Natural selection
The sun-bronzed Lin Yi-lung, who established the Hsiayun Natural Living Farm in Taitung last year, is collecting seeds in what looks like a vegetable garden overrun with weeds.
Unlike the manipulative precision of plant hybridization, a field in which Taiwan excels, natural farming relies on nature's power, giving plants the job of natural selection. Lin argues that one shouldn't think of plants as lacking wisdom. In fact, they are quite intelligent and carry memories of the environment in their genes. After propagating for a number of generations, they produce special characteristics that better suit them to the local ecology and climate. These naturally evolved plants are very hardy and have strong resistance to pests and disease.
For a newcomer to natural farming such as Lin, it will take at least eight years of gathering successive generations of seeds from the F1 (hybridized) plants grown in the first season before the genes can strengthen and learn to "survive independently in nature."
So-called "F1" seeds are created by crossbreeding two different species of plants. These F1 seeds, touted as "improved varieties" by their marketers, have some advantages, but the seedlings rely heavily on fertilizers and pesticides. And the generations of seeds that follow are often of uneven quality and pose great challenges to natural farmers.
"Watching bugs eat one's crop is a unpleasant experience that farmers new to shumei frequently have to bear. Often, the plants are entirely devoured, so that collecting seeds is impossible," explains Lin. "Even if there are healthy plants with seeds, the next year it's often the case of 'a tiger siring a dog,' and growth isn't as one had anticipated."
Chen, who had abundant experience with her family's vegetable garden before she became a professional farmer, once used seeds that had proved quite stable through four years only to lose the next year's crop after she had sowed when conditions were wetter than usual. But she has also experienced smashing successes, such as okra that she "trained" for over ten years in the wild to grow seedpods that are 25 centimeters long yet very tender when cooked, and daikon radishes so huge that old local conventional farmers can't help but mutter their praise.
Chien Ya-ling has a degree in horticulture from National Taiwan University. Last year she joined the Bulaubulau Farm in Ilan's Hanhsi, where she is responsible for agricultural planning. "Plants are like people, with particular environments that suit them. When they move, they've got to adjust. So the same plant grown in different nations, or even just in different counties or towns, will grow differently, due to differences in soil, climate and water quality." For instance, seeds that Chen Hui-wen collects in Taipei County might not do so well if Lin Yi-lung were to try to plant them in Taitung.