Visiting distinctive urban farms in Kyoto (July 25, 2013)

     Students of the Graduate School of Agriculture visited farms in Kamigamo, Kyoto city, as a part of the “Sustainable Agriculture” lecture series.

     Firstly, they visited Morita farm and were given a lecture on the history of Kyo-yasai (special traditional vegetables of Kyoto) and the latest cultivation systems to sustain this tradition. They were also allowed to step into a greenhouse, where high quality Kamonasu (eggplant) are being cultivated. Students were deeply impressed and moved by Mr. Morita’s continuous innovations to produce safe and tasty vegetables.

     Next, they visited Kishimoto farm and were introduced to a hydroponic tomato production system that uses an elevated rock wool bed and fertigation. They leant about this advanced culture system, which monitors environmental factors, such as temperature and solar radiation, as well as how much and how often the crops are feed liquid fertilizer. This generated lots of questions from the students.

 

Students carefully listening to lecture	Kamonasu (eggplant) in greenhouse
Lecture about tomato hydroponics	Tomatoes to be harvested