From Growing a Garden at 25 to Excitedly Awaiting My First Goat – A Dream in the Making!

On Kajak.mk, we’ve shared many stories about local heroes who inspire young people to invest in themselves and start their own businesses, creating small but significant contributions to the development of tourism. Today, we would like to introduce you to another local hero, who you can find in our new "Gastronomy" base and directly get in touch with.

Perhaps some of you have already heard of "Filip’s Garden," and for those reading his story for the first time, we’re happy that our team has managed to introduce you to yet another positive individual who invests love in promoting the region in which he lives.

This is about Filip, a young and ambitious agricultural engineer dedicated to gardening and floriculture, as well as a poet for children and adults, with five published books and translations into other languages.

Filip shares that his passion for working with the land and animals began at the age of eight when he first planted a garden with his grandfather, Ilija.

Last year, he decided to buy his own piece of land and a house in the weekend settlement Markova Česhma, known as "Sečena Glava," located near Prilep. In this location, he has created his own paradise with a garden, a place for chickens, ducks, and a modest home.

Filip says that his house and garden are currently in the development phase, and the produce he grows is for personal use. In his garden, you can find peas, zucchini, lettuce, beets, carrots, tomatoes, and peppers. He grows sunflowers as ornamental plants, which, along with other flowers, enhance the beauty of his garden.

As for fruit, last year he planted pears, apples, medlars, quinces, apricots, plums, sour cherries, and a fig tree. His loyal companions in tending the plants are his dog Hana and around thirty chickens, ten of which are laying hens, while the others are still young.

The vegetable-growing area of the garden is planned to cover 900 square meters, but currently, less than a third is being cultivated. The garden is an open-air factory, where there is always something to work on and something to harvest throughout the year. Early in the spring, he starts planting carrots, peas, onions, garlic, then spinach, followed by tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beets, okra, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and many other crops. He also plants various flowers, including marigolds, gladioli, canna lilies, and dahlias. Rosemary can also be found in the garden, and as he says, the sunflower is his signature plant.

Because of the chickens, Filip is in the garden every day from 7 a.m. He starts by feeding the poultry, cleaning their shelter, and changing their water. After that, he takes a walk through the garden and carries out gardening tasks depending on the season. According to him, observation is just as important as physical labor. He believes that the act of communication and sharing love with nature is essential. His day ends with gathering the chickens, watering the garden, and watching the sunset.

Filip's family is small, and each member has their own responsibilities and challenges, so he takes care of the garden on his own. He eagerly awaits spring so he can buy a goat. His vision is to create a self-sustaining production system that will primarily provide food for him and his family, while any surplus will be offered to eco-food enthusiasts.

Reflecting on his life journey, Filip says that gardening became his lifelong obsession at the age of seven when he planted his first vegetable garden. From that moment on, he started raising rabbits and chickens, and by the fifth grade, he was selling produce at the market.

When the time came for university, his father, Aleksandar, helped him enroll at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food in Skopje, where he graduated as an agricultural engineer specializing in horticulture and floriculture.

Filip is dedicated to cultivating soil that has not been chemically treated. He carefully follows the principles of traditional, ecological, and permaculture farming. His approach is a balance between scientific knowledge and hands-on experience, between passion and pragmatism.

Last spring and summer, Filip offered his products for sale for the first time. He made available eco-friendly free-range eggs, yarrow juice, and mint syrup. The products he has in stock for sale are posted on his Facebook page, "Filip’s Garden," where they can be ordered.

Regarding the yarrow juice, he explains that it is made by collecting thirty fresh yarrow flowers, washing them, and soaking them in water with lemon slices. The mixture is left overnight, then sugar and citric acid are added. After that, it is strained and poured into sterilized glass bottles. The juice is stored in the fridge and is ready to drink, with a taste reminiscent of Schweppes.

Filip is pleased that there is general interest in his juices and that buyers enjoy them. The eggs are already being purchased regularly by a small number of customers, as the current production quantities are still very limited.

For the Kajak.mk team, Filip reveals that he loves eating and cooking but also enjoys when others cook for him. He takes great pleasure in tasting dishes from Macedonian cuisine, especially authentic meals from different local places, cities, and villages.

He recently had the opportunity to try komat and meat baked under a sač at the Pirustija Nedanoski household in Romane. As for his own specialties, he loves preparing rice and peas in his unique way, stuffed peppers, and is also passionate about Italian cuisine, often making pasta-based specialties.

Filip combines gardening and nature with poetry, creating a magical blend that fills him with happiness. His future vision is for the garden to offer educational visits and lectures.

Currently, "Filip’s Garden" is also present in the media as a radio and TV show on the multimedia platform Radio Pela.