A Beginner’s Guide to Miyawaki Method of Tree Plantation Innovated and pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, the Miyawaki technique is an effective, smart, and a sustainable way to build native, dense forests. What makes this renowned method so efficacious is its ability to ensure 10x faster plant growth and a plantation that is 30x denser than the traditional methods of growing forests. The secret to achieving these incredible results lies in planting dozens of native species close to each other. This leads to the growth of a forest that can become maintenance-free after the first two years! Let us dive deeper and look at the basic steps to create such forests in small urban areas.
Step 1: Know the Texture of Your Soil Understanding the texture of your soil helps determine its capacity for holding water, the capacity of root perforation, water infiltration, and retention of nutrients. Carry out a ribbon test to find out what type of particles your soil contains. Notice if the soil texture is clayey, sandy, or loamy. Loamy soils are preferable as it contains a mixture of sand, clay, silt, and organic matter. They also provide the right balance of oxygen, water, nutrients, and drainage for the forest to blossom. Ingredients for the Soil ● Adding perforator materials such as wheat, groundnut shells, corn husk, rice husk will significantly improve perforation and help the roots to grow. ● Next, add water retainers to help the soil retain water and moisture. Materials such as sugarcane stalk and cocopeat are great options. ● For the soil to receive nutrition, organic fertilizers such as vermicompost, cow manure can be used. ● The final step would be to add a layer of mulch as it protects and insulates the soil. It also prevents sun rays to fall directly on the soil and ensures that the water in the soil does not evaporate. Some excellent options are dried grass, dried leaves, barley stalk, wheat stalk, rice straw, and corn stalk.