Ytaya Fruit Valley
This 2 hectares valley in the southern barangay (village) of Ytaya came with mango, coconut, bamboo and banana groves, when we bought it a few years ago.
We have since planted avocado, cacao, dragon fruit, guyabano (soursop), kalamansi, marang, pineapple, sampalok (tamarind), tiesa (egg fruit) and other seedlings.
We are also growing native hardwood like narra (the national tree), doldol (cotton tree), kapitsula, talisay, talubang, teak, tipolo and tugas/molave.
And we have roots and tubers including turmeric, taro/gabi, ube (purple yam) and sweet potatoes.
No ‘bomba’!
We prune the mango trees in order to stimulate fruit production. We do not ‘bomba’ spray with calcium nitrate as is otherwise common in the Philippines as a way to artificially induce flowering and fruit production. Bomba spraying is not compatible with our farming methods that aim to rely more on natural processes.
