http://www.takadainiseko.com Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:16:40 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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 ... http://www.takadainiseko.com/september-2008-this-little-piggy-went-to-market [gallery] 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 ... http://www.takadainiseko.com/august-2008-ssshhhh-natures-working [gallery=16] We bought seven little Kenborough piglets from Membetsu. They are only one month old here, but already uprooting the soil. The plan is for them to free range on the grasslands, root up the weeds and naturally fertilize the soil before ending up on a spit in December. Dennis has ... http://www.takadainiseko.com/piggies [gallery=15] Our 6 July Revitalising Rural Japan forum was an opportunity to introduce locals to Takadai meadows. Attended by approximately 80 people, who were mostly local farmers, curious citizens, former residents and also several non-Japanese who came up specially to see us in action. RidgeRunner Executive Director Sasaki Tadashi was first ... http://www.takadainiseko.com/july-2008-revitalising-rural-japan [gallery=14] Visits to and from the Sapporo to the farm have increased in time due to the roads being filled with police vehicles with flashing lights driving at just below the speed limit. We are planning our first event to try to help promote the Niseko area's  agri-tourism potential. We have gathered ... http://www.takadainiseko.com/july-2008-g8-hokkaido-preparation [gallery=10] June has been spent with Dennis, Jenn and Nick (unwilling worker on organic farm) feverishly preparing fields, putting up the greenhouse, seeding plants and sewing crops. This year there is a lot of work required in adjusting the soil quality. We have planted clover, mustard and sun flowers as cover crops ... http://www.takadainiseko.com/june-2008 [gallery=1] May sees the Niseko snow melted and the days warm enough for planting outside. Even though Takadai has a lot of wild mountain grapes (Yama Budou) we are not sure if we can successfully grow wine grapes here or not. This year we have chosen to trial 800 vines ... http://www.takadainiseko.com/may-2008-new-plantings [gallery=12] Everyone else got ready for Golden Week holidays - bike trips, beach trips, shopping trips but we got stuck on the farm getting ready for planting. One of the biggest jobs is keeping the sasa bamboo down. Even with an excavator and powerful slasher it is a time consuming job. ... http://www.takadainiseko.com/april-2008 [gallery=6] The winter set in and the Annupuri side of the mountain received its normal quota of 15 metres (45 ft) of snow, the Konbu side doesn't get so much snow but still enough to make visiting the site a snow shoe or skidoo expedition. Winter when not working was ... http://www.takadainiseko.com/dec-2007-mar-2008 [gallery=9] During October and November we had Jenn out attacking the head high grass and bamboo while prospective farm manager Dennis and I walked and drove over the land trying to get a feeling for what lay beneath the scrub. There were 2 choices - carefully cut the fallen trees and ... http://www.takadainiseko.com/november-2007