Our first child was born in April 2022, so gardening and photography time were quite limited.
This year’s entry is a digest of the highlights — with a few family appearances to come in future updates!
By September, weeds had taken over a bit. We planted tomatoes, eggplants, taro, chives, yams, molokhia, daikon, Chinese cabbage, and peanuts.
The cabbage and daikon beds were covered with insect nets for pest control.
The chives up front were supposed to be trimmed at the budding stage, but they went into full bloom.
Since we had mostly propagated by division before, we let them go to seed this time to improve genetic diversity and disease resistance.
A quick check inside the net revealed some caterpillar activity... At this rate, the “protection zone” might have become a paradise for pests instead!
The nets weren’t very effective, so we removed them to observe. As expected, pest damage increased, and growth became uneven.
The leaves looked healthy and vigorous above ground — time to see how the corms have developed underground at harvest.
Despite insect damage, the cabbage and daikon continued to grow. Cooler weather should help them recover.
The yam snapped during digging, and the tip couldn’t be found. The tuber was smaller than expected — maybe the soil type isn’t ideal.
Fresh peanuts have a flavor and texture quite different from the dried kind — definitely worth trying!
Growth looks a bit better than last year. We use mostly composted manure (cow and chicken) instead of chemical fertilizer to enhance aroma and soil health.
The daikon turned out larger than expected. Maybe insect nets weren’t even necessary this time.
As always, we enjoy not only the taro corms but also the stems — zuiki, a preserved and versatile Japanese dish.
