Nellie Chiu and her Gerbera flowers from Holland
“God created this beautiful earth and it is up to us to discover and develop its richness. Hence, it is only proper that we share the wealth of the earth giving only the best from nature.”
– Janette Nellie Go Chiu
NELLIE loves nature with a profound interest and fascination, a legacy that her late father Go Ching Hai passed on to her. She fondly recalls childhood memories of exploring the great outdoors. And because of the family’s interest in wildlife, their pets at home included civet cats, eagles and crocodiles.
Plants were very much a part of their domicile that included 300 pots of varieties of roses.
Married to businessman Antonio Chiu, their three children Janice, Jillian and Jason share her fondness for animals. So when their crocodiles at home grew in numbers, they decided to open a sanctuary, “Crocolandia Park“ in 2001 in Biasong Talisay.
The conservation center protects and breeds endemic animals threatened with extinction like Philippine saltwater crocodiles, ostrich, civets, hornbills, sailfin lizards and more. It is becoming one of the tourist attractions in Talisay.
Nellie’s fondest dream, after successfully establishing an animal sanctuary, is to plant and grow flowers, vegetables and herbs that are not easily available in Cebu.
She revealed that her travels abroad have exposed her to varieties of plants and vegetables so she immersed herself into learning new techniques to ensure its growth to supply the demand for her produce back home.
She attends exhibits all over the world to obtain new breeds and varieties to make them available in Cebu.
Their hillside property in Sirao, Busay has been transformed into a productive farm, Nature’s Best Harvest. Nellie started with roses, gradually
acquiring imported flowers like gerbera from Holland, orchids from Thailand and Singapore.
The demand for quality herbs and vegetables has challenged her to increase production.
To scientifically and successfully grow them, Nellie has a Dutch agriculturist consultant, Ruud Maaswinkle from PUM, The Netherlands who visits her every year and is in close communication for any concerns that may pop up.
She has established linkages with the prominent Chefs in Cebu and is a part of their support group.
She is constantly on the lookout here and abroad for specialty seeds for planting like different kinds of herbs, lettuce, wild arugula, watercress, shishito peppers, jalapeño, red or purple radish, multi colored cherry tomatoes, salad tomatoes.
They harvest every Tuesday and Thursday and take orders a day before to provide only the freshest vegetables and cut flowers straight to the customers.
Her sloping farm in Sirao is breathtaking. Here, she has several green houses, which protect the flowers and vegetables from the elements like too much sun, rain and insects.
I have visited her Nature’s Best Harvest a couple of times with friends and the experience is priceless. Her spunky mother, environment enthusiast Martina or Tita Beling to many, is always around to welcome us. Her herb patches and vegetables are planted terraces style, with pathways and steps.
I am always excited to familiarize myself with the different herbs. Nellie prefers to plant indeterminate (vine-like) tomatoes that gives several harvests for four to five months.
With plastic bags in had, we were like kids lost in wonderland picking ripe, red salad tomatoes— pulpy, juicy and less seeds.
We always have bagful of the green, leafy Romaine lettuce, watercress (only grown in her farm), potted herbs and even gerbera to take home.