Dr.Teruo Higa’s
Living A Dream

I am working to expand the limits of what we can accomplish with EM by steadily deepening its application in the Blue Sky Palace, which is now surrounded by a veritable jungle of bananas, guava, Java apples, acerola cherries, pitanga, carissa, and eucalyptus. They all now serve as windbreaks.

The Blue Sky Palace was originally a dump sire for construction debris, with extremely hard soil that could not be dug out, even when I used all my weight on a shovel, and soil that did not support healthy plant growth no matter what was planted. However, the soil has been gradually converted to good EM soil and now the area is producing an abundance of delicious bananas of extremely high quality and high hado.

Blue Sky Palace aims to pursue maximum production space through implementing EM technology. I began by re-using organic matter from the garden to increase the density of EM, but I was so busy then that I couldn’t keep it up for long, and when visitors stopped by I had to give them half-apologetic explanations.

However, the situation changed drastically after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Most of my lectures and meetings were now being held via ZOOM, and weekly business trips were reduced to only once or twice a year, giving me additional time to spare for the garden. Since then, I have undertaken the challenge of creating the ultimate production space.

To achieve this, I believe it is necessary to employ EM technology-intensive farming and set quotas on my production sites, and I am working to regularly ship high-hado produce to the EM Wellness Kurashino Hakko Lifestyle Resort Okinawa.

Currently, my goal is to deliver over ten kilograms of bananas per week, and one kilogram each of Madeira vine and Peucedanum japonicum every two weeks, with the rest being distributed to neighbors or used to help with self-sufficiency. The key is to increase the density of EM in the entire environment and strengthen the EM barrier. Every morning and evening, I repeat words of thanks to EM, and I use high-hado EM Gravitron charcoal to increase the hado of the salt. I think the key is to mix this with organic matter and use it as fertilizer.

As I introduced in the previous article, Iwate Compost Co., Ltd.’s pellet-type Cosmo Green has the versatility of EM. If you spread organic matter in the area where you plan to plant, then for each ten ares apply fifty kilograms EM Gravitron charcoal, fifty kilograms of Cosmo Green, and 200 liters of activated EM seawater, the soil will be instantly transformed into fertile soil.

The temperature in July this year was 1.5℃ higher than average, and I planted Egyptian spinach, Okra, Miyako azuki bean, Japanese sweet potato to help get us through this unusually hot weather. In October, after taking full advantage of this hot season, I will begin virus-free confirmation tests on potatoes harvested last year.

By using Cosmo Green effectively, continuous cultivation has become easier, and every day brings some new, joyous development.

A Papaya Tree Loaded with Huge Papayas at a Private House in Miyakojima “It's Amazing How Much They've Grown"

A papaya tree planted in the garden of Ms. Mori Taira (79) in Gusukube, Miyakojima City, is loaded with huge fruits more than 30 centimeters long. Ms. Taira was surprised herself, exclaiming, “It's amazing how much they've grown! People come to take a peek at them since they are such an unusual size.” Last winter, she planted papaya seeds given to her by an acquaintance, and they grew rapidly. The largest fruit was 18 cm in diameter. She says she had an even larger one but gave it away to her friend. “Looking back, maybe I should have kept it,” she said with a smile. Her husband, Tetsuo (deceased), took especially care to prepare the soil in the garden. Mrs. Taira noted that, “Garlic chives, garlic, leafy vegetables or anything else, all grow very well in my garden.”

(Reported by Manabu Toyama of Miyakojima branch)

Courtesy of Okinawa Times, August 5, 2024