Summer days in Silang, Cavite are milder than in the lowlands, but I notice each year, the topsoil is becomming very dry. The surrounding urban sprawl, has removed thousands of hectares of forest area. The rivers still run, but the water is now polluted with trash, plastic, and chemical run offs.
Our vegetables are ready for harvest. I don't like using my farm for commercial purposes because it stresses me out to think of business while I am enjoying my time gardening. I grow my own organic produce for my family, and I'd rather give away any surplus to the poorer people around my home than sell it.
The aubergines, cucumbers, lettuce, bak-choy,mongo beans, tomatoes, and carrots are picked in the morning for the daily salad.
We cannot continue planting vegetables without using nets to shade the plants. We use drip hoses to minimize evaporation. Greenhouses are the ideal method to maintaining moisture in the summer and protect the vegetables from storms during the monsoon season.
Certain orchids are blooming, and add to the bright colors of summer!
I don't spray them with hormones, or use fungicides. Some seasons we have lots of flowers in bloom, other seasons, these flowers do not bloom all at the same time.
I am enjoying seeing the bromeliads thrive in the heat, and my other wood jasmines react to the weather by increasing their scent, to bring pollinators to them even during the hot weather.
Our horse likes taste of our dahlia flowers! I notice that the flower bushes are getting shorter, and now I caught him in the act of chomping my dahlias!
My German Shepherd dog Arwen greets me and wants to romp outside in the heat, but she often gets very thirsty wearing her thick fur in this punishing heat. She is quite an active dog, and raring to start training in agility and obedience.
