Takadai Meadows at Niseko

This first year has been a trial year with us taking the time to study the land and get a feel for what it is capable of.  Everyday we see something new and as the year progresses we get new perspectives.

After a lot of hard work we are starting to see some of the fruits of our labours. As a trial we started a vegetable stand in Hirafu, Niseko. It was an interesting study in human nature sitting inside the cafe watching customers and their reaction to the vegetables and honesty box system. On one wet and windy day the prices blew away and customers were unsure of how much to pay, there was some initial hesitation while they thought about the work and effort of both man and nature to create food for their table and then the money went into the money box. We were pleasantly surprised to find that takings for that day were three times the usual daily average. 

September is the month of harvest in Hokkaido and we were able to share the bounty of Takadai with 140 visitors to the Ridgerunner International Charity Cricket Competition. Dennis and Jenn selected some of the finest vegetables and one of first pigs for the table, and spent three days cooking and preparing for the dinner. It was very satisfying to hear comments about the quality of food and especially the taste of our little piggy that went to market. 

During the cricket weekend we had visitors from Hong Kong and Tokyo. It was a very gratifying experience having them visit the farm and try  eating freshly picked vegetables, wander the farm, experience a new concept called silence. One commented that this was what life used to be like before we all turned into money traders. 

August is a month of high temperatures, good rain fall and nature working at its’ best. When not weeding the fields we spent the time preparing new fields for next year. 

The little piggies are not so little now and are growing every day. They love hiding in the long grass and rooting around for tasty little morsels to add to their diet. They are living up to their reputation as living compost machines. We have cut one field in half to do a controlled study next year - half will be the area that has been worked by the pigs and the other half will be the area using other natural fertilizer.