…And Peanuts for All

Written by: adekun on 19 November, 2008 3:58 pm - Filed under: food — No Comments »

At the beginning of the month, the peanuts were lifted and left to dry in the sun. Toward the end of this period there was a lot less sun, so they were given a bit longer; I found that a previous sample batch came out soft even after half an hour at 200°C. (continue reading…)

Tags: garden, legumes, weather

Winter veg 08

Written by: adekun on 17 October, 2008 11:49 am - Filed under: garden — 5 Comments »

The last of the sweet potatoes have been harvested. Amen. Previously the bulk of the winter vegetables were planted. Despite the principles of permaculture, natural farming, amongst others being of great interest, the plants were laid down in bland uniform rows:

• Chinese cabbages
• Brussels sprouts
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Lettuces incl. mizuna
• Spinach

Even with a very limited understanding of the subjects, the understanding of others may be more the trouble if they were to look upon an experiment. (continue reading…)

Tags: garden, garlic, sweet potatoes

Early sweet potato harvest

Written by: adekun on 10 October, 2008 10:26 pm - Filed under: garden — 4 Comments »

In an effort to beat the bugs, the sweet potato harvest has been brought forward. Three fifths have been lifted. Working from the outside rows inward, the third row didn’t bear much. In addition to timing and lack of feed, it could be the rows were spaced too closely together or that I’ve been a bit too heavy handed on earlier pickings. However, those that were harvested were of good size. (continue reading…)

Tags: garden, sweet potatoes

Soy bean ruin

Written by: adekun on 5 October, 2008 10:02 pm - Filed under: blog — 2 Comments »

I’ve found a chore that far surpasses the tedium of weeding. For some time, is has been apparent that the soy beans were riddled with holes and unlikely to produce much of a crop. Instead of harvesting them early for edamame, I hoped to leave them and harvest daizu. Rather than wait and see, I decided to ‘cut’ my loses. Each pod seemed only to hold disappointment; a vivid green caterpillar or black purée. (continue reading…)

Tags: compost, garden, harvest, legumes

Rice harvest

Written by: adekun on 24 September, 2008 1:43 pm - Filed under: blog — 5 Comments »

Juggling people’s work commitments and the weather, meant it took a public holiday to harvest the rice. It was Autumnal Equinox Day and very overcast too. Shigeki-san had already harvested one of the smaller fields. This left the two large fields, one of which had a smaller adjoining counterpart. With a late morning start and the threat of rain, Shigeki spent most of the time at the controls. I was porter. (continue reading…)

Tags: garden, harvest, inekari, rice, weather

Tree of Happiness Award

Written by: adekun on 20 September, 2008 7:19 am - Filed under: blog — 8 Comments »

Thank you to Top Veg for bestowing upon me the Tree of Happiness Award. It is my turn to choose six things that make me happy. As the entries have been a bit light on the garden that will be my focus:

• Spotting the first seedlings to emerge
• Finishing a harvest
• Eating and giving the produce
• Observing, experimenting
• Changing things around regularly
• Watching my wife do some weeding

(continue reading…)

Tags: garden

How to grow garlic

Written by: adekun on 18 September, 2008 10:31 pm - Filed under: herbs — 8 Comments »

Garlic is an undemanding herb to grow. Sticking a few cloves in the ground and waiting should suffice. In spite of this, the title of this entry is perhaps equally a question. I wanted to jot down a few thoughts for reference; to clarify or simplify. My objective is to be self sufficient in garlic. Japanese grown garlic sells for ¥400 a head, it makes a valuable commodity. (continue reading…)

Tags: garden, garlic, how to