DURING the community quarantine, playschool owner and teacher Nita Uy-Mendoza wanted to inspire her Facebook friends with good vibes by showing different creative activities they could do at home.
“There were so many negative posts fueling the fear of almost everyone. People not used to staying at home were beginning to feel restless. In one of those activities, my family and I cleared the empty lot in front of our house which has become a dumping ground for trash and attracted flies and rats,” the mom-of-three says.
One week after, they serendipitously heard about the DC Agri Office’s “Stay at home, Magtanom!” program. When they expressed interest, a packet of seeds with seven kinds of vegetables were delivered for free to their house.
“We started planting the seeds in containers. Within a few days, they grew and this got us excited. That’s how our vegetable garden began,” Nita happily shares.
Meanwhile, hands-on mom Marie Fabian-Lo has been tending to their family’s mini vegetable garden beside their house for over two years now.
“I wanted to be like people who grow their own food at home. And, since I am also into recycling, I thought that re-using some containers was a good idea,” she narrates.
Gardening essentials
When starting one’s home vegetable garden, Marie recommends that having good quality soil and seeds are essential. Make sure that the seeds have high germination rate.
She suggests that one must carefully choose the plants. Study them and know how much sunlight they need in a day and ensure that their location is correct. It is crucial that you do not overwater and miss watering them.
For seedlings, Marie sometimes uses small soda bottles, tissue rolls, used papers, eggshells, and other small containers. Bigger containers such as oil gallons, big soda bottles, old plastic pails and basins are utilized for re-potting. A few garden tools come in handy as well.
“I personally prefer growing vegetables such as pechay, different varieties of chili, eggplant, okra, lettuce, kangkong, tomato, kailaan, etc. Some kitchen scraps can regrow like carrots, pechay, spring onions, among others,” she divulges.
Being first-time farmers, the Mendozas did a lot of research via Google and YouTube. Books and leaflets about planting vegetable seeds were helpful, too.
‘Rooting’ for the family
With everyone at home, the Mendoza men, namely dad Sonni and sons Nikko and Ylai, carried heavy stuff and assembled things needed for the garden. They also helped in the clean-up of the empty lot in front of their house and the planting of the seedlings on the ground.
“My youngest child Geia and I take care of the nursery. We are the resourceful ones. Since we cannot buy materials needed for the garden from the stores this quarantine, we source out these materials from whatever we can find in our house, mostly recycled items,” Nita says.
For the Lo household, taking care of their veggie garden is a family affair, too. Husband Jay does the difficult work like putting holes in containers, carrying heavy sacks of soil, and transferring heavy pots and containers to a better location.
“I let my grade school kids Mika and Macey do some gardening occasionally. We especially enjoy harvesting the vegetables together,” Marie discloses.
Great things start from small beginnings
Growing their own produce introduced not only new skills but also imparted life lessons.
The Mendozas reveal that their greatest take-aways include these:
“Routine helps keeps boredom at bay.”
“It is never too late to learn a new skill. Google and YouTube are great teachers.”
“It is okay to make mistakes.”
“Things are easier when everyone cooperates. If everyone is not available, I am enough.”
Moreover, Teacher Nita says that she learned that what she focuses on, multiplies. “When I focus on the problems, I experience more of them. When I focus on the blessings, I experience more of them, too. I get to choose which one I want to have more in my life,” she reflects.
On the other hand, the Los love their vegetable garden because they realized that when they put their hearts into something, good things will happen. It has also taught their daughters the essence of the adages, “No pain, no gain”, and that “Sharing is loving”. They have witnessed how their Mama Marie often generously shares what she plants to family and friends. Her loved ones also ask seeds from her.
“Life is beautiful to be put to waste. Eating healthy food will help us live longer. I have learned to love my green leafy vegetables. It makes me feel incredibly happy and accomplished whenever I harvest something from my mini garden,” Marie declares.
For these city farmers, certainly, great things start from small beginnings!
E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. To view more photos, please visit http://momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com/.