Rice planting season

I visited the farm in Bugallon, Pangasinan last Sunday, July 12. Here is the rice field in front of my treehouse, being tilled by our long time caretaker, Nong Endring Paragas. To save money, he and some rice farmers just spread the rice seeds randomly.

Advantage is that they save on the cost of labor planting. Disadvantages are (a) this requires more seeds, (b) grasses and weeds can grow simultaneously with the young rice plants, and (c) more difficult to remove weeds later that compete for soil nutrients and sunlight for the crops.

Below, this is outside the farm. Another rice field in front of the house of Nong Endring's son, Danny, who also helps in the farm. The women in the photo (with umbrellas) are uprooting the young rice, bundle them, to be transported to nearby rice fields for planting with equal spaces in between them.

Another side, just beside Danny's house. The south west monsoon (aka "Habagat") has resulted in nine days and nights of almost continuous rains in western Pangasinan-Zambales and nearby provinces.

The daily rains have actually continued until about middle of this week. This road has become a mini-canal for more than a week

Another set of rice fields, near our farm. Lots of water.

A mama carabao and her few months old kid. A few farmers still use farm animals to till the soil. This is non-costly of course but work is slow. One hand tractor can do work of perhaps 5 carabaos.

Above are among the sights that I enjoy whenever I visit the farm.
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See also: 
Creek, canal and  irrigation, September 05, 2011
Rice Farms, July 11, 2012 
Around My Treehouse, May 02, 2013 
Maya Bird as Rice Pest, May 05, 2014
Fields of gold, harvested, March 02, 2015

Fields of Gold, Harvested

Two photos of the ricefield in front of my treehouse, last February 14, 2015. Fields of gold, mature rice to be harvested about 2-3 days after. My treehouse is surrounded by tall mahogany trees, except the front area facing the rice field.

Farm caretaker Nong Endring Paragas plants rice here twice a year, the dry months (March-May), the land  is on fallow, rest. Our friend Charlie Espinosa, a local farmer, helps Nong endring till this land.

The mature rice as seen  from the 2nd floor of my treehouse.

I went back to the farm last weekend. The harvested area. Nong Endring used to have cows before, the rice straw would be consumed by the cows. He sold all his cows a few years ago as  he was getting  older. The rice straw was burned.

Young rice plants as of late November 2014. Above photo facing the treehouse, lower photo taken from the 2nd floor of the treehouse.

The irrigation canal that brings water  to  the  ricefield. Also taken last November.

See also: 
Rice prices and soil conservation, March 27, 2008 
Rice Farms, July 11, 2012 
Around My Treehouse, May 02, 2013 
Water Impounding and Irrigation, December 05, 2013 
Maya Bird as Rice Pest, May 05, 2014

Maya Bird as Rice Pest

Maya bird or Eurasian tree sparrow is the most common bird to see in the Philippines, both in urban and rural areas. It is also common in many other East Asian countries. A few decades ago, it was the "national bird" in the country, until it was replaced by the Philippine eagle, or the monkey-eating eagle, possibly the biggest eagle specie worldwide.

Maya is considered a pest by many rice farmers. They eat the young and immature rice, or suck fuids in them. Here's a rice straw felled by birds. Notice the lower portion of the straw on the right, near empty, some rice fall on the ground.

The birds are small but they come on a big group, at least 10 or 20, and more. So when they land on these young rice straws, the latter can lean, if not fall to the ground, like they were blown by a strong wind.

The rice field in front of our treehouse in the farm. Photos taken yesterday, except the first photo, taken from the web.

Compared to rats though, maya are second or third serious pests; the other serious pests are the kuhol which mature as helix pomatia, grasshoppers, or even wild ducks. It depends on the season. The rats attack day and night and they can hardly be seen, while the maya attack only at day time, and one can see them. But they just hop and hide from the trees, and swoop on the ricefields.

The most common solution to maya attack is having a wooden statue with dress that looks like a person in the middle of the rice field, or a long string/small rope with cans or other noisy things tied in the middle. When the rope or string is pulled, it creates noise and scares the maya.
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See also:
Vegetable Plots in the Farm, April 17, 2011 
Rice Farms, July 11, 2012 
Rice Terraces, Cool Crops, from Agrarian World, August 02, 2013
Water Impounding and Irrigation, December 05, 2013

Rice Farms

Among the things that attract me to visit our farm in Pangasinan, which is generally far from Manila, is the sight seeing of many rice farms on the road. The rice plots below are not from our farm, but in the same barrio or village.

Newly uprooted young rice to be planted in well-spaced plots.

Rice field, a backyard piggery surrounded by rice plots, people planting rice.

A farmer showing the newly uprooted, bundled young rice. These will then be replanted in well-spaced plots.  Lower photo, threshing newly-harvested rice.