Japan Farmers Markets

Adventures in Mulching

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Lambert Bailey) — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Illicit grass harvesting team!

As I mentioned in an earlier post about living mulch for containers, I'm not using the usual black plastic this year in the garden. It never felt quite right to me, although the benefits of weed suppression, soil warming, and moisture retention were all apparent. It's plastic, though, and that means it's made from oil, that it won't easily break down, and can't be reused.

And it does nothing for the soil. It helps the plants in the short term and keeps my work load slightly lighter for the season, which are things I don't take lightly. I go away for the better part of August and September, and I come home each time to weed chaos. Plus, summer is hot, hot, hot and often dry. But unlike straw or even compost from my bin it doesn't feed the community that lives below the soil surface that does more work in my garden than I'll ever do in a lifetime. I don't take that lightly, either. After all the reading and thinking I've been doing, the visit to Hamma Farm only confirmed that I needed to find a way to support that living community. Organic mulch it is.

The problem, though, is where to find it. Word has it that leaves are out as radiation readings are still a bit higher than most folks are comfortable with. (One idea is that it is still washing down through the soil to where a trees deep roots will take it up.) Tall grass grows in the chestnut orchard, but the farmers recently mowed it to tidy for summer events. I used it to mulch the strawberries last fall, and it worked like a charm after a bit of drying.

Luckily, a small park just north of our apartment is full of a similar grass. I'd remembered it while lying awake one night thinking about different farming ideas and checked on it the next day. Sure enough the grass was tall, green, and gaily waving in the evening breeze. A few nights later with the faithful spouse, a good friend, our bike trailer, gloves, and scissors, we went harvesting. While we did get a few strange looks and a few barks from dogs perturbed that their favorite spot was occupied, we managed to fill the trailer and all three bike baskets in less than an hour.

The grass is now laid out in the garden to dry. Half of it is set on over-turned trays so air can circulate below as well as above and the other half is laid directly on the soil. I'm hoping to see if the trays make a difference in drying time and quality. Netting is placed over all of this to keep to both keep things from blowing around too much in our infamous Tokyo winds and try to take advantage of them for this project. Here's hoping!

Tokyo Farmers Markets: May 18th and 19th

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Lambert Bailey) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Bundles of warabi, a type of sansai or mountain vegetable, at the Ibaraki Farmers Market in Roppongi.

For seasonal vegetable explorers, this is the weekend to gather up your gear and head on out the door. A bundle of delightful markets await with their charming vendors, free samples, and more tantalizing items to buy than a single backpack can carry. (Go with a friend, is my advice.) Nippori, as usual, will be rocking it both days, and the UN University Night Market on Saturday is no slouch of an entertainment alternative, either. And while Koenji is a small market, it offers a nice mix of local and regional fare. Wander off and see what you find!

Ebisu Market

Sunday, May 19th

11am to 5pm

A nice sized market held on the terrace just in front of Ebisu Garden Place that will always be special to me for introducing me to dried natto and tea seedpods.

Japan Farmers Markets

Adventures in Mulching

Tokyo Farmers Markets: May 18th and 19th

Natural Farm Visit: A Very Short Report

What I Live For: All the Little Things

Tokyo Farmers Markets: May 11th and 12th

Strong in the Rain Review in Metropolis Magazine

Tokyo Farmers Markets: May

Review: Sowing Seeds in the Desert by Masanobu Fukuoka

Off to a Natural Farm

Tokyo Farmers Markets: April 27th and 28th

Tokyo Farmers Markets: April 20th and 21st

Living Mulch for Containers

Tokyo Farmers Markets: April 13th and 14th

Egg Carton Greenhouse

Tokyo Farmers Markets: April

Making My Own Miso

Tokyo Farmers Markets: March 30th and 31st

Where to View Cherry Blossoms or Hanami Hot Spots

Tokyo Farmers Markets: March 23rd and 24th

Umami: A Taste of Japan in Wisconsin

A Visit to the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at UW-Madison

Tokyo Farmers Markets: March 16th and 17th

Strong in the Rain Review Up at Ecotwaza

The Earthquake: Now and Then

Tokyo Farmers Markets: March 9th and 10th