Sunday, April 6, 2014

Environmental Education at Yilan Green Expo

Last weekend, we were having two day activities at Wulaokeng Environmental Education Center. We were having four sessions per day. Each session was about one hour. We were introducing type of wild vegetables  and its uses, and herb with fragrant. We let visitor to taste sweet (Stevia), bitter (Cichorium endivia), sour (Begonia semperflorens) and spicy (Tropaeolum majus) and also smell the fishy smell and other fragrant plants like Anthemis cotula, Rosmarinus officinalis and so on.

Wulaokeng Environmental Education Center








~Tasting~


                                                                            ~Tasting~




~Smelling~

Edible wild vegetable:




Our main protagonist was:
Tagetes lemmonii 芳香萬壽菊



Materials:



Procedure:

Firstly, use the rope·through the small hole on the black colour pot.


Then, it equipped with purple basket. 


Take one/two stem of the Tagetes and put into the pot.


After that, press the soil to give support to the plant. 


~The End~


Q & A session:







At the end of the activity, everyone can bring back their own plant. =D







Special Thank to Our Speakers:



                                                


Angelia


Thursday, April 3, 2014

Plant in TLF (latest Information in English and Mandarin Version)

七里香- Murraya paniculata


打從春天起直到夏末秋初,這七里香因花期長,皆可見到聞到她的芬芳。
頭城農場也在這些季節隨處就可聞到一股濃郁的香氣。
七里香。別名因花香濃郁而獨特,能飄散遠處故而有七里香、九里香、十里香、千里香、萬里香、滿山香等之稱。

Start from the spring to the early of autumn, we can smell the fragrant of this flower because of its long flowering period.
At Toucheng Leisure Farm, we can smell its strong fragrant anywhere when the season is arrived.
Orange Jessamine. In Chinese Common Name it is using the distance of the smell to name it due to the strong fragrant smell can drift to very far and we can still smell it.



芸香科九里香屬植物
Rutaceae-Murraya plant




常綠灌木或小喬木植物。
葉為奇數羽狀複葉,互生
Evergreen shrub or small tree plant
Leaves are odd-pinnate and alternate arrangement.



花期49月,果期912月。
原產於亞洲南部,喜溫暖較濕潤的氣候,不耐寒。
Flowering period is April to September while fruiting period is September to December.
Native to Southern Asia, like warm and humid climate but not tolerance to cold.

用途:花可提煉芳香精油,花及熟果可供食用或入藥, 材質堅硬可作手杖印章農具及小刀柄等,亦可作綠籬之用。
Uses: Flower can be extracted out the essential oils, flower and ripen fruit are edible and medicinal. Hard wood can use as walking cane, personal seal, farm tools and small knife handle, and also for hedge purpose.


 九芎-Lagerstroemia subcostata


宜蘭市以前叫九芎城,因未開發前有大片的野生九芎樹。頭城農場隨處可見。
小時候常常看到爺爺跟爸爸用芭樂樹或九芎樹作陀螺給我們小朋友玩。
因表面平滑就連猴子也很難爬上所以又叫猴不爬。分布台灣低海拔森林。
Last time, Yilan Township was called Jiu Qiong Township, because of before developed, there are a large area of wild crape myrtle. At Toucheng Leisure Farm, you can found it everywhere.
When childhood times, we always saw grandpa and father use the guava tree or crape myrtle to make gyro for us to play.
Due to the smooth surface, monkey also difficult to climb it, therefore its other name is called “monkey does not climb”. It is distribute on low-altitude forests in Taiwan.
  

別名:小果紫薇、猴不爬。
千屈菜科紫薇屬植物
落葉喬木,樹皮常呈現片狀剝落。
Common NameOrange Jessamine
Lythraceae-Lagerstroemia plant
It is deciduous trees and often showing flakes peeling off bark.




用途:木質堅硬,耐燒,臺灣優良薪炭材之一。乾燥後不太會反翹,是做農具的用材。可供水土保持植栽。花、根可入藥,花蕾味苦有清香,可生食,亦俗稱苞飯花。
Uses: Hard wood resistance to fire, one of the excellent firewoods. After drying, it hardly to warped and is used to make farm tools. It conserves water and soil for planting. Flower and roots can be used as medicine; the buds taste bitter with fragrance smell and can be eaten raw.


長尾水青蛾幼蟲的食草植物。Food of Actias heterogyna’s larvae


茄苳 Bichofia javanica




茄苳因壽命長,台灣平地常見百年的茄苳老樹。
可生長成巨樹,常為民間信仰膜拜的樹王公。
Bishops has long life-span, commonly can found the centuries old bishops trees in Taiwan.
It can grow into giant trees; often become the folk belief’s tree king.
 

別名:重陽木、秋楓樹。
大戟科。
大喬木,樹幹粗大,
葉互生,三出複葉鈍鋸齒緣,1~2月間短暫落葉
雄雌異株
,花期2月到3月,花小腋生,漿果球形
Common Name: Bishops woods
Phyllanthaceae
Large tree with thick trunk leaves alternate arrangement, three blunt serrated edge compound leaves. During January and February, it will temporary leaves fall.
The flower is male and female dioeciously, the flowering period is February to March, small axillary flowers, berries in spherical shape.
  

用途:可做庭園樹及行道樹,果實可食,心材可做建材,根、樹皮、嫩芽、葉及果實均可入藥,葉可做茶之代用品。葉及葉心可做藥膳的茄苳雞
Uses: Used as garden or roadside tree, edible fruit, woods can be used to do building materials, roots, barks, buds, leaves and fruits can be used as medicine, leaves can do as substitutes of tea. Leaves can do the medicated Jiadong chicken.

   頭城農場的辦公室旁就有一棵。
It next to the main office of TLF



杜英樹 Elaeocarpus sylvestrus



杜英之樹冠自然優美,不須加以修剪,加上,萬綠叢中帶紅葉,加添不少美感,為綠美化良材。
木材可作小型器具及供栽培香菇之段木。
果實可食用,味如錫蘭橄欖。
Elaeocarpus natural beauty of the crown, without trimmed, plus, green leaves with red leaves, add a lot of aesthetic value, as green landscaping plant.
Wood can be used for small appliances and cultivate the mushrooms.
Edible fruits taste like Ceylon olives.


別名:杜鶯、猴喜歡、膽八樹。
杜英科,杜英屬。
常綠喬木,台灣原生樹種,老葉掉落前會變紅
Common Name: Bhadrasey
Elaeocarpaceae, Elaeocarpus
Evergreen trees, native to Taiwan, old leaves turn red before falling.


用途:
1.染料:樹皮可作染料。
2.木材為栽培香菇的良好段木。
3.果實可食用:橢圓形的果實似橄欖可食。
4.種子油還可作肥皂和潤滑油。
5.造景樹用:杜英的樹形秀美,披針形的葉片叢集枝端,顏色翠綠;老葉在掉落前轉為耀眼的鮮紅色,此起彼落,美不勝收,杜英可作觀賞紅葉的樹種之一,常被栽種在公園、庭園、綠地做為添景樹或行道樹。
6.藥用:性味:根:辛、溫。效用:根:散瘀消腫。治跌打損傷瘀種。
Uses:
1. Dye: Bark can be used as a dye.
2. Wood is good for cultivate mushrooms.
3. Edible fruit: Oval edible fruits like Ceylon olives.
4. Seed oil can used to make soaps and lubricants.
5.Landscaping: Beautiful shape of sylvestris, cluster of lanceolate leaves on branches, green in color; old leaf turn to bright red before falling, forming a beautiful view, and can used as one of the kinds of red leaves trees, often planted in parks, gardens, landscaping tree or roadsides trees.
6.Medicinal: Taste of root is acrid and warm and used to treat swelling, stasis and bruises.



台灣欒樹 Koelreuteria elegans

  

頭城農場魚池旁有一棵枝葉茂盛樹體優美的台灣欒樹,每逢秋季花期,便逐漸以黃色花及蒴果紅瓣鋪陳了整個枝頭,吸引了遊客聚集拍照留念。

There is a beautiful flourishing branches and leaves Koelreuteria beside fish pond in TLF, every autumn flowering period, it will gradually with yellow flower and red capsule lay out on the whole branches, attract tourist come to gather and take photo.




別名:苦楝舅
無患子科落葉喬木植物
台灣原生特有種
耐旱性強,大約秋季10月開花
Common Name: Taiwan Rain Tree
Sapindaceae deciduous plant.
Native to Taiwan.
Drought tolerance, flowering in October on autumn season.

用途:樹型優美,色彩多變化,是優良的行道樹與園景樹,在臺灣隨處可見,秋天花期時尤其顯眼。花可作黃色染料

Uses: Beautiful tree shape, multi-color changes, is an excellent street trees and landscape trees, can be seen at everywhere in Taiwan, conspicuous flowering especially during autumn. Flower can use as yellow dye.



二回羽狀複葉花冠黃色,有三瓣,瓣玫瑰紅色,氣囊狀,先淡紫轉紅褐色,最後呈土色。

Bi-pinnate leaf. Yellow corolla has three red rose petal that balloon-liked, first from pruple turn to red-brown and finally in earth tone color.



柳樹 Salix alba


「畫閣朱樓盡相望,紅桃綠柳垂簷向。……(王維-洛陽女兒行);「渭城朝雨浥輕塵 ,客舍青青柳色新。……(王維-渭城曲);「庭院深深深幾許?楊柳堆煙,簾幕無重數。……」(歐陽修-蝶戀花)?
這是騷人墨客在唐詩、宋詞中以柳樹描寫景物、感情的情景。細長的柳樹枝條柔軟下垂,展現出婀娜多姿的姿態。在池畔與溪旁的步道上皆可見到,是一種最富詩情畫意的樹木。
  
. This is authors write in the Tang and Song poem to describe the scene of willow and their feeling on it. Soft slender drooping of willow branches showing pretty and charming posture. We can always see it on the poolside and creek’s trail and forming the most poetic trees.




垂柳又叫楊柳
別名:垂枝柳、倒掛柳、倒插楊柳。
楊柳科柳屬的植物。
原產地為中國大陸。
落葉喬木,高可達18米,胸徑1米,樹冠倒廣卵形,小枝細長下垂;披針形或線狀披針形葉片,有鋸齒。
Salix alba
Common Name: White willow
Salicaceae-Salix plant
Native to China.
It is deciduous trees can grow up to 18 meters with diameter 1 meter wide, an irregular, often leaning crown, branches small and slender long. Lanceolate or linear-lanceolate leaves with serrated margin.



2~3月開花,雌雄異株,葇荑花序
蒴果,種子有白色絲狀長毛。
有毒部位:(莖及皮)
細長的線形葉,卻是三錐象鼻蟲及紅擬豹斑蝶的最愛。三錐象鼻蟲,老愛把柳葉捲成粽子般;紅擬豹斑蝶的幼蟲喜食柳葉。

Flowering period is on February and March, dioecious with male and female catkins on separate trees.
Capsule contains numerous minute seeds that embedded in white down, which using wind to disperse.
Stem and bark are poisonous.
Elongated linear leaves are the favourite of Baryrhynchus sp. and Phalanta phalantha. Baryrhynchus sp. like to roll the leaves like Zhong zhi. Larvae of Phalanta phalantha like to feed on willow leaves.


用途:垂柳主要為庭園樹,遮蔭樹或行道樹。喜愛在水邊生長。
Uses: Mainly use as garden trees, shade trees or street trees. It likes to grow on the waterside.

Angelia

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Kumquat Fruit


The kumquat plant is native to South Asia region and it has been cultivated in Southern Asia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan. The scientific name of kumquat is Citrus margarita and belongs to Rutaceae. It is in oval shaped. It assembles like an orange but smaller size. It has a sweet taste as the skin is eaten. They are evergreen shrubs; it has 2 to 5 meters in height. The leaves are in dark glossy green while the flowers are in white colour. The tree with dense branches and it can produce dense quantities of fruits annually.


The fruit ripen usually in late winter. The oval shape of this type kumquat is also called Nagami kumquat requires 25°C to 38°C; however it can withstand frost down to about −10 °C without injury. Although it has ability to growth in low temperature, but it will grow well and much better in warm climate so that it would produce dense, large and sweeter fruits. The planting propagation of kumquat is usually growth by using vegetative methods instead of using seeds.


Kumquat fruit has a lot of benefits to our health. This is because kumquat contains high nutrition value which it has antioxidants that good in our health. For instance, it has Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin E which against from various diseases like cancer, diabetes and ageing. Kumquat contains good antioxidants that will remove free radicals and toxic from our body. Therefore, it can against from diabetes and reduces cholesterol in the blood. It then helps to increase the blood flow and lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases like high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. This is due to the fruit has adequate amount of potassium to increase the fluid level. Furthermore, the antioxidants which consisted inside the fruit can neutralize and the free radicals that would damage DNA cells and change the normal cells into cancer cells, and protect structure of DNA from free radicals which will lead to cancer. The eating of the fruit will also slow down the ageing process because it protects the skin damage from free radicals.


Reference from http://wiki-fitness.com/kumquat-health-benefits/






Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR)

            PGPR is a non-pathogenic soil-borne microorganism which can help to promote plant growth. It is defined as soil bacteria that colonize the roots of plants, and then inoculate onto the seed and that will help to promote plant growth. Farmers realize that when the soil is mixed with legume cost, it can help to improve the rate of growth and yield of non-legume crops from their experience (Bashan, 1998). First bacteria that used were Rhizobium sp. and register for plant inoculation. This patent was known as Nitragin. It has been used in agriculture past hundred years. Now, it was very common and has been practiced a lot in agriculture field.

Meanwhile, PGPR is bringing a lot of advantages in agriculture field. There are many reports which showed that PGPR can help to produce phytohormones, atmospheric nitrogen, and increase availability of certain plant essential elements in soil. In addition, PGPR can help to suppress the plant pathogen. For example, Agrobacterium radiobacter strain K84 is used to suppress crown gall disease caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens and has been produced commercially (Lopez et al, 1990).

References: 

Bashan, Y. 1998. Inoculants of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria for Use in Agriculture. Biotechnology Advance. 16(4): 729-770.
Lopez, M.M., Salcedo, C.I., Marti, R. & Vicedo, B. 1990. Inhibitory Effect of Agrobacterium radiobacter Strains K84 and K1026 Against Plant Pathogenic Erwinia, Pseudomonas, and Xanthomonas. Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizocbacteria Progress and Prospects. 77-80.

           Copy from:

Ooi, Y.S. 2014. Isolation and Characterization of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria and Its Effect on Quality of Turfgrass, Degree Thesis, University Putra Malaysia.

It is considering one of the bio-fertilizer but its effect is slower than chemical fertilizer. PGPR that used in farm will be uploaded later on~~ =)
  
Angelia

Friday, February 21, 2014

Weed

What is weed???

Weed has a lot of explanations and meanings. For me on farming, weed is a plant that grow on the farm and compete with our crop for nutrients, water and space. When a carrot plant is growing on corn field, the carrot plant is also considering a weed that grow on corn field. This is because planting corn is our target in this area, if other types of crop grows at there consider interrupt the growth of our corn.

Advantages of Weed

1) Legume can help to fix nitrogen in soil sometimes with helping of Rhizobium bacteria. Rhizobium is a
    plant growth-regulating rhizobacteria that able help to fix nitrogen in soil.
2)Control the soil erosion.
3)Act as trap plant by attracting some insect pest - biological control of insect pest.
4)As a food for livestock like cows and sheep.
5)Medical value.

Disadvantages of Weed

1)Interrupt the growth of crop by competing the nutrients, space and water.
2)As a host for pests and pathogens
3)Reduce soil fertility
4)Reduce quality and quantity of crops
5)Affect the uniformity and appearance of turf in golf course

Weed Controls

Our vegetable farm is an organic farm. Herbicides are not allowed to be used to control or kill the weeds. We only can control it manually, machinery and others that environmental friendly ways.

a)Manual

We are removing the weeds by using hands or with help of tools like spade or hoe.
Weeding together with ah ma~!


b)Mulching

Use coconut coir or dry paddy straw cover the surface of ground. It can help to reduce the weeds, conserve the nutrient and water moisture in soil and improve the soil structure. When it is decaying, it will become organic matter and help to increase nutrients in soil.

c)Mowing

Mowing can help to reduce the growth of weeds by using mower. In our farm, we are using nylon string lawn mower to mow the weeds or grass.

Weeds that commonly found in our farms will be post next time. Stay tuned~! ; )

Angelia

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Flies on Fire....;....Fireflies!!

Fireflies or their cooler name "Lightning Bugs" are actually a type of beetle (so no they are not actually flies) in the order of Coleoptera. They get their name because they produce bio luminescent light from their abdomens which can be from 510 to 670 nano-meters in wavelength, this means they can produce yellow, green and pale red lights.


       Photo by Terry Priest 



Here are 10 cool facts about fireflies:

1) They are the worlds most efficient light producers

2) They communicate with light

3) Each species has their own flash pattern

4) Firefly larvae feed on snails

5) Fireflies can glow all throughout their life cycle 

6) Some can be poisonous

7) They are not flies or bugs, they are beetles

8) Some fireflies eat each other

9) They live for only about 2 months

10) There are over 2000 species of fireflies!


However, in recent years, scientists have noticed a decline in the population of fireflies, they are disappearing!! This has been attributed to human invasion of the fireflies natural habitat with things like:

1) Too much light at night

2) Use of pesticides

3) Deforestation

4) Rivers drying up


It would be such a shame if these beautiful creatures of the night were to turn off their lights for good, so at Toucheng Farm we try to create a healthy environment for them to thrive in. During the firefly season from around March to May you can see healthy population of fireflies in the farm. This is because of our well maintained environment. We have large forest, several streams and we do not turn on many lights at night.





Photos of Fireflies in Toucheng Farm


Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Bamboo

Bamboo, despite looking like a tree is actually a type of grass in the Poaceae family, sub family Bambusoideae. 90% of the worlds bamboo is in Asia and they also have a huge cultural impact on Asian cultural as many structures and tools were and still are made from bamboo. There are many examples of this at the farm:


     Bamboo Umbrella Basket


Bamboo container


 Bamboo wind chimes


 Bamboo wind blower


 Bamboo Shade


Bamboo Ceiling

Bamboo is stronger than steel and is hollow which makes it very useful for building and making tools.

Aside from tools baby bamboo shoots can also be eaten. There are many benefits in eating bamboo:
1) Low in calories
2) High in fibre
3) High in potassium (640 milligrams per serving)
4) Good source for phytochemicals (fights cancer, bacteria and viruses, anti-inflammatory)



Bamboo forest at Toucheng Leisure Farm