多田錦柚子など Yuzu etc

 中輪咲きの食用菊「阿房宮」が咲き始めました。阿房宮は食用菊の代表的な品種で、スーパーでよく見かけます。

これは道路から見たようす。玄関前に植えてある小輪咲きの「松風」はきちんと2箇所に集約していますが、阿房宮は庭のあちこちに散在しています。成長期の夏の間、他の植物に埋もれてヒョロヒョロ伸びていても、切り戻しのために私が入り込めないので、どの株もだらしなく徒長しています。

The edible chrysanthemum with medium-sized flowers have started to bloom.  This variety, 'Aboukyu', is the most popular variety that you can find in supermarkets in Japan.

This is the view from the road.  Unlike the small flower variety that I grow in front of the porch, which I prune several times through summer, Aboukyu is scattered over my garden and left totally free to grow.  It is partly because I cannot easily access Aboukyu because of other plants growing close by.  So, they are never cut back to make them sturdy.

ちゃんと切り戻して枝数・花数を増やしていれば、花柄はもっと小ぢんまりと引き締まり丸くなるはずです。うちのは完全放置なので、花の形はだらしなく大きくて、またサイズも均一ではありません。

If I had trimmed them, there would have been more branches and flowers.  The flowers would have been of perfect round shape, although slightly smaller, and the size of the flowers would have been more uniform.

塀の近くに植わっている種無し柚子 多田錦の実が色づき始めました。実の付き方は去年成長した枝に集中していて、上のほうの枝は今年の春から伸び出したものです。

Close to the fence facing the road, I have the seedless Tadanishiki yuzu.  The fruits have started to turn yellow.  The fruits are concentrated on the branches from last year, and the branches growing above them are this year's growth.

今年は8月以降、台風が連続して到来し雨で裂果が生じたので、７月時点の実の数と比べて約３分の１が失われました。でも、苗はまだ１メートルそこそこの小苗なので、現在着いている９個の実でも多すぎるかもしれません。

This summer, we had continual rain due to numerous typhoons, which caused cracks on the fruits.  Compared with the number of fruits I had in July, I lost about 1/3 of them due to cracks and mould.  However, this plant still being small (about 1 meter tall), having 9 fruits growing as of today may be excessive.

これが今のところムラなく色づいている唯一の実です。あと数個完全に色づけばジャムにする予定です。

Currently, this is the only fruit that is yellow all over.  When I have several more, I will be making jam.

多田錦の横の壁にも阿房宮。

Close to Tadanishiki yuzu, another cluster of Aboukyu.

こちらは門の近く、リスボンレモンの苗に絡みつくように伸びた株。

This one is near the gate and leans heavily on the Lisbon lemon tree.

今年の８月中旬にヤフオクで買ったイチジク ビアーズブラック（又はViolette de Bordeaux）は、届いたときのこの状態から、
This is the fig tree, Beer's Black (aka Violette de Bordeaux), that I bought in mid-August on an auction site.  From this size at that time, 

今はここまで成長しています。期待したほどの成長スピードではありませんでしたが、

it has grown to this.  It did not grow as much as I had expected, but

最近 気になり始めているのが、葉腋に出てきたまん丸のものです。葉芽にしては丸すぎるので、もしかして蕾？　これから落葉期なので、もし本当に蕾の元であるなら、来年の初夏までこのポチのまま？　葉っぱはまだツヤツヤしているので、しばらく２階部屋に取り込んで観察してみます。

I noticed something interesting recently - there are perfectly round things at the base of leaves.  They seem too spherical for future leaves, so I am thinking that these might be flower buds?  Already?  If they are flower buds, will they stay like this until early summer next year?  Although a deciduous tree, this fig's leaves are still green and shiny, and full of life.  So, I decided to take it upstairs to observe in a warm room.

多田錦柚子など Tada Nishiki Yuzu etc

 今日も冬の前の草むしり、ユリ球根の植え替え、使用済み土の再生準備などで午後が過ぎてしまいました。秋になって自然光が変化したのか、写真がどれも白っぽくなります。玄関前の菊の蕾が膨らんできました。いつもは玄関ドア前を陣取るタイガが、

Another afternoon spent getting ready for the winter, by tiding up weeds, more lily bulbs repotted, recycling used soil for future use, etc.  With the arrival of autumn, the natural light seems to have changed a lot - plants in recent photos look pale.  

Flower buds on the chrysanthemums in front of the porch are getting ready for flowering.  Today, Taiga is absent from the picture.

今日は玄関の中でリラックスして、呼んでも出て来ません。昨日は蚊取り線香の煙を嫌がっていたので、たぶん今日はそれを避けているのでしょう。

She preferred to stay inside the porch, relaxing on the cool tiles.  I think she wants to avoid the incense that I burn in order to repel mosquitoes while I work outside - she hated it yesterday.

秋は果樹の最後の施肥の季節。近所のJAで初めて見かけた肥料を試しに買ってみました。Pが突出しています。骨粉たっぷりの肥料だそうです。これまで果樹のために骨粉だけのものを買っていましたが、結構高い。そこで、リーズナブルな値段で骨粉中心のこの肥料を試すことにしました。

Autumn is the last time I apply fertilisers to my fruit trees.  When I went to the nearby JA, I saw a new type of fertiliser and decided to try it.  I give bone meal to my fruit trees, but it is not cheap.  However, this fertiliser with lots of bone meal was quite reasonable.

さっそく牛糞と混ぜて多田錦などに施肥。この苗は去年買ったばかりですが、今年の春に地植えにしたあと急に枝が繁茂して、現在樹高は1m+。今年の夏はずっと台風の雨続きで、数個の実が裂果して落ちましたが、まだけっこう残っています。

I mixed the above fertiliser with dried cow dung before using it on Tadanishiki Yuzu.  I bought this plant in spring last year.  After I put it in the ground this spring, it grew rapidly and it now measures just above 1 meter.  Due to the long rains during summer this year, several fruits cracked and dropped off the tree, but there are still quite a few surviving.

ほんのり色づき始めた実もあります。

This fruit is starting to turn yellow.

完熟したらマーマレードにする予定。種が殆ど入らないので加工しやすいです。

When these are ripe, I will make them into marmalade.  Tadanishiki is a seedless yuzu which makes it easy for marmalade.

多田錦の隣にはカラカラが植わっています。数年前に地植えにしたあと、初年度に１個だけ実を着けた以外、今までろくに花も咲きません。来年こそ。

ただし、カラカラに高接ぎした星タンゴールの枝に、今年１個の実が生りました。

Near Tadanishiki, there is Cara Cara Orange.  After I planted this tree in the ground several years ago, I had one fruit.  Since then, the tree hardly produces any flower buds even.  Hoping for a better result next year.

However, the Hoshi Tangor Orange branch that is grafted onto Cara Cara has a fruit this year.

栄養を独占してか、星タンゴール本体でも見たことない大きな実になっています。収穫は来年の４月頃なので、さらに肥大するかもと期待しています。

This one fruit gets all the nutrition it requires, and it is already larger than any I have seen growing on the Hoshi Tangor tree itself.  This variety ripens in April, so there is still time to grow.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

健康な食生活のために黒色の食品を摂るべきだそうですが、黒豆は時間がかかるし他に手軽なものはあまり思いつかないので、身近な黒ゴマをおかずに添加しています。今日は黒ゴマ入りの丸パンです。小麦粉400gに黒ゴマ20g (5%)

I am told that for a healthy food life, you should consume black food items, too.  However, I cannot think of many such items that I can take with little effort - black beans take a long time to cook, black garlic is very expensive.  So, I add black sesame seeds to my cooking, and today, I baked buns with black sesame seeds.  I used 20g (5%) sesame seeds with 400g flour.

発酵済みでオーブンへ。

Final proofing done, and to the oven.

もう少しゴマを入れても良かったかも。

Perhaps I should have used more sesame seeds.

種無しスダチ Seedless Sudachi

 連日の雨のあいだに種無しスダチの枝がボウボウに徒長していました。台風25号が去って、次の26号の影響でまた雨が降る前に剪定です。３，４年前に苗を地植えにした場所は玄関横、タイガの視線の先です。

During the rainy days that lasted for more than a month, new branches of the Seedless Sudachi kept growing long and lanky.  Today, we are having a break from rains, with the typhoon No. 25 gone, and before the effect of the new No. 26 starts to reach Tokyo.  I planted the Seedless Sudachi in the ground a few years ago, after growing it for several years in a 30 cm in diameter pot - it is standing close to the front door and at the end of Taiga's glance.

写真では分かりづらいですが、肉眼で見ると徒長枝が大暴れしている状態です。

The photo does not show well, but the new branches are getting out of control.

伸びた枝の間から覗くと、実が大きく育っています。

Peeping through the new branches, I see bunches of sudachi fruits.

                 

だいぶスッキリしました。苗の上のほうに実のかたまりが見えます。

After pruning, the plant looks much better, and I can see the fruits at the top of the tree.

今年は雨のおかげか、あるいは木が充実したからか、今までにない大実です。

I do not know whether it is because of the weeks of rain or the fact that the tree is becoming more mature, but the fruits are larger than any I have seen in previous years.

もう9月下旬なので、一気に収穫しました。

Sudach fruits are consumed while they are still young, since the flavour is most intense at this stage.

この一番大きな実の重さを後で計りたいと思います。全体的に、デパ地下で売られている「ハウス栽培」の高級スダチに負けない出来だと思います。ただし、お店のスダチは種入り、うちのは種無しです。

10号ロングスリット鉢で育てていた間、実は小さく、雨が数日続くと裂果が多発していたのに、地植えしたあと、今年の夏の長雨にも拘わらず１個も汚損果が発生していないので大満足です。去年は地植えの初成りで3個が生り、今年はより多い結実だったので、将来が明るいです。

This fruit seems to be largest, and I am going to weigh it later.   Overall, I feel that these homegrown fruits are as good as any that are sold in department stores as high-end sudachi.  Moreover, those in the shop are regular sudachi with tonnes of seeds inside, whereas mine are basically seedless.  

While this tree was growing in the pot, the fruits were much smaller, and after a few days of continuous rain, there used to be cracks on many of the fruits.  This year, in spite of the weeks of rain, there has been no crack or any other form of spoilage.  Last year was the first time of fruiting after planting the tree in the ground and it produced 3 fruits.  So, it is getting better every year.

一番大きな実の果重は40gでした。

The largest fruit weighed 40g - quite heavy for a sudachi.

半割にした状態。果汁た～っぷり！ 果肉の色は、実物はもっと浅緑色で、写真のような黄色ではありません。この外皮の薄さにも拘わらず、雨による裂果が無かったのには再度驚き。

When I cut it into half, the juice spouted out.  As to the colour of the flesh, my camera is misleading, since the actual flesh was light green - the right stage for consuming sudachi.  Considering how thin the outer skin is, it is amazing that there was no crack on the fruits after days of rain.

絞ると種は一個だけ。期待以上に果汁が多いです。

There was just one seed.  The amount of the juice exceeded my expectation.

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.