My greenness started with an evergreen plant I bought from a roadside store. I enjoyed those green plants for years. At one point, I was buying more plants than I could take care of, so I decided to quit. Flowering -- especially the perennials -- was another thing I tried out in my green world. I threw in the towel when those extremely troublesome slugs and Japanese Beetles infested my flowerbeds. I admit I was defeated, no, not easily though. I picked and shook those suckers off into soapy water, dug up and squished those little grubs. I was frustrated, slug hunting with a flashlight and drown them in a salt-water pot had become a part of my job after work. I used pesticides, beer traps, aluminum foils, you name it, but those suckers continued to feed on leaves, stems, and roots of my beautiful flower plants.
As mentioned earlier, I`m not a vegetarian, nor thought of blogging about how Japanese grow their vegetable, but all that changed when I got some veg from a good neighbor. The flavor and freshness of Japanese vegetable have changed my taste bud. Not deterred by those small creatures, I started growing vegetable in my tiny yard. Again, sharing a small plot with those creatures wasn't a good idea. I was disappointed, asked myself why should I waste time and money growing vegetable when I could buy them cheap? Didn`t know how to control those tiny bastards, I quit after a year or so!
I was fascinated, I could not forget the taste of that freshly grown Japanese vegetable and wanted to know how people grow those juicy tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, cabbages, daikon, watermelons in a small plot of available lands in this mountainous county. Wasting no time, I signed up for community gardening, offered by the city agriculture department. I learned how meticulously Japanese plan their gardens. Seedbeds are prepared well in advance and meticulous care are given to baby plants before and after planting seeds. Most Garden Centers (Home Centers) sell well-grown grafted plants that resist disease and produce great fruits. A visit to Garden Centers would tell you what seasonal plants and vegetable you need to grow in that year.
My first year was a kind of trial and error. In the second year — except those hungry crows that picked on my watermelons and tomatoes -- I did all right. The community program lasted for three years. I continue gardening, and grow more vegetable year around than my family of four can eat. I learned that with passion and persistence we overcome our difficulties.
I think growing vegetable for your need is less work -- yes, it depends where you live-- than shoveling snow! In many countries, the weather has become serious challenge gardeners face every time they are out in the gardens. Luckily, Japan is fertile and is blessed with four distinctive seasons that make this country naturally arable. Except for a couple of cold months, moderate spring and fall, humid summer and plenty of rain and sunshine make this country a good place to grow veg for your need.
Don`t have a green thumb? I know, just start with few kinds and then expand your horizon as you get better. Veggies can be grown even in tiny pieces of lands. If you have a space to put a shed in your yard, then you have space to garden! We know people in many urban cities grow vegetable in raised-beds, shrub-borders, containers, and other open spaces.
As population graying and young people shunning agriculture many farming lands in the developed world, especially in Japan remained idle. To save time and money you might want to start with a vacant land near your house. With little a luck, you may find someone who is willing to let you use her land for free! A verbal agreement with the landlord would be fine, as long as you weed the land to make the landlord and neighbors happy.
Why bother growing when you can buy veggie cheap? Well, unlike other countries, farm products are not cheap in Japan. Thanks to Japan Agriculture lobby that manages market chains here, and opposes cheap imports! Why would anyone want to pay 3 dollars for a head of lettuce or cabbage? Why would you buy a few onions, okras, tomatoes, half or quarter - cut pumpkins, watermelons when you could produce whole bunches! As I said earlier, it`s not all about cutting your grocery bills, it`s the flavor of freshly picked vegetable that we enjoy as home gardeners.
With good care, most vegetable plants grow within three months after planting! Like other countries, most supermarkets in Japan sell limited verities, and vegetable is often doused with chemicals. So part of the fun is to choose the verities you and your family want on the dinner tables. Remember those colorful tomatoes, radishes, onions, peppers, squashes, corns, cabbages, carrots, beans, turnips, different verities of eggplants, cucumbers, squashes? And how about dozens of unique vegetable, like pickling cucumbers, jalapenos, red, green chilies, water spinach, zucchini, better melons, and herbs, such as mint, cardamoms leaves, cumin, lemon grass and many other kinds that you once had in your county, but aren't available in local markets?
If you want to do a bit adventure expend your horizon, you can go green with organic farming. Bottom line is, look for ways to shed less time, money, and be persistent with Shed. Here`s something to remember:
- Don`t over stressed. Rocks, bugs, weed, etc. can wait for another day.
- Burn your calories to boots, not to powers tools.
- Checked online resources to enhance your skills, and buy good tools on sale.
- Wood boxes? Oh, those bottomless coffins, once I used, were worn out in just a year or so, attracted termites and other bugs in my garden! They were just a waste of my time and money.
- Use, less chemical, and spray only when young plants are vulnerable. Compost, manure, other organic materials produce wonderful vegetable plants!
- Collect rainwater -- plastic garbage cans are cheap and good water collectors.
- To cut cost grow seedlings indoors, if possible from the champions of the gardens!
- Don`t wait for maximum yields! Eat veggie right from the garden while they are still fresh and tender.
- You would probably have more veggies than you need. Store them if you want. I love fresh veggie that tastes better than those that go to iceboxes.
- Again bottom line: you may not have quite the green thumb for the first few years, but you should get better once you get your boots wet! No matter what you grow, your produce should taste better than those they sell in the marketplace!
John Green. All Rights Reserved
