The story of Hokkaido's Makino Farm pursuing a down-to-earth life of self-sufficiency
Text / Xie Yonghong (Course Affairs Specialist, Qimei Community College)
Preface: The Makino family originally lived in Sendai in northeastern Japan. The narrator, Makino Moe, was already someone who loved living together with nature when she was in Sendai. Besides growing vegetables on her own balcony and joining tree-planting activities, she would also go up the mountain to fetch water, pick fruit, gather vegetables, and so on. Her husband worked as the head chef of a Pizza Bar and was very particular about ingredients. While living in Sendai, the couple also raised their children in a very natural way. However, the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011 led them to decide to move to Hokkaido, learn to become farmers, and seek a self-sufficient life. Let us take a look at their wonderful story!
Note: F1 seeds generally refer to "first-generation hybrid seeds." F1 refers to the first filial generation produced by two parents. When breeders want to improve a variety or enable a crop to retain the excellent traits of two pure-line varieties (heterosis), they cross two varieties with different superior traits, hoping to produce a variety that has both parents' advantages or even surpasses them. But this kind of variety also makes it difficult for farmers to save their own seeds, and it has become one of the means by which many seed companies get farmers to buy seeds. However, producing F1 seeds is not entirely good or bad; some plants can indeed produce offspring superior to their parents through this method.