本文へスキップ

Manufacture of traditional-style pickled food and grower of organic vegetables

Takayama City Gifu Prefecture JAPAN

Farming methodAgriculture





Fertilizer-free and pesticide-free cultivation

Fertilizer-Free Farming means that no chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or even organic fertilizers are used in the cultivation process. However, this is not unattended farming.

And from now on, it is time for people to live according to the order and rules of the natural world, and when we can feel the joy of others as our own, the time will come when we can use cosmic (heavenly) energy as our ally. I hope that the transmutation of elements that is now beginning to occur in Fertilizer-Free Farming will spread to the general public as soon as possible and help with the soaring resources and environmental degradation that has become a problem.

Farming methods

　　　　　


"Fertilizer-Free Farming" is different from "Organic Farming" and "Unattended-Farming


1.Introduction


If I had been able to get a good enough harvest with organic farming, and had been able to stabilize my business and grow produce of satisfactory quality, taste, and safety, I would never have gone into fertilizer-free farming. I had always been reluctant to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, so I was happy to take on the challenge of farming without pesticides. However, once we got into organic farming, there were many obstacles to overcome.

It's like an organic farming proverb: "If you make good soil, pest and disease damage will disappear.

I tried all kinds of so-called good materials and spent a lot of money. Even so, problems grew larger every year beyond control, and eventually we were forced to reduce our yield and with a deterioration in quality.


The thought that "I may never be able to achieve pesticide-free farming, no matter how many more decades of effort I put into it" grew in my mind every year. Fertilizer-Free Farming was a guideline for me, and it brought me back to life.

Fertilizer-Free Farming means that no chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or even organic fertilizers (including oil cake fish waste, bone meal, compost, etc.) are used in the cultivation process. However, this is not unattended farming. Appropriate weeding and tillage are done in an adequate manner, and there is no denying the use of mulch and greenhouse cultivation, which are suitable for various crops.

But, will it make the farming business viable? Everyone thinks that without fertilizer, the soil will be depleted year by year and eventually become completely barren. And so it was for me, too, at first. The fact is, however, that in recent years the number of farmers adopting this method of farming is rapidly increasing all over the country.

Some farmers have been practicing this cultivation method for more than 20 years and have achieved considerable results (yields averaging between 10% and 20% less than the average conventional cultivation in the area).


2.Why Fertilizer-Free Farming?

Many of the farmers who have adopted this method say that fertilizer is poisonous and that fertilizer weakens the soil.

The most commonly known harm caused by fertilizers are the adverse effects of the continuous use of chemical fertilizers. These include a drastic decrease in soil microbes (biotic) and the deterioration of soil physicality (more single-grained structures). Organic fertilizers are said to have no such harmful effects, but they can cause harm in other ways.

When organic matter is introduced into the soil in an undecomposed state, all kinds of microorganisms work vigorously to decompose it. The less decomposition there is, the more soil-borne fungus like Fusarium and Pythium and root-knot nematodes, among others, are encouraged to proliferate, and the ammonia and nitrite gases produced from the organic matter can damage the roots of the crop.


By the way, you can tell whether the soil is in good or bad condition by the difference in pH between the soil in the bed (ridge) and in the water droplets (called mulch water droplets) on the inside of the mulch above it. In the wilderness, there is no difference between the two. However, in places where fertilized cultivation is repeated and where immature organic matter is repeatedly used, the mulch water droplets are more acidic than the soil in the bed. Most of the cultivated land in Japan today is in this state. On the other hand, in what is considered good soil, the pH of the mulch water droplets is higher than the soil in the bed. The goal of Fertilizer-Free Farming is to achieve this state of soil.


One of the most common examples that "fertilizer is poisonous" is that nitrates (nitrate-nitrogen) in agricultural produce are known to be harmful to the human body. When nitrates enter the human body, they bind to hemoglobin in the blood and cause extreme oxygen deprivation and respiratory deprivation (cyanosis phenomenon), and also bind to amino acids in the body and turn into nitrosamines, which are carcinogens. In recent years, this phenomenon has become widely known and the need to reduce fertilizer use has been called for, but in actual farming, it has been difficult to solve the problem due to concerns about reduced yields.


In addition, many production areas have begun to switch from chemical fertilizers to organic fertilizers as a measure to reduce fertilizer use, but there have been many reports of cases where measured nitrate levels in the actual harvest have been higher when organic fertilizers are applied.

Excess nitrogen associated with fertilizer application, both organic and inorganic, produces a variety of disorders. Elevated soil salinity increases osmotic pressure, which increases the risk of "root burn," which is caused by the flow of water back from the crop body to the soil, and the accumulation of nitrates in the soil can promote the loss of bases such as calcium and magnesium. It should not be forgotten that excessive nitrogen application, in particular, has also been linked to eutrophication of the water systems around farmland and high concentrations of nitrogen pollution in groundwater.



3.Why do crops grow without fertilizer?



But why do crops grow so well without fertilizer? This is a very difficult question.


Plant roots are self-made.
Both nitrogen-fixing and mycorrhizal fungi can only flourish without fertilizer.


Plants release some of the substances produced by photosynthesis and other assimilative actions. These are high-molecular-weight organic matters (mucigel). This mucigel has a high C/N ratio and promotes the activities of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi. The amount of nitrogen and phosphoric acid collected by these microorganisms from the soil is immeasurable.

Also unexpectedly plentiful are root shedding cells. In the ground, crops themselves grow more and more roots, which are metabolized and shed their cells. Sometimes they also supply organic matter to the ground in the form of dead remnant roots. These have a low C/N ratio, unlike mucigel, which causes proteolytic microorganisms to surround and activate the rhizosphere, producing large amounts of ammonia as they work.

In this way, the organic matter secreted by the roots is transformed into new substances that are reabsorbed by the roots. In order to live and prosper, plants enrich the surrounding soil and microorganisms through the action of their roots, from which they obtain food (fertilizer) for their own growth, just as if they had made it on their own.


It is noteworthy here that this phenomenon of crop self-growth is significantly inferior under fertilization conditions. The more the residual fertilizer in the soil is eliminated under no-fertilizer conditions, the more nitrogen-fixing fungi, mycorrhizal fungi that help in the absorption of phosphoric acid, etc., begin to proliferate and become a force that directly helps the crop as mycorrhizal fertilizer.



Current science can't explain it.


A few more sources of nitrogen in Fertilizer-Free Farming could be cited, including the action of these microorganisms, the fertilizer content of rainfall and groundwater, and the release of nitrogen from the soil. But even if we "overestimate" the amount of nitrogen in those natural supplies, we still cannot adequately explain, within the bounds of current agronomy, how crops can be as good as those grown in conventional cultivation over long periods of time under no-fertilizer conditions.

Current fertilized agriculture is based on the concept of the "minimum nutrient rule," which states that 16 essential trace elements, in addition to nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, are required for plant growth, and plant production is governed by the amount of the most deficient inorganic components. Therefore, it is important to make up for the deficient elements in a balanced manner. In the case of Fertilizer-Free Farming, however, the deficiencies are not artificially compensated for. How do plants get these essential components?


One of the theories that may answer this question is the "transmutation of elements." Although this theory is regarded as a heresy in general chemistry, it seems to be justified from the perspective of quantum mechanics.

Transmutation of elements is said to be possible at very low energy levels, just as in the case of room temperature nuclear fusion. It is said that this energy is derived from the weak biological currents that plants and humans have in common, and the biological currents emitted by humans in particular have a significant effect on the growth of crops.

Simply put, the state of a farmer's body and mind affects his crops. In other words, it is the farmer's loving care of his crops and the voice of his heart that may be the fertilizer he cannot see.


The agriculture based on the lunar calendar can be explained by interpreting it as the effect of biological currents on a cosmic scale (in the case of the moon, gravitational force). This kind of energy may not be immediately available in all farmland, but it is said to be inexhaustible if conditions are met. If a farmer who has been using fertilizers and pesticides in the past converts to Fertilizer-Free Farming, it is unlikely that he or she will be able to achieve a stable harvest immediately. It will take three to five years for the soil to change to be suitable for no-fertilizer cultivation and for production to stabilize.



4.Two major issues that need to be addressed before implementing Fertilizer-Free Farming

Removal of residual fertilizer from the soil.



One way to do this is to remove residual fertilizer and undegraded organic matter from the soil as quickly as possible. In the long term, yields of fertilizer-free crops will decrease until residual fertilizer is removed; however, once it is removed, yields tend to increase. At a certain point, something in the soil changes.

When the residual fertilizer is mainly chemical fertilizer, the soil changes within a few years due to rapid leaching and low persistence. On the other hand, in the case of organic fertilizers, the leaching and decomposition are slow and the residual fertilizer (fertilizer poisoning) is slow to be released, so the soil tends to take many years to change.



Improvement of the environment and physicality of the fields.


For example, we need to improve poorly drained areas and eliminate the plow pan in the field, if it exists. In addition, it is important to further study the cultivation system that is appropriate for each crop and to create a suitable cultivation environment. This is the basis of agriculture, but it is also true that external forces, such as fertilizer application, make it difficult to see the superiority of such basic environmental factors.

What we respect in Fertilizer-Free Farming is not the minimum nutrient requirement of the fertilizer application concept, but the improvement of the "minimum environmental requirement" to allow the crop to achieve its full potential. Incidentally, since most of the current crop varieties have a high fertilization requirement, it is ideal to have varieties that are sufficiently suited to the opposite, no-fertilization conditions. The best way to achieve this is for farmers to self-seed.




5.Feel the power of nature and the soil

Fertilizer-free crops have very little disease and insect damage because there is no material excess caused by fertilizer application. This is true of natural wilderness forests as well.

[From profitable farming to pleasing farming]

Farmers who have practiced Fertilizer-Free Farming all begin to say things like, "We had a few years of uncertainty after the conversion, but now we can feel that the quality of the crop is getting better and better.” And "We are now able to grow good, tasty produce, and most importantly, our customers are pleased with the quality of our products, which makes us more motivated to farm.”


At the same time, they begin to be able to produce strong crops that are not affected by extreme weather conditions or physiological disturbances, and the agricultural products harvested from these crops will be more powerful than what is referred to as "superior medicine" in Chinese herbal medicine.


Even if it is difficult to adhere to and immediately implement Fertilizer-Free Farming, the time has come for us to take a fresh look at the various soil disorders caused by current over-fertilization practices and to discover the immense power of nature and the soil that we have not been aware of until now.


Fertilizer-Free Farming inspires new possibilities.




Enjoyable Agriculture

Article by Yasunori Yoshima published in Modern Agriculture magazine, September 2016, featuring soil fertilizer


“There is no such thing as farming without fertilizer.” “We’re running out of fertilizer year after year and I don’t know how long we can go on.”

Every time I have explained this farming method, I have always been met with these reactions. Since I first encountered this cultivation method in 1997, there have already been farmers all over the country who have been practicing this cultivation for many years. Seeing the results of their work in the field has been better proof than anything else, and switching to this farming method has been both reassuring and encouraging.

It's been about thirteen years since I started growing vegetables without fertilizer. As a farmer, I am very grateful and happy to have a moment to be surrounded by vegetables that I am in love with, even though the amount of harvest is relatively small.

Why we don't even add compost

Fertilizer-Free Farming grows crops without applying chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or even organic fertilizers (compost, rice bran, oilseed cake, fishmeal, humus, etc.). This is not an unattended cultivation, but one that can be implemented by commercial farmers. Ploughing and weeding will be done as necessary to manage the crops. We also use mulch and greenhouses. In recent years, consumer demand for “fertilizer-free natural farming,” “fertilizer-free and pesticide-free farming,” and “Three F Farming” has led to an increase in the number of farmers practicing this type of cultivation.

If pesticide-free farming is understandable, why not also add compost? What drove me to switch from organic, pesticide-free farming to Fertilizer-Free Farming was the demand from and voices of consumers. It was a cry of grief from patients suffering from chemical sensitivity, which was increasing every year. "Even pesticide-free vegetables can make my condition worse if I eat them." "I want vegetables that are not only pesticide-free, but also do not use compost.”


Chemical sensitivity, also known as sick house syndrome, which occurs in the living environment, is said to be caused by very small amounts of unspecified chemicals in food that are below the detection limit. It is widely known that the nitrogen components in organic fertilizers and composts in general can be harmful when they accumulate in excess in the soil and remain as undigested nitrate nitrogen in the crop body due to lack of sunlight and other weather conditions. In the case of chemical sensitivities, it was surmised that the worsening of the disease was due to the accumulation in the soil of very small amounts of chemicals contained in animal manure compost and the original ingredients of common organic fertilizers, which were then absorbed by the crops. There is no end to the pursuit of food safety, but I turned to Fertilizer-Free Farming simply because I wanted to produce things that are good for people, things that are needed, and things that make people happy.

Noticing the compatibility between the field and the crop

Although my ideals were high, when it came time to implement the idea, all kinds of problems arose. There have been more than enough repeated experiences of crops not growing, and there have been many times when I felt like I was going to fail. Why is the crop not growing, why is the yield so low? A common answer is "because of the lack of fertilizer," but since I chose not to use fertilizer, I had to try to figure out how to grow and harvest the crops through trial and error.


In this cultivation, the field and soil conditions make it clear which vegetables are easier to grow and which ones are harder to grow. You will notice that it's not simply a matter of whether the soil is fertile or barren, but rather the compatibility of the crop and the field. When the soil is really powerful, it is said that crops will grow abundantly without fertilizer and regardless of the type of crop, but such versatile soil will not be ready in a short period of time.

The first thing we had to do was establish compatibility between the crops and the soil. For example, there was a thin area of cleared land where daikon grows well, buckwheat does not grow well, and soybeans and red beans grow well but will not bear fruit. Or you may have fertile, deep tillage conditions where egg plant crops do not grow well, but lettuce and squash crops grow well. I think it is a matter of elemental balance in the soil, but in cultivation where nothing is applied, the imbalance is unchanged. Therefore, I create my cropping plan based on the soil and crop compatibility that I have observed empirically.



Crop-driven cultivation results in slow and steady growth.

I also noticed the unique way this cultivation grows its crops. Because it grows slowly, it may need a longer growing period than usual. In the spring, our spring daikon needs two months to grow to a large enough size, but in the fall, we let them grow for three months or more until late autumn, and we were able to harvest high quality, standard-size daikon(japanese radish).



Normally, burdocks are sown in the spring and grown for about four months before being harvested in the fall. However, by overwintering these, they can be harvested the following spring with satisfactory quality, a new cropping pattern that was discovered by breaking with the conventional concept of common cropping patterns.

Fertilizers and pesticides are like items that are used to control the growth of the crop in a favorable way. In Fertilizer-Free Farming, there is no technology to control the crop and it is a crop-driven method of farming. The rhizosphere is wider and has more mineral-absorbing capillaries because the crop will grow on its own, independent of fertilizer.

However, its early growth is weak and poor. After planting the seedlings, there is a period of about two weeks when they are so still that they can hardly grow (during this period, the rhizosphere increases remarkably), and then the above-ground part of the plant begins to grow rapidly. Only after the foundation is built does it begin to grow.

The crops will judge and support you

And the crops will become able to judge things, which makes them easier to grow. The crops will know the weather ahead, so they won't absorb more water and nutrients than they need, or have leaf water in the early morning (leaf water means too much to drink or eat in people). Also, when you call out to them, they will move their leaves and vines and respond with a yes or no. Then, crop production will become gentler.

When you draw and rely on the judgment of the crop, the results can seem as if the crop is supporting the farmer. Here's what farmers who use crop-driven growing have experienced.

A client ordered double the normal volume of the harvest for a week-long special sale. The yield doubled during this period and returned to the original level at the end of the week of sales. (Tochigi Prefecture.)


There are cutworms in the lettuce field, but they don't damage even a single leaf of lettuce and work hard as beneficial insects to eat the grass (weeds). (Kumamoto Prefecture)

Though we have not taken any defensive measures against wild boars, the wild boars do not enter the rice fields or other fields, but simply continue along the paths. (Kumamoto Prefecture)

Frequently Asked Questions about Fertilizer-Free Farming

1) What do you do with the crop residue?
Take the crop residue out of the field. When it is unavoidable to plow in, repeat the tillage to decompose undecomposed organic matter quickly. At this time, allow at least 20 days for the soil to mature before the next crop. Undegraded organic matter in the soil can cause soil diseases. In addition, organic gas during the decomposition process damages the roots and causes poor growth. In the case of paddy rice, returning straw residue causes gassing after planting, which inhibits the growth of rice. You might assume that crop residue can be fertilizer. In reality, its components are in trace amounts and cannot be a sufficient source of fertilizer. The important thing is to avoid the harmful effects of undegraded organic matter.


How to do soil amelioration
The idea is that the soil will naturally improve while growing crops that fit the field environment. We do not add anything special. We respect the basic management techniques of general crop cultivation, except for application of fertilizer and chemicals. What about crop rotation, mixed cropping, etc.?

It is important to try growing a variety of crops to find the right one for the soil. Mixed crops take into consideration respecting the compatibility between crops. Specifically, peppers and tomatoes don't go well together, and mizuna, lettuce and spinach don't go well together either. When they are planted next to each other, they can weaken each other's growth.


3)What about pest and weed control?
Insect damage is greatly reduced because there is no excess nitrogen. Nevertheless, cropping outside of the optimum crop season will still cause insect damage. Also, the less residual fertilizer is used, the less weeds are present and the easier it is to work with, but moderate weeding is necessary.

We cannot rely on imported fertilizer resources forever.

As a result of the pursuit of production volume through the massive use of pesticides and fertilizers, the world's agriculture is now facing soil exhaustion and environmental pollution (groundwater contamination) is becoming more serious. In addition, the production process of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, the main raw materials of chemical fertilizers, relies on fossil fuels. The countries that produce phosphate and potassium ore are unevenly distributed, and depending on the relationship between Japan and the resource-rich countries, imports can be very unstable.

The depletion of resources is also a serious problem for organic fertilizers, an alternative to chemical fertilizers. In fact, Japan's organic agriculture is supported by a large amount of imported organic resources. In the future, there is no guarantee that other countries will export not only food but also fertilizer resources to Japan in a stable manner. Competition to secure fertilizer is not only present in Japan, but also all over the world, as the price of fertilizer increases year by year.

The time is just around the corner when Japan's agriculture will be asked to choose between conventional farming, which maintains high yields even with the use of high-priced fertilizers, and sustainable farming, which conserves resources and can be carried out in harmony with nature.


From Profitable Agriculture to Enjoyable Agriculture

(From Profitable Agriculture to be appreciated by people)

One farmer said, "Fertilizer-Free Farming is left up to crops and the environment; you can't do it if you're greedy. The less greed you have, the more you will increase the yields". Fertilizer-Free Farming will go from a farming which makes profit to a "profitable farming as a result."


In the future, individual management may be more respected than corporate management. Corporate management is based on the pursuit of profit, assuming sales against investment, amortizing expenses, and calculating profits at any rate. On the other hand, individual farmers focus more on crops than on profit and loss (crop-oriented), and as a result they often don't take Sundays or holidays off, and may even visit their farms in the middle of the night. This attitude is nothing short of love, kindness and compassion for the crops and the desire to produce good crops.


Of course, I am happy to sell them at a high price, but I am also more than happy to hear from consumers who say things like, "The food was really good, and after eating it for a long time, my body is getting better, my family is getting along better, and the atmosphere in my house is getting brighter." It makes me feel truly happy to be a farmer. It seems to me that the farmer's heart is reflected in the crops and, as a result, works its way into the hearts of the people who eat them. Food creates people's minds and bodies. Isn't the joy of farming the best part of being a farmer?


And now it seems that the heart of the farmer is being challenged. In this cultivation method, the farmer does not apply fertilizer to the crops, but takes care of them by calling out to them. It is said that the farmer's love is the best fertilizer. We learn from the vegetables that in the world of nature, there is no need for profit and loss or bargaining."





Food and Chemistry

From an article by Yasunori Yoshima in Vol.58-6 of CHEMISTRY & CHEMICAL INDUSTRY, June 2005.

The article examines the historical background of fertilizers, agriculture and food production and points to the future direction of agriculture in light of the current global situation.

The Contribution of Fertilizer and Where to Go from Here
1.Introduction

We live on a finite planet. The world's population has grown from 2.5 billion in 1950 to 5.9 billion just 50 years later and is expected to grow to 9.7 billion by 2050 (The World Population Prospects 2019, United Nations).

As a result, humanity is now facing the problem of an inevitable food crisis. How have we managed to increase food production to keep up with the increase in population? I will try to answer this question in part by examining the case of rice farming in Japan.

2. Historical Achievements in Doubling Yield

Japan's rice crop yield (national average) more than doubled in just over 100 years, from 200 kg/10a in 1880 (Meiji Era) to 300 kg/10a in 1930 (early Showa Era) and then to 500 kg/10a after 1985. What is it that has made this increase in rice production possible?

The main reason for this increase in yield is the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides, which has spread rapidly in postwar Japan. Another important factor was the breeding of high-yield varieties that showed remarkable effects from fertilizer use. On the other hand, labor per unit area has decreased significantly.

The balance between yield and labor has completely reversed from 190 hours per 10a in 1955 (with a yield of 335 kg/10a) to 44 hours per 10a in 1990 (with a yield of 494 kg/10a) just 35 years later (Food Agency, Rice and Wheat Data Book, 2002 Edition). The factors that have led to the drastic reduction in labor are the promotion of agricultural machinery and the promotion of rural farmland infrastructure projects.

The advancement of civil engineering and the machinery industry, which formed the basis of modernized Japan, has also played a significant role in agriculture. Thus, the history of increased rice production in Japan is not only the development and spread of fertilizers and pesticides, but also civil engineering projects, the development of agricultural machinery, and the breeding of superior rice varieties. If any of these had been absent, the recent establishment of the rice farming system would not have been possible.


This is an historical achievement of so-called "chemistry and industry." In addition, chemistry and industry have played a significant role in agriculture worldwide, and the increase in rice production in Japan can be seen in the same way in agricultural products around the world.


3.New issues to be addressed

Looking at the trends of the past few decades in agriculture, however, we can see that it has been faced with a variety of problems in the field of production. It is not simply that growth in yields has stalled due to the stagnation of cultivation technology. The main problem has been the deterioration of the soil on which production is based, and this has become a factor in decreased yields.

It is said that nearly 1.5 billion hectares of current arable land (more than the area of the United States and Mexico combined) is suffering from moderate to severe soil degradation, and more than 5 million hectares a year are said to be turning to desert. This is said to be caused by the overuse of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, which have been used repeatedly to increase agricultural income, and by soil erosion and salinization caused by wind, rain, and low groundwater levels. Soil degradation is expected to progress further in the future.



In addition, especially in countries where intensive agriculture is practiced, such as Japan, excessive application of nitrogen components is significant, and nitrogen that cannot be fully absorbed by the soil leaks into groundwater, causing serious environmental pollution in the form of eutrophication of surrounding water systems. This excess nitrogen is not only caused by the use of chemical fertilizers. The use of livestock manure and organic fertilizers have also been cited as a major cause of concern. This may be part of a reversal of the notion that promoting organic farming will improve the soil and preserve the environment.


4.Depletion of resources

There is one more thing that cannot be overlooked when considering the future of food in the world. It is the absolute shortage of fertilizer.

Among the three major elements of fertilizers, nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, the majority of nitrogen fertilizers are made from ammonia, which can be produced inexhaustibly because it is made by reacting atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen under high pressure (although it requires energy to produce it). However, phosphate and potassium are mainly derived from phosphate and potash ores, respectively, and their resources are threatened to be depleted worldwide. Similarly, the depletion of organic fertilizers as an alternative to chemical fertilizers is also a serious problem.


Looking at the current organic farming methods in Japan, 98% of rapeseed oil cake, the main ingredient in organic fertilizer, is imported. The same is true for livestock excrement, which is used as a raw material for compost, and the current livestock industry in Japan relies on imported feed, which accounts for nearly 70% of the total. Under these circumstances, there is no guarantee that other countries will export not only foodstuffs but also fertilizer resources to Japan in a stable manner in the future. Current fertilizer-based methods which have enabled high-yield have reached their limits, and if the world continues to produce crops in the current manner, global yields will inevitably face a decline, rather than increase.

5. Future Prospects

In recent years, the concept of Low Input Sustainable Agriculture (LISA) has begun to be widely accepted in Europe and the United States as an important direction for agriculture in general, regardless of the type of organic or inorganic fertilizer used. This is a system of farming that minimizes reliance on inputs from outside the farmland and maximizes the micro-cycles of a self-contained natural system, such as the introduction of green manure crops (to replenish coarse organic matter and carbon components) and crop rotation with legumes (which have nitrogen fixation capacity), in order to maximize the organic matter and nutrients that are needed.


In Japan, a system of farming called "Fertilizer-Free Farming," in which no chemical fertilizers, pesticides, organic fertilizers, or even compost are used at all, is rapidly expanding at the farm level across the country. There are some farmers who have been practicing this system for more than 10 or 20 years and have been able to obtain remarkably stable yields (yields are reduced by about 10% to 20% compared to fertilized cultivation). This is a reality that defies modern soil fertilization science.


However, it is said that it will take three to five years for the production of such cultivation to stabilize. This is because the soil is severely degraded by the huge amount of fertilizer and excessive organic matter and pesticides that have been continuously added to the farmland. The time it takes for the soil to return to its natural state is also very long, which may be the reason why good results are not achieved uniformly across all farmland.


There are also problems with the characteristics of seeds that have been bred for fertilizer cultivation. However, I feel that Fertilizer-Free Farming has the power to provide a guideline for a new era of agriculture in the face of the loss of direction in modern agriculture.


It is more hopeful for human beings that we can ensure a permanent and stable production in the future, even if it is temporarily unstable, than continuing the present agriculture, which is causing more and more soil degradation and uncertainty in the future. What can the chemistry of the future contribute to this goal? I would like to see a new kind of chemistry emerge, one that goes far beyond the conventional viewpoints of chemistry.




Essay --- As a farmer, I feel happy.

From an article posted by Yasutomo Yoshima published in the National Agricultural Insurance Association newspaper, No. 3193 on October 4, 2017


“It is important for farmers to live a life of joy, fun and gratitude. “A farmer's heart is reflected in his vegetables, and it is passed on to the people who eat them. Food creates our minds and bodies, so farmers have a responsibility.”

Someone gave me these words when I was about to fall behind in farming. At that time, I felt that I had received the most important answer to my lifelong goal.

I am a farmer who implements natural farming without the use of fertilizers, pesticides, or compost. I had dreams and ideals, but when it came to the actual practice, I was stuck in a difficult situation. I was troubled by pests and diseases, and my heart sank as my crops were being defeated by weeds. I had originally started farming because I loved it, but before I knew it, I found myself in pain and suffering.

“You can't grow good vegetables with such a gloomy look on your face.”
Touching words from my wife. ”

Yes. I am very grateful for the opportunity to farm. I just need to be grateful and enjoy what I'm doing.” As I began to change how I think, the crops began to grow in a more relaxed and pleasant way.

We have also been receiving happy comments from customers who have eaten the vegetables that are being harvested, saying that the gentle taste of the vegetables seems to warm their hearts with a sense of relief. This is when I am filled with joy and realize that I am glad to have continued farming, no matter how difficult it may have been.

Fertilizer-Free Farming is difficult to practice and yields are unstable, and the more you value the pursuit of profit, the more difficult it becomes. "You can't practice Fertilizer-Free Farming if you're greedy. The less greed you have, the more you will get better crops and increase yields," said a senior farmer.

Farming suffers from bad weather and unpredictability, so farmers must often face inefficiencies and economic difficulties. In this context, I believe that the true joy of farming is to always be in contact with the crops with love and gratitude, and at the same time to bring joy to the minds and bodies of the consumers who eat them.


From profitable farming to enjoyable farming. What does it mean to a farmer to feel satisfied? It is, of course, gratifying to have a higher yield and higher income, but by focusing not on how much money you can make, but on how much you can make people happy, you will ultimately improve your business. Speaking your mind is like being in a big ocean with big and small waves. Gazing at the ship of your own heart, you aim to reach your destination.

When we feel our own happiness and enjoyment diminishing, we find that we have little appreciation for the people around us. When we appreciate even the most painful of things as meaningful and important experiences, our joy increases and we are able to move forward.

As a farmer, I feel happy. We are taught by our vegetables that in the world of nature, there is no need for profit and loss or bargaining.




Towards an Agriculture in Harmony with Nature

Farming without Fighting

It seems that farmers often say “Farming is a battle with such-and-such.” In pesticide-free farming, such battles tend to be particularly common, and there seem to be many of them.

  1. Battles with weeds
  2. Battles with insects and disease
  3. Battles with animals (damage by wildlife)
  4. Battles with the weather
  5. Battles with other people

Is pesticide-free farming really such a frightening thing, so full of conflict? I think that real pesticide-free farming would aim to farm in harmony with nature, but I also cannot help but think that farmers’ mental attitudes seem to be leading in the opposite direction. I propose an agriculture without strife. I believe that most of these battles arise from a misunderstanding of the way things are.


① Battles with Weeds

Weeds, in essence, are the indigenous inhabitants of the land that have lived there since the beginning. We remove these for our convenience when we wish to grow crops, but I think that it is important to have respect in our hearts for these indigenous inhabitants. In crop fields, weeds need human management because they cause problems when they grow large enough to hinder crops’ growth. In the early stages of their growth, crops are carefully weeded to save their tiny shoots. But surely it is reasonable to think that a certain amount of weed pressure is tolerable after the crop has grown to a certain size, provided that the crop’s growth is not adversely affected. There are various techniques for controlling weeds, such as pulling them up by the roots, or cutting them off at ground level and laying them over the soil, and I believe that these can be applied as circumstances require.

Weeds can play a leading role in developing the soil in a field. Their contribution is, generally speaking, threefold.

The first way that weeds can develop the soil is by removing excess residual fertilizer. Although crop growth is indeed good in fields to which large quantities of organic or inorganic fertilizer have been applied, weed growth also tends to be vigorous. But when the amount of excess residual fertilizer in the soil diminishes, and the soil balance improves, the weeds begin to be replaced by different types of weeds. The large, tough weeds that originally grew give way to softer, gentler types, which tends to make weeding easier.

The second way is by cultivating the soil. A field can sometimes have what is called a plough pan, which is a stratum of hardened soil lying about 30–40 cm beneath the soil surface. Such strata can be formed when soil beyond the reach of mechanical cultivators is compacted over many years by the passage of machinery, or when nutrients from years of fertilizer application accumulate and form a hard layer. Plough pans are reputedly able to impede a crop’s root growth, and can also be a cause of poor drainage. Weeds’ strong roots have the ability to reach down, pierce, and shatter plough pans. The weeds are cultivating the soil for us.

The third way that weeds can develop the soil is by improving its balance of nutrients. This action differs from their role in removing residual fertilizer: weeds can produce nutrients that are lacking. A good example is the common horsetail. Horsetail naturally prefers acidic soil to grow in. Conversely, it hardly grows at all in neutral or more alkaline soils. When we see horsetail growing profusely in a field, we can tell that the soil in that field is acidic. If we were to dig it up, we would see that even if its stems are only 10 cm tall, its roots would extend down 50 to 60 cm. A farmer hard at work pulling horsetail once said to me, “Some people call horsetail ‘hell-grass.’ No matter how much you pull it up, it increases. Its roots go down endlessly, and you can’t get rid of it. It’s a terrible weed.” The farmer was truly battling the weed.

However, an analysis of horsetail’s composition will show several surprising things. Horsetail is exceedingly rich in nutrients: compared with spinach, it contains 155 times as much calcium, five times as much phosphorus and potassium, and three times as much magnesium. The high calcium content is worth noting, and we may notice something peculiar here. Although horsetail grows vigorously in acidic soil, such soil is poor in nutrients such as calcium that maintain alkalinity. This is a strange phenomenon—calcium-rich horsetail growing in calcium-poor soil. Why is that? Some say that elemental transmutations are taking place between the soil and the horsetail. A famous example of elemental transmutation is found in chickens. It seems that although chickens may lay eggs full of calcium every day, when you measure the calcium content of their diet, it falls short of the calcium content of the eggs. In this way, elemental transmutation is a daily occurrence in the natural world. For more information, see Biological Transmutations by Corentin Louis Kervran (1970).

By withering and returning to the ground in which it grew, horsetail adds calcium to the soil. Eventually, acidic soil gradually becomes pH neutral through the addition of this horsetail calcium, and its balance of nutrients improves. The horsetail has dedicated its life to improving the soil. Some people ask “How do I adjust the soil pH when farming without fertilizer? Would it be better if I added lime or something?” but even if nothing is added, the power of nature will adjust the pH. This means that horsetail is neither a villain nor an enemy, but rather a welcome helper.

As the various types of weeds perform their various roles, they work to improve the soil for us. We owe them thanks. If we can accept the existence of these indigenous inhabitants, and work with them to understand why they grow, then surely we will feel happiness rather than hostility toward them.




②Battles with Insects and Disease


Insects eat and spoil crops for a reason. Generally, when excess nitrogen from excessive fertilization accumulates in crop plants, these crop plants exude nitrogen gas, which attracts insects that eat the plants to digest the excess nitrogen. I am sure that many farmers are aware from experience that aphids are attracted by excess nitrogen. Insects tell us how good or bad the soil nutrient balance is.

If we take a look at the natural world around us, we can see that forest vegetation is hardly ever ridden with insects. This fact indicates that a good balance of nutrients exists in the forest soil. Another factor that probably helps to keep insects in balance with respect to the complex forest ecosystem is the biological diversity of their natural enemies—predators such as birds and other insects. We can find hints on how to farm without pesticides by looking at nature.

A notorious pest of rice in the warm regions of Japan is the golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata), which feeds on and damages the leaves of rice seedlings after planting and causes farmers much vexation. But for farmers practicing pesticide-free agriculture, these snails are a boon. How can the same snails be both destructive and beneficial?

The golden apple snail naturally prefers the tender young shoots of paddy field weeds to tough rice plants. In pesticide-free farming, which uses no herbicides, weeds put forth shoots one after another as soon as the rice is transplanted. These weeds are a suitable food for the snails. In paddies inhabited by the golden apple snail, the weeds do not grow large even though no herbicide is used, and you can see rice plants growing healthily. It is a good example of how pesticide-free farming can be achieved by understanding a pest’s ecology and endeavoring to coexist with it, rather than by treating it as an enemy. But conversely, in rice paddies that are kept almost completely weed-free with herbicides, the snails have none of their preferred weeds to eat, and so they have no choice but to feed on the rice plants.

A natural farmer told me of a time when he had a problem with cabbage moth (Mamestra brassicae) [caterpillars] eating the leaves of his vegetables. After giving up and deciding that the caterpillars could stay in the fields, he returned the next morning to find that the caterpillars had all begun to eat the surrounding weeds. “Now they are beneficial insects that help my vegetables to grow,” he said, seemingly grateful now for the moths. This is an example of how a good result was obtained by being grateful for and leaving things to their natural course.

What about Disease?

Disease should essentially be thought of as a process of purification. For example, if we eat moldy bread, then sometimes we might vomit or have diarrhea. The cause in this case is simple, and the phenomenon is simply one in which the body attempts to promptly expel the bad substance. It is not a disease. And in the case of viral fevers, the fever is the body’s attempt to suppress the virus using heat. If diseases have reasons for occurring, then it may be that many of them are purifying processes to maintain a normal state in the body.

The same applies for crops: we can understand that many diseases are purifying processes, caused in many cases by foreign matter in the form of fertilizer.

When the process of purification in a crop or the human body is halted using pharmaceuticals, more problems are caused, and the true cause remains. If the purification process is fairly mild, then surely it is important to gratefully accept it, understand its origin, and fix the cause.



③Battles with Animals


In Japan, where in many regions hilly uplands are farmed, wild boar, raccoon dogs, deer, rabbits, and other animals are known to enter fields and ravage crops. From the sky descend pigeons and crows. Bears are also pests in some regions: it is a veritable zoo.

Farmers become desperate and erect cages and electric fences to try and prevent animals from entering their fields. It is as if they are battling against the wild animals.

Wild animals do not damage crops to vex humans, and feel no guilt about what they do. They have existed in harmony with nature from the very beginning. As humans, we ideally should not view them as enemies, but exist in harmony with them.

A natural farmer told me this of his farm: “There are wild boars, but even though I don’t have electric fences, they hardly ever damage the rice—they walk along the footpaths between the paddies. The birds select the flavorless mandarin oranges growing in the shade and eat only those.” Perhaps the animals sensed his desire to exist in harmony with nature, without striving against them.




④Battles with the Weather


There is a great misunderstanding. The weather was always outside of our control, so it was never something we could fight in the first place. The same goes for the rain, wind, sun, warmth, and cold. Nature’s weather is a blessing in itself. The blessing is not always good, and sometimes extreme rain or wind brings disaster, but in such cases complaining will change nothing.

“It’s a poor harvest because it rained for too long.” “It’s a poor harvest because of the drought.” It’s a poor harvest because we didn’t get enough sun.” If you start blaming the weather for poor harvests, there’s no end to it. Of course the fickle weather in recent years has troubled farmers considerably. Agriculture is done out in nature, and things do not go according to plan. If we ask ourselves how much we appreciate the weather we normally have, rather than being dissatisfied with it, we realize that we are not very grateful.

Since ancient times, people in Japan have believed that gods exist in all things. The gods believed to govern the wind and the rain were given the titles Fujin, wind god, and Raijin, thunder god, and were worshipped and revered. Now how much do people appreciate the commonplace blessing of being permitted to live in the natural world?


Farmers improve drainage, cultivate plants in greenhouses, and so on, but the rest they leave to the weather.




⑥Battles with Other People

Pesticide-free farming often differs from normal farming. The techniques are of course different, but the ideologies are also very different. And so sometimes we find pesticide-free farmers at odds with the people around them. For example, they might be very vocal in their criticism of the agricultural cooperative, and be self-righteous on their own methods of cultivation.

Agriculture is an industry deeply rooted in the land. It absolutely is not something that can be done alone. The environment and irrigation systems surrounding a field are maintained through the efforts of the entire local community. I think that it is important for pesticide-free farmers to exist in harmony with local society and the farmers around them.

The farmers in an area are agricultural veterans. Though their methods may be different, they have a deep understanding of the land and its climate, and know from long experience when is best to plant and to harvest. Farming is not something to be learned from distant teachers, books, or the Internet: the things to be learned from local farmers are immensely more important and valuable.

An important detail to keep in mind when we try to live in harmony with the people around us is that we should not be bothered about what people say or do. Harmony and agreement are two different things. Of course we think differently. If we sympathize too much with another person’s ideas or farming techniques, then we will begin to feel bad about continuing to farm without pesticides. It is important to protect our own thoughts even as we acknowledge the ideas of others.



All people have these four types of thoughts:

  1. Concerns about what other people are thinking and doing
  2. The desire to assert the validity of one’s own ideas
  3. The feeling that they don’t even know what they don’t know
  4. Worries about what the future will bring

If we observe these thoughts within us with a detached and objective perspective, then we can be freed of the anxiety that they cause us.

  1. We cannot help but to notice and be concerned about what other people are thinking and doing, so we can find relief if we disregard these things. Although it is important to exist in harmony with the people around us, we should not worry about differences in personal values.

  2. People tend to assert their ideas. Because deep down we believe that we are right, we sometime get into arguments. We can mitigate this by realizing that we might be mistaken, and that the cause of everything that happens to us lies within ourselves.

  3. Awareness of our own ignorance … We must understand that our own knowledge is incomplete. If we realize that there are many things that we do not know, and that not everything that we know is necessarily true, then we will cease to reject the ideas of others, and this will give us relief. What is considered right in one period of history may be considered wrong in the next.

  4. We should entrust our fate to the heavens (nature). It is human nature to feel the pull of desire and the ego in the struggle for existence, so we must exercise caution. We must always remain objective about our own thoughts.




The Agriculture of the Future

Whether it is pest damage or the ravages of the weather, farming is fraught with difficulties. But if we change the way we think about things, then we can realize that the natural world is something that aids and assists us—the very blessing of nature itself. Perhaps it could be said that the natural world is love itself, because the blessings of nature are free, and are distributed equally to all living things. Surely if we humans, nurtured in the midst of this natural world, live in gratitude for everything that occurs, then we will find a way to live in harmony with nature.


The Philosophy of Fertilizer-free Farming

Nature’s blessing is its power to give vitality to all life. When we speak of the “natural world,” we mean the nature around us, but in a broad sense, we could say that the phrase applies to the Earth as a whole, and to the very universe in which the earth exists.

It might be overly dramatic to say this, but we are living amid the blessings of the entire cosmos. So to describe these blessings as a whole, I will use the phrase “cosmic energy.”


A limitless amount of cosmic energy is poured out upon the earth, the nature around us, the farmland, and upon humans. It is poured out upon all life, and gives form to all things. The best example of this is the light and heat of the sun. But the moon also governs the action of water (the phases of the moon affect the tides, and also the water in all living things). These common examples of energy are easy to understand, but they are only a very small part of what constitutes cosmic energy as a whole.


The soil essentially functions as a medium to receive and accumulate this cosmic energy. Plants tap into this accumulated cosmic energy, using their roots as antennae to transmute elements and turn them into nutrients. Nuclear transmutation is performed through the action of cosmic energy. This is a different view from that of conventional fertilizer science.


Fertilizer-free farming does not use fertilizer, pesticides, or compost. This is because there is no question of whether a crop can be produced or not. The problem is solved through the action of cosmic energy. Cosmic energy, not man-made fertilizer, is used to grow the crops. For plants, cosmic energy is the true fertilizer.

Man-made fertilizers are limited in what they can achieve, but cosmic energy is unlimited. This is why in some cases, crops grown using fertilizer-free techniques out-yield those grown with fertilizers. It is also why we can sometimes find trees beside the road, where no leaves accumulate, growing vigorously every year without compost or fertilizer.


But there is an important factor underlying this phenomenon. For cosmic energy to work, especially in farmland where people are involved, there are two vital factors that must be considered. The first is that the action of cosmic energy weakens when man-made fertilizers and pesticides are used. The second is that the quantity of cosmic energy is greatly influenced by the human spirituality. For cosmic energy to work, humans must live in harmony with nature. The heart of a farmer affects the quality and quantity of his harvest. This means that it is important for farmers to be have gratitude for all things, and to live in harmony with the natural world, using nothing that is harmful to humans or the environment. They must also talk to their plants as they work. For these things to happen, a non-confrontational attitude to farming is important. Crops that are grown in this manner contain cosmic energy. And crops that contain cosmic energy act on the human body and mind. So, when people eat such crops, they will sometimes find that their illnesses improve, and they will become glad with light hearts. This is because the cosmic energy of the natural world is the very love of creation, which works as a force to activate the wellspring of life.



Not Just Pretty Words—The Reality

An agriculture in harmony with the natural world is surely a beautiful thing. But naturally we might also say that real agriculture is not that simple. In farming, good things are outnumbered by things that do not go as planned, and there is no end to one’s troubles. Time and experience will lead to a certain mastery of farming techniques, and efficiency will improve, but conversely, ever more hard-to-solve problems will appear. Farmers unanimously agree that “In agriculture, you’re a first-grader every year.”



Building the Soil Without Fertilizer—Love and Respect the Land(Soil)


Farmers face the difficulties of pesticide-free farming head-on. “It’s difficult, but I want to continue for the environment, and for the people who eat what I grow.” That attitude is pure love. The soil understands a farmer’s love, and this leads to cosmic energy. A loving heart improves the soil and the environment. Surely a farm full cosmic energy and a farmer’s love will be a place of comfort and healing. Some even say that by using cosmic energy, we can solve the problem of chemicals contaminating and harming nature. Today, we urgently need more people to practice a pesticide-free agriculture that applies cosmic energy and works in harmony with the natural world. It is my earnest wish that this movement will spread.










FF Agriculture ----Fertilizer-Free Farming and The Future of Farmers'

The first thing I want farmers to realize is that it is agriculture that will change the world today.
(It was written by Nobuhiro Fujino 2003)



バナースペース

Ｈｉｄａ Tａｋａｙｍａ
Ｙｏｓｈｉｍａ Farm

TakayamaCity
Gifu Pref 　JAPAN