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Farming in the sand
A farmer holds up the first of his turnips, a new challenge for him in his farming career.. 99.11.11/Temperature: 5C/ Weather: Sunny, Partly Cloudy / Wind Direction: NW
Start: Misaki Park, On the border between Akita and Yamagata Prefecture)/ Latitude: 39 07 00 N / Longitude: 139 52 33 E
Destination: Sakata City/ Latitude: 38 54 43 N / Longitude: 139 50 50 E
Distance Traveled: 27kmThis morning I spoke with farmers who shared with me how they have bared the fierce winds from the Sea of Japan and are making new attempts to bare changes in economy.
Rising just before the sun this morning I looked out over the ocean from Misaki Park. A fisherman was pulling in his net. Fortunate for me, the fierce winds of the Sea of Japan were unusually for this time of year. The ocean spread out before me like a sheet of glass.
In a sandy field of leeks stands one of the farmers I spoke with. Newly planted trees can by seen on the sandy hillside in the background. I started close to the "Narrow Road to Oku" sign which tells the tale of famous poet and traveler Mastuo Basho who passed through this area in 1689. I wondered what the nature which inspired his poetry was like 300 years ago. Now the coast above its craggy cliffs is covered with a forest of pine trees. All of the pines lean uniformly away from the ocean. The tree bark appears toughened by years of exposure to harsh winds and salty air.
Leaving Misaki Park I crossed over the Akita and Yamagata Prefectural border. The pine forest continued along the coast to the west. To the east were rice paddies spread out like a checker board all the way to the mountains in the background. Further down the road the scenery changed suddenly. The forest still lined the seashore but to the east were fields that looked full of sand. How can vegetables be grown in sand?
Sea of Japan in the early morning. I spoke with a farmer about growing crops here. "The soil isn't bad. Since it is sandy it has very good drainage. It isn't good soil for rice farming, but vegetable grow well," she said pointing to the large healthy leeks in her field. "The major problem we have is with the winds here," she continued. "The winds and the sand that it blows cause the most damage to our crops. Thanks to farmers of over one-hundred years ago we manage to farm this area. They planted the pines you see along the coast and up in the hills. We hold a festival of thanksgiving once a year to honor the people who planted the trees. You can see that we are still planting," she said pointing to small trees lining the sandy hill to the east. Wisdom of generations of farmers has made this land farmable.
A sandy field of Japanese giant radishes sits in front of the coastal protective forest of pines. Where there is old wisdom there are new challenges. A farmer harvesting turnips assured me of this. He confessed to me that this is his first year growing turnips. "We have to listen to the needs of consumers in cities," he said. "If we don't we won't be able to make it as farmers. This is a new experiment to meet consumer demand." The turnips appeared large and healthy. "Each farmer has his own trick but our trick is to attempt new things. Many farmers wouldn't grow turnips because it is a laborious process. Even though it's a bit tough, we want to try it out. Of course we have plenty of failures but we always manage to put food on the table," he said with a large grin on his face. I admire him for his bravery.
People often say that you must fall several times before you learn to walk. Today I met farmers who have passed on the tradition of planting protective forests and farmers accepting new challenges of changing times. I wish them luck.
What about all of you? Have you had experiences of several failures followed by success?
Greg
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