tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75701215240122896672024-03-14T02:33:08.725+09:00Potager Y @ JapanVegetable gardening in Japan... We grow about 40 to 50 types of vegetables, and about 20 types of fruits in our potager-garden... This photo-blog represents an attempt to document the thrills and challenges of a 'student-gardener'... For me, it is 'heavenly' enough just to be able to connect with the soil and nature, and if we get to eat the fruits of our labor, it is but an added bonus...Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.comBlogger152125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-73708604210244869352013-05-12T21:32:00.000+09:002014-10-19T13:57:13.753+09:00Migrating from Blogger to Wordpress...Please click here → <a href="http://potagery.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Potager Y, a photographic narrative</a>, for my new blog at Wordpress. <br />
(Update on 19th October 2014)<br />
<br />***** ***** *****<br /><br />
Dear folks<br />
Have decided to change the host for my blogs...<br />
Am migrating to Wordpress...<br />
Reasons can be found <a href="http://lronglim.blogspot.jp/2013/05/goodbye-blogger-thank-you-for-all-good.html" target="_blank">here</a>...<br />
The new address for Potager Y @ Japan is <a href="http://potagery.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://potagery.wordpress.com/</a><br />
Would be a delight to see you there... Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-20860736864492421832013-04-21T08:30:00.001+09:002013-04-21T10:23:03.670+09:00Sakuras 2013 in full bloom...<div style="text-align: left;">
The 'amateur-farmer' in me had been rather (foolishly, I'd add) unconcerned with the significance of the frost dates in the region...</div>
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So it was quite a wake-up call for me as I finally come to my senses, taking note of the frost warning on 19th April... </div>
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Yes, frost on 19th April for a location that falls under USDA Zone 9... </div>
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Now, I have to keep this date in mind for my future seed germination plans and planting schedules...</div>
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Anyway this year, we are blessed once again, with the sakura blooms in our garden...</div>
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The above shot is that of the 'shidare' sakura, my favorite...</div>
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Another shot of the 'shidare'....</div>
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Ok, I placed the photos in reverse order... this shot shows the 'shidare' as they began to bloom.... their colors are deeper at this beginning stage...</div>
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This specimen is the 'somei yoshino', which is used as the 'standard bearer' to denote the blooming dates throughout Japan...</div>
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The 'somei yoshino' tree, in portrait style... </div>
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Another angle of the 'somei yoshino'...</div>
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The 'somei yoshino' and our house, shot from a distance... </div>
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For more pictures of the sakuras in the neighborhood and the hills, please see <a href="http://lronglim.blogspot.jp/2013/04/sakura-scenes-in-aji-neighborhood-2013.html" target="_blank">here</a>....</div>
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Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-47608704968646030702013-04-05T21:21:00.001+09:002013-04-05T21:21:34.901+09:00Mimosa acacia in full bloom...<div style="text-align: left;">
The mimosa acacia is native to Australia, especially New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania...</div>
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Years ago, when we moved here, I found some seedlings growing in our property...</div>
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I picked them up, transplanted them, and wooh, what a surprise...</div>
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They bloom in spring over here, and we really like the fluffy, puffy, and fragrant flowers... <br />
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I find them to be difficult photo subjects, especially the close-ups, but these few picks are quite decent shots... no?</div>
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(P.S. Notice the wild sakuras blooming in the hills at the background.)</div>
Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-23373656290639003122013-03-24T21:31:00.000+09:002013-03-24T21:31:45.179+09:00Manuka flowers...<div style="text-align: left;">
Posted once before on this plant (see <a href="http://potagery.blogspot.jp/search/label/Manuka%20tea%20tree" target="_blank">here</a>)...</div>
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We have two such plants and they come under of the care of my suweeto haato... </div>
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Native to New Zealand and southeast Australia... </div>
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Scientific name is 'Leptospermum scoparium' and the common name ranges from manuka, manuka myrtle, New Zealand tea-tree, to broom tea-tree... </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TJBnaHwIhzI/UTwb9aaLZnI/AAAAAAAADUo/XzlCgkDCXQI/s1600/P2280118a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TJBnaHwIhzI/UTwb9aaLZnI/AAAAAAAADUo/XzlCgkDCXQI/s320/P2280118a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Japanese name is 'Gyo-ru bai' and although pronounced similarly, the characters takes four different forms (1)ギョリュウバイ(2)檉柳梅 (3)魚柳梅 (4)御柳梅... </div>
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A bit confusing isn't it?</div>
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The famous manuka honey gets its name from this plant/flower...</div>
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Now, if only I can get into bee-keeping... </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6pfPnFt8Cyo/UU7kbiOD3xI/AAAAAAAADXg/hf4g5p9Ctlo/s1600/DSC_0482a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6pfPnFt8Cyo/UU7kbiOD3xI/AAAAAAAADXg/hf4g5p9Ctlo/s320/DSC_0482a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The leaves can also be used as tea although our plants are still a bit too small for leaf-harvesting...</div>
Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-30603288208429221462013-03-20T21:26:00.000+09:002013-03-20T21:26:25.826+09:00Carrots, radish, broccoli... <div style="text-align: left;">
Today is vernal or spring equinox and Japan celebrates it as a national holiday... </div>
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Which means I get to dirty my hands in the potager... </div>
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and also that the weather is warming up for good.... yahoooo....</div>
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But hmmm, my carrots this season... rather pathetic...</div>
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They are smallish, under-nourished, and somewhat 'un-luscious' looking...no?</div>
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Anyway, harvested a bunch of them today...</div>
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And into the pot of beef curry for dinner this evening... </div>
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Luckily, the taste was quite good...</div>
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The other harvest is the radish or daikon as the Japanese folks call it...</div>
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Had it with miso soup before the beef curry main course... nice... </div>
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I always grow my broccolli and cauliflower in the autumn for harvesting the following spring...</div>
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Almost always, the broccoli wins hands down... </div>
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The cauliflower is normally measly and ooh... I should be putting in fertilizer for the poor plant....</div>
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Anyway, my suweeto haato just boiled the broccoli lightly... tasted extremely fresh and crunchy...</div>
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Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-26444572896415614402013-03-10T20:55:00.001+09:002013-03-10T20:55:47.834+09:00Loquat leaf tea...<div style="text-align: left;">
We have three loquat trees in our property...</div>
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All thanks to the previous owners...</div>
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They give very good fruits... sweet, plump, and juicy...</div>
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All these, with minimum care... </div>
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(See <a href="http://potagery.blogspot.jp/search/label/Loquats" target="_blank">here</a> for photos of loquat fruits from our garden)</div>
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Last autumn, decided to trim the plants...</div>
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And why not put the leaves into good use, I asked myself...</div>
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Such as a herbal tea... </div>
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So I had some of them hanging out to dry...</div>
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And yes, this is the tea from loquat leaves... </div>
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My missus just put a few of the leaves into a clay pot and let the pot sit for several hours on top of our wood stove each evening...</div>
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The taste resembles that of Rooibos tea, I'd say... refreshing and nice...</div>
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Apparently, the leaves are a good source of calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium and vitamins A and C.<br /><br />Loquat tea is supposed to be good for gastrointestinal issues like indigestion and diarrhea. <br /> </div>
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There are claims that loquat tea fights against type 2 diabetes as the leaves contain a compound called tormentic acid, which increases insulin production. </div>
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Furthermore, there are also claims that loquat tea has anti-cancer properties...</div>
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Throughout the winter, we have been boiling a pot of loquat tea each evening... </div>
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We use about three quarters of it for our hot bath, and I drink the remaining one quarter the next day...</div>
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I like the taste of it and best of all, I like the tea that I can source from my own garden...</div>
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Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-42133513331066083102013-03-01T22:32:00.000+09:002013-03-01T22:32:22.129+09:00Crop rotation and companion planting for Potager Y 2013 season...Weather is becoming more pleasant these days...<br />
In the mornings, the thermometer dips to about 1 to 2 degrees...<br />
The mercury then shoots up to about 10 degrees on a nice, fine day... <br />
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Yes, it is time to start some seeds...<br />
Corn, peanuts, soy beans, bitter gourd, pumpkin, okra, long beans, winged beans, loofa, and cucumber comes to mind...<br />
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I have been fooling around with the garden for about 6 or 7 years now... <br />
Each year, I have tried my hand in crop rotation and companion planting...<br />
Lots of failures, some successes, but always lots of fun...<br />
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Through fooling around with the plants, I have sort of, arrived at a nice combination of plants to rotate... <br />
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First, a little explanation on the physical attributes of the potager...<br />
The size of the whole plot is about 260 square meters...<br />
The left side is sloping, and is filled with fruit trees... <br />
The right side is flat, and this forms the main part of the vegetable garden...<br />
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If you'd click on the image above (not to scale, of course, considering the amateur in me), you can see that our potager is divided into 4 sections...<br />
The orientation is that, the far end is the south... <br />
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For practical purposes, we label the sections South-West (purple), South-East (red), North-East (green), and North-West (orange)...<br />
Between the East (left side) sections and the West (right side) sections, we have a wide walk path whereby a wheelbarrow can easily pass through...<br />
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Each section has 6 vegetable beds (or its equivalent, size-wise)... <br />
Between the vegetable beds, we have a path to walk on while working on the plants... <br />
Each vegetable bed is about one meter by two meters... <br />
And, all of them manually dug up by yours truly...<br />
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The two western sections are very nicely sliced up, with 6 beds each...<br />
The NE section has 5 beds, and the size is approximately equivalent to that of the 6 beds... <br />
The SE section has 3 beds, each about one meter by four meters...<br />
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In the center of the potager lies the permanent bed...<br />
We plant asparagus, Chinese chives, myoga ginger, saffron, and wild strawberries....<br />
These plants are not rotated... <br />
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The arrangement above provides the foundation to 'double' rotate the crops on a 3 or 5-year cycle, depending on the type of crops... <br />
Specifically, asters and mustard greens run on a 3-year rotation while the rest, 5 years.<br />
And 'double' rotation in the sense that, crops rotate along the 4 sections, and within each section, we rotate the crops amongst the vegetable beds...<br />
Quite a bit like the earth rotating around the sun, and at the same time, the moon rotating around the earth?<br />
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I have grouped and combined the crops as follows, roughly based on their 'families'...<br />
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SW section: Beans (Peanut, soy bean, snap pea, fava bean) and Asters (Spinach, swiss chard, 'makchoy', lettuce, chrysanthemum)<br />
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SE section: Nightshades (Tomato, eggplant, potato, chilli) and Greens (Komatsu-na, shangtung-sai, mamba, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, chingen-sai)<br />
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NW section: Grass (Corn), Gourds (Cucumber, loofa, pumpkin, zucchini), and Greens (Kale, rocket, vitamin-na, aku-sai, ta-sai, radish)<br />
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NE section: Roots (Onion, carrot, garlic), and 'mixed', for crops that belong to different families (Amaranth, basil, kangkong, moroeya, malabar spinach, okra)<br />
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Along with these plants, we have cosmos, marigold, zinnia, borage, Korean perrilla, red and green shiso everywhere, coming in as companions and magnets for beneficial insects.<br />
All of these plants self-seed, except the cosmos, which I hope will do likewise soon... <br />
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Each year, the plants are rotated anti-clockwise...<br />
And within each section, I rotate the plants as I see fit (potatoes and beans are good examples)...<br />
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Up until now, I have planned the crops on the basis of two planting seasons (spring and autumn)...<br />
After a few tries, I realize that the autumn crops have too little time to gain sufficient size to withstand the cold...<br />
So, this year, I am going to plant as if we have only one planting season (spring, that is)...<br />
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In another part of the property, which is not in the picture, we plant long beans, winged beans, watermelon, Japanese yam, sweet potatoes, and more of tomatoes, eggplants, pumpkins, bitter gourd, and loofa.... <br />
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And the fruits... perhaps on another post?Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-42216121622941488842013-02-09T20:53:00.000+09:002013-02-09T20:53:04.942+09:00Flowers for the Lunar New Year...<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, 9th February 2013, Saturday, was a beautiful day... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Skies were blue... cloudless... windless... so cool and pleasant... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wcndzNLyBt4/URY0pMUIuGI/AAAAAAAADNs/UZ6tvrVsXVA/s1600/DSC_0285a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wcndzNLyBt4/URY0pMUIuGI/AAAAAAAADNs/UZ6tvrVsXVA/s320/DSC_0285a.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, the white plums are beginning to bloom... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And this one is dedicated to <a href="http://www.mynicegarden.com/" target="_blank">Autumn Belle</a>... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NEjCL4j9B9A/URY0pe_j1CI/AAAAAAAADN0/TU02DH5Y-kk/s1600/DSC_0294a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NEjCL4j9B9A/URY0pe_j1CI/AAAAAAAADN0/TU02DH5Y-kk/s320/DSC_0294a.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These 'Sen-ryo' (Sarcandra glabra) are not from my garden... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Got them as leftovers from an Ikebana class... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ACxW_acJ-sM/URY0pjjYCAI/AAAAAAAADN4/-UTnskOfG3A/s1600/DSC_0291a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ACxW_acJ-sM/URY0pjjYCAI/AAAAAAAADN4/-UTnskOfG3A/s320/DSC_0291a.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, this freshly picked 'sudachi' (Citrus sudachi) is from our garden... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We normally use them green, in our cooking...</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-emhnpP4RdiM/URY0p3mrIVI/AAAAAAAADOA/qWRlfDYEuAo/s1600/DSC_0299a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-emhnpP4RdiM/URY0p3mrIVI/AAAAAAAADOA/qWRlfDYEuAo/s320/DSC_0299a.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This chrysanthemum is also part of the leftovers from the Ikebana class... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-30z2WQLYzEo/URY0qaGWVoI/AAAAAAAADOM/xIq1an-pf-M/s1600/DSC_0312a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-30z2WQLYzEo/URY0qaGWVoI/AAAAAAAADOM/xIq1an-pf-M/s320/DSC_0312a.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And my suweeto haato picked this Narcissus up from the hills in one of her walks recently... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ooh, its fragrance.... so sweet... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Lunar New Year to those of you who celebrate the event... </span></div>
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Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-49063590338952372872013-01-27T21:29:00.001+09:002013-01-27T21:29:46.056+09:00Potatoes and sweet potatoes harvest, 'tasai', and wild boars...<div style="text-align: left;">
It snowed today... and for the first time this season, there was some accumulation...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hCP-YKlih9M/UQUQzmoGTtI/AAAAAAAADBI/uXidwOFEjbs/s1600/DSC_0025a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hCP-YKlih9M/UQUQzmoGTtI/AAAAAAAADBI/uXidwOFEjbs/s320/DSC_0025a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Harvested our potatoes this afternoon...</div>
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They were killed by the frost... first time to experience this with potatoes... </div>
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Am very happy with the produce that tipped at 5 kilograms... </div>
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These, from seeds weighing 1 kilogram... </div>
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And for dinner, my suweeto haato made chicken curry with the potatoes..</div>
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Hmmm, super tasty...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dr8_JPpwSLg/UQUTkh-ketI/AAAAAAAADBw/LouMNjsZnV4/s1600/P1160353a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dr8_JPpwSLg/UQUTkh-ketI/AAAAAAAADBw/LouMNjsZnV4/s320/P1160353a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Among the greens we have now, the 'ta-sai' is probably one of the most resistant to the cold weather...</div>
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And it tastes very good too...</div>
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Our sweet potatoes did not do that well this season... </div>
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Harvest was rather measly.... </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WN36ztnWXfg/UQUTmCzs8iI/AAAAAAAADCA/p75LRckihuE/s1600/P1260362a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WN36ztnWXfg/UQUTmCzs8iI/AAAAAAAADCA/p75LRckihuE/s320/P1260362a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A notable development this season, however, is that, wild boars have finally 'discovered' our potager... </div>
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Three days ago, they came for the third time... stepping all over our garden... </div>
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It is not a pretty scene... yet, there is nothing much for them to eat in our field...</div>
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One of their favorites is the sweet potatoes...</div>
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Luckily, there is space within a fenced area nearer to our house...</div>
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Anyway, made a blockade (with recycled wood) on their approach route...</div>
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Hope this blockade is sufficient to make them give up coming... </div>
Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-4562294214715723842012-12-31T17:39:00.001+09:002012-12-31T17:39:02.981+09:00Saffron, figs, etc... Just returned home to Japan after a little visit to my native country, Malaysia...<br />
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It is about 5 degrees here, compared to about 30 degrees in Malaysia...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SIQFDgprC70/UOFIH5hSKLI/AAAAAAAAC8A/mJ3ZzrTYavs/s1600/DSC_0283a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SIQFDgprC70/UOFIH5hSKLI/AAAAAAAAC8A/mJ3ZzrTYavs/s320/DSC_0283a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Shot these pictures some time ago but did not have the opportunity to post them...<br />
The above shot is that of the <i>Crocus sativus</i>...<br />
We have quite a few bulbs but have not been taking good care of them...<br />
Still, we can harvest some saffron from the flowers (which we use for cooking)...<br />
Apparently, the saffron is among the most expensive spices in the world... <br />
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Had the opportunity to harvest a few fruits from our fig tree...<br />
We got their seedlings from a neighbor some years ago... <br />
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They tasted really sweet and good...<br />
Next season, I certainly plan to give more care to this plant as figs are one of my favorite, favorite fruits... <br />
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The Chingen-sai, as this vegetable is called in Japan, was thriving well before we left for Malaysia...<br />
I took a look at the potager after coming home today...<br />
Hmmm, they looked kind of wrinkled, probably from the effects of the cold... <br />
And yes, I mean, no... the wild boars have definitely made their mark on my potager...<br />
Their foot prints can be found here and there on the beds... <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SnejyEjYpD8/UOFIEIuVInI/AAAAAAAAC7s/_UmTG7oSCm4/s1600/DSC_0049a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SnejyEjYpD8/UOFIEIuVInI/AAAAAAAAC7s/_UmTG7oSCm4/s320/DSC_0049a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The Chingen-sai stir-fried with a little ginger and garlic... <br />
Lovely taste...<br />
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The cauliflower plant is still growing well, despite the cold... <br />
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The lettuce too, is thriving and giving us a lot to chew on...<br />
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The Komatsu-na too, is quite resistant to the cold and is growing well.. <br />
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This is the last post for the year 2012.... I'd like to wish all my friends and readers a very happy 2013, and may the new year bring you and your loved ones much joy and happiness...Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-46604597308058644552012-12-07T22:35:00.002+09:002012-12-07T22:36:30.057+09:00Beans, winged and long... and nuts of the pea-type... <div style="text-align: left;">
Tried to grow for three seasons, winged beans from seeds taken back from Malaysia...</div>
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But no cigar... just as the plants began to flower, winter came along and killed them all...</div>
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Could it be that these these beans are too used to the perennial summer conditions in Malaysia so much so that they could not adapt to the changing seasons in Japan? </div>
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Finally purchased some seeds from a dealer in Japan...</div>
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And woah, the accumulative harvest came to about 200 pods...</div>
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Meanwhile, long bean seeds taken back from Malaysia coped very well with conditions here...</div>
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For many seasons, they have been fruiting quite profusely...</div>
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Sometimes, my missus cooked these long beans omelet styled... </div>
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They taste good, I must say...</div>
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Peanuts... yeap, I love growing them... and of course, eating them too...</div>
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Last summer, had three plots of them...</div>
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Forgot to weigh the harvest but it was quite substantial by our standards...</div>
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Am enjoying the nuts bit by bit these days... </div>
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Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-11775240748685599512012-11-23T12:30:00.001+09:002012-11-23T12:30:55.549+09:00Japanese yam aka 'Jinenjo' and the Beautiful Blog Award...<div style="text-align: left;">
While walking the hills near our home one day two or three years ago, my suweeto haato suggested that we harvest the 'jinenjo' (自然薯 literally, 'natural yam') that were growing in the wild...</div>
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We, more like I, dug at one plant, and boy, it turned out to be heavy duty work...</div>
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'Jinenjo' is a climber... perennial... native of Japan... scientific name, Dioscorea japonica... common name, Japanese yam or glutinous yam...</div>
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We took back some 'seeds' which I believe are actually 'fruits' that grow on their vines...</div>
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We like to joke that they resemble 'small potatoes' growing in the air...</div>
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This is a close-up of the 'little potatoes'... diameter varies from half to one centimeter...</div>
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The Japanese folks call them 'mukago' and they combine very well with rice... so much so that there is a term call 'mukago gohan'... 'gohan' being rice... the taste is really very good...</div>
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This is how the tuber looks like... <br />
Their flesh is white in color and they have a very high viscosity (?) level, that is, they are very 'sticky' or 'glue-ish'....<br />
Lovely, lovely vegetable... as we can enjoy both the 'fruits' and the 'tubers'...<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YClcHMYJ2uI/UK7p8zp_-yI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/qNCRpesUazE/s1600/beautiful-blogger-award.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YClcHMYJ2uI/UK7p8zp_-yI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/qNCRpesUazE/s1600/beautiful-blogger-award.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I'd like to dedicate this post to Ash of '</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://hourisinthegarden.blogspot.jp/" target="_blank">Houris in the Garden</a>'<span style="font-size: small;"> who graciously <span style="font-size: small;">nomi<span style="font-size: small;">nated my humble<span style="font-size: small;"> blog for the Beautiful Blog Award... </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am most honored <span style="font-size: small;">and would like to tha<span style="font-size: small;">nk her for the gesture...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">However, I would like<span style="font-size: small;"> to ask Ash <span style="font-size: small;">to forgive me because due to time constraints among other things, I am not able to fulfil<span style="font-size: small;">l the <span style="font-size: small;">several <span style="font-size: small;">things I s<span style="font-size: small;">hould do in order to acce<span style="font-size: small;">pt the award</span>... one of which is to</span></span></span> </span>pass the award onwards as requested...<span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span>
</span></span><br />
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Once again, thank you, thank you, for thinking of my blog...<br />
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Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-48607695327160212092012-11-16T21:28:00.002+09:002012-11-16T21:28:22.021+09:00Wild grapes...<div style="text-align: left;">
Had a 'bumper' harvest from the wild grapes in our property...</div>
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All in all, 2.2 kilograms... whoopee... </div>
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This, compared to last year when I could hardly get any harvest...</div>
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Perhaps there is some truth in plants alternating between bumper harvest and poor harvest... no? </div>
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There is absolutely no need to take care of them...</div>
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All I did was to prune them down, and rather brutally at that too...</div>
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The fruits are just about 5 millimeters in diameter...</div>
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There is little flesh in them...</div>
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And the best way to enjoy them, I thought, was to turn them into juice...</div>
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Managed to make about 12 liters of delicious wild grape juice from them...</div>
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No additives of any kind... and with each sip, hmmm, the feeling of pure delight...</div>
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Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-64623106596972902232012-10-28T21:55:00.000+09:002012-10-28T21:55:44.976+09:00Red shiso...<div style="text-align: left;">
My missus bought a red shiso plant some years ago...</div>
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And for all the following years, they have been self-seeding in our potager...</div>
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They are part of the mint family, so they have 'relatives' like the basil, sage, lemon balm...</div>
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Flowers are rather minute and quite pretty... </div>
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There are not many ways to use this herb...</div>
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I sometimes make juice out of it...<br />
And occasionally, I boil them to use in our baths... <br />
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The Japanese folks use them (together with salt) to preserve plums...<br />
Of course, we do likewise too... with plums from our potager.... </div>
Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-86680617126212529112012-10-24T20:28:00.001+09:002012-10-24T20:48:26.288+09:00Akebi aka Chocolate vine...<div style="text-align: left;">
This plant is a novelty... native of Japan...</div>
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The Japanese folks call them 'Akebi' while the English speaking world labels it 'chocolate vine' because their flowers seem to smell like chocolate... </div>
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We are very lucky to have these vines growing wildly in our property...</div>
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Ours is the three-leaved variety as opposed to the five-leaved ones that can be found in the nearby hills...</div>
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The fruits do not look attractive when green...</div>
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However, they take on a very pretty pinkish-purple tone as they ripen...</div>
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At the same time, the fruit splits vertically from top to bottom, revealing a whitish pulp....</div>
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Birds love this flesh as we sometimes observed empty fruits that are either left dangling on the vines or have dropped onto the ground... </div>
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We carefully split open the pulp and were pleasantly surprised to see the insides being quite 'intricately designed'...</div>
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The taste is faintly sweet... the seeds can be quite bitter if chewed on...</div>
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Just out of curiosity, we tried cooking the skin with some miso sauce...</div>
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The taste was slightly bitter and some Japanese folks say that it goes well with Japanese wine (sake)... </div>
Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-74195156752290749572012-10-14T19:38:00.001+09:002012-10-14T19:38:21.992+09:00Pumpkin 'art' and the two loofahs... <div style="text-align: left;">
Pumpkins are believed to originate from North America...<br />
The Japanese call them 'kabocha', which rhymes with Kampuchea...<br />
Apparently, to the Japanese, the pumpkin came into Japan from Cambodia, hence the name...</div>
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Our pumpkin harvest is not too bad this year...<br />
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All in all, we manage to harvest seven fruits of this 'Ebisu' specie...</div>
With no scissors on hand, I just ripped the stalks off from this pumpkin...<br />
And woah, do I see a 'bird' here?</div>
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And this one... a little monster flexing its muscles?</div>
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Now, the loofah is supposed to originate from India...<br />
We grow both types...<br />
The pictures above shows the Egyptian loofah which is rather smooth-skinned...</div>
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I observe that it flowers in the morning... </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tVXd2ouOUsM/UHFt2S6294I/AAAAAAAACxs/_jOibWli3QU/s1600/DSC_0006a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tVXd2ouOUsM/UHFt2S6294I/AAAAAAAACxs/_jOibWli3QU/s320/DSC_0006a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The second type is the angled loofah...</div>
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They seem to prefer flowering in the evening...</div>
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My sweeto haato prefers the smooth-skinned Egyptian... better taste, she says...<br />
Rather unfortunately for her, our angled loofahs were more productive this season...<br />
Perhaps, 43 angled loofahs compared to about 30 Egyptian loofahs...<br />
In any case, we usually make soups out of them...</div>
Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-29186514824822000922012-10-01T21:53:00.000+09:002012-10-01T21:53:18.886+09:00Chestnut, pumpkin, beets, and rocoto...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Tried planting chestnut for the first time last year...</div>
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The strain we chose is called 'Porotan'...</div>
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Don't ask me why it is called such a name, but they are supposed to be easy to peel...</div>
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We could manage only one fruit... yes, only one, weighing a great 35 grams... ;=)</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O1SPNBn9-0k/UGhBfj-UPyI/AAAAAAAACuw/po5gyZXt4cw/s1600/DSC_0009a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O1SPNBn9-0k/UGhBfj-UPyI/AAAAAAAACuw/po5gyZXt4cw/s320/DSC_0009a.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div>
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Actually, there were four fruits forming...</div>
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They eventually dropped off before they could fully mature... </div>
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Our butter scotch pumpkin did not do as well this year...</div>
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Yes, we could harvest only one fruit...</div>
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Compared to 6 fruits last season... </div>
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Wonder why, really... </div>
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Beets... just harvested a bunch of them, and was quite amused to see one of them taking on the shape of the bottle gourd... </div>
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Rocoto peppers... yes, from seeds given to me by a former student from Peru...</div>
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Their color combination on the insides are really fascinating to observe...</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jv3DcT2BSzY/UGhBjSWsnTI/AAAAAAAACvQ/07hRpIZ3rGI/s1600/DSC_0178a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jv3DcT2BSzY/UGhBjSWsnTI/AAAAAAAACvQ/07hRpIZ3rGI/s320/DSC_0178a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I plan to ask my sweeto haato to preserve them in vinegar... </div>
Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-88501825121293252132012-09-09T21:22:00.001+09:002012-09-09T21:22:03.418+09:00Bitter gourd, pumpkin, and long beans...<div style="text-align: left;">
Been very busy with work lately... </div>
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Bitter gourd is standard fare on our dining table... </div>
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My <i>sweeto haato</i> specifically says, 'grow the long type and not the stubby type'... </div>
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They are quite easy to grow... at this point of time, we have on record a harvest of 54 fruits...</div>
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My missus tried to make this dish (known as <i>Yong Tau Foo</i> in Malaysia) and they tasted, yes, bitter... but good... </div>
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Pumpkin too, is a staple for us in the summer...</div>
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This season, managed to harvest five of them, totaling 8.1 kilos...</div>
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Gave one to a neighbor...</div>
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I don't know what it is but the yellow pumpkin seeds I bought from Los Angeles some time ago had never given me any good harvest... </div>
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After growing to a certain size, they begin to wrinkle away, and eventually, drop off altogether...</div>
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So, I decided to just harvest them young, very young... </div>
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We had them with the bitter gourd dish above...</div>
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Long beans... I love...</div>
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They are a very convenient veggie to grow... </div>
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You harvest and they keep producing... </div>
Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-51661247499281956752012-08-14T21:11:00.000+09:002012-08-14T21:11:15.746+09:00Flowers... of Soap wort, Oregano, Jerusalem artichoke, and Lotus...<div style="text-align: left;">
Japan is in the midst of the <i>O-bon</i> season, as in All Souls Day...</div>
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The university is closed for a full week... </div>
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Put in the two weekends, and yours truly is only too happy to be having a 9-day break... </div>
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Which means, an excellent opportunity to catch up with the chores in the potager...</div>
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Yes, it is a joy to be able to work in the garden, but still, the heat... ooh, it's killing...</div>
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We have been trying to grow this soap wort for a while now...</div>
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Am happy to see that they are growing well...</div>
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Belongs to the carnation family and has sweet smelling flowers... </div>
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Apparently can be used as a mild soap but we haven't tried doing so...</div>
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The wild marjoram a.k.a. oregano looks pretty but my missus prefers the sweet marjoram for cooking...</div>
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And so is the Jerusalem artichoke... it looks pretty...</div>
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We tried eating their tubers but did not quite like their taste...</div>
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The mini-lotus flower is doing beautifully in the pond... </div>
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Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-75291395073445345652012-07-28T21:23:00.002+09:002012-07-28T21:29:36.726+09:00Blueberries, corn, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes...<div style="text-align: left;">
Oooh hooo... the temperatures these days...</div>
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The highs oscilate between 35 and 36 degrees.... </div>
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Scorching.... burning.... brutal...</div>
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Each day during the weekends when I do the garden, I need to change my garden clothes three to four times, alternating between two sets of clothes...</div>
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Had planted three blueberry seedlings some years ago...</div>
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This year, they are fruiting quite substantially...</div>
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Each day, we get to harvest a little bit of the fruits...</div>
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We take them with our yogurt for breakfast... </div>
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Corn is really doing well, despite being attacked by pests...</div>
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We love the taste of home-grown corn so much that we decided to buy more seeds...</div>
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They are now beginning to germinate and we hope to see some harvest in October....</div>
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Planted only one eggplant this season...</div>
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They are heavy feeders and they need quite a bit of water....</div>
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Next season, I shall add one more seedling as my <i>sweeto haato</i> is beginning to like eggplants...</div>
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As with the eggplant, I have only one zucchini plant....</div>
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It is just sufficient for the two of us... </div>
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Tomatoes are a regular member at our potager...</div>
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We can't get enough of them...</div>
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My missus sometimes cooks some lovely <span class="tl">Ratatouille with </span>the tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant together with some other ingredients... </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pKV5cvgKLNc/UAte4AVdN2I/AAAAAAAACnU/teCothwYWy8/s1600/DSC_0048a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-32029804522748232112012-07-24T21:46:00.001+09:002012-07-28T10:35:20.361+09:00Flowers... 'Standing wave', borage、azalea, lilac, black-eyed susan, sumomo...<div style="text-align: left;">
Note: Am dedicating this post to <a href="http://myemeraldgarden.blogspot.jp/2012/07/an-award.html" target="_blank">Malar</a>, who had graciously nominated this humble blog for the 'Versatile Blogger Award'... <br />
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Had been 'itching' for a while to post these flower pictures...</div>
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Some of them have been sitting in the hard-disk for many moons now...</div>
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This is a wild flower found in the surrounding hills... </div>
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The scientific name is Scutellaria indica...</div>
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What a mouthful... again, prefer its Japanese name, タツナミソウ、literally, 'Standing wave' flower?</div>
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A member of the sage family... <i></i><br />
I took back a specimen to plant it in our potager...</div>
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Borage is like, every where in our garden...<br />
Not to say I am complaining... </div>
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In fact, I cannot get enough of their pretty flowers... </div>
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Mountain azaleas are also thriving in our garden...<br />
They mainly come in colors of pink although some are whitish while others are somewhat orange... </div>
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The lilac never fails to bloom in early spring...<br />
They are quite prolific, so to say... </div>
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And black eyed Susans... they have very much 'settled' down in a corner at our garden...<br />
I actually prefer them to the sunflowers as cut flowers... </div>
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And finally, this series of pictures of flowers of our Japanese plum 'sumomo'...</div>
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We pruned this plant last autumn...</div>
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In spring, the blooms were plentiful...</div>
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And for reasons still unknown to us, the plant decided to die out on us... sad... </div>Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-50466014961641143692012-07-14T08:32:00.000+09:002012-07-14T08:32:06.499+09:00Tomatoes, cucumber, perilla, red shiso, rocoto, Japanese yam...The rains continue to come...<br />
Yesterday, we witnessed another session of blistering thunderstorms...<br />
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And yes, it is the season for tomatoes...<br />
'Momotaro' is the strain...<br />
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And of course, cucumbers too...<br />
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Been chewing on these crunchies for some time now...<br />
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The Korean perilla has taken a really good hold on our potager... they are all over and the leaves are huge...<br />
The 'ama-gaeru' (literally, rain-frogs) are also very comfortable in our garden...<br />
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My apologies to Green Dragonette for the long pause in responding to query on what we do with the red shiso...<br />
The only two things we do with the red shiso are to use them as a coloring and preservative (together with salt) for our Japanese ume plums, and to make juice... <br />
The juice making is very simple indeed...<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
red shiso 200 gm<br />sugar 600 gm<br />apple vinegar 1 cup<br /><br />Wash red shiso well, use only the leaves<br />Put 6 cups of water and shiso into pot and boil for 20 mins.<br />Remove shiso leaves, squeeze the leaves and dispose<br />Add sugar and apple vinegar and boil for another 20 mins in low heat<br />Cool and store in clean flask or bottle in room temperature<br />Dilute accordingly, add ice or syrup, and enjoy<br />
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Grew rocoto chillies for the first time last year, with seeds given to me by a former student from Peru...<br />
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They are beginning to produce now...<br />
The flowers are really pretty... the branches and leaves, hairy...<br />
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Am growing the Japanese yam again this year...<br />
The root is a versatile and a lovely vegetable to eat... And the seeds ('mukago' in Japanese) that dangle off the vines also make good eating... we boil them together with rice...Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-24931683716581031362012-06-30T20:24:00.000+09:002012-06-30T20:24:14.134+09:00Strawberries, corn, sakura cherries...<div style="text-align: left;">
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Am getting the hang of growing strawberries... </div>
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Still, grew a bit too many of them this past season...</div>
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I am keeping just six baby-plants for next season...</div>
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No more over-crowding them...</div>
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Anyway, we just enjoyed our last few strawberries for this season... </div>
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Their flesh was firm, and their taste... should I say, 'concentrated', unlike the ones from the stores?</div>
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Our corn plants are growing really well this season...</div>
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Compared to the strawberries, I think I have more or less learned how to grow corn 'properly'.... </div>
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I derive a lot of pleasure just looking at them... </div>
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The stems are thick, and the plants, 'stocky'...</div>
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I almost praised myself for setting up the pole-stakes early enough to prevent them from being blown sideways by the winds... </div>
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Still, the pests remain an issue...</div>
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They are already drilling holes into the stems and I am quite at a loss as to how to handle them... </div>
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Well, let's see how the harvest turns out...</div>
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Ok, I started with red, and I shall end with red...</div>
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These are sakura-cherry flowers... photographed in early April... </div>
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And come June... woah, managed to harvest some beautiful sakura cherries for the first time...</div>
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They have a very refreshing, sourish-sweet taste...</div>
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Absolutely lovely...</div>
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<br /></div>Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-43819451858983734152012-06-24T21:04:00.000+09:002012-06-24T21:20:46.083+09:00Amaranths, peanuts, malabar spinach, shiso...Thanks to the frequent rains, things are growing very well at the potager...<br />
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And thanks to Diana of <a href="http://kebunmalaykadazangirls.blogspot.jp/" target="_blank">Kebun Malay-Kadazan girls</a> for sending the amaranth seeds...<br />
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Grew eight patches of these amaranth and had been eating them for a while now... they taste very good...<br />
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Meanwhile, the amaranth we had bought some years ago, self-seeded...<br />
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Am still keeping the packet, and the label says 'Perfect red'... they don't lose their color even when cooked... and the juice that oozes out of them is pinkish red...<br />
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The taste of homegrown peanuts is really 'out-of-this-world'... am I exaggerating? :-)<br />
Manage to grow about ten plants with seeds save from last season...<br />
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And Malabar spinach... ooh, I just love growing and eating them...<br />
I germinated some of them although they do self-seed as well... <br />
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An acquaintance of mine drove over to our house one day just to give us some seedlings...<br />
Japanese <i>shiso </i>or perilla is shown in the picture above... she also gave us <i>myoga </i>ginger, and yellow tomatoes...Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7570121524012289667.post-70490290099792259072012-06-19T20:41:00.000+09:002012-06-19T20:41:45.510+09:00Flowers in the rainy season...<div style="text-align: left;">
We are in the midst of the rainy season...<br />
Incidentally, Typhoon Number 4 is currently scraping over the Japanese archipelago as I blog, bringing with it much rain and strong winds...<br />
Luckily, our place is not along its path... <br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LKfRA8GERv8/T9x9YU6ROfI/AAAAAAAACgQ/Eh0p30AdrTc/s1600/DSC_0747a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LKfRA8GERv8/T9x9YU6ROfI/AAAAAAAACgQ/Eh0p30AdrTc/s320/DSC_0747a.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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And yes, rainy season in Japan is the season to enjoy the blooms of <i>Ajisai </i>(hydrangea)...<br />
The first specimen was given to us by a neighbor the other day<i></i>...</div>
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I actually prefer the other type of <i>ajisai </i>that the Japanese folks call <i>gaku-ajisai</i> (<i>gaku </i>= frame, as in picture frame)... <br />
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Apparently, the real flowers are those dotty little things in the middle area... <br />
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Rather intriguing, don't you think?</div>
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My <i>sweeto haato</i> takes care of mainly herbs and flowers (while I do vegetables and fruits)...</div>
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Here, I was privileged to capture one of her creations (of roses and English lavender)...</div>
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Some years ago, I tried sowing some edible chrysanthemum seeds...<br />
Thereafter, they self-seed and I really do not have to do much except harvesting them... </div>
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They are an excellent vegetable to eat...</div>
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And after the eating is done, they provide plentiful flowers that are so pretty...</div>
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And once again, I was delighted to be able to capture yet another arrangement made by my missus...</div>Lrong Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16071380270069499888noreply@blogger.com27