Time flies.So far,one-twenty fourth of one year has passed.

We have started maintaining our tea field and it's going well. At present, we are on progress of sprinkling fertilizer and pruning tea trees.(Pruning means cut the tea leaves which grow too long.) Although this morning the temperature marked minus 4 degrees, we didn't use sprinklers. If we do so, the tea trees will be covered by icicles.(Picture below) The picture shows not icicles but frost. We must take measures in order to prevent tea trees from damage such as frost and snow. If the tea leaves damaged because of the cold, it causes bad influence on first-grade tea picking. At Iwamotoen, we regard first-grade tea picking as the most important process.

We can't see the apparent change by spraying fertilizer. However, I strongly believe this process make better tea. We just do each process that it has to be done.