Aliums, roots... and the Versatile Blogger award

We prefer red onions to the white ones...

This year's harvest brought us (only) about 2 kilograms of onions... 

Yet another 'indicator' that there is still a lot for this 'farmer' to learn...  

A mini-teeny 2 kilograms really does not deserve much hanging (to dry the onions) as we would probably consume them before they have a chance to get dried up...

These radishes were actually harvested some time ago... 

We like to cook these radishes in oden, which is a broth that includes other ingredients such as potatoes, tofu, fish cakes, burdock, boiled egg, among other stuff...

This other type of roundish radish is also good to eat...

They taste sweet even if simply boiled lightly...

Planted about 10 garlic seedlings in the strawberry patch last October...
Their size was pretty respectable, compared to those of previous seasons...

They apparently make good companions to the strawberries...

And, as a gesture of gratitude, I would like to dedicate this post to Stephenie of Steph's Green Space for graciously nominating me for the Versatile Blogger award... 

Many, many thanks...

And I would like to ask for her 'forgiveness' as I shall be breaking the rules quite a bit... 

I am going to make a special 'Versatile Blogger Award' mention of Robbie's blog Palm Rae Potager...

This is one gardening blog that I really enjoy visiting... 
The photos are superb... the stories, refreshing... and the garden, tastefully maintained...

Do hop over to take a peep at Robbie's beautiful pictures of Swiss chard in the latest post...

Greens, beans, roots, etc...

Am very happy with the goings-on at the potager... 

We have a lot of spinach this season... 

and they are flourishing... we harvest and eat them whole, roots included...

Planted this sole celery in April...

Didn't get to eat much of it...
with the cold coming in, it is growing really well...

Tried to germinate fava beans from seeds...
From eight seeds, six germinated successfully...

Our lettuce self-seeded...
We have about a dozen of them, thriving...
They are a constant part of our breakfast fare...

Bought three broccoli seedlings from the store...
All are doing well...

Sowed two types of radish seeds last September...
The round and long type...
They taste really good either fresh or cooked...

We love our carrots a lot...
Sowed the seeds in two plots...
Harvested the first carrot this morning for breakfast...
Wooh, heavenly...

Strawberries... just about everybody's favorite...
Seedlings were all sourced from the mother plants...
Looking forward to the fruits next spring...

Am growing this green just for my suweeto haato...
The ta-sai is one of her favorite leafy greens... have been harvesting them for a while now... we mostly stir-fried them with black beans...

Bought two seedlings of parsley...
Had them planted as companions to the strawberry patch... we harvest them a little at time to use as garnish for our breakfast pizza-toasts...

And finally, while still far away from harvesting, red onions, another 'must-have' order from my missus...
Sowed the seeds last October and they are still rather tiny...
Need to let the seedlings grow up to the size of chopsticks before I can transplant them for good...

Note: While this post is not really totally about harvesting, I am taking the liberty to link this post to Harvest Monday hosted by Daphne... hope she doesn't mind...

Potager Y on a hot, humid summer's day...

Been really busy with work lately....

It is during times like this when I ask myself, 'now why didn't I choose to become a full time farmer?'...

I have full freedom to decide how I want to work, when I wish to work, and nobody (except my sweeto haaato of course) tells me what to do...

Hee hee hee, now wouldn't that be nice...

If only I have the courage to decide so... :)

Ok folks, you will all have to forgive me while I put up some 'not-so-nice' pictures...

I worked last Sunday, and I am taking today (Wednesday) off...

Had planned to shoot some pictures with the 'real' camera but unfortunately I left it at my office...

So, I am making do with a point and shoot camera for these pics...  

Well, my cute little plants are growing...

Cucumbers (the Japanese and the US types), jalapeno chillies, nasturtiums red and yellow, few types of tomatoes, zucchinis, pumpkins yellow and green, sweet corn, basil of the sweet and Thai types, dill, marigolds and zinnias aplenty, rows of coriander, Malabar spinach red and green, kangkong, long beans, wing beans, fuji beans, loofa Egyptian and angled, the long-slender-green-real bitter gourd, butter scotch pumpkin, green beans, sweet potatoes, the normal potatoes just about ready for harvesting, peanuts that are starting to flower, bell peppers, amaranth red and green, Korean shiso or Perilla aka Beefsteak plant, Japanese yams of the round and long type, mini watermelons, okra, chard... did I miss anything?

We obtained some Black-eyed Susan seeds from an elderly lady on one of our walks in the neighborhood...

Took us more than two years to get them to flower in our potager...

Harvested some onions some time ago...

Had been hanging them out in the shade to dry them for use during the rainy day...

The Japanese folks call these hydrangea beauties, 'Ajisai'...

Of the several types in our property, this is my favorite...

And the tiger lily....

When we are done with enjoying the flowers, it is time to harvest the edible root-bulbs...

That is, if the wild boars do not get to harvest them first...

Nanking cherry, onions, geranium, loquats... for Theanne

I would like to dedicate this post to Theanne...
who at this moment, is feeling a little down...
thinking about the second year of her beloved husband's passing...
I hope this little post of the red, red cherries in Japan...
would bring over to her in Florida...
a little-little smile....

According to Wikipedia, the Nanking Cherry is also known as...
Korean cherry, Manchu cherry, Downy cherry,
Shanghai cherry, Ando cherry, Mountain cherry,
Chinese Bush cherry, Chinese Dwarf cherry, or Hansen's Bush Cherry....
Hmmm, so many names for just one fruit...

They are native to northern and western China (including Tibet),

Korea, Mongolia, and possibly northern India (Jammu and Kashmir, 

Anyway, it is quite a delicious fruit... tiny though but still, pretty...

A friend gave us 8 onions the other day...

They are big, round, fleshy...

Unlike the ones I grow... under-nourished, tiny, and skinny...

Yet, I'd like to think of my onions as being concentrated, power-packed, and full of flavor... 

I might have mentioned it before...

I just adore the flagrance of the rose geranium...

They are apparently indigenous to various parts of southern Africa,..

We sometimes use the leaves to add flavor to cookies...

This is the season for loquats... wooh hoo...

I love loquats...very much...

Their taste somewhat resemble that of the mango, I think...

We have three plants in our property...

Plus, there are lots of them growing wild in the hills...

The locals do not harvest them...

I do, and we make preserves out of them...

The Loquat is originally from southeastern China...

The fruit is high in vitamin A, dietary fiber, potassium, and manganese...

The seeds and young leaves of the plant are slightly poisonous...

We keep the seeds, dry them in the sun, and then make wine out of them...

Flowers to chew on...

This pic shows a salad mix prepared by my suweeto-haato...
The usual stuff like peas, red turnips, onions, cucumbers...
Plus, edible flowers like the blue borage, the red nasturtium, the sinewy, beige (?) rocket, the pink geranium... and the yellow chrysanthemum...
All these (except peas and onions) were from the garden...
Tossed in olive oil, they were quite a delight for the senses...


Ages ago when I first landed in Tokyo as an airline crew, I had my first taste of 'hiya yakko'...
Cold tofu, that is... and so, a summer dish...
It shocked me, actually, to feel the cold of the curd...
But you get used to it...
Here, combined with that green stuff freshly plucked from the garden, and spruced up with sesame seeds and soy sauce... hmmm... oishikatta...


Am blessed, thinking that I can enjoy home-made bread each morning...
This one, pizza-toast, should I say?
Onions, bell peppers, shredded cheeze on wholesome bread...
Topped up with dashes of tomato sauce...
And toasted to perfection... (well, almost...)


And, one of my all time favorites...
Tomato-based spaghetti... preferably combined with seafood...
This one was meat, though... but still with some sweet basil leaves thrown in...
Wooh, equally yummy...