Planting the seeds of our future

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Life is a cycle, but it can be more than one cycle.

We plant seeds, we nurture them while they are sprouting until they become seedlings, we maintain them free from harmful pests while nourishing them with nutrients, we then enjoy the produce during harvest time, then we plant new seeds again...from the same fruits they gave us.. whether it's vegetables, fruits or others via several ways of propagation.

But remember that planting new seeds doesn't mean we have to settle for what we have right now. We don't need to wait until our current plants have withered and died. We can always plant new seeds,or cuttings, while we are still enjoying bountiful harvests from our first plants.

Thank you also to the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture for sending over to our home a bunch of seeds - upland kangkong, okra, upo, pechay and mustasa.

I just wish I have enough for an urban garden or a small farm.

It would be nice if we could all be self-sustaining or able to grow our own food, at least able to harvest what we need on a daily basis or just some of the ingredients we need to supplement our daily food needs.

The future will be brighter for us if we are capable of surviving even without the comforts of a market or grocery where we buy our food. It's time we learn how to grow our own food.

Mix your soil with these beneficial add-ons to improve plant growth

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Aside from regular watering, Tender Loving Care (TLC), and the so called Green Thumb, not that it is true or not (also that Black Thumb terminology), our plants need the best soil there is for it to grow healthy, strong and thriving.

There are several ways to improve your soil but it would be better for your plants to get the most nutrient-filled mix already from the very start. They have the NPK  (Nitrogen - Phosphorus - Potassium) requirements but some plant varieties require more of one or two compared to the other plants....plus inclusion of other non-essential but highly beneficial add-ons will do amazing wonders for your plants.

Here are some options that I've gathered from gardening supplies and soil mix sellers themselves that you can use to cultivate your growing medium, whether it's a pot or plant bed, or even the land, for the greater benefit of your plant from seed to harvest time:

🍀 COCOPEAT is a multi-purpose growing medium made out of coconut husk. The fibrous coconut husk is pre-washed, machine dried, sieved, and made free from sand and other contaminations such as animal and plant residue. and other contaminations such as animal and plant residue. 

Cocopeat is a very good alternative to traditional peat moss and Rock wool.

🍀 CHICKEN MANURE is the feces of chickens used as an organic fertilizer, especially for soil low in nitrogen. Of all animal manures, it has the highest amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

🍀 HUMUS the organic component of soil, formed by the decomposition of leaves and other plant material by soil microorganisms. Humus is the dark organic matter that forms in soil when dead plant and animal matter decays. Humus has many nutrients that improve the health of the soil, nitrogen being the most important.

🍀 CARBONIZED RICE HULL is made from incomplete or partial burning of rice hull. (Carbonized Rice Hull) is a very good soil fertilizer and conditioner as it contains Phosphorous (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), and micronutrients vital to growing crops.

🍀 RICE HULL are one of the most sustainable soil amendments available to gardeners. When properly applied, they improve soil drainage, water-holding capacity, and aeration. I'm

 

🍀 FERMENTED SEAWEED is a broad spectrum fertilizer that is rich in beneficial trace minerals and hormones that stimulate plant growth. Seaweed is high in carbohydrates which are essential building blocks in growing plants and low in cellulose so it breaks down readily. Seaweed shares no diseases with land plants.

🍀 VERMICAST also called worm castings, worm humus, worm manure, or worm faeces) is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by earthworms. These castings have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of nutrients than the organic materials before vermicomposting.

🍀 BEETLECAST is simply an alternative to vermicast since according to the survey, most gardening lovers are women and most of them has fear in the earthworm. Dahil takot sila sa bulate,ayaw na nilang humawak ng lupa. We Experimented the beetle cast o anak ng uang kung saan sila ay nanginginain ng mga nabubulok na dahon ng halaman at kahoy. Lumalabas na masmaganda ang combination ng Nitrogen / Phospurus / Potassium or (NPK) sa dumi ng beetle cast kompara sa Vermicast na nitrogen ang kadalasang nilalaman.

Just remember that a good mix of these, not necessarily all of them, is advisable than just the basic soil that you can dig up at home or the gardening soil you can buy at the nearest gardening supplies shop. Many are already selling various mixes of a few of these and selling them ready for gardening use, but still there are some plants with different needs from other plants. Just like people, we thrive in different conditions, so you have the option to experiment on the right mix for your plants.

DOTr awards three contracts for PNR Clark Phase 2 project

Wazzup Pilipinas!


The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) awarded the three (3) remaining civil works contract packages for the Clark Phase 2 project, or the Malolos-Clark extension of the North-South Commuter Railway System.

The award of the three (3) contract packages completes the five (5) civil works packages of the PNR Clark Phase 2 project. Contracts for Packages N-04 and N-05 were signed on 01 August 2020.

“Last month, we were full of enthusiasm as the first contracts of the PNR Clark Phase 2 were signed despite the pandemic. Ang sabi ko noon, ‘it is our way of saying that the Build, Build, Build continues’. And now, the five contract packages are complete, hindi lang tuloy kung hindi tuluy na tuloy na, buhay na buhay na at masasabi nating walang makakapigil sa ating adhikain at proyektong magbibigay ng comfort and convenience sa ating mga kababayan,” DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said.

In line with the Duterte Administration’s Build Build Build program, the notice of award was issued for Contract Package N-01, which covers 17 kilometers of elevated rail viaduct, seven (7) balanced cantilever bridges, and two (2) station buildings in the towns of Malolos and Calumpit in Bulacan and in the towns of Apalit and Minalin in Pampanga.

The notice of award for Contract Package N-01 was awarded to the Joint Venture of Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd., Megawide Construction Corporation, and Dong-ah Geological Engineering Company Ltd.

Meanwhile, Contract Package N-02, which covers 16 kilometers of elevated viaduct and one (1) station building in the towns of Minalin, Sto. Tomas, and San Fernando in Pampanga, was awarded to the Joint Venture of Acciona Construction Philippines and Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd.

Contract Package N-03, which covers 12 kilometers of elevated viaduct and one (1) station building in the towns of San Fernando, Angeles, and Mabalacat in Pampanga, was awarded to the Italian-Thai Development Public Company Ltd.

“What we see here is the coming together of an impressive league of the biggest and the best players in the construction industry here and abroad, funded by the Asian Development Bank with its largest-ever financing package for a single project, to build the Philippine government's single largest project in history," DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said.

Meanwhile, PNR General Manager Junn Magno says that the progress for the PNR Clark Phase 2 remains on track.

“As of August, the [PNR Clark] Malolos-Clark segment has an over-all progress rate of over 26%. It seems to quite catch-up with PNR Clark Phase 1 o ‘yung Tutuban to Malolos segment natin with over 40%. We remain hopeful and we keep exerting not just double but triple effort to fast-track this project and at least make it partially operable before the end of President Duterte’s term,” GM Magno said.

The PNR Clark Phase 2 project is the 53-km northern segment of the 147-km North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System, which will run from Clark in Pampanga all the way to the town of Calamba in Laguna. The NSCR will have 37 stations, spanning 26 local government units, and connecting 3 regions. The project will feature the country’s first Airport Express service, which will slash travel time between the Clark International Airport in Pampanga and Makati City from more than two (2) hours by car, to just under one (1) hour via the Airport Express.