Bones into the soil

Winds are howling and temperatures are dipping...
The lows are around zero degree with the highs hovering around five degrees...
There was sleet last night and snow is forecasted for this evening...
The Japan Inland Sea is choppy and fising boats nor fishermen are nowhere to be seen...
Hopefully, my plants are bracing well for this cold weather...
We bought two pieces of 'chicken skeletons' from the supermarket two days ago...
My missus make soup stock from them...
We do not throw away chicken bones or fish bones...
The same goes for other kitchen scraps...
I just took the bones to the potager and had them buried in one of the plots...
They make good fertilizer...
And the cold winds... ooh... had to make a run back to the house...

Marigold, cosmos, zinia...

Even in the cold weather, the marigold plants in the potager still bloom...
They emit a very nice fragrance...
I plant them as 'companions' to the veggies as they are supposed to ward off harmful insects...
Their petals are reported to be edible but we have yet to try them out...

The cosmos plants self-seed in our potager...
They require minimum care...
The one thing that I have to do is to thin out the crowded patches and oohla, I get pretty cosmos all over the garden...

Zinias are also self-seeding in our potager...
I sowed some seeds years ago and like the cosmos, they need minimum care...
We are very happy with these three flowers as they make very good cut flowers as well...
The marigolds especially, last for days and days in the vase... 

Tomatoes, daikon, beans, malabar spinach

A friend of my wife sent us some seeds of this Sicilian Rouge tomato...
Tried planting it very late in the season...
Not too bad in that we get to harvest some fruits just before the cold came in...

Planted daikon (radish) for the first time...
Been harvesting them for some time now...
While they are not the biggest daikons around, they are very tender and good to eat...
The leaves, supposedly vitamin-packed, go very well with tofu, sauteed that is...

We like fava beans very much...
So much so that we decided to plant plenty of them this season...
We have about 30 plants, compared to only four last season...
I understand from a blog that the leaves taste good, so we might try to cook some this time around...

Snap peas are crunchy compared to snow peas or silk field peas...
We had all three types last season, but we are planting only snap peas this time...
Reason? Wife's request...

Ceylon or Malabar spinach (not related to the 'normal' spinach) is high in vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium.
It is low in calories, but high in protein... just what we need...
Leaves are thick and succulent...
Seeds remind us of the corals in the sea...

Sweet potatoes, mandarin oranges

Grew three species of sweet potatoes last April...
The racoons got the better of the potatoes, but luckily they left some behind...
The above potatoes are called 'Anno'...
The flesh is orange in color and is extremely smooth, moist, and sweet...
We take them simply baked, with no additives of any sort...

We have a few types of oranges in the orchard...
These mandarin oranges are fruiting on their first season with us...
The tree is still rather short, yet it produced six fruits...
The 'proper' way is actually to remove all the fruits so as to channel the nutrients to make the tree larger...
As such, the tree will be stronger and its produce, better...
Oh well, let us see...

Wild grapes, Swiss chard...

We are very lucky to have several wild grape plants in our property...
They are very capable of taking care of themselves, which means zero attention from me...
I just prune them and position their canes in such a way so as to provide easy harvesting...

We used to make preserves out of the wild grapes, which we consume with yoghurt...
But lately, I decided to make grape juice...
We managed to get about 1.5 liters of the juice last season...
No sugar added, and they tasted so natural and refreshing...

My missus wanted to have some color in the potager...
So, I purchased some swiss chard seeds from the internet...
The reds are good to look at, but not so good in taste...

The green swiss chard taste very good, and they have excellent texture which is pleasant for the tongue...
The leaves are huge, and we get a plateful with about just three leaves...
We pluck off the large leaves from the outside and they keep growing and growing, thus providing a long harvest...
They are beautiful to look at and good to eat... urrmmm...

Mini radishes

Mini radish is quite fun to grow...
I put one seed in one hole amongst other vegetables...
The instructions say that they can be harvested in about 20 days...
But I normally harvest them in about 30 days...
This red radish was about 10 centimeters long...

The white icicle radish is delicious when freshly picked, just like the red radish above...
The larger one measured about 13 centimeters, while the shorter one, about 8 centimeters...

Angled loofah

We were growing the smooth loofah (aka Egyptian loofah) for sometime now...
My missus initially bought a seedling and we have been using the seeds for several seasons now...
It taste a bit like eggplant...
Then, I bought some angled loofah seeds from Bangkok...
And woah, we are blessed with a constant supply of loofahs...
Except for the people of Okinawa, the Japanese people apparently do not eat them...
However, I gave them to several of my neighbors to try...
I think the angled ones taste a little sweeter than the egyptian ones...
They can measure up to 50 centimeters, and weigh up to 200 grams...
I love them in soups or stir fry...
Tonight, we are going to sink our teeth into this lovely vegetable...

Beets and cucumbers...

Harvested quite a bit of beets this season...
They belong to the 'goose-foot' family, as does the spinach...
My missus slices them and have them cooked lightly in vinegar...
Lovely vegetable, I must say...

Here is a sample of the cucumbers we harvested last summer...
I normally harvest them early in the morning and bring them straight to the breakfast table...
They are super crisp, and very good to chew on...
Whatever that we could not eat that day, we pickled them for a later day...

Tiger lily... pink rose...

We put on the kerosene stove to keep us warm in winters...
On top of the stove, we sometimes put a pot there...
From the pot, we cook soup, boil water, and at times, red beans...
With the red bean soup, we put in the bulb of the tiger lily...
My missus bought them from the neighborhood market...
The bulb peels off like the onion...
And we kept the inner innermost layers, so as to try planting them...
(Actually, my missus did the planting, and me, only the picture-taking...)

See the pretty flowers?
They are the result from the bulbs...
The so-called tiger lily... pretty and delicious...
Shall be planting them this weekend...

We bought our Honda CRV more than 10 years ago from the local Honda dealer...
I am hopeless with machines, so we send the car to the Honda workshop once a year or so...
Never have had a problem all these years...
The pink roses... yes, birthday presents for me...
As in the last few years, the Honda salesman had been bringing me birthday presents...
Madagascar jasmine, garbella, anthurium, rose... 
I suspect he is trying to win my heart into buying a new car from him...
Anyway, we always try to plant these plants after a period of enjoying them at the dining table...
They all died...
And my missus just told me a minute ago, that the rose had probably died too... sigh...

Failures and successes this spring season

We had thought that it was a human thief who stole our sweet potatoes...

And then my missus talked to one of our neighbors who said that their sweet potatoes were also stolen...

By racoons, they said...

Just then, my missus had buried some fish bones left over from dinner...

She buried it quite shallow, and there it was... dug up by some animal...

The paw marks were too big to be a cat's...

This morning, I checked the potager and found more paw marks from a freshly dug out patch...

We are almost sure that the culprit is a racoon...

They are apparently very intelligent animals but I shall try to think of a way to trap them...

Anyway, this post is about the failures and successes of the spring season...

Failures, I have many...

The potatoes were miserable... only managed about 3 kilos...

I probably planted too much of 'companion' plants in the same patch...

Strawberries, garlic, onions, celery... too much...

Corn... tried to plant some seeds brought from Malaysia...

Didn't work out... by the time I switched to the Japanese seeds, it was a bit too late...

Still, managed to harvest 14 ears... not too bad...

Zucchini... ooh, big failure... bought three seedlings (green, yellow, and Toscany)...

Pumpkin... ooh, another big failure... like zucchini, no fruits at all...

Green peppers... arrgghh... tiny, and too few fruits... probably didn't water them enough...

Jalapenos... sigh... too sweet, and too small...

Moderate successes included tomatoes...

Grew some big ones, and some mini ones...

Managed to harvest quite a bit...

Okra... better than the previous season...

Bitter gourd... not too bad, but could be better...

Loofah... oh dear, I wonder what happened...
Most successful was the cucumbers...

Was determined to succeed this time, and we harvested 221 cucumbers from May to August...

Very tasty stuff... I brought them to eat at my workplace several times...

I still have yet to harvest the swede and the parsnip...

Wonder how they will turn out although I have a feeling that the swede is probably too old and tough...

Resumed working on the potager today, after an absence of more than one month...

Prepared six beds for onion, carrot, burdock, spinach, beets, radish, lettuce...

I am making sure not to over-plant the beds... otherwise, duh!

Sweet potato thieves in the hamlet

Returned home after two weeks of holidaying in Malaysia...
We knew from the news that it had not rained at our home throughout this time...
The hot temperatures and the rainless days...
My missus was most concerned that our pond would be all dried up and our goldfishes, all dead...
So, the first thing we did upon opening the gate was to rush to the pond...
The pond was dried, but luckily not completely...
In the remaining little water, our goldfishes were there, alive...

The next thing to check was the potager...
Was very surprised to see my sweet potatoes being dug up...
I had planted three varieties of sweet potatoes...
Altogether, there were 42 plants...
Initially, I thought it was the work of wild boars...
But after some investigation, we could not find any foot marks of the boar...
And, the dug-out areas were just too 'neat'...
Boars would have been more 'destructive'...

The thief or thieves took almost all of the sweet potatoes...
There are about three or four plants that were untouched...

Japanese society is supposed quite 'safe' and free from such things...
Oh well, another lesson learnt... was really looking forward to harvesting them... sigh...
Next season, we should perhaps harvest the potatoes before we leave for our summer vacation...

Tomatoes... fighting off the crows...

Was eyeing to harvest the first tomato...
But the crows always seem to know what is on the farmer's mind...
One day before the harvest, they took three of the biggest ones...
Ooh... that was painful...

Immediately put on a protective net...
And luckily, could harvest some of the fruits...

The big one weighed about 450 grams...
Quite a feast, actually...

For the last few months, have been enjoying our breakfast with vegetables freshly picked from the potager...
Here, we had tomatoes, dill, cucumber, and nasturtium flowers...

Success with Cucumbers

Had been trying to grow cucumbers for the last two seasons...
Thought this season would be equally bad...
But luckily, they are growing very well...

Tried the 'two' (rather than three) sisters method wth corn...
The corn is actually now overwhelmed by the climbers...

Was a bit too late in putting up the supports....
So, this one was just sitting on the ground, waiting for the harvest...


See that one leaf sticking out from the body?

A taste of spaghetti pumpkin...

Just for the fun of it...

Bought two spaghetti pumpkin seedlings

Not very productive

Or, is it the farmer that is the issue?

We got to harvest only two fruits
This one weighed about half a kilo
Not big by any pumpkin standards

Sliced into halves, the texture unfolds
As the name implies, the flesh resembles spaghetti
or noodles  if you like

In Korea, was onced served 'pumpkin tea'
And why not try making our own?

Not as sweet as that of the 'normal' pumpkin

Missus made a vinaigrette concoction to go with it
Sprinkled with a bit of sesame
Ummm...the pumpkin by itself is quite tasteless
But with the vinaigrette dressing, tasty enough to warrant a second planting season...

Greens growing well...

Due to the unexpectedly constant rain for the past few weeks

The greens in our potager have been flourishing...

Bayam or amaranth(green pointed leaves)...
red ladies finger, nasturtium...

Parsnip... seeds from Cairns...
trying it for the first time...

Daikon (Japanese radish)...
First time to grow this crop...

Korean perilla amongst komatsu-na...
The perilla self-seeded and they grow faster than the weeds...
Good for us as we love the taste of it...

Komatsu-na... aka mustard greens...
A patch of moroheya...

Am not sure of the name of this vegetable....
Got the seeds from my mum...
in the village, we call it 'mak choy'...
I like its plain taste... excellent as a soup...

Red amaranth...
bought the seeds from Malaysia...
The taste is as good as the green version...

Planted swede for the first time...
also called rutabaga or yellow turnip...
supposedly a cross between cabbage and turnip...
Bought the seeds from Cairns...

Some folks say swedes do not like transplanting...
I did, un-knowingly...
And it is looking surprisingly good...

Plums

Missus bought two plum seedlings two years ago...
Santa Rosa and 'O-ishiwase'...
Like apples and pears, they belong to the rose family...
Flowers are pretty, like sakuras...

This fruit was ripe on the tree...
Birds came by to peck on the skin...

 Another fruit on the O-ishi, with a companion... 

The size was slightly bigger than a ping-pong ball...
Quite small by commercial standards... about 50 grams?

But the taste... ummm...
Absolutely crunchy, juicy, and delicious...

Gooseberry, Mulberries, Raspberries

 July is paddy growing season here in Japan...
We get to enjoy looking at these fields right from our house...
the green really reminds me of home in Malaysia...

Harvested some raspberries, gooseberries, mulberries the other day...
Tried my hand at making mixed berries preserves out of them...
Turned out very nice... I think...

Honey suckle... beets...

Been raining all day today...

As in last week, I am not able to work in the potager...

Still, it feels super good to go there, umbrella in hand...

just to breath in the air...

Each time, there is always something to discover... to gasp at...

This time, it was some strawberries hidden amongst the leaves...

The potager is bursting with life, as in the wild honey suckle above...

Tried growing beets for the first time...

What a pleasure it is turning out to be...

The colors by themselves, are a joy enough to gaze at...

They are a lovely addition to our menu...

We boil them lightly and then just add some vinegar...

Hmmm... real nice...

Berries... blue, goose, and kiwi...

Blueberries are lovely, ain't it?

Planted three plants some years ago...

Didn't grow that well, so I moved them to a sunny location...

And mulched them with pine leaves...

Seems like they are comfortable with the new site...

Am looking forward to plucking them... 

Gooseberries... could not resist grabbing one...

It is a pretty shrub, a bit thorny though...

But... but... the fruits are really nothing to shout about...

I'd say they resemble a bit like grapes...

only that they are inferior in taste...
When ripe, the seeds protrude out, breaking the skin...
Not a very good investment...

Still, a joy to have it in the potager...

Could not resist grabbing the kiwi berry as well...
Two plants, in fact...

It is a climber, so I grew them near the fence...

A long bean plant nearby killed one of them...

The surviving one is doing well...

And the fruits are quite cute...

Still tiny, about one centimeter in size...

Apparently, they taste great...