From Summer to Autumn: Getting Ready for the Next Season
At our farm, summer vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, and cucumbers are now at their best.
At the same time, we start removing plants that have finished growing. The fields are already getting ready for autumn vegetables.
Our pumpkins are also growing well, and they will be ready to harvest very soon.
Sowing Seeds for Autumn, Winter, and Next Spring
The main vegetables for autumn are daikon radish and Chinese cabbage.
To harvest them by the end of November, we sow Chinese cabbage seeds around the Obon holiday in August. We sow daikon seeds soon after that. We finish sowing both by September 10 at the latest.
We sow green beans during August. We sow spinach, komatsuna, and garland chrysanthemum by the middle of September so we can enjoy them in winter.
We also sow cucumbers for the fifth time. If we sow the seeds by early September, we can still harvest them.
In October, the weather quickly becomes colder, and vegetables grow more slowly. That is why autumn is our busiest season.
At the same time, we are already preparing for next spring.
- September: Sow Kakina (Japanese mustard greens) for harvest in May.
- Late September: Sow onions for harvest in June.
- October: Sow snow peas for harvest in May.
Learning from Failure
Farming is not as easy as simply planting seeds.
This year, we did not take good enough care of some crops. Lettuce, edamame, and okra did not sprout well, and we were disappointed.
But we will do better next year.
Even our failures help us grow better vegetables in the future.
The Joy of Spring After a Long Winter
One of my greatest joys in spring is not only seeing the cherry blossoms.
It is also tasting the first Kakina and snow peas of the season.
We sow these seeds more than six months before harvest. They grow through the long, cold winter before they reach our table.
That first bite has a special taste that is hard to describe.
We want to bring fresh vegetables to your table throughout the year.
With that hope in our hearts, we work with the soil every day, one step at a time.