Masanobu Fukuoka: Japanese Organic Farmer
(Page 11 of 13)
July/August 1982
By the Mother Earth News staff.
PLOWBOY: So you think that it would be feasible to someday adopt natural farming in North America?
RELATED CONTENT
Rate points out problems of cowkeeping today which were not appreciable a generation ago... and sug...
ONE THING YOU CAN DO READERS SHARE THEIR WAY TO HELP OUR EARTH-One person at a time April/May 1992 ...
THE AMAZING NATURAL FARM OF MASANOBU FUKUOKA July/August 1978 Masanobu Fukuoka may be one of the mo...
FUKUOKA: Of course, of course! When you talk about nature, it doesn't matter whether you're referring to North America or Africa or Indonesia or China . . . nature is nature. After all, modern industrial farming is now being practiced almost everywhere in the world. In the same way, natural farming could be practiced almost everywhere.
I'm just a village farmer who has come visiting from another part of the same world. Through my one-straw research, I've come up with some important clues as to how people can relate to nature and live harmoniously with it . . . wherever they may be.
PLOWBOY: But wouldn't your methods have to be adapted to fit local growing conditions in this country?
FUKUOKA: It's true that each place is somewhat different. Here in Massachusetts we are very far from the Pacific Ocean and even farther from my home on the island of Shikoku . . . so it may seem as if the experience and knowledge that I've accumulated would not be applicable here. However, the research I did on that little farm eventually led me to a practical and tested method of crop rotation. So I would suggest that beginners at least start with the techniques I've already worked out, no matter where they live . . . even here on the Atlantic coast.
A person who does that will probably have some problems during the first year, and the results may not be exactly the same as mine. But it should then be obvious to that grower why things didn't work out. Maybe a certain crop was planted too late, or perhaps the wrong variety was used for that climate and soil. By the second year of understanding and practicing my principles, a person should see clearly what needs to be done on his or her own land. I tell everyone who wants to try natural farming to take the benefit of my study and research and use it as it is . . . that is the smart way to begin. If you immediately go off on your own and begin looking for the true "nature" of your area, it'll take you 20 or 30 years to find it, just as it took me years to do so in Japan. Instead, your first step in any attempt at natural farming should be to throw away your preconceptions . . . then you can learn by simply doing!
PLOWBOY: Are you telling us to abandon all logical reasoning?
FUKUOKA: Yes!
PLOWBOY: But Mr. Fukuoka, you did a lot of experimenting and research yourself in the process of developing the concept of natural farming. You used reason . . . and now you're telling us to discard it all?
FUKUOKA: Exactly! Throw away your own ideas for a moment and let the results of my experiments be the seed of some new ideas and ways of thinking. Many people might be tempted to think, "Hmm . . . my climate is totally unlike his, so rather than use white clover, I'll try this other ground cover." That line of reasoning could well take you off the track and lead you down a lot of blind alleys! Clover is necessary to keep the weeds back and to replenish the soil.
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 | 11 |
12 |
13 |
Next >>
