R & D (Research and Development) at Home*

Dr Abe V Rotor 

 

                          Liquid Fertilizer  

Install your aquarium outdoor where there is at least indirect sunlight. The water becomes rich in algae and plankton as shown in this photomicrograph. It is also rich in Oxygen so that you may not even need an aerator. Use the "green" water for garden plants, and replace it with tap water every time. Just maintain the level of water. Keep the glass clear for better sunlight penetration. Siphon out the detritus sediment now and then. This liquid compost is also used as natural fertilizer. If you are using a pump, every time you clean the filter, gather the waste water, and use it for the same purpose.

 

Boiled Jackfruit Seeds
Don't thrpw away the seeds of nangka or jackfruit (Artocarpus integra)'

A 100-gram serving, or about 3.5 ounces of jackfruit seeds, provides about 184 calories, 7 grams of protein and 38 grams of carbohydrates, including 1.5 grams of fiber, but has less than 1 gram of fat.This is 6 percent of the daily value for fiber of 25 grams. Fiber helps fill you up, making it easier to lose weight, and may lower your risk for heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and constipation. Jackfruit seeds also provide resistant starch, which may help improve blood sugar control and keep your gut healthy. Jackfruit seeds are good sources of thiamine and riboflavin. Both of these B vitamins help turn the food you eat into energy and keep your skin, eyes and hair healthy. Riboflavin also acts as an antioxidant, helping prevent damage to your cells from free radicals. 

These seeds also provide at least small amounts of the minerals zinc, iron, calcium, copper, potassium and manganese. Zinc is important for immune function, iron and copper for forming red blood cells and calcium for forming strong bones. You need potassium for maintaining proper blood pressure levels and manganese for regulating your blood sugar levels.

By Jessica Bruso LIVESTRONG.COM

  Multipurpose Banana Leaves 

Banana leaves have many uses:

1. wrapper of native delicacies, such as suman, bibingka, and puto

2. Wrapper for tamalis (steamed fish, see photo)

3. Banana stalk is keeps fish, like hito and dalag, alive while in transport up to three days. In like manner it keeps highly perishable fruits and vegetables fresh.

4. It is used as padding in ironing clothes.  It imparts a pleasant smell, and presents iron from becoming sticky.

5. Natural floor wax.  Wilted leaves are used as coconut husk as bunot in polishing the floor.        

Make your own “mineral water” with malunggay seeds.

Drinking water is rendered safe with malunggay seeds. Why spend for mineral water when you can make one right in your home? With all the empty plastic bottles around, you can prepare safe drinking water just by adding crushed seed of malunggay (Moringa oleifera).

This is what you can do. Fill up a liter size bottle (family size softdrink) with water coming from the tap, or if you are in the province, a deep well or spring. Add two malunggay seeds crushed by hand. Allow the setup to settle for two to three hours or until the sediments have settled down. Slowly transfer the filtrate to another bottle for immediate or future use.

Scientists found out that malunggay seeds directly kill bacteria and coagulate suspended particles, slowing down Brownian Movement (constant movement of particulates in liquid medium, colliding with one another and against the walls of the container). Malunggay also impart a refreshing taste to the drinking water. Try it.

You can save as much as P100 per day for the whole family. That's P3000 a month or P36,000 a year. You can earn from this simple technology, too. Get in touch with your nearest DOST office for assistance.

Natural Kitchen Scrub and Sandpaper 
Is-is (Ficus coronata) is natural sandpaper owing to its abrasive surface like sandpaper. Use it in the kitchen, bathroom and general cleaning. Avoid using synthetic scrub made of fiber glass, amuminum and plastic.  Is-is is healthier and environment-friendly.  Plant this small tree on your backyard and you will have a year round supply you can also share with your neighbors. It produces edible ripe fruits  children love to pick.

* R & D at Home is based on heuristic technique often called simply a heuristic.  It is any approach to problem solving, learning, or discovery that employs a practical method not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect, but sufficient for the immediate goals. Where finding an optimal solution is impossible or impractical, heuristic methods can be used to speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution. Heuristics can be mental shortcuts that ease the cognitive load of making a decision. Examples of this method include using a rule of thumb, an educated guess, an intuitive judgment, stereotyping, profiling, or common sense.

References: Boiled Jackfruit seeds by Jessica Bruso LIVESTRONG.COM; Living with Folk Wisdom by AV Rotor, Wikipedia. Internet.