A bit about natural farming
As it draws nearer to planting season back home, and much is being prepared for vegetable and flower gardens, I thought it would be fitting to mention the methods of farming we practiced at the Himorogian. Living with the Shimoyamadas every lesson we learned came down to the idea of balance. In the hatake (vegetable field) it was all about the natural balance. They use the shizen-no method of farming, which is simply natural farming. Natural farming is organic farming, yet the fundamental methods and ideas can be very different. Every one knows what an organic vegetable garden has and doesn’t have, and these hold true to the natural way. However growing food naturally implies so much more. The biggest difference is the weeds. Melissa and I come from a background of display gardening. At Sunken Gardens a weed is a sign of work yet to be done. When we were first taken to the vegetable garden of the Himorogian, walking on the dirt path behind a row of houses we saw many immaculate looking gardens. Perfect rows, beautiful spacing, and not a weed anywhere to be seen. Obviously much time and work had been put into these gardens (and probably a few back aches). We turned the corner to see what seemed like a vacant lot, completely over run with weeds, with some random bamboo sticks in the ground. This was our garden. Our jaws dropped. We both thought what laziness, how could you accomplish anything, how would you know where anything is, how could any vegetable plant survive let alone bear fruit! Working in this field was at first very frustrating. We said to ourselves we should rip it all out and just start over. Although we didn’t understand, we thought there must be something more to this. Working in the filed and talking to Katsura we learned the basic idea of natural farming is to plant with the weeds, rather than attempt to overcome them. She explained a weed patch would stay green all year. It will not suffer from drought, bugs, or disease. By planting within the weeds, they are able to retain massive amounts of moisture, and almost never water their garden. This requires a great knowledge of which weeds will overtake and which weeds will not. A natural farmer must have a very, very close relationship to the field. If allowed the native plants will work together to maintain a balance of bacteria, thus naturally fighting, and overcoming disease. Leaving the weeds also gives the bugs food and shelter, and makes them happy. Simply put they have little if any problems with bugs, disease, and water. The three biggest problems an organic gardener faces. Although we didn’t stay around long enough to see the fruition of our work, the soil said it all. I have seen and can identify many types of soil. The contractor grade fill in the parks, the rich organic compost made by Nebraska horses and oak leaves, an every type in between. The soil in this garden was the best soil I have ever seen in my life. Any where in the field a few scratches to the surface reviled the blackest, sweetest smelling dirt imaginable. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say it looked like coffee grounds. This soil was also far superior in comparison to the surrounding gardens of the area. This soil has had no fertilizers and no composting. Simply naturally grown soil the way mother earth intended. The idea of natural farming is very appealing to us, but there is a lot to learn to make this beautiful idea work. As with all things if you can find the balance that naturally exist, life is easier, and you just might find yourself a little happier.
Tags: himorogian, Japan, Travel
Zach
It’d be really funny if your hosts were like [in japanese] “Ok, we gotta let these foreign kids work on one of these gardens… let’s just give ’em that garden over there that’s totally gone to shit. You know, with all the weeds? Just tell them something about natural balance… theses hippies just eat that shit up!!”
🙂 j/k guys.