Remember our mango tree? The one that was filled with flowers at the beginning of summer? Well, very few of the flowers turned to fruits and what few fruits there were were much too high to reach. The winds took pity, shook the tree and down came the fruits, some of them hitting the concrete slabs and splitting because they were still very green and hard and not really ready for anyone’s digestion.
It was frustrating. We were dreaming of free mangoes all throughout the summer but the insects were always there ahead of us, pissing off the flowers until most of them just gave up and decided not to become fruits. We can’t afford to hire people to bag each fruit to keep the insects away, so Speedy instructed the house helpers to burn dry leaves to smoke the mango tree and chase the insects away.
At first, I objected. My instructions were to dump the dead leaves on the soil so they could decompose and make the soil more fertile. But when the insects that had made the mango tree their permanent habitat starting invading our bedroom, I started to see the wisdom in Speedy’s move.
So, the ritual goes on every day. Although the mango tree has lost its flowers and we’ve accepted the fact that we won’t be eating any of its fruits this year, the smoking continues to get rid of the insects.
Now, here’s the thing. I was chatting with an acquaintance about insects and smoking the mango tree when she started to berate me for adding to the air pollution. Whoa, I said, would it be friendlier to the environment if we used chemical based pesticides to spray the tree? Or why not just cut down the tree once and for all?
Now, this person fancies herself an environmentalist and an advocate for a cleaner earth. She is well versed with pesticide issues and she knew very well that the DENR has strict rules about cutting trees, especially very old ones. Just last year, the head of the Intramuros Administration got into serious trouble after cutting down 29 trees in front of the Manila Cathedral. MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando uprooted so many trees along Katipunan Avenue and got slapped with a cease and desist order. Bottom line, cutting down trees is a serious issue.
At any rate, we don’t want to cut down the mango tree. We just want to get rid of the insects, including mosquitoes that might be dengue carriers. And it didn’t sit well with me that this so-called environment lover had to turn it into a black-and-white issue. Because she was quite adamant, really. And we reached that point when I asked her if her family grills fish and meat in their backyard because the smoke from the grill contributes as much, if not more, pollution to the air as the burning of the dead leaves in our garden does. That shut her up and she slowly started to turn around and change the subject.
I understand that every person has to start caring for the environment. But when advocates start acting holier-than-thou, it pisses me off. The way some of them go about their advocacy, we might as well stop cooking our food because the heat worsens the green house effect. Ah, that’ll make the extreme vegans happy, wouldn’t it? Would it be redundant to say they’re entitled to eat and live as they please — but so are the rest of us? Because if we’re going to talk about minimizing heat production and pollution, we might as well stop breathing altogether so as not to release more carbon dioxide into the air.
So, to this person who has so much to say about how we smoke the mango tree in our garden — and I know she reads my blog — all the photos in this entry are for you. I hope you choke in the smoke.
Yihaaa! Nice way of getting back at your acquaintance. I could almost hear her/him coughing. LOL
If I could e-mail the smoke, I would have. LOL
Bow!
If I may add, she can walk to her work and don’t use electricity at all. Just kidding. She knows there is limit.
Smoking a mango tree is cost effective and better alternative to hazardous pesticide. It is also necessary to control insects growth. Its greenhouse effect is nothing compared to pollutants released by factories in China.
I can sense the smoke…. I better stop…haha.
And she shouldn’t take a bath even nor wash her clothes. Grrrr
Well at least there are a lot plants around that could use up the CO2 released by the burning leaves.
A classic example of preachy people who don’t practice what they preach.
how about spraying chemical pesticides towards their backyard when they are grilling outdoor in their backyard?
Oh, and I forgot something. This girl — oh, okay, overaged girl — wears makeup most of the time and I plain forgot to ask her how she felt about the factories that manufacture her make-up. Hmph!
Hello! I’m an avid fan of your other site, Pinoy Cook. I drop by this site almost every day too! A transplant from Manila, I’m now in the US. I have fond memories of my grandfather (who passed away almost a year ago) taking care of our big mango tree in the garden just in the way you described. He would burn the dead leaves in a large can and smoke our tree. I think that’s why our tree flourished that much.
Anyway, kakainis nga yung mga ganung tao. Hypocritical, much? Using natural means of pest control is way preferable than other methods, right? Oh, well. Some people really can be closed minded and too self righteous. To the point na nakakatawa na lang sila. Hoping your acquaintance gets to read your post and the succeeding comments. Thanks for bringing back memories and more power to you and your family =)
Hypocritical and self-righteous are just about the best descriptions for the attitude of people like her.
“all the photos in this entry are for you. I hope you choke in the smoke.” — hahaha! idol talaga kita, miss sassy.
seems to me pag malaki na yung manga ko from thailand i will most likely smoke ity up also. problem is hagedorn mayor here in Palawan passed a law na bawal ang magsunog magpausok ng basura etc… due to clean air act. hmmm… paano kaya yun? pesticides poison the soil naman.
for the love of mangoes ano ba ang better solution?
Karen, that’s mild actually considering that I originally wanted to write something about stuffing the unripe mangoes down her throat hahahaha
Romwell, some people bag the mangoes (check this out).
I had a similar chat with a friend before though it was lighthearted, so I didn’t wish for him to choke
All he was saying is that the recycling plants do more harm than chucking them on the soil. He says until we have a better way of treating plastics for recyling, he says we might as well just poison the Earth hehe
Walang better choice is what he’s saying.
Anyway, nakakapagpanting nga nang tenga yang mga holier-than-thou na tao. Close ba kayo? Palaban ka talaga
I just can’t see myself being so open like this. Duwag ako eh.
Let’s just say we’re friendly but not really friends. But then again even with friends, ganyan naman ako ka-brutal. LOL
wala akong masabi
Eeeehhh, mahirap yung nagsu-sugar coat eh. Besides, one bitchy remark deserves another hehehehe
Hi Ms. Connie, you might like to try spraying your mango tree with MPD (Multi-Purpose Detergent). It is aloe vera-based and very environment-friendly. Saves you money, too. All you have to do is mix 1 cap with 16 liters water and spray your tree with the mixture.
A friend of mine sprays her rice field with MPD instead of pesticides and fungicides. Her rice yield jumped from 80 cavans per hectare to 140 cavans per hectare.
Of course her “suki” pesticide salesman wasn’t too happy with what she did. He could not convince her otherwise because she makes the decisions on what’s good for her rice and her purse.
The ideal time to spray is in the afternoon, when the sun is low on the horizon. Do not spray during the flowering stage because they get “burned” and fall.
MPD is made in the USA and is marketed in the Philippines as a multi-purpose detergent. You can also use it to wash your dishes, your clothes and your car.
A word of caution, you can only buy this product from a network marketing distributor or in authorized product centers.
They will also try to recruit you into the business.
Any brand name? In stores, it’s easier to communicate with sales people if the brand name is mentioned.
“Any brand name? – Ms. Connie
The brand name is ‘Aloe MPD’, a product of Forever Living Products International. They have a product center in Greenhills. It is retailed at around P1,072.00 per 1.89 li bottle.
If you grow your own vegetables, you can also use this product on them. Same rule applies, spray at around 3pm-4pm, do not spray during the lowering stage.
Ooops. I meant ‘flowering stage’
Thanks.
“I hOpe you choke in the smoke” That made me laugh so hard Ms. Connie.
Anyway, in our province, I grew up with my parents always smoking the trees especially the mango. It’s sort of a traditional agricultural technique and we dont find anything wrong with it unless we do it whole year round. We only do it in the summer when we need to preserve the mango blooms for the buyers.
If we were a factory churning out toxic smoke all year round, her criticism wouldn’t be misplaced. But as it is, haaaayyyy…
This one sound soooooo sarcastic! I understand your position. It’s the same as choosing between two lesser evils, pesticide or burning dried leaves? I will go for the latter.
Ingat lang baka abangan ka nyan sa labas! Peace! hehehe
Isasama ko sya sa siga! hahahaha
Hi..I just want to share,we also have a mango tree on the vacant lot beside ours. All the dried leaves fall in our backyard,but we don’t burn it. We just moved in,we came from a highly polluted area. We’re so happy in our new place,letting the outdoors in type of place,dami insects pero harmless naman. We also have fireflies and they say that they can only survive if the air is clean,unpolluted. We”re not perfect but we do our small share of taking care of the environment,we also teach our children the same way,throw the trash,including dried leaves in the garbage. Honestly,no more time to bury the dried leaves though mas ok un. You see Ms Connie,I read your blogs,this one and pinoycook. Parang na off lang ako. Kasi when I see or smell smoke,the one that comes from the garbage,parang it pains me. Namamatay kasi mga alitaptap and other harmless insects. Yun lang,sabi nga,not many but much,just my small share of paying back what mother nature so generously shares with us..Thanks
You just moved? Time enough to learn that not all insects are harmless. And burning GARBAGE is a lot different from burning dry leaves. Excuse me lang.
Re “we do our small share of taking care of the environment,we also teach our children the same way…”
You ought to consider teaching them too to protect themselves from animal-borne diseases.
Hi Ms. Connie.Yes,we know that not all insects are harmless and that children should know how to protect themselves. Chill lang po
i’m not trying to pick a fight here. I’m not trying to be a heroic environmentalist,but I’m also not a patronizing person.I just said my piece,nag comment lang naman ako.It was an interesting topic. I visit your website every so often,especially,pinoycook.I print your recipes,I read your blogs but true I never made a comment before. You see,galit na galit ka dun sa environmentalist baka he/she meant well naman. Even my comment got an “Amazing shit” reaction from you.It just so happened that we don’t agree on certain things. Pero peace…I meant every word that I said but no offense meant to anyone…Thanks
Then you could have limited your comment to a reaction on the issue — which I would have gladly accepted — and left out the “turn-off” bit which is PERSONAL.
Chill? Kalma? Is that more important than courtesy? No matter how many times you say peace and thanks, it won’t change what you are.
We do this in Batangas also. We burn the leaves as well, in the morning and in the afternoon, para nga daw mamulaklak ang mangga. And I do like the smell of burning mango leaves. Bring back happy childhood memories.
kainis yung neighbor mo ha!
elo,mentor connie!!!!! kanina pa ako tawa nang tawa sa mga comments mo dun sa “environment-conscious” acquaintance mo.
may mango tree ba siya,connie??
baka walang bunga yung puno sa bakuran niya…..tsk,tsk,tsk….
keep your cool,mentor connie!!!!!! give her a slice of your mango cream pie na lang……saraaaap yun,environment-conscious person!!!!!
LOL I’m eating mango custard pie, as it happens. hehehe
I could die laughing just by reading this article and the responses that came along. By the way, insect control specially mosquitoes- try planting some basil plants in between the shrubs along the fence and other areas in the yard or planters. Mosquitoes supposedly hate basil smell and chases them away. Plus you will have lots of basil to make pesto.
I have five basil shrubs. Two Thai basil, two sweet basil and one lemon basil. The Thai basil have grown huge. Still, we have mosquitoes.
Ooops! I guess the mosquitoes around the area has developed an immunity to the basil smell. Sorry. Let me try to read about other ways of mosquito control and will let you know what i find. Reggie, my 19 yr old son, has placed 6 pots of basil around the deck and some on the shrubs near the park bench. I was wondering why? then he told me a week later that the mosquitoes are not bothering “them”. Yon pala gusto lang gawing “Luneta” yong deck- you know- him nd his new girlfriend. Ha ha ha. I harvested a lot of the basil leaves, made pesto and dried some of them real quick. Let the mosquitoes come back .
Have you heard of Eucalyptus? I’ve been told it’s an natural mosquito repellent.
connie,others say that oregano is also a natural mosquito repellant.when my 3 daughters were in grade school,their teachers asked them to bring potted oregano plants and surrounded their classrooms with this herb.i also read that peppermint/mint works also as well.
LOL. That’s what hypocrites get for being so preachy. teehee.Kaya mararaming na turn off sa environmentalists e, they always sound holier-than-thou.
Even readers can be a turn-off. Just see one of the comments above. Someone tells you he/she is a long time reader, I’ve never seen his/her name before in comment threads, and he/she apparently is posting a comment for the first time and only to make himself/herself out as a heroic environmentalist and say na-turn off sa akin because we burn dead leaves. Amazing shit, really.
Hay naku,, kung puede nga lang mag gawa ng bonfire dito sa likod ng bahay namin everyday, i would do it just to chase the pesky mosquitoes away kaya lang there is a “burn ban”-meaning no fires outdoors due to the threat of wildfires- in this county. I’ll try that eucalyptus tree idea but i dont know if it will take in the kind of soil we have. At saka there are already atleast 50 native cedar trees in the yard. I wish they were mango trees instead.
Re: those pesky mosquitos, I soak nym tree leaves overnight in a pail of water then spray the mixture in the garage and in the backyard where sometimes there’s stagnant water.
I got the idea from a documentary in National Geographic about what Indians do to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases in India.
*looking up nym tree*
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me…as the song goes = kalma lang po
Ano relevance ng comment mo sa exchange namin ni Edwin K, aber?
I couldn’t stop laughing at the post and comments here, pati asawa ko napatingin na at natawa din sya.I remember when I was a child, we’d smoke our mango tree in the afternoon to drive away the insects.And yung balat daw ng lanzones kapag sinunog ay effective din na pantaboy sa lamok.
Wala bang pangtaboy ng mga holier-than-thou na feeling-environmentalist?
Ha ha ha. You really are one hard-assed bitch but I am addicted to your blog nonetheless.
BOW. hahaha
burning leaves, garbage, etc is illegal in the philippines.
You should read the law carefully to understand the definition of garbage so as not to confuse it with dried leaves.
i see. i’m not sympathizing with your mangoes because our house is filled with smoke from siga from the neighbors even if we close our windows. my mom has a pulmonary disease and we can only tell them kindly but they persist.
i too have fond memories about the smell but in high concentrations inside our rooms, it’s dizzying. maybe it’s applicable if houses are far apart like in the farms and there’s no waste collection service.
Re “…and there’s no waste collection service.”
Shucks. Did you really read the entry and my last comment? Nothing to do with garbage. Has to do with insects. Mosquitoes.
Too bad about you mom’s condition but you’re not my neighbor so why are you complaining here about your neighbor?
Akala ko natapos na ang mga comments sa post na ito, Im showing my friends your blog then I saw the latest comment…kakalurki! The best ka talaga!
Kainis nga eh. Some people comment after reading something they didn’t understand; others comment without reading at all — maka-comment na lang.
OMG this is such a hot topic! Actually the siga smell is a bit addictive. Well maybe not everyday. But once in a while it just reminds me of my childhood when we used to smoke out bugs and stuff.