Hello. I’m Haratake, a part-time farmer.
Today’s work is at Field No. 1. The main task is planting potatoes. The other day, I planted several Digima potatoes, a variety from Nagasaki. But I think I didn’t cover them with enough soil, because it feels like birds or animals have been messing with them… I actually dug up a few, but the seed potatoes felt hollow!? They’ve been eaten, taken away…!?
Thinking back, when we used to dispose of kitchen scraps, my grandmother always said we had to dig quite deep holes to bury them. Otherwise, wild dogs would dig them up and eat them. I’d forgotten that farming always carries the risk of animals damaging crops. The teaching that potatoes will sprout just fine even if you plant them cut-side up and without covering them with soil appears in Kimura Akinori’s book自然栽培ひとすじに 木村秋則著, dedicated solely to natural farming. Usually, the method is: ① Plant with the sprouting side up, ② Cover with soil.
The edamame seem to be slowly getting bigger. I was wondering if they wouldn’t grow any larger, or if they were past harvest time and I should pick them small. But leaving them alone, they seem to be gradually growing. The leaves and stems look quite aged now, losing that vibrant green feel they once had. At worst, I could harvest them as soybeans for planting next year, so I think I’ll just wait and see a little longer.
(Photo: The edamame, which feel somewhat larger now)
As for the melon, its stem and leaves have finally withered. I want to say, “Well done for lasting this long!” I cut off the last fruit they bore. Compared to melons sold in stores, it’s quite small. Still, it’s the final melon from our farm’s very first melon seedlings. It’s deeply moving. I wonder if it’s edible… In the end, including this one, we only managed to harvest two melons.
(Photo: The final melon harvest)
Well then, until next time
