I read One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka almost an year ago. Still feeling the impact of the simplicity. A few gems from my reading :
- The yields from Natural, organic and chemical farming are comparable. however their effect on the soil is markedly different as well as the amount of work required at various stages.
Fukuoka mastered a method to grow rice without flooding the field and transplanting the seedlings.
straw from previous crops and mulch are spread over the field to stop weeds
Fukuoka’s sequence:
- Early October - Clover is broadcast among rice. Winter grain in mid oct
- Early november – rice harvest, next year rice sown with straw laid across the field. Same method for rye and barley
Natural or “do-nothing” farming can’t be applied at once. Proper understanding of the weather, soil, weeds, animals and other environmental factors is necessary to develop this
Modern agriculture has specialists focused on various aspects of it such as insecticide, soil fertility, crop specialist, etc. But fails to look at the big picture.
Four principles of natural farming:
- No cultivation
- No chemical fertilizer or prepared compost (Fu grows a cover white clover and straw and a little poultry manure)
- No Weeding by tillage or herbicides
- No dependence on chemicals (Fu uses machine oil emulsion occasionally)
