無核金絲棗と早脆王棗 Seedless Silk Thread jujube and Early Crisp King jujube

 最近の寒さでナツメの葉っぱがすっかりボロボロになりました。これ↓は無核金絲棗。全部で5個の実があり、写真では熟しているように見えますが、実際に実に触るとブヨブヨして柔らかいです。まるで寒さで根っこが機能停止したため、水やりをしても果実には水分が送られていないかのよう。これが夏の間なら、炎天下で土がカラカラになり実が柔らかくなっても、水やりすると直ぐに実が石のように硬くなっていました。

Due to the recent cold weather, the leaves of jujube plants have become tattered.  This is Seedless Gold Thread Jujube.  It produced 5 fruits.  Although they may look nearly ripe, the actual fruits are squishy and not promising.  It is as though the roots have stopped functioning, and watering does not lead to supplying moisture to the fruits.  In contrast, during the summer months, even when the soil had become dry and the fruits soft, the moment I watered the plant, the fruits became rock hard.

見かけは美味しそうですが、触るとふにゃふにゃで実に水分が無いことが分かります。

The fruit may look ready for consumption, but it is soft and I can tell that it will not be juicy to eat.

半割りにして糖度を計ると高い数値ですが、実際に食べると、甘くても水分とシャキシャキの食感が無いので不味いです。

I cut the fruit in half to measure the sugar content which was extremely high.  It was indeed sweet but very dry and not nice at all.

味に関しては来年以降に期待できますが、ここで予期せぬ事実を発見。硬い種が有る。

Regarding the taste, I can expect it to improve next year onwards, since the tree will start growing earlier like a regular, established jujube plant.  However, a new finding: the fruit has a seed, although it is called 'seedless'.

どうやら、カタログの「無核」というのは決して一般的な「種無し」の意味ではなく、殻＝シイナは有ります、けど「核＝仁」はありません、という意味のようです。

It seems the definition of 'seedless' in this cultivar means that the fruit does not have the embryo, but it comes with the hard shell.  I think it is misleading to say the least.

カタログ写真を見て、すっかり私は勘違いしたようです。木質の殻ではなく、種子を覆う皮が入っている程度、と思っていましたから。

When you look at this picture saying it is a 'seedless' cultivar, wouldn't you think it comes with a seed coat, not a hard wooden shell?

モサモサの果肉なので残りの味見をする気はありませんでしたが、念のため半割にしてみたら、どれも硬い殻が入っていました。

Since the flesh was very dry, I did not bother to taste the rest.  However, I cut every one of them into halves and confirmed that they contained a hard, wooden core each.

こちらは早脆王。２個の実が生りました。

This is Early Crisp King Jujube which produced two fruits.

実を触ってみると、２個とも石のように硬いので問題ありません。

On feeling the fruits, they were both as hard as a rock, so no problem.

栽培初年度なので実は小さいけれど、ジューシーで美味しかったです。

これでナツメの2025年は終了です。来年以降は通常の芽吹きや開花が期待できるので、実の収穫も気温が高くて苗が活動中にできるでしょう。

Since this is the initial year of growth for the tree, the fruits are small.  However, they were sweet and juicy, and very enjoyable.  

This concludes 2025 for my jujube trees.  These imported first-year trees (Panzao, Seedless Gold Thread, and Early Crisp King) will start growing at a regular timing, and their fruits will ripen while the weather is warm, and their roots are still active.

輸入ナツメ苗の現状 Imported jujube trees now

 今日は台風22号が関東に最接近する日だということで、朝から空が暗かったです。普通、台風の風は生暖かいというイメージを持っていましたが、今日は朝の風からずっと冷たいままでした。

Typhoon No. 22 was approaching closest to the Kanto Region today, and the sky was dark from early morning.  Normally, I expect typhoon-related winds to be warm, but the wind was cold for the whole day.

タイガが選んだ今朝の散歩コースは、隣接する桜台６丁目でした。狭い路地を歩いていると、たわわに実をつけた柿の木の枝の間をメジロたちが騒がしく飛び交っていました。

For this morning's walk, Taiga chose the neighbouring district.  As we were walking through a narrow back alley, I heard White Eyes making noises as they flew among the branches of a persimmon tree with tons of fruits.

今が完熟なのか、まさに「柿色」の実です。柿のように酸っぱ過ぎない果物が大好きなので、もしこれが甘柿なら、こんなに沢山生っているなんて羨ましい限りです。

In Japanese, we call this colour 'kaki-iro', meaning persimmon colour, instead of orange colour.  The persimmon is one of my most favourite fruits, since they are extremely sweet but not too sour.  I secretly congratulated the owners of this tree.

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台風に備えてバルコニーの排水口が詰まらないよう、帰宅してから掃除しました。結局、一粒の雨も降らずに台風22号は通り過ぎて行きました。ただし、同じ東京の遥か南の八丈島などは大変だったようです。

今日の冷たい風を受けてナツメの葉っぱが一気に秋めいてきました。これ↓は、去年の12月に届いた3本の輸入苗のひとつ、無核金絲棗で最も落葉が激しい。最初は水やりが足りていないのかと思い潅水しましたが、葉っぱに全く変化なし。まさか、コガネ幼虫に根っこを食べられた？とも疑いましたが、鉢を斜めに持ち上げると根っこが鉢底からはみ出していました。となると、唯一考えられるのは秋の落葉です。

After coming home, I started cleaning the balcony floor so that the drainage would not be blocked by fallen leaves.  In the end, not a single drop of rain for the whole day, and typhoon No. 22 passed by.  However, the islands far south of Tokyo suffered great damages according to reports.

The cold winds of last few days brought autumn to my jujube trees.  This is one of the 3 imported jujubes that were delivered to me in December last year.  It is Seedless Gold Thread jujube, and this has lost leaves more than other trees.  At first, I thought it needed more water, but watering made no difference.  I then thought of bugs that eat roots, but when I partially lifted the pot, I saw roots coming out of the bottom.  The only possibility left was that the tree was getting ready for winter.

掃除をする前は、黄色い落ち葉があたりに散らかっていました。

Before I cleaned the balcony floor, leaves were everywhere.

無核金絲棗には５個の実が生りました。新苗の初年度なので、開花、結実、肥大の全てが本来のタイミングより大幅に遅れています。さらに、実の形状もカタログ写真のとは違う。うちのは丸っこいです。

The Seedless Gold Thread tree has 5 young fruits.  Since this is the initial year of growth of a newly grafted tree, flowering, fruit setting and everything else is behind the normal schedule.  Also, the shape of the fruit does not conform to the standard (see the catalogue photo below).

出所：国華園

他の実は以下のとおり。果皮の色から推測して、果肉は完熟時には白になりそうです。

The other young fruits of this tree are shown below.  Judging by the colour of the skin, I think the flesh will be white when fully ripe.

こちらの２個は早脆王。無核金絲棗より一足先に開花したあと、幼果の成長が遅くて結局同時期に熟しそうです。この苗は元々枝が広がっていたのに、最近葉っぱがかなり落ちたので更にスカスカになってしまいました。

The 2 young fruits below are on the Early Crisp King jujube.  This tree flowered earlier than the Seedless Gold Thread, but the growing speed of the young fruits was slow, and, in the end, they will likely mature at the same time.  This tree also lost a lot of leaves recently.

３本の輸入苗のうち最も葉っぱをキープできているのは蟠棗ですが、葉はショボショボしてきました。先日、１個だけ実がついていたのをクルクル回して観察していたら枝ごともげてしまったのは残念です。しかも、この品種が注文した３本のうちの本命でした。

Of the 3 imported jujubes, Panzao is keeping its leaves most.  Nevertheless, the leaves are looking sorry.  This tree had just one fruit until recently.  As I was turning the young fruit around to see it better, the whole limb came off.  Moreover, this variety was the reason I placed the order.

中国大実ナツメ Jujube cultivar unknown

 今年の春に練馬の渋谷園芸本店で買った品種不明の棗です。名札落ち苗で、そのお店が過去に「中国大実ナツメ」のタグで苗を販売していたうちの１本かも知れないということでした。葉っぱの形状から日本種でないことは確実だったので買ってみました。非常に豊産性で、最終的に10個残して後は摘果。色づき次第食べていたので、その10個のうち今は３個だけ残っています。

This is the jujube tree that I bought at a large nursery in Nerima in spring this year.  The tree had no name tag and the only thing the shop assistants could tell me was that they used to sell a Chinese variety and this tree might be a leftover from those days.  Judging by the shape of the leaves, I knew that it was not a Japanese jujube, so I brought it home.  This tree has proved to be extremely prolific, and I kept removing young fruits until I was left with 10 to mature.  Of the 10 fruits, I now have only 3 left, since I have been picking others as they became ripe.

以下は、３個残っている実の大きい順に掲載。

The following are the 3 fruits, in descending order.

葉っぱと幼果の形状から一時は「郎棗」かと思っていましたが、最終的な実の形がこんなに丸っこいなら郎棗ではないと思います。

Looking at the shape of the leaves and the cylindrical young fruits, I at first though the tree was Lang jujube.  However, the shape of the fruits became roundish as they matured, and I no longer think this to be Lang.

一番大きい実を切ってみました。糖度計によると47.1%
I cut the largest one to see how sweet it was, and the Brix meter showed 47.1%.

こちらは48.0%。あくまでも糖度計の数値ですが、これまでで一番高いです。

食べてみると確かに甘い。そして熟すと果肉が白くなる皇帝やうちの日本種の実にはない、独特の旨味があります（写真ではこの果肉は白っぽいですが、実際は薄緑色）。

This half's sugar content hit 48.0%, according to the gadget.  This is the highest I have seen.  When I ate it, it was indeed sweet.  Moreover, there was a unique taste that I had not tasted in jujubes whose flesh turn white when ripe such as Emperor jujube or the Japanese variety (in the photo, the flesh may look pale, but it was light green).

今年は皇帝、日本種、中国大実を味見できました。あと残るは早脆王（２個）と無核金絲棗（5個）の実で、これらは完熟にはまだ時間がかかりそうです。

収穫済みの品種を比較すると、以下のようになります：

実の大きさ：　皇帝＞中国大実＞日本種

糖度：　　　　中国大実＞皇帝＝日本種

酸味：　　　　日本種＞中国大実＞皇帝

果汁の多さ：　日本種＞皇帝＝中国大実

糖度と酸味を重視する私にとって、今のところ日本種が一番好みです。日本種の実の糖度は今年は測っていませんが、去年の10月14日の記事では最高で47.0%が出ています。酸味に関しては、以前育てていた輸入苗の台木が酸棗だったようで、直径1.5cmほどのまん丸の実が生りました。うちの日本種の実の一部には、その酸棗よりも酸っぱい場合がありました。日本ナツメには果汁が十分あります。唯一の難点は、実が小さいこと。

This year, so far, I have tasted Emperor jujube, Japanese jujube and today's unknown variety.  There yet remain Early Crisp King (2 young fruits) and Seedless Gold Thread (5 young fruits).  They will take a little longer to ripen.

Of the varieties I have tasted, the following is my personal observation:

Size of fruit:        Emperor ＞ Unknown variety ＞ Japanese

Sugar content:  Unknown variety ＞Emperor ＝ Japanese

Tartness:             Japanese ＞ Unknown variety ＞ Emperor

Juiciness:           Japanese ＞ Emperor ＝ Unknown variety

I value sweetness and tartness in jujube fruits more than anything, so my favourite as of now is the Japanese jujube.  I did not measure the sugar content of the Japanese jujube this year, but the article on 14th October 2024 shows its sugar content is about the same as Emperor jujube's.  As to tartness, the Japanese jujube was as sour as the fruits of the Sour Jujube, and sometimes even more sour.  (I once grew a sucker from an imported jujube tree's root stock, and it turned out to be the Sour Jujube.  Sour jujube is the most commonly used wild jujube as root stocks in China.)  Also, the Japanese jujube is sufficiently juicy.  The only snag is its small size.

日本種ナツメ Japanese Jujube

 去年の８月に買った日本種のナツメからは、秋までに３本のヒコバエが出てきました。これ↓はそのうちの１本で、いま実が熟し始めたところです。樹高は摘心したあと上には伸びず、現在60 cmくらいしかありません。初年度から実を沢山つけて非常に優秀です。実はとても甘いだけでなく、果汁たっぷりで酸味も十分あります。これはナツメの中では非常に貴重な要素なので、これからも大切に育てていきます。

This is a sucker from a parent tree that I bought in August last year - a nameless Japanese jujube growing on its own roots.  By autumn, 3 suckers came out of the ground, and this tree is one of them.  Growing in a pot, the tree is currently about 60cm tall (I cut the top of the tree in early summer to keep it small).  Although in its initial year of growth, the tree has a lot of fruits.  The fruits are not only very sweet, but they also have lots of juice and tartness.  Among jujube fruits juiciness and tartness are rare.  Although the fruits are small, I am going to cherish this variety.

種無しスダチなど Seedless Sudachi etc

 もう９月下旬なので、スダチが利用可能な時期です。この苗を地植えにして以来、３年ぶりで実がつきました。３個だけですが。でも、10号鉢で鈴なりだった頃の実と比べると大きくて、お店で売られているのと変わりありません。

It is already the end of September and the Sudachi fruits should be ready for consumption.  Since planting this tree in the ground 3 years ago, it produced fruits for the first time this year, although only 3.  However, the fruits are much larger than they used to be when the tree was growing in a 30 cm pot.  Moreover, the fruits are no smaller than those of commercial growers.

枝ごと収穫。サンマを１尾買ってきました。私はお肉派なので、このサンマはスダチの味見にほんの一部だけ自分で消費して、あとは魚大好きワンコのタイガにあげます。

I picked the whole twig.  I got a Pacific saury which is considered to be a must-eat item in September in Japan.  With this fish, you need Sudachi to eat it properly.  

The only thing is, I am a meat eater and not keen on fish.  So, the purpose of getting this fish was to see the quality of this year's Sudachi, and most of the fish will go to Taiga who loves fish.  

半割りにしました。うちのは「種無しスダチ」で、種は１個入る程度です。実の大きさは普通のスダチと同じで、かつ種が無いのでその分果肉がぎっしり詰まっています。おまけに苗はトゲ無しで世話しやすい。採ったばかりの実には強烈な風味があり、魚の味が分からなくなるほどでした。

I cut the fruit in half.  My Sudachi is a 'seedless' cultivar and containing one pit is allowable.  With the size of the fruit as large as those of regular Sudachi, this variety gives you a lot more flesh for the absence of seeds.  Moreover, this cultivar is thornless, too.  

The freshly harvested Sudachi flavour was so strong that I could hardly taste the fish.

パンザオで失敗。最近実の色が薄くなり始めたので、完熟まであとどれくらい？と思いながら実をくるくる回して観察していたら、小枝が付け根からもげてしまいました。アーッ、と思ったときはもう遅い。来年に期待です。

I made a blunder with Panzao jujube today.  This is the only fruit it had on the tree.  Recently, its outer colour seemed to become paler and gave me hope that it might be ripening soon.  Due to the strange shape of the fruit, I was turning it around to have a better look, and then the limb came off from the branch!  When I realised what had happened, it was too late.

皇帝ナツメの実との比較。パンザオも熟すと皇帝ナツメ同様、果肉が白くなる品種なので外皮も同じよな色づき方です。あまりにも早く終わってしまいました。

Comparison with a mature Emperor jujube.  When ripe, Panzao's flesh also turns white, and the outer skin will have similar colouring to that of Emperor jujube.  Panzao's year ended too early.

供養のため糖度計を出して味見もしました。甘味は感じられるけど糖度計の数値ほどではなく、またジューシーさはなく青臭い風味でした。

Not to let it go to waste, I measured the sugar content which was extremely high according to the gadget.  In reality, it did not taste as sweet, and there was no juiciness.  The flavour was green like eating a vegetable.

門の横に植えてあるピンクのヒガンバナが２本上がってきました。スモモの木の陰に位置するので、庭の南側のよりも遅い開花です。

Two pink spider lily flowers have come out in the spot near the gate.  These are growing in the shade of a plum tree and took longer to come out than those on the south side.

南側のは咲き終わりの花も出てきました。秋のほんの一瞬の輝きです。

The ones on the south side seem to have passed its peak.  They are just a sparkle in autumn.

皇帝ナツメ収穫 Emperor jujube

 皇帝ナツメが先週から色づき始めました。去年は10個がほぼ同時に色づいたのに、今年は「順次」だったので、約20個残してあった実のうち４個を既に採ったあとです。

The emperor jujube started to ripen last week.  Last year, the 10 fruits matured almost simultaneously.  This year, the ripening is staggered.  Of the 20 fruits that I had left to ripen, I have already picked 4, and today I am picking most of the remainder.

中国大実棗に食害 Jujube nibbled by insect?

数か月前に練馬の渋谷園芸本店で買った、中国大実棗がなかなか色づかないのでしばらく記事にしていませんでしたが、最近うっすらと茶色がさして来ました。非常に豊産性で、夏の間に摘果して最終的に10個だけ残しておきました。

I bought a jujube tree a few months ago, which had lost its name tag in the shop - I think it is Lang, judging by the leaves unique to that variety.  Although the fruit setting occurred much earlier than other varieties, it is taking a long time to ripen.  Only recently, the fruits began to turn brown.  This tree is prolific, so I kept picking the young fruits during summer, ultimately leaving 10 to ripen.

左側の枝に5個、右側の枝にも5個です。

There are 5 fruits on the left branch and another 5 on the right branch.

これは左の枝。

This is the left branch up close.

一番上の実がこの枝で最も大きいもの。

This is the largest fruit of the left branch (at the top).

これは右の枝。

This is the right branch.

右端の実がこの枝で最も大きいもの。最大果でこの程度なので、皇帝棗に比べるとかなり見劣りします。

The fruit on the extreme right is the largest on this branch.  These largest fruits on either branch are way smaller than the fruits of the Emperor jujube.

その右の枝の実の１個が齧られていました。

This afternoon, I noticed that one of the fruits on the right branch had been nibbled at.

傷口は乾燥して縮み始めているので、昨日かその前の出来事だと思います。また、傷の状態から野鳥に突かれたのではなく、昆虫がジミに齧ったような浅い傷跡です。庭に置いてある日本棗の親苗はコガネに齧られて１個も無傷な実は残りませんでしたが、傷口が似ていました。（実際に何度かコガネを現行犯で捕まえたので、これに関しては間違いありませんでした。）

The rim of the scar is already drying up, so it probably happened yesterday or before.  Also, the bite is shallow, and it was likely made by an insect, not a wild bird.  The Japanese jujube tree I have in the garden suffered similar damage on its fruits with large scars, leaving not a single fruit intact on that tree (I actually caught scarab beetles on several occasions, so I know who the culprits were with that tree).

試しに、食害の影響が及んでいない裏側を味見したら、とても甘かったです。水分の少ない筆柿を食べているような風味でした。この写真では果肉が白っぽく写っていますが、実際には以前育てていた新疆棗のように緑色で、２,３日前に試食した日本棗のヒコバエの実が非常にジューシーだったこともあり、この実はモサモサっぽく感じられます。

I tried the taste by taking a small piece on the other side, away from the damaged part.  It was very sweet and reminded me of a persimmon variety called 'Fudegaki' which tends to lack juiciness.  In this photo, the flesh looks white, but it was actually green.  I much prefer jujubes with white flesh because they seem to be juicier than the varieties that stay green.  The two varieties from Xinjian that I used to grow were green and dry to the end.

１個の実全体を試食するために、最も茶色くなっているこの↓実を採りました。

I thought I would try an unspoiled fruit for proper tasting.  This one was closer to maturity than others.

普通は横にナイフを入れて半割にするのですが、あまりに小さい実なので、

Normally, I would cut the fruit in half sideway, but this one is too small for the purpose of taking photos.

縦に切り込みを入れました。一番右のかけらに糖度計を当ててみると24.6%

So, I cut it lengthwise.  On applying the brix meter to the piece on the right, it indicated 24.6%.

真ん中のは42.4%

The one in the middle showed 42.4%.

左の最も茶色くなっている部分に当てると47.6%と出ました。甘いことは甘いですが、個人的にはやはり、熟すと果肉が白になる品種が生食用に好みです。

By applying the gadget to the brownest spot of the piece on the left, I got 47.6% which is extremely high.  These pieces were actually sweet, but I still prefer varieties with white flesh for fresh eating.

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夕方散歩で、タイガはまた石神井川を城北公園とは逆の練馬方面へ向けて歩きました。ただし、いつもは左側の遊歩道の岸を歩きますが、今日は右側の車道のほうです。

For our evening walk, Taiga again chose the direction opposite to the Johoku Park, along the Shakujii River.  Normally, we walk the pedestrian path on the left bank, but she chose the right bank with normal traffic.

いつものオヤツスポットで一休みしてから、丘の上の住宅街を歩いて帰宅しました。

We stopped at the spot where we normally have a break, then headed for the residential area on the hill.