Filip's Garden Contact Soon
Perhaps some of you have already heard of "Filip's Garden," and for those of you reading his story for the first time, we are happy that our team was able to introduce you to yet another positive individual who invests love into promoting the region where he lives.
This is the story of Filip, a young and ambitious agricultural engineer dedicated to gardening and floriculture, a poet for both children and adults, with five published books and translations into other languages.
Filip shares that working with the land and animals has fascinated him since he was eight years old when he first planted a garden with his grandfather Ilija.
Last year, he decided to purchase his own piece of land and a house in the weekend settlement of Markova Česhma, called "Sečena Glava," located near Prilep. Here, he has created his own paradise— a garden with chickens, sheep, and a modest home.
Filip says that at the moment, the house and garden are in a development phase, and the products he grows are for his personal use. In his garden, you can find peas, zucchini, lettuce, beets, carrots, tomatoes, and peppers. He grows sunflowers as a decoration, which, together with the flowers, beautify his garden.
Regarding fruit, he says that last year he planted pears, apples, medlar, quinces, apricots, plums, cherries, and figs. His dog Hana and about thirty chickens, ten of which are laying hens and the rest still young, keep him company as he works.
The gardening area of the garden is planned to cover 900 square meters, but currently, less than a third is cultivated. The garden is an open-air factory, and there is always something to do and something to eat throughout the year. In early spring, he begins planting carrots, peas, onions, garlic, followed by spinach, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beets, okra, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and more. He also plants several types of flowers, such as daffodils, gladioluses, cannas, and dahlias. Rosemary can also be found in the garden, and as he says, sunflowers are his trademark.
Because of the chickens, he is in the garden every day from 7 AM. He starts by feeding the poultry, cleaning their living space, and changing their water. Then, he takes a tour of the garden and performs gardening operations depending on the season. According to him, observation is as important as physical work. He believes that communication and sharing love is the most important aspect and adds that his day ends with gathering the chickens, watering the garden, and enjoying the sunset.
Filip’s family is small, and its members have their own problems and responsibilities, so he takes care of his garden by himself. He says he is eagerly waiting for spring so he can buy a goat. His idea is to build a closed production system that will primarily provide food for him and his family, with the surplus offered to eco-food enthusiasts.
Looking back on his life, Filip says that gardening became an obsession for him at the age of 7 when he planted his first garden. Since then, he has raised rabbits and chickens and, since fifth grade, sold his produce at the market.
When it came time for studies, his father, Aleksandar, helped him enroll at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food in Skopje, where he graduated as an agricultural engineer with a focus on gardening and floriculture.
Filip focuses on soil that is not chemically treated. He strives to garden according to the principles of traditional, ecological, and permaculture production. He carefully balances scientific knowledge with practical skills, love, and pragmatism.
Last spring and summer, he offered products for sale for the first time, including eco-friendly chicken eggs, yarrow juice, and mint syrup. The products available for sale are posted on his Facebook page, "Filip's Garden," where they can be purchased.
For the mint juice, he explains that it is made by picking thirty fresh yarrow flowers, washing them, and placing them in water with lemon slices. This mixture needs to steep overnight, after which sugar and citric acid are added. Then, the mixture is strained and stored in sterilized glass bottles. The juice should rest in the refrigerator and is ready to drink. It has a taste reminiscent of Schweppes. He is glad that there is general interest in the juices, and buyers enjoy them. The eggs are already being consumed regularly by a few buyers, though the quantities are still small.
Filip shares with the kajak.mk team that he enjoys eating and cooking, but he also loves when others cook for him. He delights in tasting dishes from Macedonian cuisine, especially those that are authentic to local areas, towns, and villages.
He says that recently, he had the opportunity to try "komat" and meat cooked under the "sač" (a traditional cooking method) at the Pirustija Nedanovski household in Romane. As for his specialties, he loves cooking rice and peas in his unique way, stuffed peppers, and is also passionate about Italian cuisine, often preparing pasta dishes.
Gardening and nature combine with poetry for him, creating a wonderful blend that fills him with happiness. His future goal is to offer educational visits and lectures in the garden, and currently, "Filip's Garden" is also available as a radio and TV show on the multimedia platform Radio Pela.
ЛОКАЦИЈА
