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 are 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.

ブドウ山椒など Japanese pepper etc

 朝散歩の途中で高稲荷神社公園の横を通りました。先日、狂犬病予防接種の会場となったところです。

During our morning walk, we passed by the park where we recently visited for Taiga's rabies shot.

その公園の入り口横のノイバラが満開になっていました。最近買ったうちのノイバラ同様、トゲ無しの個体です。

Near the entrance of the park, there is a bush of Japanese wild rose.  This is the same variety as the one I bought the other day - i.e., thornless multiflora rose.

うちの苗は蕾の兆しが全くありませんが、来年は少しでも咲いてくれたら嬉しいです。

My plant shows no sign of having flower buds, being too young.  However, I am hoping to see some flowers next year.

花蜂が飛び交っていました。

Bees were flying among flowers.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

ラベンダーの開花がピークのようなので、お茶用に昨日のうちに花を摘み取りました。60秒間蒸したあとは夕方だったので、ひと晩 部屋干しにしてありました。

The lavender flowers seemed to be at their peak, so I picked them yesterday afternoon.  I immediately steamed them (60 seconds) and spread them on a piece of baking sheet in the room last night.

今朝になってバルコニーの物干し竿に移動。直射日光に当たると、あっと言う間にカリカリに乾燥しました。

First thing this morning, I put them outside on the balcony.  Thanks to the sun and heat, the flowers became bone dry in no time at all.

摘み取ったものを直接干すよりも、一旦蒸して乾燥させる方が変色しないと思っています。

After picking, I always steam the plant material instead of drying them directly.  This way, I feel that the original colours are preserved as much as possible.

約半分を使ってお茶を入れました。

I used about half of them to make tea.

かなり薬草っぽい風味ですが、私は日頃からローズマリーの生葉を煎じて飲んでいるので全く抵抗ありません。

It tastes like a herbal medicine, but I have no problem with it since I am used to drinking tea with fresh rosemary leaves.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

鹿沼土が無くなっていたので近所のJAへ行ったら、またしても誘惑に負けました。ブドウ山椒の苗が入荷したばかりで、６個入りのトレイの中から選び放題でした。対して、先日の赤葉山椒の苗は、最後に１個残っていたのを買ったので、他の苗はどんなに大きかったかなど全く分かりません。写真↓は、右がブドウ山椒、左が赤葉山椒。両者の値段は同じでしたが、幹の太さが違います。

As I had used up a particular type of soil, I went to the nearby JA where I saw another Japanese pepper variety.  It is called Budou (grape) Sansho.  This is another rare variety which produces pepper fruits in bunches resembling grapes.  In the photo below, the one on the right is Budou Sansho, and the one on the left is the copper leaf sansho I bought recently.  When I saw the copper leaf sansho, it was the last one left on the tray, whereas with the Budo Sansho, the plants had just arrived, and I was able to choose the best one out of the whole tray.  It was priced the same as the copper leaf sansho, but the size of the trunk is much larger.

接木の箇所もきれいです。

This is also a grafted tree, and the fusion point is very neat.

去年の６月に買った種無し柚子の「多田錦」に、もう蕾が出ています。購入時で２年生苗だったと思います。鉢植えで管理していたのを今年の春前に地植えにしたら、暖かくなって急に枝が増えました。今年は着果がなくても、咲くクセがつくだけでも満足です。
The seedless yuzu (variety called Tadanishiki) that I bought in June last year has already flower buds.  I kept it in a pot until early spring this year, when I planted in the ground.  Since the weather turned warm, a lot of new branches came out with flower buds.  I think it was a 2 years old plant when I got it.  It may be too young to produce fruits this year, but it is nice to see flowers at least.

リスボンレモンは去年の春まで２階バルコニーに置いていましたが、10号鉢で根詰まりを起こしていました。そこで、去年の春に根っこを整理し、地上部も根っことのバランスが取れるよう枝を切り戻して、全体的にダウンサイズしました。それが効果ありだったようで、今は小さい苗ながらびっしり蕾が出ています。花の香りは最高です。

This Lisbon Lemon used to be on the upstairs balcony, but it became root bound in a 30 cm pot.  So, I reduced the roots drastically in spring last year and also pruned the branches in order to achieve balance with the roots.  The downsizing had a good effect and, although a small tree now, it has a lot of flower buds.  The scent of the flowers is really sweet.

他に色々と庭仕事をしていると、近所のジャーマンピンシャーのリアちゃんが通りがかりました。リアちゃんもタイガも大興奮です。

In spite of my sciatica, I managed to do a lot of tasks with my plants.  As I was being busy, Leah, my neighbour's female German Pinscher passed by.  Both Leah and Taiga were super excited.

興奮の原因はワンコ同士の再会よりも、相手の飼い主と挨拶するため。お互いを素通りしてそれぞれに甘えています。

However, the pooches were excited to see each other's mom, rather than having a doggy reunion.  So, they passed by each other.

何とも可愛い。

Leah is soooo kawaii.

キリがないので、リアママが呼び戻しました。

There was no end to their excitement, so Leah's mom called her back.

オシリまで可愛い。この５センチほどの尻尾をピコピコ振って甘えてきます。

Even her botty is so cute.  Her tail is only about 5 cm, and she wags it furiously when she snuggles up to me.

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.

多田錦柚子 Yuzu: Tadanishiki

 去年の１月に届いた柚子「多田錦」が全く成長しないので、暮に鉢から出して根っこの状態を確認してみました。これ↓がその時の写真。細根がゼロ。とりあえず用土を入れ替えて植え戻しておきましたが、結局今年の春にはとうとう残りの葉っぱが全部落ちてしまいました。もうあのお店からは何も買いません。

I bought a Tadanishiki yuzu plant in January last year - a seedless cultivar with a lot more flesh and juice than normal yuzu.  However, the plant showed no growth during the year, so I pulled it out of the pot in December last year.  This↓is how it looked in December.  I planted it in a pot again, but with entirely new soil mix.  Unfortunately, it never recovered and died by the end of spring this year.

良い苗があったら欲しいと思って時々ググっていましたが、2, 3日前に偶然見つけました。写真の様子からは少なくとも２年生ですが、格安の値段。たぶん、お店が在庫整理をするタイミングだったのかもしれません。ちょうど、去年の５月に他のお店で立派な皇帝棗の苗をセールで買えたように。

After that huge disappointment, I thought I would get another if I saw a decent plant.  Luckily, I saw one a few days ago.  Judging by the photo on the website, the plant looked at least 2 years old, but the price was unbelievably low.  Perhaps the shop was trying to get rid of leftovers, ahead of rebuilding stock for the coming winter.  That was the case when I bought a really good jujube plant in May last year.

箱から出してみました。

I took the plant out of the box.

今年の春の新芽が元気よく伸びています。非常によい状態の苗。

The new shoots of this year's spring are looking robust.  This tree may be a leftover, but this is a beautiful plant.

炎天下を輸送されてきたので、１時間ほどバケツ水につけておいてから植え付けました。このあと支柱を立てて、水やりしました。良く育った枝が箱にきゅうきゅうに詰められてきましたが、一週間もすれば自由に開くでしょう。

Since the plant had to travel in this hot weather all the way from Shikoku Island, I soaked the roots in a bucket of water for an hour, before planting.  After taking this photo, I tied the plant to a prop and watered it.  The branches were squeezed into the narrow box for transportation, but they will start spreading freely from now on.