bobby12 0 Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 Does anyone grow their own vegetables/herbs/fruit here? Been looking for a book on the subject (in english) but not having much luck. Thinking of growing tomatoes, daikon, potatoes, garlic along with basic herbs like rosemary/basil. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 The man you want to speak with goes by the name Ocean11 I do believe Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted February 27, 2006 Author Share Posted February 27, 2006 cool - i grew rosemary last time i was in japan, but the basil failed on me. since ive been in the UK ive grown a load of garlic but I want to move on to bigger stuff and get some chickens when I get back to Japan. Cant seem to find any websites/books in English about doing this in japan though. Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 I grow some vegitables and herbs. Herbs Lavender, Rosemary, Chives, Oregano, Thyme, Charbill, Basil, Sparemint, Peppermint. Vegis Tomato, Egg plant, Onion, Garlic, Beans, Charlottes, Green pepper, Potatoe Blueberry (not vegi!! ). When you try garlic, some books advice not to put them where you had put lilies at least for 2-3 years. Put them in August and harvest in May or June next year. Garlic needs time to grow. When you put garlic, you need to put some fertilizer and in Spring as well. Don't worry about giving water. Just rainfall works. Basil - you had better try this one when it's warmer than 20C if you do with some seeds. Basil needs at least 20-25C to germinate. Because it is originally from semi tropical zone. And it LOVES sunshine. Can seldom survive winter. Mints - never fail to put them in some pots. Easy to widespread out. If you put any of them in some flowerbeds, other plants don't grow good. Rosemary - dislike wet weather and rainfalls. I once killed some of them because I put them outside in rainy season. Didn't know they disliked rainfall. It was first experience for me to kill any plants coz of rainfalls. And LOVES sunshine. Lavender - Keep them well drained and give them enough sunshine. Survives in snow. Check mine out if you like. Link to post Share on other sites
ncorrenti 0 Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by gamera: Rosemary - dislike wet weather and rainfalls. I once killed some of them because I put them outside in rainy season. Didn't know they disliked rainfall. It was first experience for me to kill any plants coz of rainfalls. And LOVES sunshine. Ahh, so that's why my Rosemary died! Mine kept looking really sick so I made sure I watered it every day. Obviously not the right thing to do. How often should it be watered? Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by nicole: How often should it be watered? Not an easy question. It really depends on the plant and weather. Rosemary is originally from Mediterranean sea area, so they are strong against dry weather. Even if you forget giving water, they can survive for a while. When you try to grow a new plant, you had better learn its origin to know the weather there and what kind of sand they like. Sand around Mediterranean sea area are calcic, so you need to arrange the sand calcic if the plant is originally from there. If you have some rosemary in some pots, just give water when the sand in the pot looks pretty dry. And you had better learn how heavy the pot is soon after you give water. When it's totally dry, it's much lighter. You can know the timing to give water from the weight difference as well. And when you give water, give some enough as if some water go throughout the bottom of the pot. -When you give some, give enough and less often. I usually give some water to Rosemarries every other day or every 3 day in summer, once a week in winter - just a reference. You just need to observe it and have to learn how often one needs it. Different pot needs different quantity of water, every pot is not the same. If you put some Rosemarry into a flowerbed, I don't think you need to give water. Just rainfalls work, I guess. If you had rainy season there, maybe you put a pole beside and tie an umbrella to the pole for the rosemary to survive the rainy season. Sometimes I see rosemarries planted in a flowerbed without any to avoid rainfalls in Japan. Wonder they are different kinds of rosemarries or not. Link to post Share on other sites
ncorrenti 0 Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 Thanks Gamera. Mine live (or lived) in glazed pots and I'm not entirely sure about the soil type - I had mine in generic potting mix. I might wait until spring time before I plant some more. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 My mum's got a rosmary hedge! It's massive! It's permanently in the ground all year out in the weather and it seems to do well. (I only see it it summer when it's dry though) Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Once started, rosemary is easy to to keep going. Basil as well. I've had trouble with cilantro and mini tomatoes for some reason. Indosnm, my mum is also into this...but maybe more so. Her garden is insane! She is a firm believer that one can grow their own herbs to take care of the body and that hospitals are iranai. Her herb collection contains at least 30 different herbs.. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Bobby, for chickens, Joel Salatin is probably a good start. I'm also going to get chickens as soon as we get our new house and garden sorted out. A friend has a neighbour who keeps free-range hens in a small garden, so I'll go and talk to him when the time comes. In the meantime, I have Mr. Salatin on order at my library. Which part of Japan are looking to move to? There will no doubt be local info available wherever you move to. A lot of people are getting serious about growing their own these days. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Kintaro, I have been unable to grow cilantro/corriander here successfully too. I love going back home, all the things that are a hassle to get here are simply out the back door. Lemongrass suprising growning like a trooper down in Sth OZ! I gotta try that this year. Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted February 28, 2006 Author Share Posted February 28, 2006 Ocean - Hopefully I'll be moving to the Kobe area in June-ish, its not 100% yet but looking very good. If this Kobe job does fall through then I'll probably get a place outside Tokyo in autumn, maybe Choufu or somewhere. Theres always plenty of 50 year old battered detached wooden houses around with a little garden out back I can use for the chickens/veggies. My old place in Matsumoto was perfect but about 2 days after I cleared all the bamboo out the garden it had all grown back twice as tall and thick! God knows how you get rid of bamboo once its there. Chickens seem quite easy to keep, Im not so worried about that, it's more the vegetables I'm worried about as the climate is a bit weird in Japan with all the rain/heat/cold - I think a lot of advice in generic veggie books might not work well in Japan. I'll just befriend some local gardener when I get out there hopefully. The main thing I want to grow are herbs that are hard to buy/very expensive in Japan like coriander and so on. Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 I wish you well. It all sounds very interesting. I don't have a garden though, maybe one day. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 > I think a lot of advice in generic veggie books might not work well in Japan. I've borrowed books from the library about growing veg here, and I have a booklet from my local Ag. College with info on how to grow each type. You won't be surprised to learn that there is a Way of growing each type. The booklet is full of diagrams explaining how to form the rows best suited to each kind of veg, how and when to prune the plant, and how many kg of chemical fertilizer to apply at each stage. Very complicated it all is. However, you won't be surprised to learn that there are other ways too. In my limited experience, the fertility of the soil (mulch, compost, worms and urine) and the timing of planting are more important. Check out the planting times from the backs of seed packets. Most herbs grow like weeds here, so you shouldn't have any difficulties with that. Best thing to do is to get started, even if you don't have any land now. Just use planters or a bit of waste land near your gaff. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 >>Theres always plenty of 50 year old battered detached wooden houses around with a little garden out back I can use for the chickens/veggies. Good luck finding one in Kobe that wont cost you two arms and two legs. Rent here is significantly higher than Matsumoto and so is Shikikin/Reikin too. If you do get one invite me over for a few beers Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Chofu is a nice area if you want to grow vegetables. But the rent is pretty high there, too. If you go up to north near Nerima, you can find cheaper place and more space for vegetables. Easy access to Joetsu highway, too. People who are growing vegetables should have a SJ harvest festival! Link to post Share on other sites
rigor mortis 0 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 i had a huge success with chilli's last summer. very easy to grow and in a range of varieties. i also grew cucumbers. not the pussy little japanese styles, but great whoppers! I was also fighting off the tomatoes too. On the disappointing side, my celery was a complete disaster and my spinach bolted early and went to seed before i could enjoy its pleasures. I also grew a peanut, for obvious novel interests. after about 6 months i proudly harvested 9 peanuts! which tasted very ordinary. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 I noticed that about cucumbers over there - so small. They looked..... silly! Can you not get big ones? Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted March 2, 2006 Author Share Posted March 2, 2006 ditto for the green peppers and aubergines. they sure make up for it on the radishes though. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by BagOfCrisps: I noticed that about cucumbers over there - so small. They looked..... silly! Can you not get big ones? Yes mate, they are small.... and warty. But by god the Japanese cucumber is the best I have ever eaten. The common large smooth skinned variety in UK and Oz are in comparison rubbery, dry and flavourless. I crave the fresh crisp liveliness of the J-cumber! I kept chickens for many years as a young guy until the age of 17. I had a few common chooks and a whole bunch of cool little guys called silkies. They had fury heads and fury feet. I also grew potato and corn and was allowed to plough my little 20m long vege strip with an ancient tractor. I have held a long term plan to return to this life next year. Its looking good so far but too many uncertainties to get excited just yet. Good luck Bobby, you are making me envious Link to post Share on other sites
joshnii 2 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 I've never seen any big ones here. I like the J-cumbers as well though Link to post Share on other sites
rigor mortis 0 Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 The japanese just pick there cucumbers early, if they let them grow, they too could have great monsters like mine. but admittedly they taste much better and crisp when they are picked early. the reason mine got so big was i lost them amongst the jungle of leaves and my incessant tomato plant. i was astonished to see a fully grown cucumber, i tell you. Link to post Share on other sites
ncorrenti 0 Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 Does anyone here know much about plant diseases? Our bay leaf tree has started to look very sick - I thought it might be scale so I've been spraying it with a milk/water mix but it doesn't seem to be helping... I can post a photo to show you what it's like if that helps. Any ideas? Link to post Share on other sites
ncorrenti 0 Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 Poor tree Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 hmmm... brown leaves... might have a spot of gout. Link to post Share on other sites
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