棗の始動 Jujube waking up

 去年の12月11日に届いた3本のナツメ苗のうち、「七月早脆王」の芽が動き出しました。まだ目を凝らして見ないと分からないほどのサイズですが、確かに一箇所から数個の葉の先端が尖って出てくるというナツメ独特の芽吹きです。

Of the 3 jujube bareroot trees that arrived on December 11th last year, Early Crisp King has started to show signs of life.  The buds are still tiny, and I have to strain my eyes to see them.  Nevertheless, I can see the unique budding of jujube trees, where several sharp heads come out of one node.

３本の苗は、継目から上40cmくらいのところで切りそろえて、室内で過保護に管理しています。左から、七月早脆王、無核大金絲棗、蟠棗です。苗の先端を切り詰めたとき、七月早脆王と金絲棗は瑞々しい切り口でしたが、蟠棗は芯のあたりが茶色で空洞化していました。これは結構、心配な要素です。また、樹皮は、最初の２品種はうっすら緑色を帯びていて、日光が当たるとツヤツヤしているのに対し、蟠棗の樹皮は地が黒っぽい赤茶色で、それを灰色の表皮が縦皺のようになって覆っています。これが蟠棗の品種特性なのか不健康な状態なのか、本格的な春になるまで何とも言えません。

I trimmed the plants at about 40 cm above the grafting point - in Japan, 40 cm is considered optimal for strong growth in the initial year.  I have been keeping these indoors so that they would have an easy start.  In the picture below, from left to right, Early Crisp King, Golden Silk Jujube, and Panzao.  When I trimmed the plants, the cut section was green and fresh looking with Early Crisp King and Golden Silk.  However, with Panzao, the core was brown and hollow, which worried me a lot.  Also, the surface of the first two varieties is greenish and, in the direct sunlight, the skin looks shiny.  Not so with Panzao.  Its surface is dark reddish brown with thin film of grey skin running vertically.  I do not know whether this is unique to this variety or not.  I will have to wait until spring-early summer before coming to any conclusion.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

久しぶりにハード系のパンを焼きました。使う材料はフランスパンのバゲットと同じで、小麦粉、イースト、塩、水の４つだけです。

I baked hard-type bread this evening.  The ingredients are the same as for French bread, i.e., flour, dry yeast, salt and water.

バゲットよりも水分を多くしたので、気泡はイタリアのチャパタに近いです。

However, I added a lot more water than for baguette and the result was similar to ciabatta.

棗の植え替え Repotting Jujube

 去年の８月に届いた日本棗の大苗は、今まで２階バルコニーに置いてありました。スペースの都合で庭に降ろしたかったので、まずは冬の剪定をして、その後鉢から出して土を落とせるだけ落としてから１階へ運びました。14号鉢なので、そのままでは持ち運べないからです。

苗が届いたときは真夏だったので、根鉢を崩さずに土を補充するかたちで植え付けました。今日、植え替えの前にバケツ水で徹底的に土を洗い落としたところ、苗の根っこは黒っぽい粘土を抱え込んでいました。私は粘土に植物を植えることは絶対しないので、きれいさっぱり洗い落として良かったです。それにしても、根っこのかたまりが意外と小さいです。苗は剪定して小さくなった後なのに、根っこの量がこれだけとは。

I bought a large Japanese jujube plant in August last year, which I kept on the upstairs balcony.  Since I need some space for other things, I wanted to bring it down to the garden.  So, I pruned the tree first in order to make it smaller and easier to carry.  Also, the pot was too large and too heavy, and I had to get rid of the soil as much as possible and bring the tree in the empty pot to downstairs.

When the tree arrived last year, it was the middle of summer, so I planted it just by adding soil to fill the pot, without disturbing the roots.  Today, I washed the roots thoroughly, leaving no soil among the roots.  I am glad I did it because the roots were holding a mass of clay soil - I never use clay in my gardening. 

洗浄して現れた根っこを見ると、太い根が横向きに伸びていたのがプッツリ切断されていました。その横向きの根っこを、私が赤い線のところで切り落とし。去年の秋に３本のひこばえを取り出したとき、１本はこの横向きの根っこから垂直に伸び出したものだったようで、根っこが殆どない状態で取れてきました。ちょうど、グアバ苗のひこばえを取り出すときの問題と同じ状況でした。

The roots had one branch facing sideway, which had been cut off sometime in the past.  I myself cut it short at the red line for a reason.  When I took out 3 suckers in autumn last year, one of them was growing out of this root and it was almost impossible to get the sucker out safely.  In the end, the sucker came off with almost no roots.  Fortunately, it did not die, and it is surviving the winter in a pot.

ノコギリで切ったあとの根っこにはヒゲ根が十分あるので、ダメ元で小さな鉢で根挿しにしておきました。
As to the separated bit of root, I planted it in a pot just like a cutting from a tree branch.  It would be an interesting experiment to see if the root will start growing a green shoot.

植え替えといっても、土を全部取り替えたあと、元の鉢に植え付けただけです。もう夕方の４時半を過ぎていたので、写真がピンボケ。

I replanted the tree using the same old pot, but with entirely new soil.  By this time, it was after 4:30 p.m. and getting dark, so the photo is blurred.

棗の根っこがはびこらないよう、ブロックを敷いて鉢と地面を遮断しました。

In order to prevent the roots spreading all over the place, I placed cement blocks between the pot and the ground.

今日も暖かい一日でしたが、作業が終わると、タイガは猫のように丸くなって眠り込んでいました。

It was another warm day today.  While I was working, Taiga was fast asleep like a cat.

これから暖かくなると、もっと頻繁に外へ出せます。

Hopefully, it will get warmer so that Taiga can spend more time outside.

接ぎ木など Grafting etc

 昨日届いたナツメ苗は、たっぷり水やりしたあと袋がけにしました。今度の週末は更に寒くなるという予報なので、過保護気味の扱い。来年の春の芽吹きが楽しみです。今度こそ。

After planting the jujube trees in pots yesterday, I heard the weather forecast saying that this coming weekend would be even colder than so far.  It is already freezing now.  So, I covered the plants in plastic bags to be safe.  I am not taking any chances after so many disappointments with rotten jujube plants sent to me.

ご近所のアルプス乙女の枝を早々といただけました。私の中では来年の１-２月頃を想定していたのですが、手に入ったからには枝が新鮮なうちに接ぐことにしました。バラ科の枝の保存で過去に冷蔵庫と地中深くに埋めておく方法を試したことがありますが、どちらも枝の活力が失われてしまっていました。

接いだのは「紅の夢」に。グラニースミスには開花時期がほぼ同じの紅玉が接いであります。今年の初開花では紅の夢はその２品種に遅れて咲きましたが、アルプス乙女となら開花が合っていました。ただし、木が充実して将来 花数が増えれば、開花時期の重なりが期待できます。

My neighbour gave me a branch from her crab apple tree.  It is a Japanese variety called Alps Otome, and its pollen is said to be compatible with any commercial cultivars.  Indeed, my red-flesh apple tree produced a fruit from the pollen of that variety this year. 

I was thinking of getting a scion during Jan-Feb next year but, since it was here, I decided to graft it right away.  In the past, I have tried the methods of preserving scions in the fridge or buried deep in the ground but, by the time I came to use them, they had lost their vitality.

接いだ場所は２本の枝がくっついていて、片方を剪定する予定だった箇所。アルプスが活着すれば横の紅の夢の枝を来年の初夏に除去する予定。

I grafted the scion on one of the two branches growing close to each other.  I was going to prune one of them during this winter but, if the graft goes well, I can afford to get rid of the other branch in summer next year.

リンゴ苗はいずれも幼苗で枝数が少ないので、１ヵ所ずつしか高接ぎできません。でも、頂いた枝が長くて余裕があったので、余った部分を試しにスモモの李王に接いでみました。この李王の枝も剪定予定の箇所でした。バラ科どうしとは言え、活着するかどうか予想もつきません。

Since the apple tree is still young and does not have many branches, I can spare only one branch for grafting.  However, the scion given to me was long and I had some left, so I grafted the leftover onto a plum tree as an experiment.  Both apple trees and plum trees belong to the rose family, and I am curious to see if the graft will be viable.

今年の夏に、星タンゴールの枝を地植えのカラカラオレンジに接いで活着したのがこれです。葉っぱの状態は、鉢植えの親木のよりも健康そうなので良かったです。

The Hoshi Tangor scion that I grafted onto Caracara orange in summer this year has been growing well.  The leaves of this scion look a lot healthier than those of the potted parent tree, so I am pleased with the result.

私があちこち移動するたびに影のようについて回るタイガ。視線を合わせずそうっと関心を引こうとするところが笑えます。YouTubeで見る他所のワンコたちは洋犬も和犬も自己主張が強いので面白いですが、タイガは渋いです。

As I was moving about looking at plants, Taiga followed me in silence like a shadow.  I know that she does this to catch my attention, but she does not even look me in the eye.  Those dogs I see on YouTube are a lot more forthcoming, be they Japanese or Western breeds, but Taiga is utterly restrained.

ナツメ新苗 New Jujube Plants

 注文してあったナツメ苗が届きました。今回は過去に何度か注文した蟠棗と七月早脆王に加え、無核大金糸（「糸」が横並びに２文字が本来）です。

The jujube plants that I had ordered during summer arrived today.  This time, in addition to the two varieties I have always wanted to grow, I ordered another variety called Seedless Golden Thread jujube.  Re the two varieties, the plants sent to me were always in a diabolical state - they were either dead or absolutely rootless.

今回は苗の樹肌が清潔で、虫食い穴やひび割れ・黒ずみなどは無いようです。まるで違う農場から来たような印象。

This time, the plants seem reasonably clean with no pockmarks made by insects, etc.  They look like they were grown by a different nursery.

七月早脆王：生食用品種
Early Crisp King jujube: fresh eating variety

蟠棗：生食用品種

Pan jujube (Panzao): fresh eating variety

無核大金糸：生食および乾燥用品種

Seedless Golden Thread jujube: both for fresh eating and drying

袋から出してバケツ水で土を洗い落としました。

After removing the bag and soil, I washed the roots in a bucket of water.

左から、蟠棗、七月早脆王、無核大金糸です。左端の蟠棗は、土を徹底的に洗い落とされる輸入苗にしては満足な根っこだと思います。真ん中の七月早脆王の根は申し分ない量。右端の無核大金糸の根は、　　まあ、これで頑張ってみます。写真写りは悪いけど、短いヒゲみたいなのがついているので。　今度こそ、苗に育って欲しいです。

From left to right, Panzao, Early Crisp King, and Seedless Golden Thread.  Considering that these roots were thoroughly washed before being allowed into Japan, the roots of Panzao look reasonable.  As to the one in the middle, I am more than happy.  Regarding the one on the right, I will have to make do with this.  In the photo, it looks worse, but it does have some short roots.

七月早脆王の根っこは長く伸びすぎた部分は切り詰めて、10号ロングスリット鉢に植えつけ、他の２本は10号菊鉢に植えました。あまり大きすぎる鉢に植えて、排水性が損なわれるのが心配だったので、菊鉢です。

I slightly trimmed the long roots of Early Crisp King, in order to fit them into the deep pot (extreme left).  The other two varieties were planted in pots with less depth, to ensure good drainage.  They are all 30 cm diameter pots.

日本ナツメなど Jujube etc

 今年8月に買った日本ナツメの大苗は、うちに届いてからひこばえが次々と３本出てきました。それらを本体から切り離して独立の鉢に植えましたが、実際には根っこを切り離すのが大変な作業で、汗だくになりながらノコギリと移植ごてを使って格闘しました。結果は、先日のシンビジューム同様、サボテンも真っ青になりそうな極少の根っこです。でも、ナツメはタフな植物だし、植え替えたあとも葉っぱがしなっとしていないので大丈夫でしょう。

I bought a large Japanese jujube plant in August this year.  Subsequently, 3 suckers came out and grew fast to over 60cm.  Today, I separated them from the main tree and planted them in individual pots.  It was hard work to cut them off from the parent's root system.  I used a saw and a trowel, and even then, each sucker came out with a pitiful amount of root.  Hopefully, they will recover from the shock and start growing new roots during the winter.  It was reassuring to see the leaves looking perky after being re-potted.

これが親株。ひこばえが全部なくなったあと、この本体だけですっきりしました。

This is the parent tree.  Without the suckers, the tree looks neat.

本体は枝が伸び伸びになっているので、今度の冬の間に剪定する予定です。

I will be pruning the small branches during the winter, since the tree has grown lanky.

クリスマスローズの古い葉っぱを先月 取り除いたあと、来年用の葉っぱが元気に伸びてきました。この苗は今年の３月にネットショップで買ったゴールド苗です（偶然、上の日本ナツメの苗もここで買いました）。元々りっぱな苗でしたが夏の間に根っこが育ったらしく、今は２倍以上の株になっています。

I removed the old leaves of the Christmas roses last month.  Since then, new leaves have been coming out quite vigorously.  This plant was bought in March this year (in fact, from the same shop where I got the Japanese jujube tree shown above).  This plant was already well grown at that time, but during the summer months, the root system must have expanded.  As a result, the whole plant has more than doubled.

こういう花が咲きます。今年の１月下旬に撮影されたようです。

This is the flower.  The picture was taken and uploaded by the shop at the end of January this year.

3月末に苗が届いたときのサイズはこれでした。花はとっくに終わっていましたが、クリローには珍しく退色が少なかった。

This is how the plant looked when it was delivered to me in late March this year.  The flowers had finished some time previously, but they still retained some of the beautiful colour, which was unusual for Christmas roses.

この苗は何年も前にゴールド苗をいくつも買ったのが１年もしないうちに絶滅したあと、こぼれ種が発芽して育ったものです。苗はいつまで経っても大苗にはならないけど貴重な存在です。

This is a seedling that came out of the ground several years ago.  A few years previous to that, I had bought a lot of golden Christmas roses which did not last a year before perishing.  So, I assume that this plant is their legacy.

これは今年の開花のようす。初期のゴールドクリローの特徴をしっかり受け継いでいます。具体的には、花はうつむかずに前向き、そして短くてしっかりした花茎。その後、様々な育苗者による交配が進んで、今では花茎が徒長したものが一般的です。

This was the flower in early spring this year.  It shows the characteristics of the initial gold Christmas roses that were developed by a nursery in Saitama Prefecture.  It caused such a sensation that many other people bred them with Helleborus orientalis, and the so-called 'golden Christmas roses' available nowadays are watered-down versions.  Specifically, the flower is not facing forward but instead drooping, and the flower stem is long instead of about 10cm tall.  The plant I bought in March this year belongs to the watered-down generation.

これ↓は今年の夏の間に気付いた実生。赤花クリローのそばで発芽していたので、たぶんそれが親。

This is a seedling I found this autumn.  It was growing near the red flower variety that I also have, but not quite keen on.

去年の秋に買った厚物の菊は、伸び伸びになってだらしない草姿になりました。高さ150cm以上あります。私にはどうしても厚物をきちんと育てることができません。

This chrysanthemum that I bought in autumn last year is meant to have only one huge flower, but I just cannot manage it.  I give it up.

家の中で退屈していたタイガ。蚊にくわれても外に出てきたがります。

Taiga was so bored that she insisted on coming out even though we still have mosquitoes due to the unusually warm weather.

日本ナツメ Another Jujube tree

 日本ナツメの実もそろそろ色づいてきました。一言に「日本種」と言ってもバリエーションはいくつかあるようで、数年前に地元JAで買ったトゲトゲの日本種の苗と、今年の８月に買った苗とでは、葉や実の形が随分違います。共通点は、実が小さいこと。これは仕方ないです。幸いこの苗はトゲ無しなので世話がしやすい。この写真の実は、苗が届いてから開花した花の実。今年はこの小さい状態で終わりそうです。間引きと試食のために小さい実を毎日ポリポリ食べていますが、酸っぱくてジューシーで美味しい。酸味と果汁は、ナツメにとって稀で貴重な要素です。

The fruits of the Japanese jujube tree is ripening.  There are several types of common Japanese jujube trees.  The tree I bought several years ago was very thorny and the shapes of leaves and fruits were quite different from those of this tree which I bought in August this year.  The commonality is that the fruits are small.  This new tree is thorn free which makes it easy to look after this plant.  

The fruits in this photo are from the flowers that came after the plant was delivered to me.  Due to the short time in which they had to grow, it seems that this is all they can do for this year.  I have been tasting these tiny ones for the purpose of thinning, but they tasted so juicy and beautiful with definite sourness.  To me, juiciness and sourness in jujubes are rare and precious factors.

以下の４個は苗が届いた時点で開花していた花からの実。これくらいの色づきが果汁たっぷりです。

These 4 fruits are from the flowers in bloom at the time of plant delivery.  At this stage, the fruits are ripe.

色づきの度合いで糖度がどう違うか実験です。まずは右端の最も色づいた実から糖度計を当てていきます。

I wanted to see if getting brown had correlation with sweetness.  I started measuring the sugar content with the one on the extreme right.

46.8%

46.9%

47%

46.9%

ほんとかいな、と思うくらいの高糖度です（あくまでも糖度計によるとですが）。しかも色づき具合はあまり糖度に重要ではなさそう。青い実を試食していたときは甘味を感じていたけど、それはしっかりした酸味のおかげで甘味を感じているだけだろうと思っていましたが、実際に糖度も高いようです。

They all show incredibly high sugar content (assuming that my gadget is working all right).  Interestingly, the degree of colouring seems irrelevant to the sugar content.  While I was eating the young fruits, they tasted sweet but I kept thinking that it was due to the relatively strong acidity that enhanced the sweetness.  I now know that this common jujube variety can produce very tasty fruits.