▼ Charcoal spreading (February)

Work in the apple orchard begins during the winter. The high altitude and snow are the reasons why our orchard is located at the northern limit of the Hida apple growing region. Spring comes late in snow-covered Hida, so work is concentrated in early spring. By spreading charcoal, one of the basic tools of electro cultivation, the charcoal absorbs sunlight, gains heat, and melts the snow. Once the charcoal reaches the surface, it penetrates into the ground through the work of plants and animals, promoting microbial activity. This forms a granular structure, which allows the plants to take on better roots. The winter season is also an important preparation time before the plants begin to grow.

▼ Pruning and training work (February to April)

The branches that grew the previous year are cut off and the tree is shaped. Pruning is one of the most important management tasks. How you prune the tree can make a big difference in the apple yield and tree growth that year. Apple pruning is particularly complex and requires skilled techniques.

▼ Fruit thinning (rough fruit thinning, late May to mid-June)

On apples, five flowers bloom in a radial pattern from the bud. Flowering apples consist of a central flower and four side flowers. When the flowers fall and the fruit begins to form, the fruit thinning process begins. Basically, the central flower, which tends to hold a uniform shape and grow large, is left and the side flowers are cut off, but if the central flower is damaged by frost or other factors, the side flowers, which bloom later, are used. In recent years, apples have become more susceptible to frost due to the effects of global warming, and there are more cases where these side flowers are left.

▼ Chemical spraying (during the growing season)

Apples are particularly delicate among fruit trees and are cultivated crops, so spraying with pesticides is necessary, except for some wild species. However, we are working to reduce the use of pesticides as much as possible in order to produce safe food.

- Electronic techniques help trees grow healthier and more resistant to diseases.

・We also spray highly safe pesticides (which are not counted as pesticides and have been used for a long time and have clear effects) that are also used in grape cultivation in Bordeaux, and strive to reduce the use of pesticides as much as possible.

- We check the trees almost every day, and when signs of disease or insect damage are found, we spray the appropriate amount of pesticides without spraying any more than necessary.

▼Leaf picking (August to October)

Leaf removal is a process in which light is applied to the entire apple, improving color and increasing sugar content. Removing too many leaves inhibits photosynthesis and actually worsens the taste, so only the right amount of leaves are removed. With the help of part-time workers, the process is carried out carefully on each and every apple.

▼ Ball spinning (September to November)

Like picking the leaves, this is a task to expose the apples to light. To prevent bruising, the apples are turned by hand, and light is directed to the sides that are in the shade of leaves and branches and that are not exposed to the sun. This allows the apples to color all over, resulting in bright red apples with no unevenness.

▼Harvest (September to early December)

The long-awaited harvest is finally here. We start by picking apples that are well colored, and check this year's yield and harvest volume (rough estimate). We harvest by variety while keeping an eye on the overall condition. As an apple farmer, this is the happiest time of the year, but also the busiest time.

▼Sorting (September to December)

We sort the harvested apples by size (number of apples) and quality (excellent, superior, etc.) and decide how many boxes we can send. At this point, we are finally able to accept orders from customers. Please check the electronic cultivation Hida apple page for the characteristics of each variety and the start date for orders.