Gardening in a Barren Soil

Typhoon Frank that hit Panay Island in West Central Philippines in June 2008, left tons of silt which practically left many lands barren and compacted. The fine texture of silt leaves no space for air and even with constant pulverizing, the soil simply returns to its compact stae a few days after. Crops tend to grow poorly and weeds like the persistent cogon (Imperata spp.) inevitably takeover and render the already barren soil even more barren.

Farmers I have met complain that their farms and gardens have become more labor intensive because of constant weeding, pulverizing and watering.

A farmer came to me a few months back asking if I can help him find a solution to this problem and so I started a small garden where the soil is almost exactly the same as that of the farmer’s.

I first cleared the area of cogon (Imperata spp.) and paragrass, both weeds are prolific and had already depleted the nutrient deficient soil. I turned the soil with a spading fork so I can also get rid of the underground roots of cogon and the base of the paragrass which are difficult ot uproot and can regenerate very fast.

Instead of throwing the cogon and paragrass stalks on the side or burn them, I first spread them to dry then arranged them in straight rows 2 inches thick and about 12 inches wide, 12 inches apart. The purpose is not only to mulch but also as a deterrent for weed seeds to grow. The mulch also serves to conserve soil moisture. I did not elevate the pulverized open space so that moisture will not run off from the plot to the canal. The level ground made moisture retention uniform.

I planted sorghum seed (for my chickens) on the open bed while I planted cuttings of alugbati (Basella rubra) on the much row by simply pushing aside the thick matting and planting the stems on the soil. During the clearing of the noxious weeds, I saw some saluyot (Corchorus spp.) plants which I didn’t cut down and even placed some mulch at their base. These plants were thin and spindly at first and I thought they would also dry up but the mulch and organic fertilizer saved them. I was able to save two hills of purple camote (ipomea) which we eat as salad or as topping for the vegetable stew medley that my family is fond of eating. Like the other local vegetables I planted or saved, I also mulched these two hills of camote. My wife contributed by planting the roots of another purple camote which she bought from a local market. The roots were very sweet, although having a whitish skin, it had deep purple flesh. Again like the rest, I also mulched the plants.

FERTILIZATION: For fertilizers, I rely on the chicken manure produced by my few heads of caged chickens and the leaves I trimmed from the plants around particularly ipil-ipil or Leucaena and “Madre de Agua” (tricantera spp.), a nirogenrich non-leguminous tree. I opened a 22 liter plastic drum, filled it up to 1/2 with the ipil-ipil leaves, filled it up to 3/4 with finely chopped napier leaves and stalks and topped the rest with chicken manure. I then filled it to the brim with water. Then I top it with about one liter of concentrated Indigenous Microorganisms and overed it with plastic tied tightly with rubber cut from the interior of the car tire. I leave the mixture for about 2 weeks before starting to mix it. Chopped napier stalks and leaves provide starch and sugar needed by the micro-organisms to reproduce and consume other nutrients like phosphates in the manure. The resulting liquid after one month is rich in nutrients like Nitrogen, Phosphates and micronutrients. Just before using the liquid, I add 2 to 3 kilograms of wood ash from the cook stove I use to cook feeds for the dogs and pigs.

To use, I add about 2 liters of the concentrated liquid to 10 liters of water which I water the plants every 3 days.

RESULTS: I will be posting pictures of the garden in a multiply site soon. There we will see how healthy the plants are and how they have grown so well despite the dry season and despite the dryness of the soil around. I will also take pictures of the adjacent garden of my neighbor so we will see how dry the garden and how sickly the vegetables are. The farmer who asked me to provide solution to his problem hd dropped by twice already and commented that indeed the plants are healthy despite the dryness of the soil nearby and even without the use of chemical fertilizers. I hope to replicate the garden on a much wider scale. meanwhile, I have started to grow more napier and raise goats so I can use both to help me fertilize a bigger garden or farm.

RETIRED ENGINEER IMPROVES ON THE RICE HULL FURNACE FOR PALAY DRIERS

Engr. Nick Alojipan thought he can come home to retire and enjoy his senior years raising gamefowls. He was wrong. He found that his family and old friends in his hometown in Culasi, Antique still suffered from age old problem of drying their paddy rice in the peak of the rainy season. Thinking that government may have already found the solution, he visited all the agencies, groups and cooperatives that he have heard to have their own palay drying facilities.

First he studied the recirculating drying system imported from China and Taiwan. The National Food Authority and several private rice milling operators have many of the said units. He computed the initial investment cost and the cost of operation per batch of 100 cavans or so. A unit of the said recirculating system will have an initial investment of at least P750,000.00. The operating cost per batch of 100 cavans (about 4,000 kgs.) is said to cost over P5,000.000 or about P1.25 per kilogram of fresh paddy. The furnace system uses kerosene which consumes an average of ten (1) liters per hour or about 100 liters per batch. At present, kerosene costs P38.00 per liter so each batch costs about P3,800.00 fr kerosene alone. And the most obvious defect of the said system is that it is controlled electronically and that the operator needs a reliable source of electricity. When the electronic control system gives out, the unit needs to be sent to Taiwan or China for repair or replacement.

The only advantage is that the operation is rather easy and convenient since only the loading and unloading is labor intensive and the needs just one or two technicians to monitor the drying operation.

Then he studied all the batch type drier units being promoted by PhilRice, IRRI and the Bureau of Post-harvest Research and Extension (BPRE). He found that the system to work well if the burner used kerosene as fuel for the furnace but like the imported recirculating driers, but the rice hull fed furnaces he saw were all laborious and the heat generated intermittent.

This led him to conduct intensive research on the various furnaces used in rice drying operations worldwide, particularly those assisted by the International Rice Research Institute. He incessantly wrote letters and emails to the agencies said to be engaged in the research of post harvest systems for rice and other crops. He was exceedingly frustrated when no one among the agencies responded to his letters. Then he accidentally stumbled on the manuscript of Dr. Martin Gomert is presently connected with several international research agencies. Communicating directly, Dr. Gomert furnished Engr. Nick with manuscript and other research inputs on the furnace, particularly the Vietnamese furnace that is said to have solved the problem of consistent feeding of rice hull to the furnace. Studying the manuscripts and at the same time visiting existing rice hull fired furnaces, Engr. Nick and his brothers Zal and Errol made their own designs and innovations primarily with the objective of solving the erratic supply of rice hull to the burner area and deliver consistent heat to the blower.

They found that the down draft system used by the Vietnamese delivered heat effectively especially when the heat was produced consistently. However the Vietnamese model lacked a mechanism to consistently deliver the right amount of rice hulls to the burner area to allow for continuous and consistent burning.

They solved the problem by improving the ram feeder of the Vietnamese. Using a set of pulleys driven by a diesel engine to drive the ram feeder, they then have weaned themselves from the need for electricity which is unreliable in rural areas due to frequent brown outs. The result is the delivery of a constant supply of rice to the burner area which enables the furnace to produce consistent heat needed by the furnace to heat the the air driven by the blower to the underside of the flat bed which is then driven upward to dry the wet paddy.

The furnace delivers a heat range of 66 to 70 degrees centigrade while the blown hot air on the flat bed has a range of 48-52 degrees centigrade. This range of temperature makes the drier ideal to dry palay intended for seeds.

Brothers Alojipan had been operating the drier for about two months now. Engr. Nick had already registered the venture with DTI so that they can accept commercial drying which is now in demand due to the unreliable weather systems at present. Actual records show that A batch of 100 cavans (4,000 kgs.) will cost about P1,600.00, broken down as follows: Diesel Fuel for two engines-20 liters (P35.00/liter), 2 laborers (P200.00/laborer), 1 operator/technician (P300.00),Miscellaneous (P200.00). This means that the cost of operation is just about P0.40 per kilogram of fresh paddy rice., way below the cost of a recirculating drier and even lower than that of the PhilRice model which needs 2 technicians to monitor and operate the rice hull furnace.

The initial investment for the rice drier invented by Engr. Nick Alojipan is about P300,000, without the two engines- one to drive the blower (12hp water-cooled diesel) and the other to drive the ram feeder mechanism (6hp air-cooled diesel). The shed may cost another P70,000.00 so all in all, the farmer and his group may have to invest about P400,000.00.

For more information, please call Engr. Nick Alojipan 0929 520 4613 or the author at 0929 779 1996.