Planting the family vegetables

So it's a nice cloudy humid day after the rain and it's a good chance to go out to join the mosquitoes and dragonflies in the mud. While at my house we are all struggling with the flu, I can't tell my mother-in-law that I'm sick or she'll have me quarantined. We plant edible chrysanthemum shungiku, bok choi/pak choi chingensai, mizuna Japanese mustard greens and garlic ninniku. I also need to go back to the field and weed the rakkyo, a kind of shallot used for pickles.

She is determined to teach me the fine points of maintaining the family garden such as how to make the rows straight; how to use farm tools (on the rototiller, use the rabbit setting not the turtle - I swear there really is a picture of a tortoise and hare on the machine!) or how to use either the hoe or your foot to make the rows; how to precisely measure fertilizers (make a scoop from an old bleach bottle, fill it almost full, sprinkle a bit like this using a little more or a little less); and how to plan for the harvest (just plant whatever seeds we have). Everyday with obachan is not only an experience, but an education. As you will see,it is OK to cover small seeds by kicking the dirt with your foot, but when you cover the garlic, you must use your hand! She is very particular and wants me to get it right.