Much ado about nothing

As the summer days go by, my family is staying home. My husband continues to work from our bedroom. Our son does his summer school work in the morning and plays with the neighbor kids in the afternoons. I spend my days reading, cooking, and doing random tasks. It is nothing like I dreamed our summer would look like.

We watch the Olympics on television, just like the rest of the world. We've enjoyed watching the games, including tonight's equestrian jumping event (we loved the fun Japanese themed jumps). I feel bad for the athletes that have come all this way to compete, but are not able to experience Japan. I heard about 2 athletes that decided to sneak out of their hotel. They were caught and had their Olympic IDs revoked as punishment. It is such a shame.

I realized earlier this week that I have only left the house 2 times in the past week, both times to go to the grocery store. While I have most of my produce delivered, I still need to grab other ingredients periodically. Even after living here for almost 4 years, I still feel like my fridge is incredibly small! While most Japanese people shop daily or every other day, I still prefer to go to the shops only once or twice a week. It is just something that I don't think I will ever get used to. The only type of shopping that I want to do every single day is gathering items from a garden.

Speaking of the garden, my pots are miserable in the heat. Many of my plants, just like in years past, have bolted or keeled over even though I've been religious about watering them. My tomatoes seem to be the only thing happy out there right now. We're getting a good bowl full of cherry tomatoes every other day. Oh, and the sage is ready to harvest. I will most likely make my beloved brown butter sage pesto tomorrow after my best friend inspired me to do so by mentioning it today.

My big excitement this week was being able to order plain Cheerios from a website called iHerb.com (they specialize in herbal supplements). I'd been hearing about the website for a while, but my husband was hesitant to open another online account. Luckily, my neighbor orders from them and told me I could add to her order anytime. It might seem strange to be excited about getting a box of Cheerios, but familiar tastes of home really provide a lifeline at times. I still recall special packages sent to us over the years with peanut butter, graham crackers, spices, apple chips, pretzels, my beloved Puffs tissues, and more. Every package has meant so much and left us feeling elated beyond belief!

As summer continues to pass us by, I wonder if we will get to do anything special. It is looking like a resounding no. That realization makes both the US and Japan feel even further away than they have been for the past year and a half.

Picky, picky!

When we lived in Seattle, we had a lovely yard with a decent sized garden. I tried to plant lots of edibles around the yard, which our son loved to nibble from regularly. He could often be found devouring strawberries, blueberries, plums, snap peas, tomatoes, and cucumbers. He'd also nibble kale, basil, and many other kinds of greens. Sometimes we had a hard time getting him to stop dining al fresco! We learned quickly that one cucumber plant would never be enough for our tenacious eater.

While I try to grow a few things in our little rock garden, I struggle with growing edibles in pots. The extreme weather of Japan doesn't help in my endeavor, with crazy rainy seasons and a very hot summer.

So, when we have the chance to go to a farm and let him harvest to his heart's desire, we jump at the chance. Our latest farm escapade took us to greenhouses filled with strawberries.

Strawberries are mainly grown in green houses in Japan, extending the season from December through April. When they are grown outdoors, they are ready between May and June. For those that don't sell their fruit commercially, many offer u-pick options for customers.

My parents took us berry picking every summer when I was a kid. We always loved going out into the fields and filling our buckets or boxes with as many berries as we could. Of course, we also filled our bellies as well. My dad would often joke to the owners "You should weigh the kids on the way in and out and charge me for all the berries that they eat. You'll make more money that way." He was onto something, and Japanese farmers listened to his recommendation.

Many Japanese farmers choose to sell their u-pick strawberries using an entrance fee method that allows customers to eat as much as they want for an allotted time of picking. We paid ¥2,000 ($18 USD) per person for 30 minutes of strawberry gluttony. We hadn't told our son where we were headed, so when he realized we were going to gorge ourselves on strawberries, his head practically exploded.

This greenhouse offered 5 different kinds of strawberries grown in pots at shoulder height. Upon entering, we washed our hands and were given little trays with a small amount of sweetened condensed milk to dip our strawberries into (a common way of eating strawberries here). Then we were encouraged to go forth and eat.

It was a bit hard to pace ourselves. The berries were so juicy and flavorful! We ate and ate, just like I did as a kid. The big difference being we weren't being pummeled by the summer sun and we didn't need to put any into buckets that we would haul home. Of course, that means no strawberry jam or strawberry shortcake, but we were just grateful for what we could enjoy.

Curious about pollination, we learned this farm utilizes worker bees that don't sting and do not make honey. They live in cardboard boxes strategically placed throughout the greenhouse.

After 30 minutes, it was time to roll ourselves out of the greenhouse. I don't think we could have fit another berry into our bellies, yet we all had smiles plastered onto our faces. The berries might not have been from our yard or garden, but the experience of getting to eat as many berries as our hearts desired was still a satisfying experience.

The magic dragon

We are so tired of staying home. We are doing our best to be strong, but it is really hard. So, we go on bike rides. The weekends have become time for long bike rides going in whatever direction the wind takes us. It is hard in the heat, but we persist (and take lots of water with us).

In the mood for a long escape, we hopped on our bikes and headed to my husband and son's favorite shrine in Tokyo prefecture. A short 10 km bike ride from home is Tanashi Jinja, a shrine protected by dragons.

My husband and son had gone a couple times without me. Every time they returned, they would say "you need to go to this shrine!" So, this time, I went along for the (long) ride.

Tanashi Jinja was founded in the 13th century, but has been in it's current location since 1670. The inner shrine building features beautifully carved dragons from 1875. It is amazing to look at the carvings. They are so detailed.

There are 5 dragon statues placed around the property of the shrine. Red, White, Black, Blue, and Gold dragons are all represented. The main shrine building (the one with all the carvings) houses the golden dragon. 

I was expecting to see the dragon statues. After all, I had heard several reports about them. I was not expecting to see a sumo mound, known as a dohyo (dough-hhh-yo). It was donated by the Showa era great champion, Taiho. He made it 27 years ago for the shrine as a prayer for the nation to have a great harvest. While I don't necessarily see the connection, it made enough sense to the sumo champion to build a mound and ring on shrine property.

While we were at the shrine, we were able to listen to several ceremonies taking place.  The sound of the monk chanting and the taiko drum beating is very relaxing to me.  

I'm sure we will be back to this shrine. It was really interesting. Unfortunately, it was just super hot and I needed to cut it short.

After getting home, I needed to water the garden pots for a second time that day. It was then that my son and I realized that we had grown rice! There were grains revealing themselves.  It was so exciting. It felt like a gift from the dragons. After all, my husband and son got the rice to grow and directions from this shrine.  We made the effort and they repaid it with prosperity. Regardless of the validity of this idea, it was fun to imagine.

From a volunteer

Last October a tiny little volunteer tomato appeared in a container.  I left it alone, barely ever watering it over the winter even though it was under the overhang and unreached by rain.  It lived through the winter, which was shocking to say the least.  Slowly it grew tomatoes and yesterday we were able to enjoy the first fruit of the season.

Tomato - Vernissage from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

There is nothing better in my book than the taste of homegrown tomatoes!  But ones that I didn't even baby are even better.  

Since the seeds that I planted back in March have not even flowered yet, this is an extra lovely treat.

Starting rice from seed - Part 2

After growing our rice for just 20 days, it was time for the next step.  We carefully scooped up the individual sprouts, careful not to damage the roots.  My son was super enthusiastic to help because it meant that he got to get his hands super muddy.

We picked out the tallest and thickest shoots to bundle in groups of five shoots to replant.  I always find it painful to toss aside the little ones, but I had to be strong.  We had no problem picking out 15 beautiful shoots.

Once all three bundles of five shoots were replanted, we covered the soil in a few inches of water.  It is my job to make sure there is always standing water in the container does not reach the top of the soil until the rice is fully grown.  Luckily the rainy season is on its way.

Starting rice from seed

My husband and son received a small packet of rice "seed" (meaning totally unprocessed) from a shrine.  It came with instructions in how to grow it in a bucket.  We had to purchase the bucket and three types of soil.  Always looking for new things to try, we decided to try to grow some rice.  We're entering into this knowing that we won't be growing any measurable quantity of it.  It is more just a fun experiment to show our son all the stages that this vital crop goes through in order to get to the table.

We started with two steps - soaking the rice until it sprouted and drying out the soil.  Both of these steps were perfect for including our son.  He loved checking on the rice for hints of change.  Of course, mixing the soil (6 scoops of black soil, 3 scoops of medium grain soil, and 1 of small grain soil) was even more exciting.

A couple days later, when the rice was ready, we turned the dirt into mud.  Getting to mix the water with the dirt was what many kids dreams are made of, so my son was super keen to stir it all together.  He needed a bit of help towards the end because it is rather thick!

Once properly mixed, he dropped the sprouted rice with at least a 1 inch space between each grain.  Then he poked each one down so it disappeared under the mud (about a 1/4 inch).

Now the waiting game begins.  This is normal for gardening of any kind.  The anticipation.  The wonder if we will be successful.  The hope.  It is all there.

Mother's Day surprise

While I did receive flowers from my husband on Mother's Day, that wasn't the big surprise.  They weren't even the typical Japanese Mother's Day flowers of red carnations.  Instead they were my beloved gerbera daisies and roses.

I also wasn't surprised when my son tried to not let me come downstairs in the morning, but later ran to get me saying "momma, come quick!"  My boys are rock stars when it comes to making me breakfast on the weekends.  Today they went all out and made a traditional Japanese breakfast of fish, tamagoyaki, miso soup, and rice, along with matcha tea.

What was surprising was when they left me for a couple hours in the afternoon and returned with worms!  What???  Well, these are special composting worms known as red wigglers.  Their poop is known in the gardening world as the gold level of compost.

I have bemoaned not having a worm bin here, so my husband and son thought I would be happy to receive a package of red wigglers as a gift.  They had to visit two fishing shops (which I doubt there are many of in Tokyo) to secure the worms.  Some people "raise them" not for gardening, but for fishing because they multiply quickly and are easy to manage.

I couldn't be more thrilled with receiving this thoughtful gift!

I had some coconut core bricks from gardening that I was able to hydrate and build them a bed inside a plastic bin we had on hand.  We tucked some celery leaves and an apple core into the bedding and tucked the worms in for some excellent dining.  Now all we do it wait for them to eat more of our kitchen waste and turn it into amazing plant food.

I doubt that I will be sharing this new venture with many of my Japanese friends.  They already think I am weird because I had chickens and ducks in the US without being a farmer.

This was definitely a memorable Mother's Day!  One that I will be able to reflect upon for a very long time.

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If you are interested in vermicomposting, I learned everything from the book "Worms Eat my Garbage" by Joanne Olszewski and Mary Arlene Appelhof.  It is an amazing resource!

Are there ever enough plants?

We decided to make the trek to Ozaki Flower Park to look for a couple plants I've been wanting.  Knowing the mosquitos are on their way (we've already been bitten a couple times!), I wanted to buy some plants that they don't like.

We took our time getting there, because getting any distance from our house is a rare occurrence these days.  Since Ozaki is over 7 kilometers (over 4 miles) away, we took the time to stop by some new to us places, like a temple that we've passed many times but never stopped by.

When we arrived we were greeted with a plethora of plants.  I was most intrigued by what I thought was cat grass.  But it wasn't cat grass, it was rice!  That was something I have never seen at a garden store before.

We didn't stay long, because... well... now isn't the time for wandering around aimlessly in stores, even if they are outdoors.

As we were checking out, we noticed the cashier was wearing something around her neck that was labeled as "virus away".  Curious, in part because we've seen several people wearing these, my husband asked her about it.  She replied that a friend gave it to her to help keep Covid 19 at bay.

One quick look on the internet, and these are a complete hoax.  I am not surprised by this whatsoever.  In fact, many countries have actually banned the sale of these!  But they are for sale and being purchased in Japan.  After seeing the package online, I realized I've seen them at several stores around town.  I guess I just found them to be so ridiculous that I had completely put them out of my mind.

We found everything I was looking for - including more seeds for microgreens. I didn't buy the rice, but I certainly was tempted.  How fun would that be?

A bit of greenery

The pots in my little rock garden are really coming to life.  It is a little oasis out there at the moment.  One of my neighbors likes to stop over and gaze over the fence.  She always exclaims how nice it looks.  I hope it can keep it up!  Growing in pots has always been a challenge for me.

The miracle tomato that self-propagated and already has flowers!

Potatoes, lavender, and celery

My son's raspberry.  He checks it daily for flowers.

Future salads from starts and seeds, plus slug fighting marigolds.

Garlic chives (a key ingredient of gyoza) and garlic, plus a random flower.

Snow peas, sage, pea shoots, spinach, and flowers.

The "empty" box is basil.

Baby basil!

I've started growing lots of  microgreens, which we have already been enjoying in salads and so forth.  They definitely make me feel successful!

A variety of microgreens, my son's beans, and more.

Microgreens - peas, rocket/arugula, broccoli, salad mix

For the moment, I am not worried about bugs or stressed plants.  I am ore concerned with keeping up with my son's demands for salads and eating things straight from plants that we've grown!