The One-Straw Revolution

Masanobu Fukuoka (2 February 1913 – 16 August 2008) was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desert lands. He was a proponent of no-till, no-herbicide grain cultivation farming methods traditional to many indigenous cultures, from which he created a particular method of farming, commonly referred to as "Natural Farming" or "Do-nothing Farming".

Source/Author: http://naturalfarming.org/node/9

Fukuoka was the author of several Japanese books, scientific papers and other publications, and was featured in television documentaries and interviews from the 1970s onwards.  His influences went beyond farming to inspire individuals within the natural food and lifestyle movements. He was an outspoken advocate of the value of observing nature's principles.

Fukuoka called his agricultural philosophy shizen nōhō, most commonly translated into English as "natural farming". It is also referred to as "the Fukuoka Method", "the natural way of farming" or "Do-Nothing Farming", despite being labour intensive.

The system is based on the recognition of the complexity of living organisms that shape an ecosystem and deliberately exploiting it. Fukuoka saw farming not just as a means of producing food but as an aesthetic and spiritual approach to life, the ultimate goal of which was "the cultivation and perfection of human beings".

The five principles of Natural Farming are that:

• Human cultivation of soil, plowing or tilling are unnecessary, as is the use of powered machines.
• Prepared fertilizers are unnecessary, as is the process of preparing compost
• Weeding, either by cultivation or by herbicides, is unnecessary, instead only minimal weed suppression with minimal disturbance.
• Applications of pesticides or herbicides are unnecessary.
• Pruning of fruit trees is unnecessary.

The Fukuoka family farm's shady maturing woodland hill below one of the huts and the pagoda.  Author/Source: Iyo-farm.

Fukuoka re-invented and advanced the use of clay seed balls. Clay seeds balls were originally an ancient practice in which seeds for the next season's crops are mixed together, sometimes with humus or compost for microbial inoculants, and then are rolled within clay to form into small balls. This method is now commonly used in guerilla gardening to rapidly seed restricted or private areas.

In the international development of the organic farming movement, Fukuoka is considered to be amongst the "five giant personalities who inspired the movement" along with Austrian Rudolf Steiner, German-Swiss Hans Müller, Lady Eve Balfour in the United Kingdom and J.I. Rodale in the United States.

His books are considered both farming compendiums and guides to a way of life.

The One-Straw Revolution has been translated into over 20 languages and sold more than one million copies and Fukuoka has been widely influential, inspiring an international movement of individuals discovering and applying his principles to varying degrees, such as Akinori Kimura, David Mas Masumoto and Yoshikazu Kawaguchi, and has significantly influenced alternative movements in the West, such as permaculture.

Place of Fukuoka's family home, now farmed in a modern, conventional manner.  Author/Source: Iyo-farm.

Rosana Tositrakul, a Thai activist and politician, spent a year studying with Fukuoka on his farm. She then organised a visit by Fukuoka to the Kut Chum District of northern Thailand, which, together with his books, were influential in the rapid and widespread adoption of organic and chemical-free rice farming in the district.

Fukuoka's farm in Shikoku was taken over by his son and daughter-in-law in the late 1980s, as Fukuoka reached an advanced age and his grandson also took up farming. Many of the farm's iyokan and amanatsu mikan trees remain, although some old iyokan were replaced by new varieties of fruit. Woodlands remain along with orchards, including some areas of wild vegetables still growing amongst them. Some areas of straw-mulched cropping continue to produce grains and vegetables.

The farm also features an orchard area of gingko trees, shiitake mushroom crops growing on tree logs in shady woodland, and plantings of limes, grapefruits, feijoas, avocados and mangos.

Place of Fukuoka's family farmlands, now farmed in a modern, conventional manner.  Author/Source: Iyo-farm.

Further readings:

• Applying natural farming techniques in Africa. An Interview With Masanobu Fukuoka, by Robert and Diane Gilman. http://www.context.org/iclib/ic14/fukuoka 
• Masanobu Fukuoka and Natural Farming by M R Rajagopalan       The Ghandi Foundation                                                                    http://gandhifoundation.org
• “…far more happier than we Europeans”: Aborigines and farmers  by Bill Gammage                                                   http://www.kcl.ac.uk

Sources:

• One Straw Revolution                 http://www.onestrawrevolution.net/
• Wikipedia

Growing Chillies From Seed

According to the ´Chilli King´it is possible to grow your own chillies in anywhere and January to February is the perfect time for sowing.  Chillies as well as Sweet Peppers can be grown in pots on a sunny and warm greenhouse, poly-tunnel or windowsill in a similar way to tomatoes.

Sow your seeds now and they will be ready for planting in their permanent position once they have reached flowering size, approximately in mid April.  Remember to water little but very often to keep the soil lightly moist.  Most chilli varieties will tolerate a minimum temperature of 12/14ºC.

My 2014 list:

• Hot Pepper Cayenne Red.
• Hot Pepper Jalapeño.
• Hot Pepper Demon Red.
• Hot Chilli Nora de Bola.
• Hot Pepper Tabasco.
• Pepper Paprika Kalocsai Hungarian.

Sources:
- The Chilli King website.
- Hot to Grow Chillies (The Guardian).

2014 Tomato Varieties I

I just ordered my tomato seeds.  I am amazed on just how many types of tomatoes there are because there are only a few types to get at the store. Anyway, my list:

• Tomato Ildi Yellow.
• Tomato Garden Pearls.
• Tomato Micro Tom.
• Tomato Tiny Tim.

I have seen pictures of those varieties and I thought they looked awesome, although the reviews were not too favourable.

Seed packets information:

Ildi Yellow Lycopersicon lycopersicum 'Ildi' 

Height: 240 - 300 cm.

Spacing: 90-120 cm.

Fruit Size: Small 

Days to Maturity: 90 days

Fruit Colours: Yellow

Garden Pearls Solanum lycopersicum Esculentum ´Garden Pearls´

Height: 60 cm.

Spacing: 60 cm.

Fruit Size: Small 

Days to Maturity: 100 days

Fruit Colours: Red

Micro Tom 

Height: 20 cm.

Spacing: Grow in 8/10 cm. pots.

Fruit Size: Very small 

Days to Maturity: 100 days

Fruit Colours: Red

Tomato Tiny Tim Cherry Tomato, Dwarf. Heritage (English 1945) 

Height: 30 cm.

Spacing: Grow in 12/14 cm. pots.

Fruit Size: Small 

Days to Maturity: 100 days

Fruit Colours: Red

In this blog I'll post pictures and keep a record of sow, germination and harvest dates, as well as the number of fruits per plant and pests and diseases that may affect them. 

Potato Facts

Did you know that the Indians in Peru were the first people to cultivate the potato over 4000 years ago? The Andean Mountains of South America is the birthplace of the "Irish" white potato. The Symara Indians developed over two hundred varieties at elevations of over 10,000 feet over sea level.

The potato, a name derived from the American Indian word "Batata", was introduced to Europeans be Spanish conquerors during the late 16th Century.

The Spanish claim that Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada was the first to introduce the potato to Europe in the year 1550. Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada (1506 – 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in Colombia. He discovered the potato while in search of the golden city of El Dorado.  He never found gold and within twenty years the potato was cultivated in Spain and Italy.

The history of the potato continued to be linked to various adventurers.  For example, the Irish say that it was nut until 1585 that Sir Walter Raleigh introduced the potato to Europe.  Others claim that Sir Francis Drake obtained some roots in Cartagena or that the potato was part of the booty from a wrecked Armada vessel.  However, it's impossible now to unravel the truth of these stories.  

At first, potatoes were not initially accepted by Europeans. Some claimed potatoes were not mentioned in the bible, while others attributed some common diseases to potatoes.

Potatoes first became popular when Marie Antoinette paraded in France wearing a crown of potato blossoms. In the late 1700's Frederick the Great planted potatoes in his Pleasure Garden in Berlin. He admired the beauty of the potato flowers. King Frederick the Great promoted the eating of potatoes because of its high nutritional value.

Captain Nathaniel Butler, Governor of Bermuda sent a cargo of potatoes to Francis Wyatt, governor of Virginia in 1621. This is the first time potatoes arrived in North America.

In 1770 a crop failure gave a war its name - "The Potato War" when a war between Frederick the Great and Maria Theresa forced soldiers to steal the enemy's potatoes as there was not much more food to eat. When the potatoes were finished, so did the war.

In 1845 and 1846 the potato crop in Ireland was devastated by fungus. The potato had become a major food to the Irish causing the "Irish Potato Famine" which cased many Irish to immigrate. The population of Ireland decreased by nearly two million between 1847 and 1851.

Potato Trivia:

• A potato is about 80% water and 20% solid.
• An 8 ounce baked or boiled potato has only about 100 calories. 
• China is the No. 1 potato producing country in the world. 
• "French Fries" were introduced to America when Thomas Jefferson served them at a Whitehouse dinner.
• 1853 was the year the potato crisp was invented in New York. 
• The world's biggest potato was grown in Germany in 1997, 3.2 kg. 
• The annual potato consumption of an average global citizen in the last full decade was 33kg or 73lbs. 
• Today potatoes are grown  in about 125 countries throughout the world. 
• The sweet potato belongs in the same family as morning glories while the white potato belongs to the same group as tomatoes, tobacco, chile pepper, eggplant and the petunia. 
• Potato storage facilities are kept at temperatures above 4 °C (39 °F) as potato starch turns into sugar and alters the taste below this temperature.

Check out the 2014 UK Potato Days and Seeds Fairs organised or attended by Pennard Plants/Growing Old http://www.potato-days.net/

and the Irish National Potato Day at http://www.potato.ie/

Sources:

- In Search of Total Perfection by Heston Blumenthal.

- Idaho Potato Museum.