Gil Carandang - The Unconventional Farmer

ziggestardust · Apr 11, 2013

I am taking the initiative to dedicate a thread about the discussion on the different methods of making your own organic fertilizer and growth stimulants presented on the following webpage.

http://www.gilcarandang.com

Welcome to Gil Carandang’s natural farming hub. We started this website because there is a lot of interest in natural farming coming from both small hobbyists and larger industrial scale farmers and gardeners. The appeal of sustainable agriculture like organic and natural farming is broad. It’s initial appeal is for clean and safe food. But at the end of the day, it goes far beyond that. It enhances and protects the environment from degradation, whereas traditional agriculture tends to be a major culprit of this phenomenon. When we start to see this environmental or ecological issue, we go beyond the sustainable food system of creating safe food, to a food system which will provide life. It is this holistic context of “food, health and environment” that has both universal and particular appeal to all segments of society.

We have a passion for the philosophies behind natural agriculture; appreciating the power and significance of nature and applying those lessons to our environment. Passion is infectious – we want to found a community, where anyone can come to learn about natural farming techniques, see the proof of their effectiveness, and become motivated to apply these techniques in their own lives. Ideas grow by sharing, and that’s what Gilcarandang.com is all about.

While Gil has been busy working with farmers in the Philippines, he has not had time to publish current topics of research, or refine the material that is already in circulation. Part of our goal here is to make Gil accessible, and his knowledge available, organized, and centralized.

This website has a ton of good information on it. If you like playing outside, you’ve come to the right place. You can learn everything from how to make your own homemade fertilizer, to how to build a piggery that requires no cleaning and has no smell. Along the way, our hope is that you will start viewing the natural world through our eyes – full of possibilities and lessons, recipes and instructions, code hidden in plain sight.

I have been in contact with Patrick, a guy related to the webpage, about an FPE test I am running. I asked him specifically about a soil guide, which he promised will come in time. A blog will come as well.

I made the Lactobacillus Serum, which worked great. I also made fermented plant extracts and Fish Hydrolysate. His Bloom Fertilizer made by fermenting Mango, Banana and Squash is in the brewing cabinet as I type and I have some macaroni buried in a no-till bed with local forest duff on top, this will make his version of BIM.

Please share your experiences and thoughts, I hope for this thread to explode with information!

ziggestardust · Apr 18, 2013

Okay this is one of my findings on the fermentation of fruits (bloom fertilizer).

As the material gets fermented the thick stuff seems to float, whereas the liquid sinks to the bottom (lower density), I found a way to utilize this fact.

What I do is that I take a plastic tube, attach some cheese cloth to the bottom end with a steel wire that I twist snugly around the pipe. I fill the tube with the mixed fruits and hang it over a glass jug and as the material ferments and the liquid sinks to the bottom it will strain through the cheese cloth, sort of autostraining it.

So here's the point. You can easily look at the contents of the tube sinking, when it stops sinking for a while one of two things would have happened; either the fermentation is complete or the filter is clogged. If the latter, empty out the tube in a temporary container, clean the filter, assemble the filter again and pour the gunk back.

In my case, the tube and the rim of the jug is the same diameter, so I just place the tube on top of the jar and the cloth filter sinks down a little bit in the jug - keeping the tube in place. I found that I needed to add a piece of aquarium pump tubing down the jug to let air out as it fills with liquid.

When the goo is thick enough, the fermentation is finished.

Greenheart · Apr 19, 2013

I wonder if a separatory funnel would help with that?

Was checking out the link. Alot of fermentation going on. I really liked the BIM and Ginger-Garlic sections.

ziggestardust · Apr 19, 2013

Greenheart said:
I wonder if a separatory funnel would help with that?

Was checking out the link. Alot of fermentation going on. I really liked the BIM and Ginger-Garlic sections.

Yeah, but I guess they are quite expensive and imho overkill. If you have one it ought to be ideal though.

I am making both BIM and Ginger-Garlic (smells awful). Not having anything happening in the infected macaroni - molasses mixture though. Not sure what up but I am standing back for a few days to see if sugar starts to be consumed.

al-k-mist · Apr 20, 2013

shiiiit, aint none of that going in MY sep funnel

I checked out the site. Fuckin amazing, all in one spot. homemade fish hydrolysate? amazingly simple, cheapppppppp as fuck, and right there at the house.

amazing

al-k-mist · Apr 20, 2013

Zig
does the straining take place over a while? days? i heard of something similar.

If you were to do it in somethin like a 2litre bottle that's clear, when fermentation is complete, one could poke a hole in the bottom, and as long as the top is open, just like a ghetto-like seperatory funnel, it will drain, liquid on bottom, fats on top.

ziggestardust · Apr 20, 2013

al-k-mist said:
Zig
does the straining take place over a while? days? i heard of something similar.

If you were to do it in somethin like a 2litre bottle that's clear, when fermentation is complete, one could poke a hole in the bottom, and as long as the top is open, just like a ghetto-like seperatory funnel, it will drain, liquid on bottom, fats on top.

Yeah that would definitely work, great idea!

You are correct, the separation takes days but I guess it really depends on how much you want to harvest. If you're lazy you'll just grab 50% or so of the liquid, harvesting before the fermentation is completed. I try to harvest it all, it also makes for a more solid goo which I can give to the worms in my no-till bed.

I just fed the worms with a porridge like substance from fermenting mango, banana and squash. I just dig it in there and the worms get down to business! The leechate is nicely stored in a glass jar. I got something like 50% of the initial mixture of fruits and sugar. I also added a tiny amount of water when mixing the fruits to make it easier to pour from the mixer to the fermenting tube.

daylighting · Apr 22, 2013

Great site guys, thanks for sharing!

OrganicPHFarmer · Sep 26, 2018

Help Gil Carandang!

Help Gil Carandang!

I'm resurrecting this thread because Gil Carandang needs help.

By now you all know how Gil has greatly influenced the organic farming community.
Recently, his son Gian was shot (the shooters are still at large), and has undergone spinal operation. Gian is awaiting another urethra operation, and will need many therapy sessions for the chance to use his legs again.

Gil and his family live a simple life. He is not a “haciendero,” a “rockstar/superstar farmer.” He makes money off whatever he is able to grow. He doesn’t even charge a lot for seminars. He just wants to spread the word on organic farming—so much so, that he gives away most of his organic farming techniques for FREE.

You think you could forgo today's Starbucks frap and instead donate it to the Carandangs?

Thanks in advance to all the awesome guys who continue to support small scale businesses—and farmers.

https://gogetfunding.com/help-heal-gian-carandang/

HorseBadoritiz · Sep 26, 2018

OrganicPHFarmer said:
I'm resurrecting this thread because Gil Carandang needs help.

By now you all know how Gil has greatly influenced the organic farming community.
Recently, his son Gian was shot (the shooters are still at large), and has undergone spinal operation. Gian is awaiting another urethra operation, and will need many therapy sessions for the chance to use his legs again.

Gil and his family live a simple life. He is not a “haciendero,” a “rockstar/superstar farmer.” He makes money off whatever he is able to grow. He doesn’t even charge a lot for seminars. He just wants to spread the word on organic farming—so much so, that he gives away most of his organic farming techniques for FREE.

You think you could forgo today's Starbucks frap and instead donate it to the Carandangs?

Thanks in advance to all the awesome guys who continue to support small scale businesses—and farmers.

https://gogetfunding.com/help-heal-gian-carandang/

Thanks for posting this.

Glad to help Gil, his work has helped me.

Has he taken his web site down? I can't seem to find it anymore.

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Gil Carandang - The Unconventional Farmer

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