Any hobby gardeners here?

[skilfautdire]

Re: Any hobby gardeners here?

by skilfautdire » May 8th, '11, 19:02

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

[Xell]

Re: Any hobby gardeners here?

by Xell » Jun 23rd, '11, 10:54

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

[beecrofter]

Re: Any hobby gardeners here?

by beecrofter » Jun 23rd, '11, 11:52

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.

[JBaymore]

Re: Any hobby gardeners here?

by JBaymore » Jun 23rd, '11, 12:34

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

best,

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

[beecrofter]

Re: Any hobby gardeners here?

by beecrofter » Jun 23rd, '11, 21:20

JBaymore? Tsubo Niwa?

[Xell]

Re: Any hobby gardeners here?

by Xell » Jun 24th, '11, 06:45

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.

[Xell]

Re: Any hobby gardeners here?

by Xell » Jun 24th, '11, 06:59

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.

[JBaymore]

Re: Any hobby gardeners here?

by JBaymore » Jun 24th, '11, 07:22

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

[twinofmunin]

Re: Any hobby gardeners here?

by twinofmunin » Jun 25th, '11, 15:47

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!

[skilfautdire]

Re: Any hobby gardeners here?

by skilfautdire » Jul 8th, '11, 22:18

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 !

[Xell]

Re: Any hobby gardeners here?

by Xell » Jul 9th, '11, 01:57

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