We have come to the point at which there is no other way than to bring about a 'movement' not to bring anything about Masanobu Fukuoka More Quotes by Masanobu Fukuoka More Quotes From Masanobu Fukuoka I started natural farming after the war with just one small plot, but gradually I acquired additional acreage by taking over surrounding pieces of abandoned land and caring for them by hand. Masanobu Fukuoka caring war hands Natural farming is just farming, nothing more. You don't have to be a spiritually oriented person to practice my methods. Masanobu Fukuoka farming practice natural As far as my planting program goes, I simply broadcast rye and barley seed on separate fields in the fall . . . while the rice in those areas is still standing. A few weeks after that I harvest the rice, and then spread its straw back over the fields as mulch. Masanobu Fukuoka week fields fall Of course, I have made mistakes . . . just as every grower does. However, I never really think of them as mistakes! Masanobu Fukuoka doe mistake thinking By raising tall trees for windbreaks, citrus underneath, and a green manure cover down on the surface, I have found a way to take it easy and let the orchard manage itself! Masanobu Fukuoka green tree way I wonder how it is that people's philosophies have come to spin faster than the changing seasons. Masanobu Fukuoka wonder philosophy people Speaking biologically, fruit in a slightly shriveled state is holding its respiration and energy consumption down to the lowest possible level. It is like a person in meditation: his metabolism, respiration, and calorie consumption reach an extremely low level. Even if he fasts, the energy within the body will be conserved. In the same way, when mandarin oranges grow wrinkled, when fruit shrivels, when vegetables wilt, they are in the state that will preserve their food value for the longest possible time. Masanobu Fukuoka orange vegetables meditation If a farmer does abandon his or her "tame" fields completely to nature, mistakes and destruction are inevitable. Masanobu Fukuoka fields doe mistake Straw mulch, a ground cover of white clover interplanted with the crops, and temporary flooding all provide effective weed control in my fields. Masanobu Fukuoka weed fields white PART 2 THE ROAD TO NATURAL FARMING [page 197] ... D. From Organic Farming to Natural Farming [page 205] In the future, American agriculture will probably grow even larger on business capital, but on the other hand, people who are inclined to using natural methods will probably progress from organic to natural farming. The problem, however, is that the distinction between organic and natural farming is still not generally understood. Of course, scientific farming and organic farming are not that different, and fundamentally both can be called scientific. Consequently, the boundary between them is unclear. The major objective of the international conference I attended on this [1986] visit to the U.S. was to assess the current world situation and to determine in which direction to move in the future. In more concrete terms, the goal was to examine how various farming methods now being practised, such as permaculture, organic farming, and other methods based on new ideas, relate to each other and to what extent they can act in concert. I may just be feathering my own nest, but as far as I can see, the only way is to follow the road back to nature, bearing in mind an Oriental natural philosophy. I believe that in doing this, we will establish techniques that go beyond our present technology. Although this philosophy still takes various forms and names, it is clear that the thought underlying it is my "Green Philosophy" as I described it in The One–Straw Revolution. It is fine to turn gradually from organic farming onto the road that leads to anti-scientific farming. It is fine to set our sights on farming that perpetuates itself infinitely and on a return to nature, even while enjoying life on a designed farm. But these must not end up as microscopic techniques and should not be used as temporary fads. Even though we have these at our command, at the core there must be a natural philosophy, in order to establish a farming method that will become the great principle of an agriculture that continues infinitely. Masanobu Fukuoka
