Vegetable bed preparation

Did some weeding and tilling in the vegetable garden to prepare for spring planting...
The soils is still cold but the weeds are having a head-start already.
So, need to remove them before they get too big.
Am putting up a boundary for all the beds with materials such as planks.
The idea of the boundary, slightly raised higher than the soil levels, is to provide some space to do mulching with dry leaves.
The raised boundary-planks is also intended to give the leaves some protection from the winds, which can be quite strong in the spring.
But oops! While working on the soil, I inadvertently woke up a couple of frogs that were probably hibernating in the soil.

They seemed a bit agitated as they hopped away from the intruder.
Sorrrreeeee...
Managed to snap some shots after they settled down...
This one found its space under one of the planks.
We thought it was a 'tono sama gaeru' (literally, the 'king of frogs') due to its color and patterns.
Apparently, they take on the color of the surroundings, camouflaging...

But from the same vicinity came this equally cute little one...
It was hopping away from me, profusely... until it settled upon some dry twigs near a bush.
My missus is particularly fond of this 'ama gaeru' (rain frog).
But, how come this cutie is green while the other, light brown... beats me...

Harvested some red and white radishes...
They mature in about three weeks and are easy to grow.
Real crunchy and sweet they are...

And a purple cauliflower as well...
They lose their color when we boil them.

Looks quite nice but I think they taste just about the same as the white ones.

Mimosa blooming...

The weather here in Japan is warming up.

As usual, I am out in the garden, digging my hands into the soil and cherishing every minute of it.

When we moved into our house about 5 years ago, we found a tiny, odd looking seedling in the garden.

Later on, we found three more such seedlings.

They turned out to be mimosa trees.

This plant is about one year old, and it is already flowering...

Such pretty flowers they are... and what a joy just to look at them...

Mimosa belongs to the acacia family and is apparently native to Australia and man, they really grow fast just like the eucalyptus. 

We trim and trim them but each year, but new branches keep shooting out...

Bees seem to love the flowers but I cannot really imagine there is nectar stored in those little ball-like flowers.

Chillies, figs, pumpkins, watermelons

As always, autumn here is so pleasant.
The air is dry and cool... only thing is the remaining few pesky mosquitoes...
Been enjoying the garden all along and ignoring the blogging...



This is a picture of the chillies I am growing this season.
The roundish ones are the so-called (second by now?) hottest chilly, habanero.
It is really hot but soaked in vinegar, it is quite lovely especially with noodles.
The greenish one is jalapeno, thick flesh and crunchy, not too hot...
The slim, red, longish one is called taka-no-tsume in Japanese, literally, claws of the falcon...
The whitish one is really flagrant and spicy... brought the seeds from my village in Kedah...
And finally, the classic big red chilli, which is called super chilly here...

Think I mentioned before that figs is one of my all time favorite fruits.
Was invited by a Japanese friend to harvest from his field.
Wooh, heavenly it was to stroke the fruits right off the trees...

Was quite successful with pumpkins this year.
The dark green ones are really tasty, with a chestnut-like flavor.
The elongated, yellow ones are called spaghetti pumpkins...
The flesh is somewhat like noodles, am looking forward to eating them.

And tha-da... watermelons from my garden...
This one weighed about 800 grams, not too big but sufficient for two...
Sweetness was alright and ooh, what a feeling to sink my fangs into the juicy meat...

Empty heart vegetables, potatoes, loquats

Bought some vegetable seeds from Bangkok last March.
Here is one result of that effort.
'Kangkung' in Malaysian, or 'kuu shin sai' in Japanese (literally, 'empty heart vegetable').
Taste great stir-fried with garlic and anchovies...



Planted one kilogram of seed potatoes early last spring.
Managed to harvest about 6 kilos of it.
Not too bad for a first attempt.
Love it with chicken curry, or as a salad with other vegetables.



Harvested quite a heap of Japanese loquats again this year.
Must say that this fruit is fast becoming one of my favorites, along with figs and persimmon.
And the seeds apparently have high B17(?) content which is supposedly a good anti-cancer element...

Spring gardening...

Once again this year, the Somei-Yoshino sakura tree in our garden did not disappoint.
I have to thank again the previous house owner for planting this ornament almost three decades ago for our enjoyment.

Been spending almost all my 'free' time on gardening... as usual...
Am growing quite a range of vegetables in my patch... sweet potatoes, corn, carrot, onions, okra, buckwheat, various types of leafy greens, potatoes, peanuts (all but one seed was eaten by birds), pumpkin, cucumber, eggplant, bitter gourd, peppers, many strains of chilies (jalapeno, habanero, etc...), tomatoes, various types of beans...

Am immersing myself deeper into 'companion' planting... hence, calendula, dill, coriander, marigold, sunflower, nasturtium, lemon balm, different types of mint, borage, several types of basil, bachelor button, rue, sage, thyme, and some others that are skipping my mind at the moment...

Also in the process of making an 'inventory' of the plants and trees in our garden...
The list is still unfinished but wooh, think it is going to be quite a long list...

Meantime, am enjoying the lavender flowers in the herb patch manned by my missus... the bees seem to love the flowers too...