Preparing a farm ridge and prospect of food deficit

We have been in cold snaps coming successively since mid Dec. last year. It has been below the freezing point every day. In the daytime, I don't have so much to do in the garden/farm. The only work I have done in the farm was to clear the fallen leaves from the chestnut tree in the strawberry farm. Exactly, without caring for, it is a lot of strawberry plants grown wild beneath and close to the tree. There were a lot of chestnut fruits among them as well.

We could hardly find any sign of spring yet. But a ume tree is already in bud, even though they are still pretty small. In a week or two, it may start blooming. It is still rather late this year.

I thought it was the time to cultivate ridges for potatoes, which should be planted in the end of next month. Compost made from weeds was mowed into the bed. Natural farming I am interested in lately tells not to pull the weeds grown there. Weeds  should be used for mulching the plants. It sounds reasonable to me that the farm should be ecologically closed not taking things away so much and not adding there things like artificial fertilizer to the farm. I wonder if I could follow their way of farming. So far, I would be friendly to weeds or worms there. They are not enemies for ecological farming.

I would prepare such ridges for various vegetables for summer. It begins with potatoes.　

I have had back pain even with this amount of work. Aging and disuse syndrome. I should exercise a bit more before it comes the season of farming. 

As you know, there was a big eruption of submarine volcano near Tonga yesterday. It has caused Tsunami in Japan without almost any damages. I am afraid it has brought certain size of damages in various countries/islands in the South Western Pacific. International society should give a hand of help to them as soon as possible.

Another point of concern is what effect it would cause the world weather for the coming years ahead. This eruption was comparable to that caused by Mt. Pinatubo in Phillipines in 1991. The latter has brought about the cold climate for a year or two which lead to the poor crop especially in the northern hemisphere. Our country has had to emergently import rice from abroad due to poor harvest of rice. In caloric base, our country is only 40% self-sufficient as for food provision. The food self-sufficiency rate in this country has been gradually dropping since 2 or 3 decades ago. To subsidize the farmers by the government is really necessary in our country. But the program the related governmental office appeals seems only a series of slogans. Our government is really enthusiastic for expansion of armaments against Chine in Okinawa and related islands there. But before such military security works, our country could be devastated due to food deficit in the near future, I am afraid.

So that is partially why I would work hard to grow such as potatoes and sweet potatoes in order to survive in such an occasion.