Agriculture experience of tea nursery planting on Makinohara upland.
For 3 days from 18th to 20th March, an agriculture experience of tea nursery planting was held for local people and tea fanciers. This experience event was organized by a tea merchant and a local tea production cooperative in Makinohara, in their hope that people become familiar to tea production and culture, fond of teas, and as a result, teas provide them healthy and happy lives. Based on the hope, the organizers, including the tea merchant, its staffs, tea farmers and their families, have prepared each program in this event.
At first, the staffs guided the visitors to the farmland they will plant tea nurseries.
On the way to the farm, other staffs gave some quiz games to the visitors about something related to tea, such as culture, horticulture, domestic market and so on.
Children enjoyed playing the quizzes and most of them could choose right answers. They would become more familiar to teas by these quizzes.
On the farmland, tea farmers explained and demonstrated how to plant tea nurseries.
(1) Making holes on the mulch film at even intervals
(2) Planting a tea nursery by using a specific apparatus
(3) Earthing up
(4) Supplying water
Child participants worked hard, so planting run on very rapidly.
The organizers served baked sweet potatoes and Japanese soup so-called “Tonjiru”, the miso soup containing pork meat.
Tea nursery planted on the event is “Minamisayaka” cultivar, which is suited to the light oxidized tea like oolong tea. Lately the preference of young people became shifted to aromatic flavor. For more satisfaction of younger customers, the tea merchant determined to ask tea farmers to replant the optimal cultivar. At the same time, they thought they could make customers more satisfied by the event of nursery planting experience.
Furthermore, this story will go on till the tea plants planted by customers will come to an end of their duration. After 4 years, “Minamisayaka” planted on this event will grow enough to be plucked, it means the child participants may enjoy “Minamisayaka” tea, possibly they could enjoy hand-plucking. After a few decades, they could come to enjoy “Miyamisayaka” teas with their family as a daily routine or they might get to make someone happy by brewing “Minamisayaka” teas. Tea nurseries planted in this event will grow along with the participants’ growth.
This event of tea nursery planting would create various possibilities for their future.
Tea plants have their long story to provide teas and the corresponding benefits for us.
Hopefully tea nurseries planted today will provide many happiness for the visitors and their family.
