枸杞の発芽など Goji Berries germinating etc

 ７日前の７月３日に種まきしたクコが、もう発芽し始めました。写真左は赤クコ、右は黒クコです。どちらも多めに種を播いたので、最終的には最も勢いのあるものを３本ずつ鉢上げして育てる予定です。

I sowed seeds of red and black goji berries on 3rd July, ie, only 7 days ago, and they are already starting to germinate.  In the below photo, the container on the left is for red goji berries, and the one on the right for black goji berries.  I sowed a lot of seeds in each case so, there should be a lot more coming out.  Ultimately, I will choose 3 most robust looking plants in each case and pot them individually.

こちらは寧夏産の赤クコ。

These are red goji berries.

こちらはチベット産の黒クコ。

These are black goji berries.

公園へ行く途中の石神井川の岸に生えていたヒルガオが気に入ったので、ツルの一部を採取して挿し木で育てました。意外と簡単でした。花は、白地にほんのりピンクの筋が入ります。

There was an unusual looking Calystegia pubescens plant on the bank of Shakujii River near the Johoku Park.  I liked it and grew this from a cutting, which was surprisingly easy to do.  Normally, the flower is pink all over, but this one is white with pink streaks.

昨日から急に暑くなり、今日の最高気温は33℃。早朝散歩から帰るとタイガは玄関タイルの上で伸びていました。

Our rainy season looks almost finished and the temperature is rising.  After returning from the walk in the park, Taiga spent most of the day lying on the cool tiles in the porch.

YouTubeで見かけたサプリを買ってみました。注文は日本の業者のサイトで行い、商品は米国から発送されるそうですが、あっと言う間に届きました。品物は、粉末ケルプです。

粉末ケルプを推奨する米国の健康オタク系チャンネルはいくつもあって、うち一つはワンコの歯石に役立つと言っていましたが、ラベルの説明を読むと人間の大人用のみを想定しているようです。なので、タイガに与えるかどうかは、更に調べてから決めます。

I saw an interesting item on the YouTube recently and decided to try it.  The order was placed with a shop in Japan, and the product was shipped from the US.  To my amazement, it arrived rather quickly, for which I am grateful.  

I had never heard of powder kelp before.  One of the channels that particularly caught my attention said that it could help with dog's plaque.  On reading the instruction on the label, however, the product is recommended for (human) 'adults' only.  So, I will do more research before deciding on use with Taiga.

味見すると塩味の強い粉末昆布という印象です。食事と一緒に摂取するよう推奨されているので、昆布出汁を使うようなおかずに向いているかもしれません。

When I tasted the powder, it reminded me of very salty seaweed.  Since the label recommends taking it with meals, I will be using it in dishes where I would have prepared seaweed stock.  In traditional Japanese cooking, we often use seaweed stock.

久しぶりの青空 Blue sky in weeks

 うちから坂を下りて行ったところの草地の景色です。こんなに綺麗な青空は本当に久しぶりです。気温が高いのと以前よりは湿気が少ないせいか、坐骨神経痛があまり気にならずに早朝散歩に出かけました。

This is the open space which lies at the bottom of the slope when we come down the road from our house.  I have not seen such a blue sky for many weeks.  The warm weather and relatively dry air seemed to alleviate my sciatica, and I managed to enjoy this morning's walk.

公園につくと木々の葉っぱが朝日を浴びてキラキラしています。

When we arrived at the park, leaves on trees were sparkling in the morning light.

早朝の草地は冷たくて気持ち良いので、タイガも嬉しそう。

The grass was cool to the touch in the early morning, and Taiga seemed content.

さっそく草風呂です。

She started rolling on the grass.

すっきりした？

Feel refreshed after the 'grass bath'?

タイガは13歳。口の周りが白くなっています。

At 13 years old, around Taiga's mouth has become grey.

別の草地へ移動して、築山の上からあたりを見回しながら、しばらくくつろぎました。

We moved to another field.  We sat down on a mound from where we could look around us.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

午後にヨーグルトケーキを焼きました。手軽に作れるのに、とても美味しいケーキです。

Feeling happy due to the fine weather, I baked a yogurt cake in the afternoon.  It is an easy cake to make and yet it is delicious.

材料の微調整を重ねて、ケーキが冷めても内側へ縮まずに正方形を保つことができるようになりました。

By continuing to adjust ingredients, I have arrived at an optimum recipe.  With this final recipe, the cake does not shrink after cooling completely.  Instead, it retains the perfectly square shape.

高さも、焼き上がったときのまま。

Also, the height remains the same as when it came out of the oven.

最後のブルーベリーを収穫したので、無理やりトッピングに使いました。

I picked the last of my blueberries today and used them as topping, just for the sake of using them.

ヨーグルトと塩の存在で、チーズケーキっぽい風味です。

Thanks to the yogurt and salt, the cake tastes a little like a baked cheesecake.

イチゴ Strawberries

 スーパーの帰りに近所のJAを覗いてみたら、ワイルドストロベリーの苗が１ダース入荷したところでした。入荷ホヤホヤ苗にしては、かなりお疲れの様子です。ここまで葉っぱがクタッとしている原因は、

On my way home after the supermarket, I looked into the nearby JA where I saw a dozen of newly arrived wild strawberries.  However, in spite of being 'just arrived', they were looking beaten down.  The reason being

中間業者の管理不足のようです。カラカラの根鉢が縮こまって、器との間に大きな隙間ができるほど乾燥しています。それでもタフに生きているので、まともな環境を用意してやれば元気に育つはず、と思って買ってきました。

this extremely dry state.  I suspect that the middleman did not look after them properly.  The root ball is so dry and has shrunk that there was an alarming gap between the root ball and the wall of the pot.  In spite of this dire state, the plant was surviving.  So, I thought that if I provided it with a proper environment, it would grow vigorously.

なぜ「中間業者」の管理不足を疑うのかというと、植わっている鉢は小じゃれたテラコッタの鉢なので、育苗業者の思いが伝わってきました。

The reason why I suspected the middleman's handling was based on the fact that the plant came in a nice terracotta pot.  I felt that the original grower cared for it and gave it a proper pot.

蕾があちこちに出ています。収穫は春から秋までがメインですが、四季なり性があるようです。

The plant has several stems with flower buds, which means that I can expect to enjoy fruits for some time.   

品種名は「ゴールデンアレキサンドリア」、黄色っぽい葉っぱが特徴です。ランナーが出ないので、増やすには単に株分けすれば良いそうです。

This is a variety named 'Golden Alexandria' with light green leaves.  Its main fruiting season lasts from spring to autumn, with sporadic fruiting in other seasons, too.

鉢から出してみると、本当にカラッカラでした。

I took the roots out of the pot - there was no hint of moisture in the soil.

水はけのよい用土で植え替えしました。たっぷり水やりして暫くすると、さっきまでクタアッとしていた葉っぱが起き上がってきました。

I replanted it with well-draining soil and gave lots of water.  After a while, the withering leaves came back into life and they looked as they should.

真上から見ても、以前よりは密になっています。

Looking at it from above, I can hardly see the soil.

熟していた２個をさっそく試食。普通のイチゴの刺すような甘味ではなく上品な甘さで、香りがワイルドストローベリーらしい濃厚な香りでした。

I tasted the two fruits that were ripe.  They were not piercingly sweet like normal strawberries, but softer.  The flavour was very rich just like wild strawberries.

せっかくのテラコッタ鉢なので、またモミジの盆栽に挑戦してみようと思います。（去年のノムラモミジの発芽苗は、鉢が小さすぎたのか枯れてしまいました。）

I love the clay pot that came with the plant.  Not to waist it, I think I will start a bonsai maple tree again.  The two Nomura maple trees that germinated last year did not survive the hot summer 2025.  Perhaps the pot I used then was far too small, for a beginner.

今年の春に、完熟の実付き「べにほっぺ」苗を買いました。小さな苗でしたが、とても美味しい実だったので気に入りました。以来、ランナーが出て、今では来年用に２個の子苗ができています。

I bought a small strawberry plant with ripe fruits on it in spring this year.  The berries were delicious, so I have been looking after the plant.  It started growing runners and I have already made two new plants for next year.  The pots at the front are the baby plants, and the one at the back is the plant I got this spring.

親苗のほうは、最近またしても花茎が伸びてきて開花が始まりました。親苗は翌年以降は実つきが悪くなるそうなので、今年いっぱいで処分する予定です。

To my delight, the parent plant started growing a flower stem recently, and now berries are growing.  I will keep the parent up to the end of coming autumn, since I am told that they become much less productive from the 2nd year onwards.

こちらは子苗。ランナーが伸び続けるので、あと１苗作る予定です。

These are the baby plants for next year.  The runners keep coming out, so I plan to grow another new plant, making the total for next year 3.

門の横の素芯オニユリは今が開花ピークです。うちの植物は食べられるものがメインなので、ユリの花は貴重です（実際は、オニユリおよび山百合の球根は食べられますが、うちの素芯オニユリや紅筋山百合は花を愛でるマニア向けなので、食用という位置づけではありません）。

The spotless Oniyuri lilies are now at their peak of blooming.  Since I grow mainly fruit trees and edible plants in my place, these flowers are precious.  (Actually, the bulbs of Oniyuri and Yamayuri ARE edible, but the varieties I grow are rare so eating them is out of the question.)

多田錦柚子など Seedless Yuzu etc

 去年買った多田錦柚子に幼果が育っています。この苗はおととしの冬に買った多田錦が全く芽吹かず１年が経過して掘り出してみたら、根っこが無いことが分かったので、急遽他の店から取り寄せたものです。去年は鉢で養生して、今年の春先に地植えにしました。現在90cmほどの樹高です。まだまだチビ苗なので、最近勢いよく伸び始めたラズベリー苗に埋もれています。

The seedless yuzu, Tadanishiki, has young fruits growing.  This is the second plant - the first one I bought 2 years ago arrived with hardly any leaves, nor did it grow any new leaves.  When I dug it out in spring last year, the roots were rotten.  So, I got another one from a different store and this one is doing exceptionally well.  I kept it in a pot last year and planted it in the ground this spring.  It started growing a lot of new branches since then and had quite a few flowers.

地植えなので、このまま完熟まで行きそうな気がします。

Thanks to the benefits of growing in the ground, as opposed to a pot, I think these young fruits will grow to maturity.

その横に植わっているカラカラは、もう数年たっていますが今年も花さえ咲きませんでした。そのかわり、高接ぎしてある星タンゴールの枝に１個だけ実が着いています。これも、ここまで大きくなれば落果せずに行けそうです。

Next to the yuzu plant is Cara Cara orange tree which has been here for several years.  It continues to concentrate on growing the tree, instead of producing flowers.  However, the branch of a golden orange variety, Hoshi Tangor, that is grafted onto Cara Cara has one fruit for the first time.  I think this fruit is secure and stay until maturity.

門とカラカラの間に置いてある鉢植えの素芯オニユリも咲き始めました。年々 球根が増えるので、鉢の置き場に困ります。

Between the gate and Caracara, I have several pots of Spotless Tiger Lilies that have started to bloom.  The number of bulbs increases every year, and I am running out of space for the pots.

道の横に咲いているので、通りがかりの人たちが褒めて行きました。

These flowers are standing next to the road, and some passers-by have made kind remarks.

玄関横の鉢植えのは蕾の数が多いので、咲き終わるまでまだ楽しめそうです。

The ones in front of the porch are continuing to flower.  These are mature and large bulbs, so they have lots of flower buds to go through yet.

今年の３月に買った「トゲ無しノイバラ」の苗は、

The thornless wild multiflora rose plant I bought in March this year looked like this then.

今ではこんなに大きくなりました。元々 樹実した苗が出荷のために枝を切り詰められた状態だったので、最近の毎日の雨で枝がビュンビュン伸びました。来年からの開花が期待できそうです。ここまで成長してもトゲ無しなので、良い買い物でした。

It has grown to this size.  To be fair, the plant was already mature when it was bought - the branches had been severely cut down close to the ground immediately before shipping out.  The warm and nurturing rain we are having has added to the growth.  With all these branches, I am optimistic that the plant will have flowers next spring.  Another encouraging thing is that the plant has remained thornless even at this size, so I made a lucky purchase.

昨日届いたクコの実から種を取り出して播いてみました。左が黒クコ、右が赤実のクコです。種播きの適期はあるのか分かりませんが、これで発芽しなくても他の季節に何度かトライします。

I extracted some seeds from the goji berries that arrived yesterday.  The pot on the left contains seeds of black goji berries, and the one on the right contains seeds from red goji berries.  It may not be the best season to sow seeds now, but I can keep trying in all seasons until I get a few plants.