Hello Farm Organics would like to send out a warm and heartfelt thank you to all our customers, volunteers, retailers, friends and family who have supported us in our second full year of production here in Keihoku, Kyoto. We very much feel we are still learning the local climate, pest management techniques and soil fertility balance, and look forward to our ongoing learning next year. Overall, it was a successful year, full of events, triumphs, challenges, good times, and hard work. Here are some highlights.
In September, we became a registered WWOOF farm (World Wide Organization of Organic Farms). We have already had some wonderful memory-making moments with excellent helpers. Gambarou!
All season we were constantly amazed at how the natural world finds a balance within our own garden. This Mud Dauber wasp is a natural a welcome predator, helping our Kale and brasica plants survive moth caterpillar attacks. Thanks, guys!
In November, there was flooding in the Kyoto area due to a typhoon. Luckily, we only sustained some damage to leafy crops and all our tomato trellises fell down. We consider ourselves lucky as many local fields were devastated by mud slides.
We enjoyed exploring new and exciting varieties of fruits and vegetables for our customers. These Purple Tomatillo were excellent for salsa. Next year, we plan to grow organic rice for the first time, as well as Elephant Garlic, and more.
We also continued saving as much of our own seed as possible. In this picture, we discovered that Okra seed can cross pollinate, meaning different varieties need to be planted separately, at greater distances from one-another.
We wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season. We really look forward to garden adventures in 2014 as our community grows and flourishes. Thank you, everyone!!!
Hello Farm 