9th Year of Home Gardening [Episode 8] Vegetables don't tell you what they 'want.' The true nature of marketing I learned from them, even though we can't talk.

Hello. This is Kaito!

First, let me say thank you.
Thanks to you all, my follower count has exceeded 400!
To everyone who reads my posts, thank you so, so much!

I will continue to share articles that warm your heart, posts that give you the energy to enjoy your work, and the 'solutions' I've put into practice, at my own pace.
While expressing my gratitude once again,
I hope you will continue to enjoy Kaito Matsuda's note at your leisure.

Well then, it's a weekend afternoon. I am in my small vegetable garden, as usual.

For me, this is a 'time for dialogue with the vegetables' and also a 'resting place for my heart.'

I have compiled my 'failures and discoveries in the garden' so far in this magazine, so please take a look if you'd like.

The wind has become chilly in the mornings and evenings, while the sun is still warm enough to make me sweat during the day.
And there is the scent of soil that is somehow comforting.

I rest my brain, which has been running at full speed all week, and enjoy working in the garden while completely forgetting about work.
For me, this is the most important healing time of all.

So, please make yourself comfortable for this episode as well!

■ Matsuda Farm Vegetable Growth Report♡

Do you recognize this sprout? That's right! It's 'garlic.'
Actually, a 'garden friend' shared some seeds with me, and I just planted them in the garden last week!

Look at this vibrant, taut green color. It has powerfully poked its head out from under the soil.

When I planted them, I was a little worried, thinking, 'Will they really sprout? Will they come up?' but it seems they were quietly storing energy under the soil and popped out at the perfect moment.
I can really feel the incredible life force hidden within this tiny body.

And here is the cabbage. It looks like I can finally harvest it!

How about this leaf wrapping? At first, it was so hot and wilted, but with frequent watering and the timing of the top dressing once it started to perk up...
It was a process of trial and error, and in fact, it ended up being a month behind the scheduled harvest.

But that just makes the joy even greater.
I am overwhelmed with happiness that it grew so magnificently!

The outer leaves have been eaten a bit by bugs (which is also proof that it's safe, haha), but it turned out very beautifully.
The inside is heavy and packed tight.

This cabbage has increased in sugar content from being exposed to the cold.
Tonight, I plan to have plenty of it in 'okonomiyaki' and make a 'warm soup' that is sweet even down to the core.
Even before harvesting, I can't stop imagining how delicious it will be.

■ The little ones are also growing vigorously!

And here are the broccoli, medium-sized tomatoes, and cauliflower.
Compared to the cabbage senior, their bodies are still small, but they are 'honor students' growing very smoothly.
The tomatoes are also bearing fruit and getting ready to turn red.

For these little ones, the real work starts now.
To ensure they don't lose to the cold and can stretch their roots vigorously,
'What do you want me to do now?'
'Is it water? Is it fertilizer?'
I will continue to observe them carefully and take care of them every day.

Finally, the baby fava beans.
They are spreading their cute cotyledons in the pots.

In the last few days, their growth speed has suddenly increased! I feel a momentum as if they are shouting, 'Plant us in the big field soon! We want to grow big!' (haha).

■ Vegetables and customers are both interesting because they are 'silent'

When I crouch down in the field like this and stare at the faces of the growing vegetables, I suddenly want to ask them a question.

'What is it that you really want me to do right now?'

I cannot actually have a conversation with the vegetables.
They don't say, 'I'm thirsty, give me water,' nor do they say, 'This fertilizer doesn't suit my taste.'

They are 'silent customers' who just exist there without a single complaint.
**'Silent Customers'**

That is precisely why I communicate with my heart and enjoy imagining, 'What can I do to make them happy?'

'The leaves are pale, maybe they lack nutrients?'
'The soil looks hard, the roots must be struggling, so I'll till it for them.'

I touch the soil and stroke the leaves to observe them, trying to pick up their 'voiceless voices.'

And today, staring at my mud-covered hands, I suddenly realized something.

'Isn't the marketing I'm learning at work useful even in a place like this...?'

Thinking from the customer's perspective ≒ Thinking from the vegetable's perspective

Of course, I don't use difficult analytical methods in the field.

But this attitude of 'observing with the other in mind' is the essence of marketing, and I am grateful to myself that thanks to this, I have been able to enjoy my hobby of home gardening for nine years.

Looking back, at least in my case, when I acted based on the value of 'trying hard (= managing things for my own convenience),' things never went well, whether at work or in my private life.

Once again,'Think of the other person and enjoy yourself'.
Isn't this simple challenge what has led to my growth until now, and what will continue to do so in the future?

Tomorrow is Monday again. Why don't you all try listening a little more closely to the unspoken 'voices of someone' at your workplace?
Surely, the seeds of new discoveries are buried there.

Well then, please have a 'wonderful time.'

Kaito Matsuda

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