Tuesday, November 23, 2010

細說從頭 Story from the beginning


 終於,要為我們的菜園設立一個“網絡上的家”了。經營了四年半,從一開始的荒蕪到現在的這個樣子,有點小小成就的可以給大家介紹我們的農場- 和平農場( Terra Organic Farm )。名字的起源,許是為了紀念我親愛的小弟,何平。他在我們買下地的一個月後去世了。而"Terra" 這個名字是我們一個親愛的好友,熱愛土地與農耕的 Ruyu 取的。


2006年4月,當時我們唯一的女兒1歲3個月大,孩子的爸爸很積極的想要找一塊適合讓我們種有機蔬菜的地。他知道種植有機蔬菜一直都是我的心願。他說:“我甚麼都可以做,但是你只想要有個農場。”我這個農場長大的孩子,在生命中前20年的歲月家中都沒有電視機,土地,菜園,河流是我成長的記憶。爸爸愛看書愛給我們說故事,關心社會環境。我的伴侶田環,婚前是個學院的講師,正處於要攻讀博士學位或者上山務農去的抉擇,他沒有考慮太多的就決定一起來經營一個農場。我這個愛做夢的人,有個幫我實現夢想的人.
Finally, we wanted to establish a “home on internet” for our vegetable garden. Operated for four and a half year, started from a barren land to what it is now, our small little achievement on this farm is now deserved to be introduced – Terra Organic Farm (He Ping Organic Farm or和平農場 in Chinese). The origin of this name is to commemorate my dear little brother, He Ping. He died one month after we bought this land. While the name “Terra” was given by one of our dearest friend, Ruyu.
April of 2006, when our first daughter was only 1 year and 3 months old, her father was desiring and hoping so much on having a land which is suitable for us to plant organic vegetables. He knows that has always been my wish to grow organic vegetables. He said, “I can do everything, but you just want to have a farm.” I was a kid who grown up in a farm, the early 20 years in my life time had no television. The land, farm, and river are my growing up memory. My father loves to read books and also tell us story, concern with social environment. My life partner, Tien Khuan, before marriage, he was a lecturer in a college. He needs to choose either pursuing his doctoral degree or farming on mountain. However he did not think too much and decided to manage a farm. A dreamer like me, have a person who makes my dream comes true.




一歲的大女兒,一片荒蕪的土地
One year old daughter, and a barren land




金馬侖高原的農耕地價格非常高,要找到便宜的就要比較偏遠了。我們找到鄰近金馬侖高原的羅京高原,隨著他去看地方那天,還未到目的地我就打退堂鼓,因為路途遙遠,路況太糟糕了!!從大路進到菜園得走半小時坑坑洞洞的泥路,穿過3條大大小小沒有橋的河,車子得開下河床方可越河。可是到了這塊地,靜靜的感受以後,卻被它的“氣場”吸引了!
The price of the agricultural land at Cameron Highlands is extremely high, the more remote the land, the cheaper price it is. We found a land at Lojing Highlands which is near to Cameron Highlands. The day I followed him to visit the land, I gave up before we reach the destination, the journey was still far away, and the road condition was too terrible!! Entering from the main road into the vegetable farms, we need to travel on the potholed dirt mud road for half an hour, crossing over 3 big and small rivers which were without bridge, our car need to drive into the riverbed in order to cross over the river. However when I reached this piece of land, after I feels this land heartedly, I was attracted by its “aura”!




這樣的路況
Such Road Condition



這塊地左右有兩條河,園地的末端就是兩條河的交匯處,河的對面有一片森林,還記得當時在那裡感受到的氣氛。這舒服的感覺讓我想起小時候在菜園忙碌奔跑,對著天空唱歌....多麼熟悉泥土的味道,清新的空氣.....讓我在即使了解有機農耕並不是那麼容易經營的情況下(這我了解,但是田環這個外行人並不了解),為了想讓我們的孩子也可以有一個像我那樣的童年,為了讓自己與其他人能有機會享用“好”的食物,我們決定了經營這一塊園地!


我們開始做的第一件事是開始築路,因為在這樣的紅泥地只要一下雨車子很容易就會陷在泥地裡無法動彈。當時請了幾個工人,我們用自己有個小車斗的車子到河邊挖沙,把沙子載進菜園,買來洋灰和一大卡車的小石頭,開始混水泥鋪路。


與此同時,面對著一塊沒有有機質的土地,真的挺有“茫然”的感覺,到底要從何下手呢!?
買下這塊地的時候,它是一塊被泥機推平,表土已完全被推掉,沒有腐殖質的紅泥地。地裡沒有一棵草也沒有一條蚯蚓。

我們先用種植豆科植物以給土地增加氮肥的方法,還記得那一個傍晚我撒著綠豆種子,天空烏雲密佈已經開始下起雨來,但是我想撒完了綠豆再離開,不過那十分鐘的光景,已經是傾盆大雨,我們的車子又陷在泥裡了!出動工具和工人幫忙推車,在走了一小段路後,接下來的情景讓我們驚呆了!那一幕到現在還印象深刻,那是一小段下斜坡的路,下了斜坡後是一條河,旁邊有一條很深的溝渠,但是當時湍急的水已經把整個路面掩蓋,眼前的路已變成河!!看不見哪裡是溝渠。天快黑了,雨還是傾盆大雨,我們盤算著要如何出去,不出去的話沒有食物。於是下車“探路”,把河水帶來的石塊搬走,總算過了前面的兩條河,最後一條是大河,這回,我們只有在河邊等,等了約莫半小時河水稍退才越河。那一次的經驗,讓我們後來只要看見老天變臉,聽見遠處傳來的雨聲,就馬上跳上車離開!!


然而,沒有任何有機質的土地,連綠豆也無法生長。利用豆科植物供給土地氮肥的方法就是讓它長到開花時候犁進土裡,但是在這土地,綠豆只長至3寸高就瘦瘦黃黃的,是等不到它開花的日子了!


我們必須給這塊土地加入足夠份量的有機質。我們在碾米廠買他們丟在一旁多年已經化成腐殖質的米殼,米糠;買可可廠丟棄的可可膜,以及任何我們能夠方便拿到的有機質。我們買來稻桿覆蓋在土地上以防止泥土肥料的流失。但是這不太實際,因為稻桿必須從老遠的吉打州載來,一卷稻桿400公斤重而且價格很高,在我們這顛簸的路上搬運這東西實在不是很理想的主意。覆蓋的工序繁重,加上這裡雨水太多,稻桿很快就化成堆肥。

Both left and right side of this land was surrounded by two rivers, the end of the land is the confluence of these rivers, opposite the river is a forest, I still remember the atmosphere I felt on that time. This comfortable and pleasant feeling reminded me running and busy around vegetable farm, singing to the sky….the earthy smell of soil and the fresh clean air were such familiar….even thought I learned that organic farming is not an easy job to operate and manage (I understand this, but Tien Khuan who was a amateur totally did not), however, in order to provide my children a childhood like what I had, in order to provide chances for myself and others to have “good” food, we decided to manage this piece of land!
The first thing we started to do was constructing the roads, because once raining, the car will be easily stuck in the muddy road and trapped in the mud. Few workers were hired on that time, we dig sands near the river and carried them by using our only car with a small car bucket, transferred these sands into our farm, we bought cement and one big truck of stones, then we mixed the cement and did paving.
Meanwhile, facing a piece of land without organic matter, the feeling was really kind of “all at sea”, what and how to start actually!?
Before this land was bought, it was flatten by excavator, the topsoil was being pushed away totally, leaving a mud land without organic matter. Neither one grass nor one earthworm was in the land.
First we planted legumes as a method to increase nitrogen and organic matter in the soil, I still remember that evening when I was sprinkling mung bean seeds, dark cloud was gathered on the sky and rain started to falls, but I insisted to leave only after the last seeds sprinkled. But then that was just ten minutes, it was already a heavy downpour, once again, our car trapped in the mud dirt! With the help of tools and workers to “push” our car, just traveled for a little distance, we were totally stunned by the scene! This scene was so impressed and deep in mind until now, that was a little downhill slope, and after the slope was a river, and beside that river was a stream of deep ditch, however the road surface was covered up by fast flowing water, the road on now at the present was a river!! We could not see where the ditch was. The sky was getting darker, the rain was still pouring heavily, we were figuring how to get out from there, or else we have no food. Hence we get down from the car and “find the road”, carried away the stones brought by the flowing river, at long last we passed across the two small rivers, and the last one was the big river. This time, we could only waited beside the river, after about half an hour waiting, the water level decreased and finally we could cross the big river. With that experience, now every time we see the sky gets dark, or hear raining from distance, we will hop into car and leave right away!
Yet, with none organic matter on the land, even the mung bean could not grow. The method of cultivating legume to add in nitrogen to the soil is by plowing it into the soil once the plants flower. But on this land, the mung beans were thin and yellowish when they grew to 3 inches high, we could not wait for the day they flower!
We need to add in enough organic matter into this land. We bought rice husk and rice bran which decayed after setting aside for more than one year from a rice milling factory, we bought discarded cocoa husk from cocoa factory, and any organic material that we could get into our hand easily. We bough rice straw to mulch on the land to prevent soil nutrients lost. But this is not practical, because the rice straw was carried far away from Kedah, one roll of rice straw is 400kg and the price is surprisingly high, carrying this stuff up along our bumpy road is not a good idea. The process of mulching was burdensome, and there was too much rain water, causing the rice straw to become compost very fast.


加入有機質,稻桿覆蓋,開始了第一次的耕種
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Adding in organic matter, rice straw mulching, the first plantation was started



記得我們第一批菜種植了約700棵綠花椰菜(Broccoli) 和約1000棵玉米,但是全軍覆沒,一點收成都沒有,全被蟲子吃光了。 在開始的前三年,我們重複的加入有機質,做堆肥,種菜。但是收成都不太理想。當時侯,田環的結論是:我將不再在一塊完全沒有任何有機質或沒有表土的土地種菜!!
We planted our first batch vegetables with 700 broccolis and about 1000 sweet corns, but they were completely wiped out, we got none harvest, all was eaten by the bugs and worms.
At the beginning of first 3 years, we repeatedly added in organic matter, did compost, planted vegetable. But the outcome was not ideal. At that moment, Tien Khuan’s conclusion is, “I will not farming on any land which has no organic matter or no top soil!!”



蟲害 (14/6/2007)
Insect pest ( 14 June 2007)

第一年
The first year



踏入第三年,我們開始用 Biodynamic (生物活力) 的農耕法。Biodynamic 是甚麼?這是由已故人智學(Anthroposophy)Rudolf Steiner自1992年提出和发展出来恢復地力、治療受創土地、保護地球環境的農耕方法
For the third year, we began using Biodynamic agricultural method. What is Biodynamic? It is a method by the late Rudolf Steiner since 1992, who was an Anthroposophy scientist proposed and developed the agriculture which could restore soil fertility, recover destroyed land, and protect earth environment.






 

待續...
To be continued... 

--婉菁,謝謝 Yishen Tey的英文翻譯。
--Woon Sing, Thanks for Yishen Tey's English translation.