Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Farm Findings before the rains


Before getting the rains in June, many events happen in the property.  By the way, I am always calling our place as property because calling it a "farm" might be misunderstood by others. A farm normally has many agrcultrual activities going on. But in our case, we don't have agricultural production because we have just the land, some plants which are not properly tended, but just left alon on their own. I guess this is the real "organic farming", as everything being left on their own. We just get fruits as that we need, the rest are left for the birds and whoever wants to get there. Sometimes, we cannot get even a few fruits because the insects were there ahead of us. Last year we were not able to eat even a single santol fruit, or just got a few avocados because of the insects. This year, we had  feast, I wonder where the insects go this time. maybe the long dry season affected their reproduction, that is nature working on its own, unaltered by human activities. So we are happy, and they are happy too, I suppose!

But before you think I am coming up with a new idea of organic farming, I have to warn you. This is just my defensive argument for our unproductive property. If only we can sell our produce, we will be happier. But we cannot, and we lack labor to do the job, so at the moment i have to be content with my explanation of "organic farming", suits my case.



 This is the first time for me to see this structure, i guess it is a comb of a bee, but not a honeybee! But we know the owner of this house stings well and we are scared of it.

 It is already abandoned when the cycas leaf was cut, so i opened the cover revealing this comb.

 The tomato seedling has been feasted on by leafminers. And i suddenly saw that larva of an unknown insect. Till now i still don't know what type of moth or butterfly is responsible for this catterpillar. Is anybody among you familiar with it. It has a yellowish headband extending to both sides of the head.

 I also found a nest inside the thick portion of the golden Duranta plant. Apparently, the nestlings already left. They always timed egg laying that they are ready to fly before the rains come. Maybe the adult birds can predict the time when the rains or the typhoons will arrive. They are better than the Dopler radars that costs millions of dollars. This is the nest of the yellow crested bulbuls, which we have a lot in the property.

Unlike the sunbirds, the bulbuls don't use the old nest for their next egglaying. I wish they will again use it, because it looks still good and durable for maybe a few nestlings to come.

 New tree seedlings starting to grow luxuriantly in the property. At this stage, they are still easy to pull out. In a little more weeks they will be very well settled and a bolo is needed to cut them at the base. We try to lessen these volunteer trees every year, or else we will have a forest soonest than we want it. This is a Macaranga species with red petioles.

 We have a lot of this tree also, but it is not a hardwood. It grows fast to a bushy growth, easily produce seeds and scatter them everywhere, making it more difficult for us to uproot each and every one.

These are the mature fruits and seeds of the above seedling, which we call Alim. This is an endemic species. The birds also eat those ripe seeds, helping distribution of the species.




25 comments:

  1. It is difficult with tree seedlings. I know here I have to stay right on top of it or I would have a small forest in my backyard.

    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. Yes Cher, we already had a mini forest since my father died and we don't anymore cut the trees growing near a creek, but that was intentional. And now they provide roosting areas for birds, and I am happy that i can still show my niece and nephew some of them, which otherwise are not seen by other kids.

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  2. Seeing your photos always makes me feel nostalgic Andrea, even if its just plant photos (and honeycomb on a Cycas leaf!) :)

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    1. Oh Mark, i don't know if that is good or bad for you, but i understand you fully. It is nice if you can come back here once-in-a while. I thought your dad is there with you, i remember the one helping with carpentry? At least you have immediate family there. In a way I am glad too, that i can remind you of childhood days. Do you remember "ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan, hindi makakarating sa patutunguhan"? BTW, i guess Gaz doesn't read my posts :)

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  3. Why should land have to be productive to humans? I think it is wonderful that you are shepherding property which is being left relatively "wild" for the variety of other living things that we share the planet with!

    Your "bee nest" reminds me of hornet nests here in North America. I would be pretty sure, based on the structure, that the stinging creature is a paper wasp of some sort, at any rate. I'm sure glad that the nest was empty when the leaf was cut, or someone would have had some painful, painful stings, I'm sure.

    Cool larva on the tomato. If you ever find out what it is, I sure hope you share the identification with us. And I love that you have yellow crested bulbuls - normal for you, I know, but they sound so wonderfully exotic to me!

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    1. Gaia, for many people land is a much needed resource to live in the world, and its value as real estate is really high. With the way I am 'shepherding' our property i can maybe say or believe that I am rich not in terms of monetary liquid availability to pay for goods and services, but in terms of what our wildlife can give us, even not veritably quantified!

      Yes the "bee nest" is actually in the family of the wasps. We know already how the owner looks like, it is a black wasp with painful sting. I am still looking for the ID of the larva, i think it is of the younger instars, unfortunately when i looked at it again a few hours after i took the photo, it's not there anymore. Maybe i should post some photos of the yellow crested bulbuls for you, even if my lens will not be doing justice for them much! haha.

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  4. We have issues with tree seedlings here too. So many of them are non-native and invasive. It's a lot of work keeping them under control just in our small property.

    The only caterpillars we see on tomatoes here are tomato hornworms. I don't know what earlier instars look like, because by the time I find them they are usually huge and infested with parasitic wasps.

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  5. Andrea,

    I agree the nest looks to be some kind of paper wasp. It does look very different that out=r paper wasps.

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  6. Hi Andrea,
    I like the way you live on your land. That's kind of how I garden, but we have a small city lot.

    I don't know what your caterpillar is, but it reminds me of some kind of sphinx moth caterpillar.

    We get trees coming up here, too. The next door neighbors to the south have a locust tree that is coming up in my vegetable garden, and even in the neighbors' yard across the street.

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    1. Hello Sue, I am familiar with you Corner Garden and your native flowers. Gardening in the city is easier to contain than if you have bigger property in the province, where everything happens. Controlling trees is really difficult. Just cutting them at the base is not assurance of control, they will branch again. I will try comparing my larva with sphinx moths. Thanks.

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  7. Hi Andrea, Your 'organic' farm has to be LOVED by critters and wildlife... That beehive looks scary...Glad they were all gone when you got rid of the hive.... Bees scare me.. I don't think I'm allergic to them--but don't ever want to find out... ha

    Have a great day.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  8. We have the same problem with the Delonix regia tree seedlings here. I'm constantly on the look out for the little saplings and pull out dozens and dozens every year. Interesting nest! It looks very much like the paper wasps nests that we get here. They can be absolutely huge sometimes. It's such a shame to hear that you cannot get decent fruit crops most years because of the insects. Although even just a few avocadoes would be worth it to me.

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    1. Yes Bernie, i remember you telling us of your Delonix regia seedlings. In the past i have also been enamored with that, we call fire tree here. But when i see the highway plantings that grow so big and dirty when they shed leaves, i didn't plant them anymore. I just content myself watching them during the dry season fully flowering at the highways.

      For avocados and santol we were able to get more this year, it is just sad that nobody buys in bulk and we cannot do that ourselves. For our citrus, i have 6 trees that give much fruits i use the hormone attractants to kill the males. However, because of too much population of the fruit flies from other fruits before the citrus, i can't get fully clean fruits and they abscise before maturity. If only i live in the property maybe i can manage it better, but i just give instructions to my sister. The bad disadvantage of having too many fruits left to rot is the continuity of insect population.

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  9. For everyone who visited from Cher to Bernie, i am very glad for all your comments, and also for the kind of concern you all have for our earth, land and wildlife. We have 2 adjacent properties whose owners are ignorant of the value of wildlife, topsoil, etc. They slash and burn the lower vegetation and just leave the old trees, contributing to soil loss. Through the years their level is already lower than ours. Being undulating and sometimes with steeper slopes our top soil easily erodes, now their property is already showing some parent materials or bedrock. I am so sorry for the environment but i cannot give them some pointers as they are not the easiest humans to communicate with. Now i am just happy to have you as my allies!

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  10. I like your organic farm -- if it works for you, that is the only important thing. We don't have an organic farm, but we do have a problem with tree seedlings. I'm always digging them up. I think you found a wasp nest in your yard.

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  11. So what you're saying Andrea is that you are being attacked by the wildlife and they have control of "your" property....thus stealing the name "organic farming" from you:) Same here. My peaches. Half of the crop are great while the other half suffer from those beetles! Or the birds and our berries......and apricots and figs!!!! Oh I could scream sometimes but then....ah...what are you going to do about it?:) And that looks like a wasp nest:)

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  12. I loved Gaia's description of your 'shepherding' activities! It seemed exactly the right word for these responsibilities, somehow. I'm sorry to say, Andrea, that I can't help with your yellow banded creature: it seems most unusual to me. I have tried googling, but nothing similar has come up. Perhaps you can keep an eye out for any others and take some more photos, which could help with identification! I'm sorry this isn't much help, but I really enjoyed your post ... and thank you for commenting on my blog, too.

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    1. My appreciation for you Caroline, yes i love Gaia's description too. Before asking you about my larva i actually finished my resources, you are my last resort, haha! I hope the entomologist i wrote to will be able to ID it, and i will put it as a follow-up. Thank you so much.

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  13. Hi Andrea,
    Your mention that the insect damage to your fruit crops vary from year to year got me to thinking about mosquitoes. The one bonus of the drought here this summer has been fewer mosquitoes.
    It is interesting that the empty nest foretells the arrival of your rainy season. I wonder if there is some form of passed-on knowledge from one generation to the next or perhaps it is merely a matter of maturity that makes the birds nest at just the right time to allow the babies to mature before the rains arrive.

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    1. I am really very glad with the comments i got here! Yes Jennifer, do you know that dengue is one of our scary diseases caused by mosquitos! I am so scared of this as my nephew already had it 2x and my niece once. The last time maybe only one mosquito was the culprit, as they were in the hospital at the same time.

      Now i am inclined to think that maybe just like the migrating birds, butterflies and the salmon, these birds are also equipped with knowledge in their make-up. You see, our rainy season wasn't the same as the previous years, so why were the birds able to know that so they can lay eggs in time to hatch before the rains! It is amazing and nature is really wonderful. This can be some research materials for some bird scientists.

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  14. Quite a lovely garden/farm for you and critters....I like how you manage it and live there using the fruits and veggies/plants. The second to last picture reminds me of maple trees here but they are hardwood.

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  15. I love your laissez-faire approach to farming Andrea :) I'm a bit like that too, although this year I put remay, a white fabric that lets in sunlight and rain, on top of my strawberry crop, since I'm not interested in sharing any of it with the birds this year.

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  16. Nice set of finds - the things that animals build are remarkable really.

    Stewart M - Australia

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  17. I guess you don't depend on your "farm" for your subsistence or livelihood otherwise you may have had a more active approach to pest control, Andrea! :-)

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  18. You are so lucky that you have your farm/property to go home to every weekend. I would love to have a property in the nearby provinces to visit on weekends.

    We have bees but I have never seen their hive. White flies did the same thing to my son's tomatoes so that we only had minimal harvest. The sunbirds, I haven't seen since our coral tree stopped blooming. I do hope they come back next year.

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Your comments inspire me to post more, and our conversations make life and gardening more meaningful.

However, Anonymous comments and personal back links give me problems, so i don't publish them. Anonymous + back links = SPAM = DELETE

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