CANCER SURVIVOR CREDITS GARDENING WITH CONTRIBUTING TO RECOVERY
Despite her condition, she still managed to maintain her garden. This was Evangelista’s way to divert her attention away from the pain that she felt. As per the gardener, smelling the flowers and singing songs of praise and worship while gardening helped her to heal and recover fast. She added that gardening gives her physical and emotional strength.
Her plants became a reliable partner during her recovery stage. It took two years for the cancer cells in her body to disappear and for new cells to develop. During this time, Evangelista also had to completely change her lifestyle; she avoided stress and began to eat healthy.
She had to observe a strict diet that contained raw fruits and vegetables without any meat, sweet, and salty food. Her garden played a big part in providing her fresh, healthy produce. Fast forward to now, Evangelista has been clinically declared cancerfree and continues to live her life healthily.
A MAJOR LIFE INFLUENCE
This cancer survivor is also a proud daughter of farmers; growing up with them made her realize the crucial role of farmers in growing food. She said, “Without farmers, we wouldn’t have food served on our tables. I consider [farming] as a noble job.”
Their farm in the province, which consists of rice fields, a coconut plantation, and livestock, was the only source of their family’s income when Evangelista and her siblings were growing up. The farm was the reason why Evangelista and her 11 siblings were able to graduate from college. Their farm still stands today, now under the care of her brother.
LESSONS FROM THE PAST
Evangelista gets to apply the lessons that she got from her parents in her urban garden. Every day, she allots three to four hours for gardening. Evangelista has three gardens at home; a roof deck garden measures 80sqm, a terrace garden is about six sqm, and a front yard garden that measures 14sqm.
To maximize her space, she also does vertical gardening. Presently, Evangelista grows fruit-bearing plants such as dragon fruit, banana, sweet tamarind, star apple, and pomelo; veggies like camote tops, squash, and eggplant; as well as some ornamentals like orchids, and other indoor plants.
She waters them every morning except on rainy days. She also creates her own pesticide out of fruit, veggies, and herbal extracts. For instance, Evangelista immerses onion and garlic leaves in one liter of water with a tablespoon of baking soda and lets it sit for three to four days. She sprays this solution on her plants twice a month to kill aphids, ants, and worms. For her fertilizer, she uses kitchen waste, vermicast, and animal manure.
In growing flowering plants and ornamentals, she usually starts with one plant and multiplies them through propagating cuttings from mother plants. For orchids, she grows them from seedlings. Harvested fruits and vegetables are for personal consumption, but if there’s more than what their family needs, she shares them with their neighbor who is a senior citizen. She also sells ornamental and indoor plants online and inside their village. She sometimes gets to sell about R5,000 to R9,000 a month. Through her garden, she also saves R4000 to R5000 in terms of food costs.
Like any other gardener, pests can be a problem. To kill ants, she sprays leaves with a mixture of dishwashing liquid with vinegar and baking soda. For rats, she uses traps, while for birds, she covers her plants with nets.
Indeed, this gardener is proof that no circumstances need halt one’s passion for growing plants, even sickness. In fact, gardening was, and continues to be, a big factor in Evangelista’s health and wellbeing.
Photos by Sharon Evangelista.