Amid the Economic Turmoil This year, I planned to initially plant 100 trees wherever possible until the year ends. |
 | Using Saltwater and Fire to Heal a Permaculture Garden Plant debris becomes natural mulch and organic matter. |
 | Harvesting Cucumbers After a Year of Labor As crops mature, harvest season began as well. |
 | Fermenting Fish Amino Acid for the Garden Crops It would be a sin to throw away such things, even the food scraps I turn it to compost now. |
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About Me
@oniemaniego is a software developer, but outside work, he experiments in the kitchen, writes poetry and fiction, paints his heart out, or toils under the hot sun.
 | Onie Maniego / Loy Bukid was born in rural Leyte. He often visits his family orchards during the summers and weekends, which greatly influenced his works. |
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I have always liked the way your images look, the sharpness is spectacular and makes nature more beautiful.
Thank you!
One thing I observed in photographs in our country or maybe in my region is that even before AI cameras on the phone, it is very yellowish which I don't like. Maybe it is because of the tropical sun. I sometimes envy photos taken from temperate regions where there are more grays and colder colors.
My photos here are out of the camera with AI turned off, but on other posts I like to desaturate the yellows and greens and leave the other colors. I always do that on Hive/Instagram, but when I'm lazy I just post the original to save time, hahaha 😁
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