[End of the season] Naturally grown pumpkin (Kachiwari) (by Hiroi)

Naturally grown pumpkin by Mr. Hiroi (Kachiwari)

We have received some crushed pumpkins from Mr. Hiroi in Fukuoka Prefecture!

This is a mid-late variety of pumpkin selected and cultivated from native varieties in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture.
The fruit weighs around 1.2 kg and is pear-shaped.
The flesh is dense and powdery with a rich flavor similar to sweet chestnuts.
It has excellent storage properties and retains its flavor even after long-term storage of up to six months.

If you let it sit for 3 to 5 months after harvesting, the flavor will be concentrated and it will be ripe to eat.
This is a variety of pumpkin that can be enjoyed for a long time as a winter solstice pumpkin.

Boiled pumpkin

Deep-fried pumpkin

Pumpkin tempura

Junko Hiroi, Miyama City, Fukuoka Prefecture
Mr. Hiroi has been working on natural farming alone.
When asked what prompted him to switch to natural farming,
"With natural farming, the soil just didn't improve, and even adding compost seemed like a dead end. I was searching for a better solution when a friend of mine used Purely's home delivery service, and that's how I learned about natural farming and Purely."
Afterwards, a Purely producer representative actually visited Hiroi's farm and talked to him about natural farming, which gave Hiroi a sense of accomplishment.
"Natural farming is now fun!" he said cheerfully. "Humans, soil, and crops all live in a cycle." By engaging in natural farming, Hiroi himself began to feel like he was coexisting in this cycle.

Mr. Hiroi manages the fields by himself, so the number of fields is limited. However, he still adds another field and invites close friends and people related to natural farming in Fukuoka Prefecture to his home to hold study sessions, in an effort to expand the circle of natural farming.

He also expressed a desire to "make school lunches organic," and said he would like to make connections with tea farmers in Yame and people in Omuta who grow outdoor vegetables and rice without the use of fertilizers or pesticides, so that they can become aware of this idea and spread the word, even if only little by little.

Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been working to raise awareness of natural farming among people interested in food and the environment, saying, "Because food is life, it is my mission to spread the word about natural farming."