Getting Ready for El Niño: Visiting My Brother’s Vegetable Farm and Harvesting Fresh Vegetables in the Mountains

Hello everyone!

Today, I want to share with you what I saw and did while staying here on our farm in the mountains. As we hear about El Niño in the Philippines, I also think about our farmers especially my family and how they prepare their crops for the dry season.

These vegetables you can see are all planted by my brother. He is hardworking when it comes to farming, and I know how much effort, and money he spends taking care of his crops.

He has tomatoes that are not yet ready for harvest. They still need more time, maybe around two weeks, before we can pick them. I am excited to see them become pinkish and ready for harvesting!

He also has eggplants, but cabbage is his main crop. He keeps planting cabbage because this is one of the vegetables he focuses on in his farm.

However, because of his recent motorcycle accident, he cannot focus on farming as much as before. I am thankful that his operation went well, and for now, what matters most is that he recovers and gets better. We can always find ways to take care of the farm, but his health is more important.

Thankfully, he has farm workers who continue looking after his vegetables. He pays them weekly to do the work, such as spraying and applying fertilizer. Even though he cannot personally do everything right now, at least the farm is still being taken care of.

One thing I noticed on the farm is his water supply. He has a big trapal setup where he collects and stores water for the vegetables.

This is one way he prepares for the dry season. We all know that vegetables need enough water to grow well. When the weather becomes too hot and there is little rain, farmers may have a hard time keeping their crops healthy unless when your farm has a water falls or any source of water.

That is why I think preparing ahead is important. Having a water supply can help farmers, especially when rain becomes small or no rain at all. Of course, we still need to use water wisely because we do not know how long the dry season may last.

Farming is not easy as I always say here. Aside from the money spent on seeds, fertilizer, and workers, farmers also depend on the weather. Sometimes, even after all their hard work, the harvest is still affected by things they cannot control.

My brother also has carrots and starting now they harvesting. These are intended for All Saints' Day because many people order carrots and bell peppers during that season.

It is good to have vegetables ready when buyers start looking for them. I hope he will have a good harvest this time.

Since I am here in the mountains, I also gathered some vegetables for our family. I picked bitter gourd leaves, chayote shoots, and cassava leaves. These are what we can cook for our meals.

Living here has this simple blessing. There are many vegetables we can enjoy as long as we are hardworking enough to plant and take care of them.

My siblings are hardworking farmers, so today, I can just harvest some of the vegetables they planted. Hehe! Of course, I also have my own plants at home.

For me, life in the mountains is simple, but there are many things to be thankful for. We have fresh vegetables, space to plant, and land that provides food for our family.

As we prepare for El Niño, I hope all farmers will have enough water for their crops and that their hard work will result in a good harvest.

Thank you for reading my story. This is my own picture and lead photo is edited in Canva.

Have a nice day! 💛