A Self-Sufficient System of Farming Is Increasing Yields Across Hawaii
January 23rd, 2011“Now my rice growing is simply sowing seed and spreading straw, but it has taken me more than thirty years to reach this simplicity.”
—Masanobu Fukuoka
Via: Star Advertiser:
Farmer Samson Delos Reyes reached into his bluejeans pocket to grab a phone call from a buyer and ended up smiling but shaking his head.
The caller wanted to triple her order of his pungent Thai basil, to 60 from 20 cases a week, but S&J Farms of Waianae is already booked solid. Since trying “natural farming” last year under the guidance of a folksy South Korean master farmer known as Han Kyu Cho, Delos Reyes said production on his 10-acre plot has doubled — and demand is growing even faster.
“This is my first time having earthworms on my farm,” he said, scooping up a handful of earth and nutrient-rich worm castings in his fingers. “They’re cultivating the soil for me.”
Unlike conventional or even organic farming, “natural farming” is a self-sufficient system to raise crops and livestock with resources available on the farm. Rather than applying chemical fertilizers, farmers boost the beneficial microbes that occur naturally in the soil by collecting and culturing them with everyday ingredients such as steamed rice and brown sugar. They also feed their crops with solutions containing minerals and amino acids made from castoff items such as eggshells and fish bones.
Related:
Masanobu Fukuoka’s Natural Farming and Permaculture
Research Credit: latincognito
