The pumpkins have gone wild! Random seeds from the compost heap that were plowed into my garden patch have sprouted and taken over the mini-greenhouse and the lawn! Just as well, their shade is suppressing the weeds. These are strange pumpkins indeed, not the usual kabocha but orange gourd-shaped ones with bright orange flesh that will make tasty pumpkin pie or bread. The little kabocha are finished and I just brought in about a dozen or so from the field, where they were growing randomly along the slopes. The cucumbers that we planted on the slopes have also done very well - in fact, better than the carefully trellised ones. I think the key is good drainage. Obviously, the slopes drain better than our fields.
The rainy season is finished so now dry hot or humid days set in, with the chance of typhoons. The JA is controlling the irrigation water - so we flooded the fields again today, will drain them in a day and I think we do it again later. At this point, the rice doesn't need to be submerged all the time.
Azuki and soy beans have sprouted all over the village in neat little rows in what were previously bare fields next to the paddies. The sunflowers are finished, bowing their heads as if the heat were just too much. I feel like that sometimes too. The ginger and sweet potatoes and taro potatoes are thriving in this tropical summer. Time to plant flowers for fall - some marigolds and african daisies. The basil is quite prolific, so we are continuing to enjoy fresh pesto!
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