tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72489416760117084682011-11-28T08:56:37.798+09:00Life in Kyushu, Kumamoto Prefecture with an American wife and a Japanese husband living on the family farm. Humor and practical information about food, farming and lifestyle.Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.comBlogger2361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-69894223991173575702010-09-15T19:31:00.003+09:002010-09-15T19:40:12.221+09:00

What is a volunteer? For me, it is doing something useful that nobody asked you to do...you just do it because it needs to get done. Every year I get in trouble for being a good citizen. There are no "good citizen" awards because as we know, everybody by birthright, is a good citizen. I can never earn that status.The crazy vines - some sort of wild bean and wild hops and wild something else -

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-11963779531344066602010-09-15T19:25:00.003+09:002010-09-15T19:30:59.999+09:00

Finally, after suffering in incredible heat and humidity, there was a break in the pattern and we actually enjoyed a fall day. Mind you, it is still "sweat like a race-horse" hot when you are working, but at least the sun is less intense and there is a slight breeze.The village has been in the doldrums with only a few very early morning dog walkers visible outside the cool interior of their homes

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-42404556473231001432010-08-30T14:19:00.002+09:002010-08-30T14:23:13.738+09:00

The thunder and lightning storms just roll in and out of here like trains in the sky. In between runs, we try to get a little bit of work done. I managed to get the fields plowed to keep the weeds under control and then attack the vegetable garden to remove those weeds. Luckily, I had neglected it long enough to allow the weeds to grow quite large so it was satisfying to see immediate results by

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-34932888173172021102010-08-25T13:25:00.002+09:002010-08-25T13:33:29.398+09:00

It is like war out here. Lacey leaves might be fashionable but they are a sign of insects feasting upon my precious azuki bean plants. Bean plants can sustain a significant amount of insect damage and still produce beans, so I'll shake them off and see if we can survive without spraying anything. Something crawled around and killed entire plants here and there so my rows are not full -perhaps

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-38088605997897141402010-08-25T13:20:00.004+09:002010-08-25T13:25:54.913+09:00

The apple snail or simply called"jambo" in Japanese is our worst enemy in the paddy field. With no natural predators (except for crocodiles), they are difficult to control. Those bright red eggs (on a previous post) hatch into these slithering slimy hungry creatures that eat all the new growth on the rice plant. In the daytime, they bury themselves in the mud but when they emerge, they are likely

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-1856209769340926752010-08-25T12:51:00.005+09:002010-08-25T13:20:46.528+09:00

I had always thought that the JA was just trying to sell pesticide when they required us to spray for rice worms. I had read that the japonica varieties of rice, the native species, were naturally resistent to the rice worm but since we all grow some modern variation of the original rice, not true hybrids but somehow manipulated species, we need to spray. Anyway, in all these years, I have

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-5508459102570550842010-08-25T12:49:00.002+09:002010-08-25T12:51:36.701+09:00

Well, the sesame aren't quite ready to open yet - still in the blossom stage but I like the expression. Here is a sesame plant, thriving in the dry clay of the small field next to the big road. This is a dry field, not a paddy, so there is no water access. The plants are about 50 cm tall (20") and have pretty pinkish blossoms along the central stem. From these, the sesame pods will develop and we

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-89536642555626697782010-08-18T10:39:00.002+09:002010-08-18T10:47:50.959+09:00

The perilla plant is just a nice garden accent, with its greenish leaves, with red undersides and purplish new leaves, even if you don't eat it but here it is useful in the cuisine.The leaves are rubbed in salt and added to the green plum pickles to give them the deep red color that umeboshi usually have.In the summertime, we like to boil the leaves into a syrup for a refreshing cold

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-72330428226671627922010-08-18T10:36:00.002+09:002010-08-18T10:39:38.629+09:00

I feel like singing....these are really hot peppers for pickles and spicing up certain Asian dishes. I love them but my daughter doesn't care for the spice so I have no idea what we will do with this crop. Anyway, they look pretty. I stupidly picked some without gloves and then wiped the sweat from my brow----I will be shedding tears for hours - these are potent!Right now, peppers and okra are

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-66187354164635111132010-08-18T10:31:00.002+09:002010-08-18T10:35:13.908+09:00

The edamame (immature, green soybeans) are ready to be boiled in salty water and served with beer. I'm sure you can use them in other dishes (we sometimes use them like peas, mixed with rice or stir fried with some meat or tofu) but I like them best with my beer on a hot afternoon. We seem to be having plenty of those. This global heat wave has not lost its power on us. We don't spray our beans,

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-46663117626151327952010-08-11T18:36:00.002+09:002010-08-11T18:42:16.362+09:00

In the blazing heat, I attacked the slopes again with my gas cutting whip. I switched the circular blade for the string because of all the garbage along the roadside. JAPANESE DRIVERS ARE INCONSIDERATE. Did I just yell inappropriately? I pick up the cans, bottles and cigarette packs every week and then there are more - trash tossed from passing cars that ends up on our slope. If you have ever hit

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-647319852062983022010-08-11T18:29:00.002+09:002010-08-11T20:55:53.216+09:00

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

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-2914580757971868962010-08-11T18:23:00.003+09:002010-08-11T18:27:47.653+09:00

The hechima gourd or loofah is a fun and easy to grow vine in warm climates. I never was successful with them years ago in Seattle but maybe these days, with the warming climate, anything is possible! They grow well here but with our cool, rainy spring, they were off to a slow start and I don't have many gourds on the vines.You can barely see what looks like a big fat cucumber there in the photo.

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-6818625492094839022010-08-05T20:40:00.003+09:002010-08-05T20:44:44.303+09:00

The agricultural committee determines when the water flows and when it doesn't, so today was the official end of the irrigation water. The gates were closed and from now on, only rainwater will fill the paddy fields. The water quickly absorbed into the clay and it is now just sticky goo but once it firms up, in a day or two of this relentless heat, I will walk through the rows and pull out any

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-74740970845536535422010-08-03T13:44:00.002+09:002010-08-03T13:46:18.159+09:00

Blue and red dragonflies add color and whimsy to the sudorific air.

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-4726484611615932572010-08-03T13:39:00.002+09:002010-08-03T13:44:45.653+09:00

It is too hot and humid to function, let alone work. I managed to cut the grass and weeds around the perimeter of the fields and nearly died of heat stroke in the process. I was capable of returning home and downing a couple cold beers and felt somewhat revived!The azuki beans have sprouted nicely. The sesame seeds sprouted and are thriving in the heat. The cucumbers that we planted on the slope

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-33578131285629946272010-08-03T13:28:00.002+09:002010-08-03T13:39:47.411+09:00

The greatest threat to the rice crop is the apple snail, an unwelcome foreign creature,originating from Brazil, that can devastate a field. The telltale red eggs line the canals and are found on young plants. We try to remove these by hand and squish them before they hatch. Red splotches dot the pavement in the village. Once hatched, the small snails eat voraciously, consuming entire bunches of

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-58459118325759650352010-07-24T20:16:00.003+09:002010-07-24T20:21:30.937+09:00

The heat wave continues...it is not only hot but unbearably heavy air that makes it feel even hotter. The dog is not faring well and elderly folks have been dying from heat stroke. I get drenched in sweat even by 9 am, so it doesn't leave much time to work outdoors.I did manage to plant a few rows of azuki beans today. Some farmers were planting a late crop of soy beans and I feel like we should

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-59647579025285266402010-07-22T14:59:00.002+09:002010-07-22T15:05:25.891+09:00

Time to plow the big field. It hasn't rained significantly for a couple of days, allowing the saturated mud to dry out a bit. I plowed the big field thoroughly in the heat and humidity of this insufferable day. I like just cruising up and down the rows in my noisy tractor, singing off-tune (the only way I know how to sing) while the engine drowns out my voice, watching the egrets catch bugs. I

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-46729659647293987082010-07-22T14:55:00.003+09:002010-07-22T14:59:24.646+09:00

My mom-in-law went to the mountains with the senior citizen's group from the village. They arrange for little day trips every couple months. They gather at the garbage dumpster to board a chartered bus for their destination - today it was the cooler temperatures in the higher elevations. Not a bad idea- the heat wave has already caused several deaths and we are accustomed to hot weather.I wanted

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-68291651314301389992010-07-21T20:54:00.002+09:002010-07-21T21:01:35.453+09:00

Just when everything seemed to be going well... the farmer who rents the neighboring field threw some kind of herbicide on his weeds. Enough of it was carried in the wind and landed in our field, poisoning our plants. We have to contact the JA to see if there is any insurance coverage for such a case or if we should sue him (of course, law suits are a rarity in Japan) for damages. He had a bucket

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-89933558406241092182010-07-20T15:24:00.002+09:002010-07-20T15:31:07.835+09:00

Fast moving thunderclouds are bringing lightning bolts, torrents of rain and then amazingly beautiful evening skies with every cloud formation in the book filling a techno-colored panorama above the hills. It is quite spectacular to see the clear blue sky above the clouds once the storm passes. I watched the lightning strike the hills to the north, somewhere in Kumamoto city, after it had passed

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-84891880397962353772010-07-18T21:57:00.003+09:002010-07-18T22:04:05.233+09:00

Planted a row of sesame seeds in the small field today after Taka plowed. It was too wet to plow the big field but I did manage to spray some weed killer on the invasive sugina horsetails. I dismantled the watermelon house after harvesting the last of the melons. We had a good haul this year and they are all very sweet and delicious. The harvest is stored in the small barn, which is cool, but

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-28769711812875701672010-07-15T21:44:00.002+09:002010-07-15T21:50:15.275+09:00

July 15 is the O-Bon celebration in Jonan town. Different areas in Japan have different dates but we welcome home the spirits of the deceased on this day by setting up colorful lanterns around the family altar and in the cemetary. Because it is rainy season, it isn't terribly practical to set up candle lit lanterns or to plug in expensive electric ones but a few families go to that trouble.

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-71508303227044385452010-07-14T14:04:00.004+09:002010-07-14T14:11:44.998+09:00

Well it's no wonder that our weather has been so funky. It is like someone is controlling a master faucet in the sky - downpour on, downpour off - tremendous outbursts of warm water fall from the clouds that are boiling in the sky and then suddenly, it just stops and there is silence. Crazy, typical rainy season. We slosh around on the roads walking the dogs or checking the paddy fields for

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-44672242724676622322010-07-13T16:23:00.002+09:002010-07-13T16:25:36.642+09:00

When I do something for my mom-in-law, I usually get some form of fish in return - oftentimes raw with buggy eyes and scales that need to be removed or some sea creature with parts that dangle over the side of the plate. When I work for my uncle, I get cash and a giant watermelon. When I share produce with the young neighbor, I get beer. Honestly, why do I do anything for my mother-in-law?

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-82717291539537796312010-07-11T13:29:00.002+09:002010-07-11T13:37:46.538+09:00

I actually hate summer here - it is hot, humid and wet right now. There was even mold in the ice maker. How does the ice maker mold? The previous harvests of garlic and onions and potatoes are at risk of becoming mush. Watermelons and pumpkins are exploding in the fields!Nonetheless, we are enjoying fresh tomatoes, basil and eggplant for a variety of Italian tasting dishes. The Japanese kabocha

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-25309083823913012010-07-09T13:13:00.002+09:002010-07-09T13:16:50.610+09:00

Lots of watermelon! We harvested about15 basketball sized round watermelon from the field. These do not grow much larger - not like the big oval ones in the US. A medium sized watermelon in season will cost $10 in the supermarket but the farmer gets about half that. They have seeds but are very sweet and tasty. A few exploded in the field so the dog got to enjoy those.Honey, our golden retriever,

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-20751116390921573652010-07-09T13:07:00.002+09:002010-07-09T13:13:08.307+09:00

It is time to cut the weeds along the canals. We assemble at 6am, armed with gas powered cutters, hand saws and scythes to whack and trim the tropical growth on the banks of the canals. The summer air is already hot but heats up by 8 am and everyone is in a drenching sweat.Old people used to plant flowers along the canals and maintain the slopes with a bit of pride. These days, invasive species

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-44982148856643303612010-07-06T20:58:00.002+09:002010-07-06T21:06:28.774+09:00

It was an overcast day with only sprinkles, allowing me to wage war on the weeds. I took out the circular blade cutter and like Rambo with a machine gun, assaulted the small field and the southern slope of the big field. Unfortunately, someone had tossed blocks of concrete down the slope since the last time I did this and I smashed the blade against concrete, nearly ripping off my arm. Fine.

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-49996183660621589432010-07-05T20:39:00.002+09:002010-07-05T20:44:29.136+09:00

Rainy season brings bands of low-pressure systems over the area dumping rain day and night, on and off, sometimes torrential downpours, sometimes misty sprays. It is gray, humid and hot.The rice plants enjoy this - they are settling into the mud and waving gaily in the breeze - but I am not a rice plant and I feel withered by the weather.We sprayed herbicide on the surface of the paddies to stop

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-87171221414958106782010-06-27T20:28:00.004+09:002010-06-27T21:32:38.260+09:00

My eggplant (nasubi) arenever quite as perfect as my mother-in-law's but this is too much! Mine have arms (or wings?)! It makes me wonder what was in that compost pile.My in-laws don't believe in natural compost - they try to compost cans, bottles, chemical residue, plastic bits and batteries. I knew it was just a matter of time before my vegetables turned out weird.The green tomatoes are a bit

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-92114012794414164302010-06-27T20:16:00.002+09:002010-06-27T20:28:30.036+09:00

This family has been farming for over half a century and you would think they had it down pat-that is, how to plant the fields. But every year, we go through trials and tribulations about when and how and how much and what day and who should do what or not. The rainy season began mid-June and the lotteries were drawn up as to which fields would be irrigated and planted during the following

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-77601989675669834082010-06-24T21:26:00.002+09:002010-06-24T21:37:31.502+09:00

It's a village game: pass the "whatever-is-in-season". In theory, out of kindness, generosity and good-neighborliness, we share our produce with each other. It bonds the community and gives us a reason to stop by and chat with one another. I don't really chat, I just hand over the goods with a smile and run away. In theory, it sounds good. The problem is that we all have the same produce

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-26689774599646080872010-06-24T21:07:00.004+09:002010-06-24T21:17:17.645+09:00

Auntie from up the hill brought more sweet potato seedlings which means I had to create two more long rows on the big field. That isn't such an ordeal except that the recent rains have saturated the clay-filled soil making it very heavy. My mother-in-law stood over the process like a warlord as I scooped up the soil into a mound, demanding that the mound be higher and wider and that I work faster

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-68012161848109874872010-06-23T20:30:00.002+09:002010-06-23T20:37:03.626+09:00

While the north side of the area has already planted their rice, we have not been designated to plant ours until this weekend. Today was the official day to flood our fields, so we opened the little gates in the canals and let the cool fresh water from the Midori River flow in. Each canal has pipe outlets with a slotted gate that can regulate the water in and out of the fields. We cover the

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-39520396588123017242010-06-20T21:39:00.002+09:002010-06-20T21:45:51.442+09:00

I planted uri today, or canary melons, those yellow fruits that have a thin skin and white flesh that is mildly sweet.On the big field, I mixed in one scoop of three kinds of granulated fertilizers in the dirt for each mound, mounded up the soil and placed 4 seeds on the top with a covering of rice bran that was too full of worms to use for pickles (thank goodness my mother-in-law decided that

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-63749624849689490222010-06-20T21:33:00.002+09:002010-06-20T21:38:27.003+09:00

So, this demented duck decided to build a nest right in the middle of the big field. I had plowed all but one row of cut wheat because I had piled straw along this one row and didn't have time to bundle it before I plowed. She chose the center of that row to nest. Mind you - there is no water here. It is quite a long walk for little duckies to make it to the canal at the end of the field, down a

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-25124968569093931262010-06-20T21:22:00.002+09:002010-06-20T21:33:31.630+09:00

We spent the weekend helping our relatives from the neighboring village place baggies over grapes...this will ensure that the grapes are blemish-free and fetch a high price at the market. A bunch of thick-skinned sweet grapes with seeds will sell from $7-$15 USD during the harvest season. I don't care for them myself, because they have been sprayed and the skins are so thick, you need to

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-54157973424566927152010-06-12T11:36:00.002+09:002010-06-12T11:42:54.489+09:00

Plowed under the fertilizer in the dry paddies and plowed the straw into the soil on the upper field. I had a following of young egrets. They are so beautiful, like a company of lithe ballerinas in white leotards with a straw colored cape. With elegant steps, they danced across the rows grabbing up insects and frogs freed by my plow. It's amazing to think that there is actually enough to feed all

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-49269183498903815152010-06-12T11:27:00.002+09:002010-06-12T11:35:45.596+09:00

Sometimes, things just are not right around the village.We had our village cleaning day where a member from each household is to show up at the assembly location with a designated bag and walk around the village picking up roadside trash. The announcement said to assemble at 6:00 am. Knowing that the older folks come earlier, I arrived at 5:45....only to discover that the work had been done.

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-81594591445886000962010-06-10T14:27:00.003+09:002010-06-10T14:30:41.338+09:00

Strange that there isn't rain when you can use some. Oh well. The sunny days are good for drying the onions and cutting the grasses around the paddy fields. We had to spread fertilizer and plow and then plow again. After it rains and we flood the fields, we will plow yet again.Some farmers are still burning their fields, so a smoky haze hangs over the valley but there are strong winds in the

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-44181818246305748842010-06-06T10:34:00.003+09:002010-06-06T10:37:24.879+09:00

It's hot, overcast, sultry weather - no better time to go outside and sweat. After spreading fertilizer on the burned fields, we plowed under the wheat stalks in preparation for rice planting. We will have to plow several times but this first one gets the field mixed before it rains. Now we are digging the corners, by hand, because the plow kicks up the dirt and mounds it when you turn the

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-11751361473200424932010-06-06T10:23:00.002+09:002010-06-06T10:34:04.914+09:00

Tiny onions make great pickles...and one can never have too many pickles here. We harvested the rakkyo onions that grow in clusters and individually trimmed their roots and stems. We washed them and rubbed off the skins and dirt, then carefully picked through the basket, one tiny onion at a time, removing any loose bits and making sure each was clean. There was a huge basketfull of rakkyo. This

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-20803669256419050062010-06-06T10:20:00.002+09:002010-06-06T10:23:53.719+09:00

We dug up the first row of jaga the western type potatoes. They came in all sizes and shapes but it was a pretty good yield from the small field. We sorted them out by size and my in-laws took the largest ones and left me with the marble-ping pong ball sized tubers. Thanks. These are also challenging to store during the summer so it is best to eat them now. I like potatoes as a winter food but I

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-2901171261200715702010-06-06T10:12:00.002+09:002010-06-06T10:20:22.785+09:00

I finally got around to pulling up the onions. Even after all these years, it seems strange to harvest onions at the end of May rather than in the fall. Our challenge is to store them during the hot humid rainy season. The muddy field dried into something akin to concrete and it took a pitchfork and some clod breaking in order to free the little onions from the grip of the soil. The spring rains

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-49377295588467525262010-06-03T21:05:00.002+09:002010-06-03T21:10:35.223+09:00

The winds have returned to normal and we are enjoying beautiful fluffy clouds and low humidity. The weeds are keeping me busy around the house.Around the valley, farmers continue to harvest the wheat and burn fields. Crows and other birds are content to follow the machines and gleen whatever has not been consumed by the harvester.The cool spring seems to have deterred the caterpillars from

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-86144586996275947802010-06-02T20:06:00.002+09:002010-06-02T20:12:33.018+09:00

It is always eerie when the winds change direction...typically, the wind blows in from the east in the morning and from the west in the evening. We are very aware of this pattern because of crop spraying, burning and plowing up clouds of dust (we try to avoid things blowing in our windows).I'm very cautious when it comes to winds and fires because I'm deathly afraid I will burn the neighbor's

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-37490349174930151622010-05-29T22:03:00.002+09:002010-05-29T22:10:15.558+09:00

The green ume are in season now. Our tree is rather delayed and the plums are quite small, but up on the hill, our relatives have a tree that already yielded big plums - they are green, very firm and fresh. These will not develop into the purple soft prune-type plums that are eaten as fruit at home. These green plums are used for a variety of pickles. We will make ume-boshi later, but today,

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-10442018651569604972010-05-29T21:59:00.002+09:002010-05-29T22:03:11.347+09:00

The watermelons are doing just fine under the plastic dome. They are reaching out from under the plastic and tiny watermelons are forming. The wheat straw from the wheat harvest is placed underneath the vines so the watermelon can rest on a nice bed and not wallow in the mud. Then we pluck the non-fruiting flowers and mate them with the fruiting buds so help with the pollination process,

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-26262982965289168662010-05-29T21:51:00.002+09:002010-05-29T21:59:17.231+09:00

The end of May, just before the big rains begin, is the best time to plant sweet potatoes, or kara-imo. These are the red-skinned, pale fleshed potatoes that are often eaten steamed. The seedlings are raised by our neighbor (not exactly sure how she does it).They have a few small roots along the stem and these are tucked into the dirt that we have prepared....long rows of mounded soil

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-33334889540487747652010-05-29T21:48:00.002+09:002010-05-29T21:51:29.165+09:00

I salvaged one bag of wheat for next years seeds and salvaged another bag for our personal use. These grains are set out on the deck under the sunshine to dry. When the wind is strong enough, we will winnow the grains the old fashioned way - toss them in the air and hope that the dead bugs and straw blow away. I have a hand mill to grind the grain into whole wheat flour for bread. Because of

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-82094475228368849842010-05-29T21:42:00.002+09:002010-05-29T21:48:05.956+09:00

After rains delayed the harvest, we finally had a nice day to cut the wheat. Farmers draw lots as to who gets to harvest first and we have to follow the schedule because the local mill can only handle a certain amount of grain per day. The unseasonably cool weather and excessive rain has reduced our yield and allowed the weeds to grow after the wheat was done, so the harvest is rather

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-10093076976330508312010-05-24T15:45:00.003+09:002010-05-24T15:48:47.463+09:00

It is hard to believe that it can rain SO hard for SO long. The river was swollen and full of mud and debris...how much land can be left upriver after years of this? My corn was blown over, the little greenhouse blew apart, the front door leaked...and it isn't even rainy season. The wheat fields are saturated so we will have to see if we can harvest on time or not. We are scheduled for Wed.The

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-20077971938622451022010-05-22T18:48:00.002+09:002010-05-22T18:56:24.027+09:00

Today the family gathered to prepare the rice nursery. This is almost a festive event that brings relatives together, especially if they hope to get free rice at harvest time. The Nambu's and the Nibe's joined forces to seed the dirt-filled trays and transport them to the previously prepared beds at the end of the field. It takes a group effort to get the job done efficiently. Taka-ojichan,

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-74869487786892214052010-05-20T19:09:00.003+09:002010-05-20T19:14:57.029+09:00

We have lots of garlic. It is difficult to find a cool, dark, dry place in which to dry it...now that the summer rains and humidity are approaching (today we had unofficial rain - meaning it feels like the rainy season but it isn't really the rainy season).I tried plowing the upper field but the dried clayish soil was so hard that the blades wouldn't break it up - I held on to the rototiller

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-59016472674578417042010-05-16T19:46:00.002+09:002010-05-16T19:53:16.552+09:00

May is like summer - warm days with a light breeze, hot sunshine and lots of flowers, bugs, birds and life. The veggie patch is bursting with greenery - the tomatoes are forming, blossoms abound, the cucumbers are climbing and the pumpkins are creeping across the fields. Enormous carp, washed in from the lakes and rivers as the irrigation gates opened, gulp noisily at whatever flies over the

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-48329970698463702032010-05-16T19:36:00.003+09:002010-05-17T14:08:19.440+09:00

Today we prepared for the rice nurseries. Last week, plastic trays were lined with something like paper toweling and filled with sifted red mountain soil. The filled trays are stacked in our uncle's barn, waiting to be seeded and placed in the nursery.The nurseries are set up on the edge of the fields. Some farmers use a section of a wheat filled field but we share a field with several farmers

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-83874747696252511242010-05-16T19:28:00.005+09:002010-05-17T14:10:19.854+09:00

Garlic harvest: this was easy enough and now we have a big mountain of garlic. The soil is hard as rock, so I loosened it up with the pitch fork and yanked out the developed bulbs. I have to trim them up tomorrow and decide what to do with them....pickle some in soy sauce, maybe mash and freeze some for easy use, hang some so we have fresh garlic and who knows what else.It was a nice day to be

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-19548611486393762922010-05-13T17:02:00.003+09:002010-05-13T17:08:49.385+09:00

Busy with weeding these days...lots of maintenance as the weather warms and early summer plantings grow like crazy. The onions are ready to harvest although mine didn't do so well - I think they drowned in the mud on the upper field. The wheat is more and more golden everyday, luring us towards a harvest.The garlic has sent up flower shoots, scapes, or what I call garlic whips. These need to be

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-14951313949867466122010-04-30T14:06:00.002+09:002010-04-30T14:11:10.915+09:00

April 29-May 5 is a series of holidays that make a week of spring break for many people. Of course, Taka chooses to work half the time and Maya has holiday homework to do...so big fun time. Anyway, families with baby boys born in the year celebrate the birth of their sons with colorful and expensive flags. Our village "banned" the practice for many years because they felt it discriminated against

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-17633123932311895332010-04-30T14:04:00.003+09:002010-04-30T14:06:36.099+09:00

Picked and shelled lots of green peas. Fertilized the pumpkins and took the shelters off of the green peppers that have established themselves. We've been harvesting onions as needed and hanging them in the barn to dry but the onions in the big field have been sitting in wet mud - so they are not looking too great. I'm not sure if they will revive this week when the sun finally comes out.

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-48001275367660787382010-04-24T21:29:00.003+09:002010-04-30T14:03:58.130+09:00

No fair weather friends for me- my friends only come when the weather sucks. Every time we have invited guests from overseas, there is a rainstorm that washes out our plans. This time, their airplane was turned back from the airport and returned to Tokyo. When they finally arrived the following day, it poured during their entire visit. The sun finally came out as their airplane departed. What a

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-1751585437760371532010-04-20T21:59:00.002+09:002010-04-20T22:10:37.605+09:00

This has been the wettest spring ever - it seems we can't get more than one clear day in a week to do anything. It is humid and warm - perfect for breeding mosquitoes, weeds and mold. The grass is turning green and the trees are no longer bare. We ran outdoors and planted a dozen nasubi eggplant seedlings and then sat inside and watched it pour. The dogwood trees were all in bloom along the

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-65070299950322096672010-04-17T12:32:00.003+09:002010-04-30T14:02:54.040+09:00

The wheat fields look like wheat - standing about 3 feet tall and strong heads of wheat on all the stalks. The fields are green and lush.The veggie garden continues to expand: planted more shiso seeds, basil and bell peppers. Japanese bell peppers (piment) are thin-skinned and small. The thicker fleshed peppers are generally grown in greenhouses. We procured seedlings from an acquaintence,

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-62296546120757272792010-04-10T21:54:00.004+09:002010-04-10T22:31:31.205+09:00

Or as I would say it: big boys with expensive toys. The local JA (farmer's group) decided to purchase a $10,000+ radio-controlled helicopter as a means of delivering pesticides to the crops. What fun. The miniature aircraft can only carry a few liters of liquid at a time and flies forwards and backwards over the crops, buzzing around like a giant dragonfly.The village leaders kindly warned us of

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-59669030127692776432010-04-08T06:56:00.002+09:002010-04-08T07:10:39.391+09:00

Today we planted watermelon (suika) seedlings. This is a major undertaking because the plants need to be carefully protected and nurtured. After plowing the upper field again, we smoothed out a 4 meter wide row and lay down plastic sheets for controlling the weeds. In order to keep the weeds down, we are sure to use old plastic with many holes already in it! The wind was blowing strongly and it

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-53415912256339028762010-04-05T20:31:00.003+09:002010-04-05T20:37:11.423+09:00

The springy weather has helped the weeds take over the world again. Sigh. The sugina or horsetails are the worst - so I'm just cutting them down to slow their growth but their underground network of roots is vast and powerful - they, along with the cockroaches, will survive.

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-11882142440432430592010-04-04T12:58:00.002+09:002010-04-04T13:03:26.556+09:00

Trudged down the hill to the forest to dig small shoots - they fetch a better price, still around 230 yen/kg. The larger shoots, the ones most people are finding quite easily after the rains, are about half the price. I only could find about 35 kg worth today but it was a nice day to be in the grove. There is something very calming about the pale green trees and the sunlit leaves so high above,

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-7978919828738606382010-03-31T19:18:00.002+09:002010-03-31T19:23:01.114+09:00

I do not seek wealth or fame, just baby bamboo shoots.We were besieged by mosquitoes and gnats in the damp forest today as we shuffled through the thick layers of leaves looking for more shoots. Today's harvest was deep in the ground and difficult to locate but the price is still good for medium sized shoots. The larger ones, the ones that have already poked through the mulch and are big enough

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-65608439972035930102010-03-30T22:46:00.003+09:002010-03-30T22:55:07.559+09:00

The backside of anything is usually not a pleasant place to be.Even though the family made a huge effort to clean up the land behind the barn when the neighbor's new house went up, obachan has a habit of tossing things over the wall into this unused space. The old well used to be here and now has a cap over it that I don't trust, although I did stand on it just to see if I would fall in. I don't

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-71573599555504278412010-03-30T22:32:00.002+09:002010-03-30T22:45:59.166+09:00

"There's a hole in the bucket, Dear Liza, Dear Liza..." Honestly, why would anyone save a bucket without a bottom? It can't be repaired. Beyond repair, rusted beyond salvation, bottomless - and yet, it was stored behind the barn because we just can't throw things away in this family.I was filling big plastic water jugs so I could transport water to the big field - we don't have a well out there

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-90098401495477754492010-03-29T22:06:00.002+09:002010-03-29T22:16:04.284+09:00

A busy day but one that highlighted the lack of communication among the three of us women. It's not like I'm the only nitwit. Obachan and her daughter just don't communicate at all. I went out and sprayed the weeds along the roadside, then she (Kashiko) came along and cut them...well that was a wasted effort. I carefully weeded around the flowers growing next to the greenhouse and then she (

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-58775592575223712082010-03-29T21:23:00.003+09:002010-03-29T22:00:49.533+09:00

Today we planted sato-imo or taro potatoes, also known as country or wild potatoes. They have a hairy coarse brown tough skin covering a sticky white root. Supposedly they are great for your health and longevity - but I can only eat them in limited quantity - too sticky.To plant sato-imo we first break apart the old root growths to salvage as many good "buds" as possible. We dig a trench, about

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-12844454119062215672010-03-28T22:59:00.003+09:002010-03-28T23:20:08.164+09:00

No rain today, so the village was bustling with activity. You could hear saws, rototillers and cutters all around as everyone rushed outdoors to catch up on chores that we have had to put off for so long.We stood in a long line at the store for lime and chicken shit (is there a more delicate way to say that?) for the vegetable patch so I could plow. The soil is so heavy with clay that everyone

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-29124394213951498302010-03-28T22:47:00.003+09:002010-03-28T22:59:25.345+09:00

In return for sharing our bamboo shoots with a cousin, we received some yama-imo roots. Yama-imo, literally mountain potato, is a kind of yam that is usually eaten raw. When it is grated, it has a smooth slimy texture that is enjoyed on certain dishes but can also be mixed in to the okonomiyaki batter that I mentioned earlier. It takes 1-2 years to grow the potato root as big as they are seen in

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-6341325596071696692010-03-27T18:41:00.002+09:002010-03-27T18:48:16.566+09:00

It has been so gloomy and cold and wet, that I didn't even notice the trees but the cherry blossoms burst into bloom in this morning's sun.I actually worked with my sister-in-law in the bamboo thicket for two hours - we dug $200 worth of bamboo shoots! We took the shoots to a different market, one which processes them before selling, where they offer a higher price per kg. We didn't even need to

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-91519928818288050542010-03-22T18:39:00.003+09:002010-03-22T18:43:12.076+09:00

After a horrible wind storm that forced rain through the leaky window frames, the air was fresh and clear again so we headed out to the bamboo grove to dig some more shoots. The rain and warm air has been good for weedy things to grow so we found a lot of large shoots as well as a few kg of small ones. Maya and Honey (the dog) joined us today. Honey was great - I would point out a shoot (she

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-43956662762342376902010-03-20T15:46:00.004+09:002010-03-20T15:49:12.809+09:00

Yesterday was a perfect spring day. Today, I finally had a chance to pull the rest of the turnips, globe daikon and the last of the spinach along with the big weeds that have flourished during this rainy week. I plowed the end of the field to prepare it for spring plantings when a powerful wind came in from the south and blew me off my feet. It takes quite a wind to do that. Along with driving

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-7515132448673535582010-03-20T10:39:00.003+09:002010-03-20T15:45:57.313+09:00

The daikon pickles that were buried in the rice bran and takuan yellow powder are now ready to eat! Getting them out of the vat is a disgusting process of sopping up the fermenting liquid but the results are tasty. We only take out as many as we are going to use immediately. Cut up only one at a time and use them as soon as possible after cutting. We store the pickles in the refrigerator

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-60127459742736535062010-03-19T20:38:00.005+09:002010-03-20T10:38:54.965+09:00

Mid-March is the time to harvest the kinkan or Sweet (Meiwa) Kumquats of the fortunella crassifolia variety. The slow growing medium sized tree at obachan's house bears enough for both families to enjoy eating the tiny fruits fresh and having enough to preserve. We could make them into jam but probably I will just boil them up with sugar and put them in a jar. In winter, we can eat the syrupy

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-1106334796533906282010-03-17T16:20:00.002+09:002010-03-17T16:28:33.952+09:00

Spring is time for all kinds of things to sprout along the roadside, among them, tsukushi or wild horsetails. These will grow into those annoying weeds that are nearly impossible to get rid of, but the young sprouts are edible.Note: they are poisonous to animals.Collect them from an area free of contamination and carefully remove the outer shell. Boil the stems until they turn a reddish color

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-4375986636966847112010-03-16T13:44:00.004+09:002010-03-16T13:57:01.387+09:00

Now that we've done all that harvesting, it's time to cook the bamboo shoots. The canned or vacuum packed shoots are parboiled and ready to eat. If you purchase or dig fresh bamboo, you must cook them before adding them to your recipe.Add rice bran (nuka) to the cooking water. If you don't have any, save the milky rinse water from washing rice and use that for cooking the shoots. There is no

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-24606392758913180032010-03-16T12:06:00.003+09:002010-03-16T12:24:34.416+09:00

To market, to market...to sell the bamboo.Back at the family barn, in the back of the truck, we sort, trim and clean the bamboo shoots so we can package them up for the market. We purchase standardized boxes for our produce and follow the size chart to label the boxes: about 4 shoots = 4 kg (size 3L), 10-12 shoots per box would be Medium size and so forth. The boxes will be arranged by size

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-39955493072502159652010-03-15T17:50:00.004+09:002010-03-17T15:47:00.075+09:00

I set out with my aging relatives under the shade of the giant bamboo (variety: moso dake) with heavy hoes (called touga) to seek precious bamboo shoots. Wearing thin-soled boots so we could feel the tips of the shoots poking out of the deep loam, we walked gingerly up and down the forest floor. Once we detect a spiny tip, we carefully dig around the root and give it a hardy whack with a

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-11989444463787801812010-03-12T18:15:00.002+09:002010-03-12T18:26:39.521+09:00

Two days of warmer weather - in spite of frosty mornings that have killed off the first buds of the potato plants - I am revelling in the better weather. I managed to clean the small garden where my mother-in-law insists on burying plastic scraps, bits of bamboo, shards of metal and who-knows-what. The garden always looks like a scrap heap so I decided not only to weed but to clean it up. It's

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-753499597491541652010-03-10T19:15:00.003+09:002010-03-10T19:20:30.703+09:00

No, I did not finish clearing the greenhouse or weeding the small garden. No, I did not plow the upper field or cut the weeds on the slope. It snowed. It was windy, cold and snowing today - March 10, 2010. We live in the sub-tropical part of Japan and it snowed. I am in disbelief. I have already packed up the heaters and put away our sweaters, so it felt unbelievably cold. sigh.

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-54198376632857555212010-03-08T15:49:00.003+09:002010-03-08T15:53:08.825+09:00

Only the morning was partly sunny and warm enough to lure me outdoors. I pulled up the plants that had gone to seed in the little greenhouse, discovering some perfectly formed cabbages and fresh spinach growing under the stalks of Napa flowers. I turned the compost and weeded the burning area, staked the rest of the peas with bamboo stalks from thin bamboo - the little branches stripped of the

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-51556173959539473702010-03-08T15:44:00.003+09:002010-03-08T15:49:07.181+09:00

Today, we checked the takuan daikon pickle vat. We lifted off the stones and the plastic lining was surrounded by a swampy mess of moldy water. The water is yellow from the pickling liquid and had a filmy very horrid looking surface. Apparently, this is normal. Using a (clean) rag, we sopped the liquid up and wrung the rag into a bucket, pouring the contents onto the weeds! This was a disgusting

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-89671166510994357232010-03-06T17:06:00.002+09:002010-03-06T17:21:31.691+09:00

Yet another gloomy day. My head was in the clouds only because the clouds were on the ground - misty, gray temperate day. If the sun doesn't shine soon ...My husband says my pickles taste too clean. How does food taste "clean?" Today I gained a better understanding of his cultural reference. Obachan called me over to do a small chore and in return, offered me some pickles out of one of the many

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-3631260635290871472010-03-03T16:35:00.003+09:002010-03-03T16:40:38.487+09:00

Did that Chilean earthquake knock the earth out of the sun's light as well as off our axis? Honestly, if spring sunshine does not erase this gloom I will go mad.I staked the peas - probably too late- that are creeping along the muddy mess we call a garden. My neighbor did it so nicely, somehow draping the straw neatly from a bamboo pole so the peas creep up the straw. Mine was not nearly as

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-26676310656340839562010-03-02T19:31:00.003+09:002010-03-02T19:39:48.878+09:00

The Hina doll festival for girl's is March 3. Maya received her set of special dolls when she was just a little girl -her grandparents spent over a thousand dollarsfor the handcrafted dolls. We are supposed to set it up every year but while we were in the US, we didn't. My husband reminded us of the belief that if you have the set and do not set it up by March 1, you are destined to become a

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-52994960782556517022010-03-02T19:21:00.002+09:002010-03-02T19:28:42.797+09:00

I walked the dog along the Midori-kawa along the top of the berm that keeps the river from flooding our valley. Signs of spring are everywhere as greenery emerges.I replaced the screens on the sliding doors so we can be safe from the gnats and mosquitoes that are already hatching.

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-76884410792063424722010-03-01T21:15:00.004+09:002010-03-01T21:23:05.239+09:00

February is not my favorite month - my lowest motivation of the year month - so I am glad March has arrived. This year it rained so frequently that I never did get to plow the top field and I never was able to turn the soil between the wheat rows. I guess it will just have to grow on its own.I did manage to harvest the last of the globe daikon. These are sliced into strips and dried outdoors,

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-80631444339739715972010-02-11T21:43:00.003+09:002010-02-11T21:52:28.840+09:00

Not the best picture but I didn't have my camera but February marks the beginning of spring with the plum blossoms. In all honesty, these are more beautiful than cherry blossoms and they last longer. The narcissus have bloomed and the calendula are bright orange. The unseasonal weather continues - torrential rains and high winds and warm temperatures are confusing our crops. The temperature is

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-45365711539747499322010-02-09T22:18:00.002+09:002010-02-09T22:23:25.306+09:00

I can't quite figure this weather - we are having spring-like rains instead of frosty winter. Thunder, lightning and heavy downpours have been coming in waves all day long and continuing into the night. It's quite warm outside and the rain just won't quit.I never did plow. Yesterday was the day to do it, when the sun was high and all but the middle of the one field was dry but I couldn't change

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-35513841082592178952010-02-07T20:10:00.002+09:002010-02-07T20:20:05.771+09:00

I believe that the fertilizer we spread a couple weeks ago did nothing more than spur the growth of the weedy grasses. The onions are choking in grass, so I sat amongst the rows to weed, as my golden retriever rolled around over the onion sets and chased mole trails. The soil is sticky and wet. This field has no drainage. We incorporate all kinds of organic matter and it still is clayish and

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-32379309974706743002010-02-06T16:07:00.002+09:002010-02-06T16:15:57.048+09:00

The wonderful daikon from our field were hung on the bamboo pole in the garden for three weeks. (Until the pole broke - oh well). They are rubbery.The nuka and packaged yellow flavoring are mixed.Sea salt is sprinkled in the bottom of the plastic bag lined vat, and layers of rubbery daikon root and nuka mixture are tightly packed.A wood lid is placed on top, making sure the lid will fit inside

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-34665108906542081482010-02-05T12:02:00.002+09:002010-02-05T12:15:01.137+09:00

It is a nice wintry sunny day and my mom-in-law accosted me while I was taking one of those peaceful thoughtful walks with the dog. Could I spare a few minutes to make a vat of pickles? Oh, of course.We took down the daikon radish that were hanging up in the trees. They are now rubbery and wrinkled. We sliced off the leafy part and prepared a vat by lining it with a large heavy plastic bag. These

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248941676011708468.post-73122478977865606912010-02-04T16:01:00.002+09:002010-02-04T16:04:49.083+09:00

I could kick myself for not plowing and planting the potatoes a week ago. It has been raining - a soaking spring rain - causing the fields to become sticky ook. The potatoes are shriveling in the back of the truck. Oops.I'm trying to keep busy with other things. It is cold again so maybe we will get back on our winter schedule. Feeding my misery with zenzai, a soup of azuki beans cooked in sugar

Karen LaViolette-Nibehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17917131006422651419noreply@blogger.com0