Reincarnation on a Desert Island, Chapter 7: The Problem of Modern People Having Zero Agricultural Knowledge Revealed While Making a Field

The morning of a day about two months later.
"I'm getting tired of eating the same food every day."
As I was preparing breakfast, we all said the same thing, as if we were in sync.
"We've been eating nothing but fruit lately, haven't we?"
"That's true."
Yumi agreed.
"I'm worried about our nutritional balance. We're getting vitamins, but other nutrients..."
"We're catching fish, too, aren't we?"
Takeshi said.
"But we don't have any vegetables."
"We're not eating rice, either."
"Vegetables..."
Aya fell into thought.
"Indeed, the lack of vegetables is a serious problem."
The four of us looked at each other.
"Why don't we grow vegetables?"
I suggested.
"We can make a field and grow vegetables."
"A field?"
Takeshi tilted his head.
"Can we even do agriculture?"
"Let's give it a try."
Yumi became enthusiastic.
"If we can eat fresh vegetables, it'll be good for our health, too."
"But agriculture seems difficult..."
Aya said worriedly.
"What about seeds? Fertilizer? Watering?"
"Ah..."
We looked at each other. It was true, we knew nothing about agriculture.
"Well, I'm sure we'll manage somehow."
I answered optimistically.

"Our cave house was more functional, but we managed to build it properly, so a field should be fine, right?"
And so, the four of us began our agricultural project.
First, we decided to tackle the problem of seeds.
"Where do we get seeds?"
I voiced a simple question.
"Buy them at a home improvement store?"
"There are no home improvement stores here."
Takeshi retorted.
"Amazon?"
"There's no internet either."
"Then what do we do?"
We were at a loss. The poverty of modern people's agricultural knowledge was exposed early on.
"Why don't we use seeds from wild plants?"
Aya suggested.
"There must be edible plants on this island, too."
"I see."
Yumi nodded.
"But which plant seeds will turn into vegetables?"
"Hmm..."

We walked around the island looking for plants that looked edible.
"Isn't this cabbage?"
I pointed to a plant with large leaves.
"That's clearly a weed, isn't it?"
Takeshi retorted.
"But the leaves are round..."
"Cabbage doesn't look like that."
"Then is this lettuce?"
"That's a weed too."
"What about this?"
"I told you, it's a weed."

We couldn't tell the difference between vegetables and weeds.
"I have no idea how to tell vegetables apart..."
"Modern people were this ignorant."
"We were too used to buying them at the supermarket."
In the end, we decided to collect some seeds from plants that looked promising.
"For now, let's try planting these."
"What grows is a surprise."
The next problem was the location of the field.
"Where should we make the field?"
"A place with good sunlight and good drainage."
Yumi said something professional.
"Drainage?"
"A place where water doesn't pool when it rains."
"I see."

We walked all over the island looking for a suitable place for a field.
"How about here?"
I pointed to a flat area.
"The sunlight is good, but it's a bit low, isn't it?"
"Then how about this?"
"Now the sunlight is bad."
"How about this?"
"Full of rocks."
We couldn't find a good place.
"So there's no perfect place, huh?"
"Then should we compromise on a decent place?"
In the end, we chose a slightly elevated spot on the east side of the Sacred Spring.
"This should be okay, I guess."
"Alright, let's clear the land."
Takeshi was enthusiastic.
"What do you do to clear land?"
I asked.
"Cut the grass, till the soil..."
"How do you till the soil?"
"With a hoe..."
"We don't have a hoe."
We hit the tool problem again.
"Use a rock as a substitute?"
"Dig with our hands?"
"Why not use magic?"
I suggested.
"I learned a spell to soften the soil when we dug the hot spring last time."
"But didn't it turn into mud last time?"
"I'll be more careful this time."
I concentrated and cast magic on the ground, imagining the soil softening just a little...
"How is it?"
When I touched the ground, it was indeed easier to dig.
"Oh, it worked well this time."
"But the grass..."
The grass on the ground had also softened and was all mushy.
"How do we remove this?"
"Pull it out by hand?"
Weeding was harder than I imagined.
"The roots are deep..."
"It won't come out at all."
"It was this hard."
We continued weeding, drenched in sweat.
"Is agriculture this exhausting?"
"Farmers are amazing."
"Modern people are too weak..."
After two hours, we finally had a small field.
"Finally done..."
"But isn't it small?"
The field was about 2 meters by 3 meters. Very small.
"Will this be enough vegetables?"
"Well, it's our first time, so this is about right."

Next was sowing the seeds.
"How do we plant them?"
"Dig a hole, put the seed in, and cover it with soil?"
"What about the spacing?"
"The depth?"
Again, things no one knew.
"Isn't it fine to just do it randomly?"
"Maybe agriculture is surprisingly casual."
We planted the seeds somehow.
"Put this here."
"Put this over here."
"What seed was this again?"
"I don't know. Probably a vegetable."
The sowing was also finished somehow.
"Next is watering, right?"
"How much should we give them?"
"A lot?"
"But if we give them too much, they might rot."
"Then, an appropriate amount."
"How much is an appropriate amount?"
We were troubled again.
"For now, let's try giving them a little bit at a time."
We carried water from the river and poured it on the field.
"Is this enough?"
"A little more?"
"No, this is plenty."
Watering was also finished somehow.
"Is the field finished now?"
"That was easy."
"Agriculture was this easy."
We had completely underestimated agriculture.

The next day, we went to check on the field.
"How is it?"
"Are there any sprouts?"
When we looked at the field...
"Nothing's coming up."
"Isn't it because it's only been one day?"
"Maybe."
Three days later, we went to check again.
"How about now?"
"...Nothing's coming up."
"That's strange."
A week later...
"Still nothing."
"Did the seeds rot?"
"Did we water them too much?"
"Or was it not enough?"
We were confused.
"Is agriculture this difficult?"
At that moment, we discovered a small sprout in the corner of the field.
"Oh, a sprout!"
"Really?"
"We did it! Agriculture success!"
We were happy. But when we looked closely...
"Isn't this a weed?"
"Eh?"
"It's a weed no matter how you look at it."
"Isn't it a vegetable sprout?"
"We can't tell the difference between vegetables and weeds..."

In the end, none of the seeds we planted sprouted, and only the weeds grew vigorously.
"A complete failure..."
"Maybe they weren't vegetable seeds."
"Were they weed seeds from the start?"
"We took agriculture too lightly."
We decided to start the second attempt at making a field.
"Let's be more careful this time."
"Start over from the seeds."
This time, we decided to use fruit seeds.
"Apple seeds and such will definitely become food."
"I see, that's a good idea."

We collected the seeds after eating the fruit.
"Apple seeds."
"Orange seeds."
"Seeds of some unknown fruit."
This time, they were seeds that would definitely become food.
"But won't fruit trees grow big?"
Takeshi raised a question.
"Is it okay to plant them in a field?"
"Hmm..."
We fell into thought.
"Make an orchard?"
"But how many years will it take until they bear fruit?"
"Apple trees, three years? Five years?"
"We can't wait that long."
We were troubled again.
"Aren't there vegetables that grow faster?"
"I've heard radishes grow fast."
"What's a radish?"
"A relative of the daikon radish?"
"Is it on this island?"

We ended up exploring the whole island again.
"Any plants that look like radishes?"
"How about this?"
"That's a weed no matter how you look at it."
"How about this?"
"A rock."
"How about this?"
"An ant."
We couldn't find any at all.
"Should we give up and use fruit seeds?"
"But we can't eat them right away."
"Then what do we do?"
At that moment, Yumi suggested.
"Why don't we grow wild plants?"
"Wild plants?"
"We can cultivate edible wild plants in the field."
"Is that a vegetable?"
"I don't really know the definition of a vegetable, but if it's edible, it's the same thing, right?"
"I see."

We decided to look for edible wild plants.
"This looks delicious."
"But it's dangerous if it's poisonous."
"Which wild plants are safe?"
"I've heard dandelions are edible."
"Dandelions? Those yellow flowers?"
"Yes. Apparently, you can make a salad with them."
"Really?"
When we looked for dandelions, we found quite a lot of them.
"This looks safe."
"But it looks bitter..."
When we actually ate it, it was indeed bitter.
"Ugh, bitter."
"But it's edible."
"Let's grow this in the field."
We collected dandelion seeds and planted them in the new field.
"Will it go well this time?"
"Dandelions are weeds, so they should be strong, right?"
A few days later, dandelion sprouts began to appear.
"We did it! Sprouts are coming up."
"Success this time?"
But a problem occurred.
"Is this a field dandelion? Or a wild dandelion?"
There were many wild dandelions growing around the field as well.
"Can't tell the difference..."
"Is the field dandelion more impressive?"
"I don't really know."

In the end, the field dandelions and the wild dandelions were much the same.
"Can you call this agriculture?"
"It's no different from weeding..."
"But it's fine since we can eat it, right?"
We tried making a dandelion salad.
"Hmm, bitter."
"But it's vegetable-like."
"If only we had dressing..."
"Do you know how to make dressing?"
"Olive oil and vinegar?"
"We don't have olive oil."
"No vinegar either."
"Just salt?"
The dandelion salad with salt was more bitter than I imagined.
"Tastes bad..."
"But it seems nutritious."
"Seems good for our health."
"Should we endure it and eat it?"
For the third attempt at making a field, we decided to try for more delicious vegetables.
"Let's try utilizing magic this time."
I suggested.
"Maybe we can do plant growth promotion magic."
"That sounds interesting."
Yumi was enthusiastic.
"But magic always has unexpected results, doesn't it?"
Aya said worriedly.
"I'll be careful this time."
I concentrated and cast magic toward the field, imagining the plants growing big quickly...
"How is it?"
At first, there was no change. But a few hours later...
"Waaaaah!"
The plants in the field had grown abnormally. But what grew weren't vegetables, but weeds.
"Only the weeds have grown giant."
"Why aren't they vegetables?"
The weeds grew to over 2 meters in height, and the field became like a jungle.
"Magic doesn't go as planned..."
"Maybe weeds are stronger."
"How do we deal with this?"
Removing the giant weeds was extremely difficult.
"Too hard to cut."
"The roots are giant too."
"Can't you make them smaller with magic?"

I tried the reverse magic, but it didn't go well.
"Maybe it's difficult to return magic to its original state."
In the end, we cut them down little by little with tools made using Takeshi's reinforcement magic.
"Tired..."
"Agriculture was this hard."
"Maybe it's impossible for modern people."
But we couldn't give up.
"Let's try one more time."
"Without magic this time."
"Let's do it steadily."
For the fourth attempt at making a field, we decided to go back to basics.
"First, from soil preparation."
Yumi suggested.
"Vegetables won't grow unless the soil is good."
"What kind of soil is good soil?"
"Soil with nutrients."
"How do you increase nutrients?"
"Fertilizer."
"How do you make fertilizer?"
"Hmm..."
Again, things no one knew.
"Animal feces?"
"There are no animals."
"Rotten plants?"
"Compost?"
"What's compost?"
The lack of agricultural knowledge of modern people was exposed once again.
"For now, shall we try mixing leaves into the soil?"
"Will that become nutrients?"
"I don't know, but let's try it."
We collected fallen leaves and mixed them into the soil.
"Is this good soil?"
"Probably."

This time, we decided to plant seeds that were definitely edible.
"Fruit seeds collected on the island."
"These are definitely safe."
But fruit seeds took time to germinate.
"Still no sprouts."
"Maybe fruit takes time."
"They say vegetables are faster, but..."
"We don't have vegetable seeds."
Back to square one again.
At that moment, Aya had a good idea.
"Why don't we plant vegetable scraps?"
"Scraps?"
"The root parts or such might sprout."

We remembered what we had eaten so far.
"But we haven't been eating vegetables."
"Just fruit."
"Then shall we try planting fruit branches?"
"Cuttings?"
"Let's try it."
We cut fruit branches and stuck them in the soil.
"Will they grow with this?"
"I don't know, but let's have hope."
And a few weeks later...
"Sprouts are coming up!"
"Really?"
Small sprouts were coming out of the fruit branches.
"We did it! Success."
"Can we get fruit from this?"
"But how many years will it take until they bear fruit?"
"Let's wait patiently."

Our agricultural project will continue.
The vegetable shortage hasn't been solved, but we are making progress little by little.
"Agriculture is really deep, isn't it?"
"Modern people underestimated agriculture too much."
"But it's rewarding."
"Let's do our best tomorrow too."
With handmade agriculture, our island life becomes even more fulfilling.