Rice Planting

We planted rice in our rice-field "Jiyu-den".

In recent years, we've been trying to grow organic rice by ourselves.
The farming is basically carried out in traditional agricultural ways, such as planting rice by hand, removing weeds without agrichemicals, drying harvested rice under the sun.

The first step of planting rice is to set the field ready for farming.
Plowing makes the soil soft and easy to absorb water.



Then pour water into the field.

Before planting by hand, we rolled a special tool on the field.
It marks lines on the muddy field and we can plant rice straight following these lines, though it doesn't work when there is too much water...

pastoral landscape..

Planting was very hard without a planting machine.
It took two days to complete two small rice fields, which may be reduced to just 3 to 4 hours with a machine.

Planting 3 to5 lines at one time.

Finally put a net around one of the fields, where we will feed wild ducks.

Straight? Almost.

to be continued...

The Latest Issue

The latest issue of Jiyujin "the Basics of Vegetables" is on sale now.



This is all about vegetables...vegetable menus from Michelin starred restaurants (Les Creations de NARISAWA, Daigo, Eventail, Hishinuma, Hei Fung Terrace, Splendido, Hermitage de Tamura), medical benefits of eating vegetables, home-cultivation of organic vegetables, vegetable Q&As, anti-cancer potency of vegetables, and so on.

What we recommend is "the Perfect Guide of Vegetable Restaurants," which introduces 161 restaurants in Japan, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, with detailed information about vegetables used in dishes and the usage of chemical seasoning. A guide for healthy veggie life!