This farm knows no bounds. Saturday, July 27 dawned. The weather looked promising with some clouds about, but thankfully no rain. The night before had been busy with the usual preparations for the day. Maiko, Mikako and Colleen were busily making potato croquette for the day’s lunch. A new thing on this farm is that in the morning, everyone gets together on the lawn and does exercises to music! I guess it sets the scene for the day, but it’s not exactly everyone’s scene.
The eight curious and enthusiastic “students” arrived. People come from near and far for this. Those who attended today’s course came from London, Bridgwater in Somerset, Wiltshire, Wales and Bristol. People also come from a wide variety of backgrounds and professions. Those who attended today’s course were a mix of professions; mental heath personnel, beekeeper, engineer, artists and retired teachers.
The program for the day followed the usual routine of introductions, presentations of what Natural Agriculture is and how to revitalize the soil, a farm tour and a delicious vegan lunch. The group was most surprised and appreciative of being able to go around the farm and harvest some of the fresh produce (zucchini and broad beans) for their own needs. Just for the reader’s information, zucchini has another name – courgettes. This group also enthusiastically came away with great bunches of fragrant lavender!
Mikako and Maiko excelled themselves in their cheffing abilities. This is nothing new for these ladies. Their innovativeness in the kitchen is beyond compare. Lunch consisted of: potato croquettes; onion, zucchini and carrot leaves, all fried in tempura batter; mixed salad leaves dressed with an onion dressing; rice balls with broad beans in them; miso soup and plenty of water. Much later, rhubarb jelly was served as dessert. The cuisine was hugely appreciated by all present.
At the end of the day, all participants were given gift bags of fresh produce. They were also given some seeds. Shinya’s generosity speaks for itself.
Comments and compliments were all very positive. As has become common in this course, people were all most surprised that Natural Agriculture methods completely contradict what is the established norm of crop rotation, the use of fertilizers and manures and of course the use of agrochemicals. The fact that the farm produces such abundant and healthy fresh produce was a total eye-opener for all. Everyone all went home extremely happy, enlightened, most enthusiastic to try out this new way of gardening and very, very thankful for a wonderful day.
Readers, this was our last one-day education session for 2019. But please keep an eye on this space for reports of our intensive three-day course next month.
See you all in August!
Report by Colleen McDuling.