Buddhist farming

Workless farming? Those two words seem to be an oxymoron. Well, not to Fukuoka Masanobu, the author of "The One Straw Revoluntion"and the founder of the Fukuoka method of farming.

His philosophy is that we should learn how to do less with plants to get more yield, instead of conventional farming, which is to work more for the plant (e.g. use pesticides so the plant doesn't need to fight of pests), so that the plant can concentrate on growing.

He spent 30 years perfecting a system to grow food with the least energy. He has four principles: No cultivation. No fertilizer. No weeding. No pesticides. He claims he can produce enough food to match conventional farming techniques on the same amount of land.

Here's an example of his method (from wikipedia):

There is no plowing, as the seed germinates quite happily on the surface if the right conditions are provided. There is also considerable emphasis on maintaining diversity. A ground cover of white clover grows under the grain plants to provide nitrogen. Weeds (and Daikons) are also considered part of the ecosystem, periodically cut and allowed to lie on the surface so the nutrients they contain are returned to
the soil. Ducks are let into the grain plot, and specific insectivorous carp into the rice paddy at certain times of the year to eat slugs and other pests.The ground
is always covered. As well as the clover and weeds, there is the straw from the previous crop, which is used as mulch, and each grain crop is sown before the previous one is harvested. This is done by broadcasting the seed among the standing crop. Also he re-introduced the ancient technique of seed balls. The seed for next season's crop is mixed with clay, compost, and sometimes manure, and formed into small balls. The result is a denser crop of smaller but highly productive and stronger plants.

He continued on this path of farming because of inspiration from Buddhism: the concept of "mu," which means nothingness, to return to a state of "do-nothing." (Hard to understand for me western types...do nothing sounds just lazy).

I think more parts of our life can be like the Fukuoka method of farming.