Grandpa Apple in Tamsui: Happiness Farm, a Great Exchange of Farming Techniques

Early in the morning on September 27, natural farmers from all over Taiwan gathered one after another at Happiness Farm in Tamsui. Farmers and farmers' wives who are usually busy with farm work, heroes of every kind who might not even all show up for a meeting, all reported in on time. There was only one purpose: to take part in the farming technique exchange with apple master Mr. Akinori Kimura.

Mr. Kimura appeared with his signature smile, and under everyone's enthusiastic welcome, the day's activities began. We positioned this event as learning from an outstanding senior in agriculture, and the participants were either people who had already been cultivating with no pesticides and no fertilizer for some time, or loyal fans of natural farming. Of course, quite a few of them had also read Mr. Kimura's book, and some even became "star chasers" following Mr. Kimura from one event to the next.

Because time was limited, Dr. Li of Happiness Farm had already designed some key scenes in the field several days earlier, so that while Mr. Kimura was explaining, there would be things to compare against.

First, in the paddy field, a hole about 40 cm deep was dug, and then a thermometer was inserted horizontally every 10 cm to measure the soil temperature. In the paddy field area, the temperatures measured by the four thermometers were all around 26.5°C, with a temperature difference of about 1°C. According to him, the soil condition was very good, "soil already possessing the ability to grow rice with astonishing yields," and there was no "fertilizer poison layer" (referring to places where chemical fertilizers accumulate, where the temperature drops). The soil quality was very good.

The roots of plants and the soil are key to plant growth

Because of time constraints, in the fruit tree area, Mr. Kimura shared with us the "pruning" technique for fruit trees - pruning branches along the shape of the leaf veins. Although the time was short, for us, who are still novices when it comes to fruit trees, having such an opportunity to learn felt as if we had been "empowered" by a martial arts master, greatly increasing our skill!

Mr. Kimura was very happy that so many people in Taiwan are interested in natural farming and are already practicing it. It was just a pity that time was limited and there could not be more exchange. We look forward to the lecture in Taipei on the third day, where we can learn a great deal more.

For lunch, we used naturally farmed vegetables and fruits from all over Taiwan as ingredients and prepared a buffet-style meal. We heard that he really loves cantaloupe, and at one point we had planned to go to a certain department store to buy imported high-end cantaloupe to serve him. When we got to the department store and took a look, "Oh my! So expensive..." and I hesitated. Compared with imported fruit, naturally cultivated pineapple, passion fruit, guava, banana... are absolutely in no way inferior in terms of safety, quality and flavor, and the price is much more reasonable. This could also help protect Taiwan's environment, and could count as an "achievement exhibition" of Taiwan's natural farming. This should better show our sincerity. Therefore, we prepared a table of "low food mileage" lunch.

In the end, Mr. Kimura praised the naturally cultivated fruit endlessly; more than half of his plate was filled with naturally farmed fruit, which shows that these good fruits were not just us praising our own melons!

Of course, many Kimura fans asked whether there would be a chance to visit Mr. Kimura's farm, and the answer was of course yes. We heard that nearby there are also inexpensive homestays where one can stay. It just so happens that Huiwen is planning to go to some natural farming households in Japan in mid-November to learn, and if Mr. Kimura's schedule permits, it might even be possible to make the trip this year!

After the event, many farming friends stayed on at Happiness Farm to exchange with local partners and swap insights. I think that besides "techniques," everyone should have learned even more about "attitude"! Today, in everyone's hearts, what kind of seeds were sown?

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Happiness Farm: Natural farming, our cultivation and life
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Grandpa Apple in Taiwan: Zhongpu, Chiayi, live on-site