[Company-grown Branches] Early Summer Branch Planting in Nakanojo Town, Gunma Prefecture | August 2025

Mr. Hida is a member of the Regional Revitalization Cooperation Team in Nakanojo Town, Gunma Prefecture, known as the "Town of Flowers and Hot Springs" for its thriving cultivation of cut flowers and flowering trees. He is currently venturing into cultivating flowering trees locally.

In early summer, from May to June, small saplings were planted in the newly prepared fields.

After removing previously planted willows and preparing the soil, the fields were ready for planting. Finally, it was time to plant.

The first step in planting was to create flat ridges for laying down mulch. Since the field was small, this was done manually with a hoe rather than machinery.

[*] A material used to cover furrows in a field where crops are grown. It has various benefits, including regulating soil temperature, suppressing weeds, retaining soil moisture, and preventing diseases.

Once the ridges were formed, mulch was laid down, covered with soil by hand to secure it, and then holes were made at the planting locations.

This time, 140 corkscrew willows were planted. These were rooted in plenty of water and then carefully planted one by one to avoid damaging their roots. The sight of the small saplings lined up was endearing.

Although this task is usually done around March, it was moved to June due to field preparation, but thankfully the plants seem to have settled in well. Corkscrew willows grow quickly, so there are high hopes for how much they will grow over the summer.

In mid-May, Mr. Hasegawa, who cultivates branches in Toyooka Village, Nagano Prefecture, provided us with Eucalyptus polyanthemos seedlings.

Eucalyptus is also a fast-growing species. This is exciting as well.