Eat My Back(yard)

Yes, you can eat my back... Backyard plants, that is. The fruit-bearing trees, herbs, wild plants and shrubs that surrounds our backyard...

This is one of the things that I find really nice (and sometimes amusing) about living in the province.

There are a lot of plants in our yard (front, back, side), as well as the neighbor's yard, that are edible. We have kamote or sweet yams, malunggay, squash, pandan and fruit trees like banana (not officially a tree), mango, kamyas, calamansi, suha (pomelo), kaymito (star apple) and others that we and our elders planted intentionally. We also have langka (jackfruit), himbabao and coconut tree that could be older than me.

Some of the edibles are kinda wild and just sprouted in our backyard. Others are actually surprised at my knowledge about some wild plants like amargoso or papait and mango flower buds. During rainy season, saluyot or jute plant will grow everywhere (the slippery leaves!). These kid of food are already exotic to others, and honestly, I really appreciate its distinct taste and flavor. (Sooo gourmet!:))

Not only that it satisfies our palates, it also satisfies our wallets! It does not cost us anything if we need sampalok or tamarind leaves for our sinigang. Or if we need ripe guavas for the mouth-watering Sinigang na Bangus sa bayabas (Milkfish in Guava broth)!

Other people eats our back(yard) too! Meaning, the neighbors! It is so common to hear: "Pwede po ba makapitas ng saluyot sa likod? (Can we pick some jute leaves at the back?) or "Pahingi naman ng kamyas nyo! (Please give us some kamyas fruits!). Sharing backyard produce is a practice in our province that I really appreciate!

Now, aside from sweet yam, I am adding some more plants like tomato, ampalaya (bitter melon) and papaya. I hope these plants will grow well and bear nice fruits.

I think I am a gardener at heart. I believe I got this from my father who taught me how to do basic gardening and appreciate the food gathered in our yard. He was actually at the family backyard garden gathering produce when I was born. (Check out this related story: http://promdi-pinoy.blogspot.com/2008/12/promdi-birth-at-bamboo-bed.html)

There is a certain degree of satisfaction and pleasure obtained from having a backyard organic vegetable garden. This is also ture in having a set of few fruit trees lining up the yard. There is very minimal work involved in backyard gardening. But the joy of gathering the fruit of labor is satisfying. I believe it soothes the psyche of the gardener and the people gathering the produce. Aside from the fact that we have a total knowledge that what we will be eating is very fresh organic veggies.

We can get other benefits from our surrounding trees and veggie garden aside from lowering our expenses on food. As mentioned earlier, it means feeding our family with healthy, organic vegetables. It also helps the environment, especially the trees. Well, it somehow reduces the environmental impact of transporting and warehousing food. See? That's a lot of benefits, isn't it?

At times, when we pick and cook some kamote tops, it makes our food preparation and the entire meal itself a little more personal and interesting. Having kids join the gardening activities, it also connects the family. I hope this will also help in making them understand the cycle of life, the weather and of course the joy of gardening with the parents. (Just like I did)

If time and space permits, where ever my feet will bring me, I will have a small garden of my own veggies.

I am glad that our province, specifically our location near the foot of Sierra Madre Mountains, provide ample space for us to grow plants just beside our own homes. Well, a neighbor even have a small piggery in their backyard! (No I am not gonna talk about pigs here!)

Backyard edibles just makes living in the province more interesting. It makes me appreciate how different it is to live in the province compared to the cities.

Hayyy.. buhay-probinsya!

y joseph daos for promdi-pinoy.blogspot.com. photos copyright joseph daos. january 09, 2009 Friday. By joseph daos for promdi-pinoy.blogspot.com. photos copyright joseph daos. january 09, 2009 Friday.By joseph daos for promdi-pinoy.blogspot.com. photos copyright joseph daos. january 09, 2009 Friday.By joseph daos for promdi-pinoy.blogspot.com. photos copyright joseph daos. january 09, 2009 Friday.By joseph daos for promdi-pinoy.blogspot.com. photos copyright joseph daos. january 09, 2009 Friday.By joseph daos for promdi-pinoy.blogspot.com. photos copyright joseph daos. january 09, 2009 Friday.By joseph daos for promdi-pinoy.blogspot.com. photos copyright joseph daos. january 09, 2009 Fri