Garlic Power
My aunt loves gardening. But because we have limited space, she has learned urban gardening on her own. All empty and plastic cans are not thrown away but instead are used as pots where she plants vegetables that are easy to grow like pechay and eggplant. She buys garden soil from a neighbor who has a commercial garden business. I can say that my aunt is into small-sacle organic farming because she only uses natural pesticide and fertilizer.
This gardening passion of my aunt taught me how to appreciate garlic. While we like the taste of garlic when mixed with our favorite peanuts, most of us don’t like its smell when we burp or when we are asked to chop it and the smell stays in our hands. I learned how useful garlic is when I witnessed how it prevented insects from ruining my aunt’s vegetables.
To prove to me the power of garlic, my aunt showed me how to prepare garlic pesticide. She requested me to mix chopped garlic with plain water and soapy water collected from laundering . Then I strained the mixture and poured it in a spray bottle. I did the spraying and it really worked because when I checked the following day, a few dead bugs dropped on the soil. Simple, low cost yet very environment-friendly pesticide.
I enjoyed the chicken stew with safe pechay and eggplant a few weeks after!. And here’s a bonus. Try stew with whole head of garlic. It tastes different, I swear!
