Hello. I’m Haratake, a part-time farmer.
Yesterday I visited Field No.1. Visiting two fields in the morning is quite a task. Time management becomes crucial. We’re now in the latter half of October, and it’s suddenly gotten cold. From my experience, around the last Sunday of October, even during the daytime, wearing just a long-sleeved shirt feels chilly. Somehow, autumn is deepening at about the same pace this year too. It’s a big difference from last week’s weather.
(Photo: Field No. 1 this morning)
I tried planting potatoes in the ridges using the Kin-chan farming method, and they’re growing nicely. This is the ridge where I planted melons. The melons themselves produced a few small fruits. They weren’t the large ones you see in stores, but it was good to get them to fruit and harvest them. Next year, I want to think more about how to get them to produce larger fruits.
(Photo: Potato sprouts growing larger)
And here is the Chinese cabbage bed. This is also progressing well. Since I sowed several seeds in one spot, I thinned out the multiple sprouts and transplanted them to empty spaces. I’m not sure if the transplanting will be successful, but I still hope they grow big in the empty spots.
(Photo: Growing Chinese cabbage)
Finally, the sweet potatoes. Since September, the vines suddenly seem to have gotten much more vigorous. They’ve started spreading onto the neighboring bed where flowers were originally planted, and even beyond the field’s edge. Hmm, how far should I let them spread? The neighboring field has already finished harvesting. Maybe it’s about time here too. Thinking back, only four expensive, high-quality seedlings survived, while the cheaper vines planted a bit later were completely wiped out… Yet these four vines have grown this luxuriant—what incredible vitality!
(Photo: Lush sweet potato vines)
Until next time~
