Hard

...A type of self-sufficient fertilizer before the Meiji period when purchased fertilizer (kin-hi) became commonplace, it involved spreading grass cut from the mountains and fields on fields as fertilizer. The green manure itself was called "karishiki" and was also called "kachiki," "kashiki," or "hodorogi." It was mainly cut from common areas (iriai land) and trampled by oxen or horses or by human power before rice planting to use as base fertilizer for paddy fields. As cutting, transporting, and trampling required a great deal of labor, this practice gradually fell out of use as kin-hi became commonplace....

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "Kacchiki" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…購入肥料(金肥)が一般化する明治期以前における自給肥料の一種で，山野で刈り取ったしば草を田畑に敷き肥料とすること。またその緑肥そのものを〈かりしき〉といい，〈かっちき〉〈かしき〉〈ほどろぎ〉ともいった。おもに共同採取地(入会地)から刈り取って田植前に牛馬または人力で踏み込み，水田の元肥とするもので，刈取り，運搬，踏込みに多大の労力を要したため，金肥が一般化するにつれてしだいにすたれた。…

※「かっちき」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報