Wednesday, May 14, 2025
On Monday, May 12th, at Takada Farm, work was underway to prune and set up fruiting poles for the sunflower watermelons.
Pinching, pruning (string repair, string pulling), bud removal
After planting the sunflower watermelon seedlings, the work to be done is pinching the tops, pruning the branches (resetting and pulling the strings), and thinning out the buds.
Pinching involves removing the tip of the growing point to encourage the growth of the small strings. Pruning involves leaving a few healthy strings from among the small strings that have grown.
Tomoyuki Tamashima (trainee)
"We separate the tangled parts of the five strings that have grown, and arrange them so that each string grows straight.
This year, fruiting has been delayed and nutrients have been going to the strings, so we are pruning the excess strings (grandchild strings).
Furthermore, new shoots are coming out at the base of the plants, so we are thinning them out," said Tamashima Tomoyuki (trainee).

Tomomi Takeshita (part-time worker)
"It's very hot and tough inside the house, like a sauna, but I like it because there's a lot of detailed work to do.
It's fascinating to watch the watermelons grow day by day. They get bigger every time I come, so I've grown attached to them and find them really cute.
"I was surprised at how much detailed work and effort goes into growing watermelons," said Takeshita with a smile.
Fruit bearing pole stand
Akimitsu Takada
"This year was cold and there was little sunlight, so some of the early planted ones did not bear much fruit," says Takada Akimitsu.
"When the fruit reaches the size of a ping-pong ball, we set up the fruiting poles.
Place a watermelon mat under the fruit and set a fruiting stake on the side."
"You want five strings of fruit to grow from one plant, and three to five balls from one string. It's not good to have too many.
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 bees, and beehives have been installed inside the greenhouse.
Recently, it has become difficult to secure honeybees, so we are considering overwintering bees with queen bees."
fertilizer
"We use the amino acid vitamin concentrated organic liquid fertilizer "Shin Amivita No. 1" as fertilizer. We dilute Shin Amivita No. 1 with water and apply it by pouring it into a watering tube.
I first came across this organic liquid fertilizer 30 years ago. It had been available at the Fukagawa branch since then, so I asked Hokuryu Agricultural Cooperative to stock it and started buying it in bulk.
Nitrogen-based organic fertilizer is one of the three elements of fertilizer and has a significant impact on the growth of stems and leaves.
Phosphate-based liquid fertilizers increase sugar content, make the tree 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.
"When used when the leaves are weak, it has an immediate effect, and is so effective that the leaves stand up firmly the next day," explains Takada Akimitsu in detail.

Puddling rice fields
Water was poured into the rice fields on the farm, and the plowing work was underway. The person carefully operating the tractor was Takada Toshiki, the representative of Takada Co., Ltd.
Puddling finely tills the soil and flattens the surface, cutting the roots of weeds to suppress their growth, and distributing nutrients evenly throughout the soil, promoting uniform rice growth.
The sunflower watermelons are grown with great care and attention by the farmers, who pour a lot of love into them.
With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers for the great "Sunflower Watermelons" that grow healthily with each passing day...
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◇ Photography, editing, and website management: Noboru Terauchi Writer: Ikuko Terauchi
