Designing Ecological Habitats - Gaia Education

organic growing for community self-sufficiency 109
de-emphasized. An environment is created that excludes bacterium harmful
toward life by putting priority on good bacterium through the spraying of
Konohana-kin in the beehives and mixing it in their food and water. The
enzymes refined from Konohana-kin have the ability to circulate life, so
naturally it works for the health of the bees effectively. It is also thought that
the surviving good bacterium enhances the immune system of bees, and that
creates a condition of disease resistance.
History of Konohana’s Agricultural Practice
Konohana Family gradually began converting its production method to the
‘Carbon Circulation Method’ (CCM) starting in July 2009. Until then, we
had utilized the organic fertilizer that can be obtained locally as mentioned
above.
The quality of the local land was poor, particularly in the beginning, so
we applied local organic material such as fallen leaves, reeds and poultry
manure to the soil. Later, the area of land that we cultivated increased so
we could not get enough fallen leaves and reeds for all fields; therefore, we
applied 1.5 tons of poultry manure per 10 acres of land. This method gave
good results at the beginning. However, insect damage and plant disease
grew worse. Those phenomena made us realize that we put too much
fertilizer, so we reduced the amount to between 400 and 800 kg per 10 acres.
As a result, we had no problem with komatuna, 4 carrots, and daikon, but in
spite of the reduction of fertilizer, we still had pest problems with cabbage
and broccoli. We discovered CCM later as we sought a new solution.
The Carbon Circulation Method (CCM)
We began to grow leafy vegetables such as komatsuna, rocket salad, and
cabbage with this method in July. Currently (October 2010) we are harvesting
them and we have observed significant improvement over the previous crops.
All crops are shiny, the leaves are thick and rich in color (which differs from
the results gained by applying excessive fertilizer), and the taste is consistent.
Here is the procedure: Shred green manure and mix with soil, then add
the activated Konohana-kin solution5 and a small amount of raw rice bran.
Till the soil surface to a shallow depth of 5 centimeters. Wait for one week
as the activated micro-organisms break down the green manure and increase
in numbers. Then, one week later, till the soil deeper to 15 centimeters.
Two weeks after mixing the green manure in the soil, the soil is set to plant
seedlings and sprinkle seeds. Here, Konohana-kin provides an opportunity
for good bacterium and indigenous bacterium to increase their numbers,
and plays a role in encouraging fermentation rather than decay. Until now
it was thought that immature green manure prevents growth; thus we had
always waited for three months after tilling with the green manure.
Life and death always follow each other in the natural world. With
CCM, life energy is passed on from one generation to the next. For example,