The 'main' greenhouse
The mere mention of Baguio triggers my sensory memory. Somehow during my past trips to Baguio since my childhood, my brain had subconsciously programmed into my memory every thing about this city that toyed with all my senses. The beautiful pine trees and their distinctive fragrance, the gorgeous mountain-top views, the taste of sweet fresh strawberries mashed with cream/milk and sugar (my favorite way to eat strawberries as a child), the sound of horses hooves and 
what's left of the sweet strawberries after pickingIt was nice to come back to all that after so much time away and be able to top-up those memories for later enjoyment. If you can look past the newly-opened SM mall, you'll see that not much has really changed. All the elements that make it the summer capital of the Philippines are still there.
And whenever I come to Baguio, I am a woman on a mission. That is, to bring home the best lettuce, broccoli and strawberries, among other things. Benguet, the province that surrounds Baguio and La Trinidad, is after all the Salad Bowl of the Philippines. It is also called Strawberry Country as this is the only place in the entire country where strawberries thrive.
I was quite happy to make my purchases at the well-stocked city market but I was beyond delighted when we were invited to pick our produce from an organic farm in La Trinidad! My friend's lovely aunt arranged it all for us.
curly leaf parsley
Fifteen minutes later, we turned into an unmarked dirt road and we passed several greenhouses to our left. She explained that inside those greenhouses was where experimental farming was being conducted. We arrived at what looked like the main greenhouse as it appeared to be the biggest of them all. Johnny, the resident farmhand, was expecting us. With knife in hand, ready to hack away, he led us into the greenhouse where row upon row of the most vivid shades of green greeted us.
Top row: broccoli and red beets
Bottom: cherry tomatoes and bell peppers
I ogled the broccoli plants, I had never seen a broccoli plant before. At first I didn't know what they were, these huge blue-green leaves. It was only when I bent and peered into the center did I see the familiar little head hidden among the leaves. Such a big plant that takes up so much precious fertile space, for such a small harvest. I asked if the leaves were edible. Nope, Johnny shook his head, they're used for compost. Interesting. No wonder they command quite a hefty price.
There were cherry tomatoes on the vine, gorgeous beds of parsley, red and green bell peppers hanging from their stems like shiny ornaments on a short and wide christmas tree, various lettuce varieties such as leaf and romaine, and of course the strawberries. Those elusive (to us lowlanders) little red gems that cost an eye once transported to Manila. We each bought 5 kgs of strawberries (P60/kg), 2 kgs of broccoli and about 8 kgs total of the other vegetables (all for P50/$1 per kg each) to be divided among ourselves. Now that's what I call a sweet deal.
5 kgs of strawberries for only P 300 ($6)! 
the ubiquitous walis (grass broom)
7 comments:
Such gorgeous lettuces, and in such a beautiful location. How lucky you were to be able to pick at the organic farm! Now you must tell us what you're doing with all of these wonderful greens!
Lettuce, broccoli and strawberries -- I love them all!
Great pics!
Hi Lydia, I've already used up most of the harvest (had to , especially the lettuce, because they barely made the trip down back to Manila). The next few posts will be short accounts of how I used them. :)
Hi Eric, thanks! I love them too. Strawberries are my 2nd favorite fruit in the world (after mangoes) and broccoli is right up there with sweet potato as my fave. :)
These are some wonderful lettuces & vegetables indeed! I've just ordered a huge parcel of various seeds (vegetables, lettuces, herbs), so I'll be trying my hand in gardening this summer:)
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous is all I can say. Seeing all that is making me even more excited to begin planting a garden this year. With any luck I'll have something other than recipes to post in the future.
Too good....Never seen a strawbeerry before its plucked.
Pille, that's wonderful! You're going to be living my dream. :) I look forward to summer postings about your garden.
Rowena, you too?! You're all making me jealous. :) How I wish that was my backyard I was walking around in hehe. A girl can dream, someday someday. :)
Hi Ajeya! That was a first for me. I learned quite a bit during the trip out to the farm like why it's covered in plastic, and how they used to use straw in the past. Hmm maybe that's why they're called such? Now there's a thought. :)
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