Journey to revitalizing a forest in Japan
ForestThere is a place in the forest on a hill where the sunlight shines through the trees nicely. I want to make a wood deck there so I can lie down and relax. Ideally, I want it to be portable so that I can move it to my preferred location. However, it requires more wood...
ForestShiitake mushrooms are broadly classified into two types: those grown on logs and those grown on artificial beds. The ones grown on artificial beds are planted with shiitake mushroom spawn on substrates such as sawdust and are grown in facilities. On the other hand, shiitake mushrooms grown on logs are planted with shiitake mushroom spawn...
ForestI used to think that having more trees meant a better natural environment with more greenery. However, this is not always the case. Especially for forests that have been previously planted by humans, it is important to thin the trees to prevent the forest or mountain from having too many trees. If the trees are...
ForestTo create good soil in a farm, organic matter that serves as food for worms, microorganisms, and other creatures is necessary. Currently, I am growing vegetables for myself in a small farm. To improve the soil in my farm, I use the fallen leaves from this forest to create leaf compost, which I add to...
ForestIn this forest, wild boars and deer sometimes visit, but the wild boars can cause a mess by digging up and destroying the road. They probably do it to eat the insects in the soil, but because they are so strong, they can really damage the road. In the cold mornings and evenings of winter,...
ForestThe best season to mow in the forest has come again! But we don’t need to be so afraid of the hard work because Mr. Nakanishi, that Riding Lawn Mower man came to help me again this year! This is the 3d year for me to mow in this season.Although the bamboo grasses keep growing...
ForestI made a flat area in the forest where we can have a BBQ, and so on, and just had a trial BBQ with some of my friends. It always tastes better to eat outside, but having a BBQ in the forest was just awesome! I made some good friends who help me with the...
ForestI got Mr. Nakanishi to help me to cut the grass in the forest this day. He is one of the friends I made during the training on forestry for 40 days organized by Saitama prefecture. He used to live in Saitama city, the biggest city in Saitama prefecture, but moved to Higashi-Chichibu village, the...
ForestThe forest that I’m maintaining now used to be used to cut the trees for charcoal or plant the trees for building timber. People in Japan lived together with the forests or mountains making good use of them. Nowadays we don’t have a lot of needs for charcoal or building timber any more however, and...
ForestI started cutting these bamboo grasses in the forest last year. They keep growing back again and again every summer after getting cut down using their energy stored in their underground stems. But it obviously seemed like their energy is decreasing with the smaller height of the grasses this year. I’ll cut them down this...
