Cassava grown from an inverted stem cutting is poisonous.

Dr Abe V Rotor

This is not true.  But let us take it this way.  Cassava cuttings if planted reverse will take a much longer time to grow, if at all. Those that survive become stunted (bansot), thus at harvest time they are left behind in the field. Come next planting season, and they are roughed, their tubers are now a year old or so. Tubers accumulate poisonous cyanic substances as they mature, so that the longer they stay in the field the higher the poison level is in their tubers.

A one-year old cassava tuber has twice the amount of cyanide than regularly harvested ones do (4 to 5 months in the field). Thus cassava poisoning is not uncommon. Beware of cassava tubers harvested from borders or along fences. By the way, when preparing cassava, choose the freshly harvested tubers. Completely peel off the bark where the poison is concentrated.  While boiling, take off the pot cover in order to allow the poison to escape as gas.  Cyanogas is similar to the gas used in the gas chambers in executing convicts in the US.  

NOTE: Cassava, also known as yuca, mogo, or manioc - is a staple food for many African families. It is their equivalent of rice in Asia or bread in Europe. Cassava produces the largest amount of food calories per hectare among all food crops, other than sugarcane.This is terrific crop for the region because it requires very little water, can grown in poor soil, and can be harvested year round. Though maize has often overshadowed cassava, the latter is increasingly making its way into the African diet, and that of other regions.

List of Lessons, February 2015 (to date)

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid

Here is a list of lessons taken up simultaneously on this blog and on 738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday, covering February 1 to this date. We are posting this list to enable our radio listeners and Blog visitors to have access to past and present lessons. To open a selected lesson, highlight title and Search Goggle for the title. There may be other related articles that will enrich your research. 

Ka Abe and Ka Melly as instructor and host, respectively, Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid team: Engr Susan Ayson, Melly C Tenoriuo, Engr Rolly Bumatayo, and Dr Abe V Rotor. Not in the photo are DZRB Manager Allan Allanigue, and Engr Orly Lopez.

▼ February (46 Lessons/Articles)

Twin Forests: Models in Studying Forest Evolution
Transient Landscape
A Wall of Flowers
Thirteen Trees - Gateway to a Home in the Forest
Rainbow's Reflection on a Pond
Bleeding Heart of the Forest
Recent Paintings (Article in progress)
Rainbow on Wings - a Passing Sight
Sweet Music of Time
An exercise on Folk Wisdom and Beliefs (50 items, ...
The Mystery of the Glowing Fish
When was the last time you built sandcastle?
Time and Music Stood Still
Panacea from Doctrine of Signatures
Poetry: Ripples
Goats in the Late Afternoon
Hibernation and Aestivation
Do Humans Aestivate?
Premium Basi Wine - Signature of San Vicente, Iloc...
Reliving Old West
Take the plunge
Ephemerida
15 Ilocano Verses: Paslep (Tempered Steel) - San V...
Ullaw (Kite) - Haiku in Ilocano
Ten verses to live by - to Prima Causa we are all ...
Beware of the Superbugs.
Family Photos with Baby Mackie 2013, Tagaytay (Art...
Less Popular Fruits in the Philippines
Ways to Live Naturally
Calcium Supplement from Chicken Eggshell
Rice-based delicacies top those of other Cereals
Dr Romualdo M Del Rosario: builder of beautiful ga...
Fr Jose Burgos Achievement Award 2015
Some Practical Health Tips
Wonderful Pineapple - the only edible Bromeliad
Brown is beautiful - brown egg, brown sugar, brown...
Pet Therapy - Natural Healing
Time Out with Your Pet
Our Pets Influence Our Character
The Fire Trees’ Finest Hour
Stone Eagle
A Valentine's Story
Let’s Draw a House
Idyllic life in Old Manila through a looking glass...
Art Exercises: Painting a Landscape and Sunflower...
Take time and live well

Posted by Abe V. Rotor at 12:42 AM No comments:

Fusion - A Path of Evolution

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM, 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

Sargassum fish cleverly intertwined and camouflaged, exhibiting combined  characteristics of plant, animal, and protist, the natural landscape under the sea, notwithstanding.   Paintings in acrylic on glass by the author (c. 2003)

Evolution is when the simple becomes complex,

     and the complex into intricate;

yet the intricate to complex, reverting into simple,

     when fail the process to replicate.

Evolution is forward and backward through time,

     simultaneous, spontaneous;

a explosion of diversity of all kinds imagined,

     in chains, webs and continuous. 

Evolution is untrodden, unguided, by chance

     in a million possibilities beyond

the eye or lens, and probing mind and will,

     in the depth of sea, or just around. 

Evolution is de-volution, shrinking, thinning -
     extinction by nature and by man - 
plant-animal fusing, moneran-protist pooling;
     prelude to a living world gone. ~

A Basket of Joy

Dr Abe V Rotor

La Trinidad Valley (Benguet) - home of strawberry

Love the valley, rain and chilly air,

the spirit they buoy;

Time, be patient to the young and fair

in a basket of joy. ~

Self-Administered Test on Reviving the “Handyman” or “Do-it-Yourself” Culture

Living with Nature - School on Air
738 KHz AM DZRB, Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (School-on-Air)
Dr. Abe Rotor and Ms Melly Tenorio


Buy at source fruits in season for processing such as jelly, jam, pickles, and the like.

True or False

1. First, plan your work, then work your plan - not vice versa.

2. Standard voltage in the Philippines is 110V; in the USA, it is double – 220V. That is why US appliances need step down transformer when using it here.

3. Here is a simple declogging solvent for the drain which you can prepare: dissolve in a liter of water 2 tbsp water kerosene (gaas) + and 2 tbsp powdered soap.

4. The practical way to determine exact levels in construction is to use plumb bob for vertical level (patindig) and transparent hose filled with water for horizontal level (pahanay).                           

5. Riveted GI roofing is more reliable – stronger and last longer – than when nail is used.

6. Garden hose last longer if it is allowed to remain attached to the faucet, than to drain and coil it after use.

7. A crocodile jack is easier and safer to use than ordinary hydraulic jack. And be sure to have a supplemental jack as precaution to accident.

8. There are fixtures and assembly parts of appliances that can be replaced with new ones rather than to have them repaired - such as LPG regulator, Automatic Voltage Regulator, fire extinguisher, water filters, electric fans after guarantee period.

9. Buy only reliable brands of tools, and if your budget allows, invest in lifetime tools such as Rigid, Stanley, Makita, Black and Decker, Bosch, Coleman, Crossman, Dremel, Sandvik, El Toro, to name a few of the internationally known brands. Be sure these are not imitations.

10. Home for the Golden Years must be kept as simple as possible, orderly, clean and healthy, Remove things that may cause accidents.

11. It is easier to maintain a home with children than a typical home, especially if the children all go to school and you have all the time to fix everything from bedroom to sala to garden.

12. Inhaling fresh paint could be as harmful to health as inhaling exfoliating old paint.

13. Refurnish your kitchen with new utensils? Dispose old China with fading gold rims, don’t use plastic containers for vinegar and carbonated drinks, aluminum and Cadmium coated pots and pans for acidic food, and if possible avoid if you can using microwave oven. Ordinary oven is healthier, and food is tastier, too.

14. Coconut oil + kerosene (gaas) in equal proportion makes a good substitute for sewing oil, and lubricating oil for hinges, locks, screws and bolts.

15. Hammer is to the worker as scythe is to the farmer – two symbols representing the grassroots, which the old communist regime used as logo.

16. When installing an air-conditioning unit, be sure it is one or two feet from the floor for efficiency and power economy.

17. Experts select crosscut saw (ordinary saw) by making it sing, so to speak – it produces a clear echoing sound like a tuning fork. Hammer struck on stone likewise sends a brilliant tuning fork sound.

18. It is all right to dispose off catalogues and instructions of tools and machine after you have mastered in using them.

19. It is always good to work alone especially if you are handling dangerous machines and tools so as not to harm others – or you might get distracted in your work.

20. Use loose clothing, such as long sleeves, when operating machine to ward off dirt and as added protected – not to mention as part of good grooming.

21. Accurate measurements in construction are actually in the details of the work. The framework like posts and beams are usually set within certain approximation or range.

22 - 25. Name four safety and emergency equipment, tools and provisions in the work shop.

Organic fertilizer through composting of kitchen and garden waste

ANSWERS: 1t, 2f, 3f, 4t, 5,t, 6f, 7t, 8t, 9t, 10t 11f, 12t, 13t, 14t, 15t, 16f, 17t, 18f, 19f, 20f, 21f, 22-25 (In any order, choose 4 only; you can add to the list): first aid kit, fire extinguisher, insulated gloves and shoes, ear muff, face mask, proper working clothes, welding safety gear, exhaust fan, fume hood,and dust collector, tool box, etc.

RATING:
24 – 25 outstanding
20 – 23 very good
16 – 19 good
12 – 15 pass
Below 11 listen more to the radio program and do your homework.