TeaChat

Xell wrote:I'm getting really interested in fruit trees.

Although not a fruit, will you grow any shiso on the side ? Or maybe fresh shiso is commonly available in Japanese markets. I wil be (trying) growing some red shiso this year. Last time I tasted shiso was years ago and it was pickled, so I'm looking forward to (hopefully) taste some homegrown fresh this year.

For those who are wondering, shiso is a plant whose leaves are used in many Japanese dishes. It is called the Japanese basil. Or 'perilla' for its latin name. There is both green and red shiso. Often you can see it with umeboshi pickled plums. Shiso seeds are available in North America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perilla

First try to grow vegetables in Japan failed a bit First of all, farm was not used for a while so a lot of weeds on side. Seems it attracted many annoying insects. Crop of dill and parsley was almost destroyed. Thought i managed to get about 2kg of dill and dry it out. Now planting again, but some protection measures. Most of parsley was eaten, but about 1/3 plants survived and now a lot of fresh leaves appeared.

Cutworm didn't stop there... destroyed 7 of 8 watermelon seedlings

Also first try on beets in Japan failed a bit, but still good enough crop. Already prepared some borsch, everyone really liked it And i actually found some sour cream for it, though was quite expensive, about 4.5$ for 90ml. My mistake was, i didn't test soil.

But something good too, the apple tree i planted is growing like on steroids

I will have better plan for next year spring and consult with local farmer associations.


p.s.
I don't really like taste of Japanese basil, so didn't try to grow it. And yes, it's really common. Especially during plum season, when a lot of house wife's prepare their own umeboshi My wife's grandmother prepares some amazingly sour ones, but still i like taste, really nice inside rice balls during hiking

For cutworms you need to make collars for your seedlings and put a layer of wood ash outside of the collar.
For weeds you need to not disturb the soil which means cutting weeds off at ground level and also using a thick mulch to suppress them.

I do a bit of gardening in a different sense than you intended ....... small Japanese style garden.

best,

.................john

JBaymore? Tsubo Niwa?

beecrofter wrote:For cutworms you need to make collars for your seedlings and put a layer of wood ash outside of the collar.
For weeds you need to not disturb the soil which means cutting weeds off at ground level and also using a thick mulch to suppress them.

Yes, now i know it too But this time it was too late. It was my first meeting with cutworm, before that i didn't even know about their existence. Also some additional protection methods, like planting on side Marigold flowers and peppermint, which can help draw back unwanted insects. Plant sunflowers on side of farm to distract some harmful insects from vegetables. I don't want to use pesticides and for herbs it's especially bad idea. Most of land was not used for many years, so it's a bit difficult to start using it again.

JBaymore wrote:I do a bit of gardening in a different sense than you intended ....... small Japanese style garden.

best,

.................john

That's my next plan, i also really enjoy Japanese gardens. But for this i need more free time and spare some cash I definitely want a small pond and some fitting landscape items.

beecrofter wrote:JBaymore? Tsubo Niwa?

Tsubo niwa ja nai, ne. Skoshi oki no desu. Yon juu hachi tsubo desu (the other tsubo! ). Dono kurai.

ato de,

....john

skilfautdire wrote:I wil be (trying) growing some red shiso this year.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perilla

Be careful with that Shiso! My mother grew some of the red shiso several years ago, and now it's impossible to get rid of. Well, maybe not impossible, but it is quite enthusiastic about self-seeding, so take care. Good luck!

twinofmunin wrote:Be careful with that Shiso! My mother grew some of the red shiso several years ago, and now it's impossible to get rid of. Well, maybe not impossible, but it is quite enthusiastic about self-seeding, so take care. Good luck!

Yes, I just got some Shiso seeds from a Vietnamese colleague who described it in exactly in the same terms. So I am forwarned ! I got some fresh leaves from his garden (red Shiso) and I find it tastes pretty good. Also got a plant of what is called 'fish mint' (Diếp Cá) which is decidely strong-tasting but also good. Hopefully both will grow well in our garden !

twinofmunin wrote:

skilfautdire wrote:I wil be (trying) growing some red shiso this year.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perilla

Be careful with that Shiso! My mother grew some of the red shiso several years ago, and now it's impossible to get rid of. Well, maybe not impossible, but it is quite enthusiastic about self-seeding, so take care. Good luck!

So true, i have now some plants growing between my parsley rows. And no one actually was growing shiso before at that place!

Really hot and freaking amount of mosquitoes, not that interesting to work in such conditions

I was looking for the Teachat gardening club and looks like I found it.

That 'fish mint' (Diếp Cá) is the same as "Dokudami" 蕺草 in Japanese. I like it with fish dishes and in spring rolls (Gỏi cuốn).

I also love the perilla herb ("Rau tía tô" or "shiso"). This one of my favorite. I wish I could get it to grow like a weed. I live in a summer-dry climate so this warm growing herb requires extra watering in the summer.
It seems there are many varieties of shiso- the Vietnamese type has purple underneath and dark green on top with small teeth. The Japanese types have large teeth and come in red (for pickles) and green.

Another really great fresh herb is Vietnamese coriander ("rau răm", Persicaria odorata). It is delicious with poultry, fish, and salads.

Just plucked these from my Patio Garden. Tonda Di Parigi an Heirloom carrot great for container gardens due to their short and round shape.



First time in my adult life I've had a place I've felt comfortable growing food. Already ate all the lettuce I've grown, been practicing cut and come with the Kale. Peppers had a late start might get some late in the year if the frost is not early. Ate all of my Chard already. Pole Beans are going to town and have started blossoming.

I have an some herbs, then Chinese long beans, 2 heirloom tomato plants that have fruits nearing ripeness, beets. All except for beets are grown in a container.

I am quite envious of you growing Chinese long beans! I would love to see some pictures of that.

I love gardening but since I moved to the city I am currently in I can no longer do it. Not that I ever could on a large scale, but there is much more available land where I am originally from. There is nothing quite like watching your own food grow and then picking it fresh off and eating it. Currently, I am growing herbs that are good for the window sill. I tried this last year when I lived in a different apartment and it failed miserably seeing as the sun was blocked out by having two of the tallest buildings in the city right next door. Now I have a window that overlooks the wide expanses where there are no buildings to get in my way and I get TONS of sunlight. So I am able to grow things like basil, cilantro, dill, parsley etc. This is all so exciting to me because I use a lot of herbs in my cooking but I also make herbal tea with them. I also was reading on here about someone oxidizing herbs they grow and using them for tea and I thought that was a brilliant idea!

I love reading about your gardens and seeing the pictures. I'm glad to see people doing such things. Thank you for sharing and please continue to post more about your adventures in gardening!