For Mandaue couple, it’s never too late to love veggies

THEIR age is not a hindrance to developing new interest in growing vegetables.

Maximo, 67 and wife Judaline Colina, 62, took a Vegetable Techno Demo course in barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City and finished the program yesterday.

For Judaline, the course, reaffirmed her having a ‘ green thumb’ which she discovered when she was still a child.

“Bisan sauna pa kay mabuhi man jud ang mga tanom nga akong gipangtanom sa amoa,” [(Ever since, my plants flourish], she said adding that it is only now that she has the chance to have her owne vegetable

Maximo has also been busy with their garden. And Judaline is just happy with his husband’s new preoccupation – he doesn’t spend time drinking alcohol anymore.

Judaline and Maximo were among the 37 students who graduated from the Vegetable Techno Demo.

Each garden of the 37 graduates will be entered in the city’s gardening contest. Final judging will be on Monday. Their garden, a 40 square meters lot, is located in the one-hectare urban vegetable garden in Wireless, barangay Subangdaku.

The couple also has a small plot in their backyard in sitio Nawanao of the barangay.

Subangdaku barangay captain, Ernie Manatad said that the training was for free. Their barangay is a beneficiary of the urban gardening program jointly implemented by Mandaue City Agriculture Office and East West Seed Company.

“Their practice gardening is enhanced. Even if they don’t have enough lot in their backyard some gardeners are using recycled containersto plant vegetables in their homes,” Manatad said.

Unlike before Judaline doesn’t eat ‘kangkong’ (water spinach) but now that her garden produces such, she started eating it since she already knows that it’s healthly and they grow it without using any chemicals.

“Lahi ra jud kung kabalo ka asa gikan ug gi unsa pagtanom ba mao ganahan jud ko mukaon,” Judaline added that now that she’s 62, she only found out that pechay could be harvested in less than a month after it was planted.

(It really makes difference if you know where your food comes from, that is why you love eating it.)

Manatad on the other hand encouraged residents to start gardening on their backyard. If they do have backyards, Manatad suggest hanging gardens using recycled containers.

The Subangdaku Barangay Council has transformed more than one hectare idle lot owned by National Telecommunication Commission in their barangay as a model urban vegetable garden.

Manatad added that there is an existing ordinance in using idle lots for urban gardening.

Having gardens will make residents physically fit aside from having healthy food on their tables. It will also generate income, said Manatad.

Manatad said that a lot of residents bought vegetables from the said garden.