Wednesday, May 14, 2025
On Monday, May 12th, at Takada Farm, work was underway to prune the sunflower watermelons and install fruit-bearing poles.
Pinching, pruning (string straightening, string pulling), bud removal
After planting the sunflower watermelon seedlings, the work to be done is pinching off the tops, pruning the branches (straightening and pulling the strings), and thinning out the buds.
Pinching involves removing the tips of the growing points to encourage the growth of the small strings. Pruning involves leaving a few healthy strings from among the growing small strings.
Tomoyuki Tamashima (trainee)
"Let go of the entangled parts of the five strings that have grown, and arrange them so that each string grows straight.
This year, fruit set has been delayed and nutrients have gone to the strings, so we are pruning the extra strings (grandchild strings).
In addition, new shoots are appearing at the base of the plants, so we are thinning them out," said Tamashima Tomoyuki (trainee).

Tomomi Takeshita (part-time worker)
"It's really hard work inside the house, it's like a sauna, and it's really hot, but I like it because there's a lot of detailed work to do.
It's interesting to watch the watermelons grow day by day. They get bigger every time I come here, so I've grown attached to them and they seem so cute.
"I was surprised at how much detailed work goes into growing watermelons and how much effort it takes," said Takeshita with a smile.
Hello, I am in charge of the Japanese section of the travel agency "SawasdeeAngkorTour" located on Khao San Road.
Fruit bearing pole stand
Akimitsu Takada
"This year it was cold and there was little sunlight, so some of the plants that were planted early did not bear much fruit," says Takada Akimitsu.
"When the fruit grows to the size of a ping-pong ball, we set up the fruit setting pole.
Place a watermelon mat under the fruit and set a fruiting pole on the side.”
“You want five strings to grow from one plant, and three to five fruit from one string. Too many fruit is not good either.
The ones with a bulge at the base are female flowers, and those without a bulge are male flowers," says Takada.
"Watermelons are pollinated by honeybees, and we have beehives set up inside the greenhouse.
Recently, it has become difficult to secure honeybees, so we are considering overwintering the queen bees."
fertilizer
"For fertilizer, we use the amino acid vitamin concentrated organic liquid fertilizer "Shin Amivita No. 1". Shin Amivita No. 1 is diluted with water and applied by pouring it into a water tube.
I first came across this organic liquid fertilizer 30 years ago. It was already available at the Fukagawa branch office at that time, so I asked Hokuryu Agricultural Cooperative to stock it and started buying it in bulk.
The M-Phosphorus System is a farming method that uses phosphoric acid to grow healthy and delicious crops. Mizuho Co., Ltd. aims to promote the development of agriculture through the spread of the M-Phosphorus System.
Nitrogen-based organic fertilizer is one of the three elements of fertilizer and has a significant effect on the growth of stems and leaves.
Phosphate-based liquid fertilizers increase sugar content, make trees hard and strong, improve root development, and promote flowering, fruiting, and coloring.
We use "P Fosta" (foliar spray material), a powder containing magnesium, which has a synergistic effect with phosphoric acid.
"It has an immediate effect when used when the leaves are weak, and is so effective that the leaves stand up firmly the next day," Takada Akimitsu carefully explained.

Plowing the rice fields
Water had been poured into the rice fields on the farm, and the plowing work was underway. The person carefully operating the tractor was Toshiki Takada, president of Takada Co., Ltd.
Puddling finely tills the soil and makes the surface flat. It cuts the roots of weeds to suppress their growth and distributes nutrients evenly throughout the soil, promoting uniform growth of rice plants.
The sunflower watermelons are grown with lots of love and care by the farmers, who grow them with great care every day.
With boundless love, gratitude and prayers to the great "Sunflower Watermelons" that grow healthily day by day...
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◇ Photography, editing and website management: Noboru Terauchi Writer: Ikuko Terauchi
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