The hands picking vegetables in the fields look just like they're cooking a meal. They pluck Brussels sprouts from their stalks and pull baby carrots from the soil. "I even put the small carrots I thin out into salads as they are. The leaves are delicious, too." Vegetables come in three varieties: early, peak, and late. Vegetables at the peak are prized in supermarkets, but whether they're early or late, they can be delicious if you use creative cooking methods. It's natural for vegetables to have dirt on them, and it's natural for them to be unevenly shaped. "For example, the reason the tops of carrots and radishes are split in two is because a big stone was found there when they were pulled out. They're short because a mole had passed underneath and there was no soil. You start to understand these reasons when you're in the fields."
Kinugawa Momen and his partner Kinugawa Akira harvest vegetables. "There was a day like The Day when Akira became vegan, and it all started from there." When they decided not to eat meat or fish, they wanted to grow the vegetables they eat themselves. That's why they decided to become farmers. 
Harvest Commons is a field of about 2 tan (about 2000 square meters, 600 tsubo) located near Chigasaki Satoyama Park. For a monthly subscription fee of 11,000 yen, people grow vegetables in a community where they are free to come and pick whenever they want. There are currently 27 groups participating, and Kinugawa Momen and his wife Akira are also members. 
In addition to the fields at Harvest Commons, Yaichi Farm also grows vegetables on a field of about 5 tan in Chigasaki. Kinugawa Akira was originally born in Chigasaki. "Once I started farming, I couldn't move, so I thought it would be good to have land that I was attached to. Vegetables don't take root in places where I don't intend to put down roots."
This farming method, known as no-till farming, involves no tilling of the soil. As living roots continue to grow, they cultivate the soil, and once it becomes fertile, vegetables grow naturally. No pesticides or herbicides are used. "Rather than bringing in something from outside, we rely on what's in the field. We cut the grass that grows here and leave it there. It leaches out as nitrogen, which slowly but surely benefits the crops, though not immediately." With growing awareness of food safety and environmental issues, no-till farming has once again drawn attention. The impact of COVID-19 has also played a major role in shifting consumer values. Environmentally regenerative organic farming is known in English as regenerative organic agriculture. It's a farming method that literally connects to a new era and the next generation.
However, he says, "the sense of rightness came later." It's a simple desire to know what you want to eat and to want to grow your own food. He trained at a no-till farm, and he had so much fun weeding with just a sickle that he instinctively knew this was what he wanted to do. "It's good to have fun. I don't think the world will change with just being right. And deliciousness is also a big reason." We all eat. Even if you're a consumer and not a farmer, you can vote three times a day to ensure the survival of this planet.
In no-till fields, the soil gradually becomes more fertile. "The soil in plowed fields is loose and fine, but when it gets wet it hardens. The soil in no-till fields becomes small, water-filled aggregates that retain water well. And because water passes through the gaps between the aggregates, it also has good drainage." 
"Ah, a frog!" In the fertile soil, frogs, microorganisms, earthworms, and small animals will increase in number. "Even without using a tiller, the creatures living in the soil are tilling the soil." As a result, good soil will be restored, even if it takes time. 
Kinugawa Momota laughs, saying, "Since I started farming, I've gained the muscles to squat and move sideways." The fields cultivate a variety of crops, and at the moment there are broccoli, an Italian vegetable called carbonero, rape blossoms, and more. "They're really delicious when you boil them or stir-fry them." 
Carrots do not have a strong ability to lift up the soil, so they are thinned out little by little from the field to help them grow larger. "Some restaurants ask for the little baby carrots that we pull out to thin them out." No part of the vegetables that require so much care is wasted. 
They don't use large machinery like tractors. They basically work by hand, with only one tool being a sickle. On this day, they harvested this much vegetables in just 30 minutes. Now, what kind of dish should they make? 
"It's hard to make a living from farming full-time," he says. As a way to increase the number of people willing to take on the inefficiency, he makes vegan ice cream and holds miso-making workshops.
Six years into farming, he feels that the sense of touch is extremely important. "I sow seeds with my bare hands. I measure how many seeds fall into the soil by hand, and then sow them more slowly or more quickly." The quality of the soil can also be determined by direct contact with your hands. "My hands are faster at measuring the moisture content of the soil than using a hygrometer. For example, last July there wasn't a single rainfall, so even at times like that, when I feel it with my hands, I instantly think about how to manage it so that the soil doesn't dry out." He doesn't even wear gloves when handling vegetables. Has this meant that he has become so sensitive to flavor that he can sense it with his hands? "No, not to that extent. But I do love eating vegetables with dirty hands." It's fun to grow them, and delicious to eat. Talking about and sharing that with others is where happiness comes from.
