adekun’s japan blog

The latest typhoon has brought heavy rain to Honshū. It’s passing south of Tokyo at the moment. The brassicas have taken a weathering as the gusts have been strong.
I took a photo a few days prior on what was a nice day. From the left:

Garlic
Sweet Potatoes
Hakusai, Cabbages, Broccoli
Spinach
Carrots
Beetroot
Mizuna
Potatoes (jumble of oddments in front)
Asparagus at the back

A day during the past week I was left to fend for myself. Having got a few beers, I took to the garden to see what could be dinner. It was an opportune time to give the sweet potatoes a test. Regrettably, my garden nemesis had the same idea, only a few months previous and is still at it. The first pulled was a surprise as it was sprouting, normally the shoots (called slips) are planted rather than growing them from the tubers.

Fumbling around a bit more, I came to one that wouldn’t budge. Rather like in the story of the Giant Turnip. After some effort, it came free to reveal a gnawed outside. Several plump nekirimushi were unearthed at the same time. I wanted to bake a large sweet potato in the oven, but this one would have taken hours. They are sometimes sold for ¥88 per 100g instead of by quantity; this weighed one and a half kilos.
My wife came home early as I was prepping thick slices in the microwave. We went out to a sushi restaurant instead.

Over the following days, it got finished off, despite being of bad flavour. Although the same problems persist from the bugs, the more modest sized ones taken today are much more agreeable. As is Kirin’s latest beer.

Over the past week, the nights have been noticeably cooler. So much so, I seem to have disappeared deep under the covers, in lieu of concluding anything (except beer).
Today was hot. In the morning, I checked on the brassicas and found that the tender centre of one of the hakusai had been devoured. The glum feeling was soon vanquished as I spotted the first shoot of garlic to have speared through the soil.
The garlic is adjacent to the herb garden and a presently unkempt corner of the garden. Prior to lunch, I went out again to see if there were any more developments. I counted a further two and heard something rustling between my feet. I looked down to find an incoming snake, rather like that scene with Roger Moore in Live and Let Die. Without a cigar and aftershave, I could only hop to the side as it raised its head and call to my wife. It scuttled back from where it had come, which was rather good of it, giving me a decent look of it. It might have been a Shimahebi or Hibakari?
Most lunchtimes, my wife’s aunty takes her break at the house. She said she has seen a few Aodaishō (Japanese Rat Snake) in the front garden, they reach a length of between one a two metres. Still, it was somewhat unexpected.

I think I have been somewhat influenced by Patrick and Steph over at Bifurcated Carrots and In the toad’s garden. If being a touch frugal the garlic could last until late spring. Instead, it’s being invested, along with some elephant garlic, in the ground.
Although it doesn’t look a lot, the size of the cloves are more akin to heads of the organic stuff sold for ¥300 a piece. A potato ricer might be more appropriate than the nice stainless press my parents gave me. The Aomori garlic is to the left.

The heads were broken up at the beginning of the week, only today did I start planting them. A dozen hakusai (Chinese cabbage), several cabbages, and a few broccoli plants jumped the queue. Still got about a hundred cloves to plant, but hopeful the bending over will keep us stocked closer to a year.