DQ Farm (est. 1991)

Wild gingers have lovely flowers seldom seen.

Some of the wild gingers planted at our farm are flowering (click on pics for enlarged image).

The delicate flower of the potent all-black kunyit hitam or black turmeric, scientific name unknown.  We have successfully treated chronic inflammation and immune system related problems such as lichen planus with this ginger.

The Raja Brooke's Birdwings (Trogonoptera Brookiana) are gone from the waterfall.  What a difference a week makes. The clearing works at the side of the falls and further up have destroyed their habitat. All the aristolochia foveolata, their host plant, have been slashed as the undergrowth was cleared.

This is a photo we took of them in September last year at the banks of the falls (the smaller one is a Common Jay) :

Pair of Common Jay puddling at a footpath in the farm.

The low clouds made me contemplative, sitting by that waterfall.  Reminiscing that long train ride to Brockenhurst on a damp autumn day.  And alone in a stark rented apartment a different life ago, overlooking Tower Bridge; anxiously waiting.... And having cheap ice cream for lunch and dinner.

Then there was a barely perceptible change in the air.  An urgency in the breeze; a quickening in the mood of the birds that surrounded me and the Raja Brookes all suddenly took off.

Then a roar, and a wall of water came towards me...

This is what happens when we clear forests; water no longer have time to infiltrate, they 'runoff'.

Those autumn days were full of uncertainty.  Today, as I contemplate the flash flood before me, the heart is troubled by renewed uncertainty as development encroach the haven that's DQ Farm.

You don't find many kuini (mangifera odorata) in the market.  Part of the reason is that the tree is not very productive as far as commercial farmers are concerned.  For the same amount of fertiliser, pesticides and labour, the production is significantly less for the kuini tree as compared to other commercial hybrid mangoes.

Kuini trees in a row

Pak Din plucking the fruits

Another reason is that the weevils love kuini and losses can be high, unless one really go the 'overkill' path and spray pesticides copiously.

At DQ Farm we use nature to help us.  And nature works 24/7 without rest.

Vicious red ants swarming entire trees from root to fruit, keeping the fruits free from weevils and other insects.

Red ants swarming a fallen fruit protecting it from insects:

 buah macang buah kuini

masak sebiji dalam daun

mengapa begini hatiku ini

habis bulan berganti tahun

My translation:

the kuini the machang

fold one in leaves to ripen

this heart of mine, oh what's hidden

a year passes with each fading month

Youthful 'senior', Lily Fu and her fellow 'Ramleans' came for a visit last week. 

They set the mood for the day right by being 15 mins early.  BTW the plastic bags you see in Lily's blog are made from biodegradable material and we provide them only for 'seniors'.  

We enjoyed seeing their reaction when sampling our fruits.  Non-clone, slow growing fruits and vegetables do taste better and are nutritionally superior!!