リンゴの袋を外して1週間ほど経ちました。袋なしの状態だと、毎日の水やりで少しずつ肥大しているのを実感できます。
It has been a week since I removed the bags from the apples. Without the bags, I can watch the fruits growing, albeit slowly, when I water the trees every day.
右側のまん丸の実はグラニースミス、向こうの扁平な実が「紅の夢」です。
The round fruits on the right are Granny Smith, and the flat fruits on the left are the red-fleshed variety called 'Kurenai-no-Yume'.
これは紅の夢の中で一番大きいもの。
This is the largest of Kurenai-no-Yume.
手に取るとズシリときます。
It weighs heavy in my hand.
これはグラニースミスの最も大きいもの。まだまだ小さいけれど、この品種独特の緑に白い斑点や丸い形をみると、生食用にスーパーなどに並んでいたのを思い出します。生食用のは、外観の良いうちに早採りして出荷されるのでやや小粒。そのまま木に生らせておくと、普通サイズのリンゴに育つけど、形が若干ゴツゴツしてくるのと、果皮が黄色っぽくなります。
This is the largest of Granny Smith. It is still tiny, but it shows the white spots against the backdrop of green, and the shape of the fruit is roundish. It reminds me of the Granny Smith apples I used to buy in supermarkets when I was a student in England. Granny Smith apples sold for fresh eating are harvested before they are fully ripe. As a result, they are small in size but have the beautiful appearance. When fully ripe, those apples are as large as any other varieties, but the shape is not as smooth, and the skin colour becomes pale.
ここへ来て問題発生。これ↓は１週間前に袋を外した直後のきれいな実。
A few days ago, I spotted a problem in Kurenai-no-Yume. This photo is from 1 week ago, when I removed the bags, and the fruits are perfectly clean.
それが現在はこのように、何かに齧られたような跡があります。２,３日前に傷を発見したときはコガネムシか何かが齧ったあと放置されたのだろうと思っていました。それが日に日に穴が広く且つ深くなってきました。虫が果実の中へ入り込んだのかもしれません。
１週間前の予定では、これから着色のために日光に当てていくつもりでしたが、やはり再度袋を掛けて保護したほうが良さそうな気がしてきました。
This is how the same fruits look now. The one on the right has a bite mark. When I noticed it a few days ago, I thought it had been bitten by a scarab beetle. I hoped that would be the end of it. However, the damage has been getting larger and deeper every day, and I fear that an insect larva has burrowed into the fruit.
When I removed the bag, I was hoping that the fruits will get plenty of sun and become red as they should. Now, I am thinking of bagging the fruits again.
This is the same fruit, looked at from a different angle, showing that the skin is slightly turning yellow. Ideally, I would like to leave them exposed to the sun. However, I have many more bags left, so why not use them?
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今の気候はローゼルの苗にとって最適なので、ぐんぐん育っています。次々と枝が分岐して、かなりの場所をとっています。現在の草丈は150cmくらい。開花時期は９月以降らしいので、それまでに枝が分岐するほど花着きも良くなるはずです。
The current hot and humid weather provides an ideal environment for the roselle plant, and mine has been growing rapidly with new branches coming out one after another. Currently, the plant is about 150 cm tall. It is expected to flower from September onwards. As far as I am concerned, there is no need for hurry. The more the plant grows new branches, the more flowers can be expected, and our hot weather lasts up to the end of September.
毎日の水やりのときに枝を凝視していますが、まだ蕾らしきものは見当たりません。
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The current hot and humid weather provides an ideal environment for the roselle plant, and mine has been growing rapidly with new branches coming out one after another. Currently, the plant is about 150 cm tall. It is expected to flower from September onwards. As far as I am concerned, there is no need for hurry. The more the plant grows new branches, the more flowers can be expected, and our hot weather lasts up to the end of September.
Every day when I water the plant, I stare at each branch, but I have not spotted anything resembling flower buds yet.
