We work on the farm, sweat, and eat.
How long has it been since you started working in the fields?
Ikeuchi:I have been working in this field for about 3 years, but I actually started 5 years ago. We started out with a shared field in the city center.
When you first started out, you lived in Tokyo, didn't you?
Ikeuchi:That's right. After that, I moved to my current location and started working in earnest.
Is the reason you moved here because you wanted to feel closer to agriculture?
Ikeuchi:That's not all. I like nature, so I want to go to the beach and camp. One of the reasons for this was to have a farm, and I wanted to spend more time in nature. It is more pleasant to be here in nature than shopping in the city.
Can you tell us how you got started in farming?
Ikeuchi:A friend of mine invited me to a shared farm in the city center. It was a light-hearted invitation, like, "Won't you join us for a bit? It was a light-hearted kind of thing.
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Were you always interested in it?
Ikeuchi:That's right. I had a simple desire to eat vegetables I grew myself, and I also wanted to acquire the skills to grow vegetables for my future life. I have always liked vegetables, especially tomatoes.
Have you already planted tomatoes here in the field?
Ikeuchi:We did it, all over the field. It was the best time of harvest, and we drank wine while we ate the tomatoes (laughs). But once you plant tomatoes, you can't grow good tomatoes the next year. I regretted so much that I should have cut the field in half instead of covering it with tomatoes.
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What are you growing now?
Ikeuchi:The upper field is for potatoes and red onions, and the lower field is for garlic and beets, as well as dill and pak choi. The red onion and garlic were planted last fall and will be harvested this fall.
Have you actually changed since you started farming?
Ikeuchi:After all, we are sensitive to the taste of vegetables. I sometimes feel the difference between vegetables from the supermarket and those from the direct sales market, and the same goes for vegetables harvested at my own place. Leafy greens, in particular, have a completely different taste and texture.
Mr. Ikeuchi's fields are organically grown, but that is not the case with supermarket products.
Ikeuchi:Yes, yes. But it is difficult. If you grow only organically, it is impossible for farmers to make a living. I am also an organic farmer, but the year before last, when I planted black tomatoes and was about to harvest them, they were all eaten by insects. So it is difficult to grow everything.
Are there any other physical or mental changes?
Ikeuchi:When I am tinkering with the soil, I feel mindless and detoxified. And it simply feels good (laughs). Working on the farm and sweating it out. And the food afterwards is delicious. In the summer, it's really hard work because it's so hot.
