Collection: Shigeko Morita
Producer: Shigeko Morita Production area: Kikuka-cho, Kikuchi City, Kumamoto Prefecture Main products: Cherry tomatoes, basil, etc. Use of pesticides: None Use of fertilizers: None
A path to agriculture
We would like to introduce you to Shigeko Morita, who is engaged in natural farming in Kikuka Town, Kikuchi City, in the northern part of Kumamoto Prefecture.
Kikuka Town, where Morita's farm is located, is where his relatives live, and he rents the field from there and practices natural farming.
He is also understanding of the natural farming that Morita practices, and even though it is a little far from the house where he lives, he still commutes to the farm.
There was no particular reason why I started, I just wanted to try my hand at farming.
Although he currently farms alone, he says he has never had any problems renting land or finding people to ship the crops to once he starts growing them.
I was very fortunate in that no one around me tried to discourage me from pursuing natural farming.
That's what Morita says.
He learned about agriculture by working part-time at a conventional farm and receiving training.
Eventually, he also tried organic farming.
And now we have shifted everything we are doing to "natural farming."
Natural farming is a method of farming that is always consciously studied to be closer to nature, and allows for sustainable agriculture without the use of fertilizers or pesticides.
I am currently in the process of building up experience and knowledge.
Taking good care of vegetables and a clean field
The first field they tackled was not very large, about 1 tan (3.2 hectares).
We found another two tan of land to rent, which expanded our farmland even further.
The surrounding area is experiencing a rapid ageing population.
There are many farmers who ship their produce to JA.
Since the area is connected to the mountains, tea, chestnuts, and shiitake mushrooms are cultivated widely, and there are few rice paddies.
Fog is likely to form and temperatures are slightly lower than in the city, so vegetables may be harvested at a slightly different time than in the plains.
Morita is in charge of all the vegetables he grows in his alley, and his vegetables, mainly leafy vegetables, are shipped out mainly in spring and autumn.
The fields are far away, and since I'm the only one working there, the amount I can ship at one time is not large.
When you look at the vegetables that are shipped out, the process of packing each one into a bag shows how much care is given to the vegetables.
To prevent the crops from drying out, and because too much moisture can damage the leaves, they are thoroughly drained and bagged, which makes a huge difference in the shelf life of the vegetables.
This attitude of caring for vegetables is also evident in the management of the fields where the crops are grown.
In any case, the fields are neatly tidied up, and any weeds that do grow are dealt with before they reach a size that affects the vegetables, so there is no sense of the "dense atmosphere" that is common with natural farming in Morita's fields.
Changes due to natural farming
He feels that the ground is hard.
In terms of yield, while the yield seemed high from the first year when they were using organic farming, they now feel that the yield is about 30% lower.
However, he was very surprised that the "oil bugs" that had been a yearly problem with growing fava beans organically no longer appeared at all.
The challenge of collecting seeds from difficult summer vegetables
For now, the focus is on turning the field in front of us into solid soil for farming.
We continue to move the soil around in order to turn it into soil suitable for natural farming.
In the future, I would like to be able to successfully grow summer vegetables such as tomatoes and eggplants, which I currently find very difficult to grow.
That's how I feel.
We have also started collecting seeds from okra, pumpkin, bitter melon, etc.
They are experiencing the changes in the soil and seeds through their own practice and are gaining confidence.
The circle of natural farming is expanding rapidly, starting from here in Kikuchi, Kumamoto...and centering around Morita-san's farm, which is run by a woman.