At the beginning of October, I thought autumn was over, but we've had surprisingly warm days here in Germany. Yesterday, the temperature hit 20°C with clear skies, so my daughter and I couldn’t resist going out for ice cream 😁
On our balcony, summer strawberries are still growing, and a flower is even blooming. Now I’m not sure when is the end of the season 😂 But it's always nice to see them on the balcony.
Even though it’s warm, the sunlight is weak and the days are shorter, so the plants are growing much slower compared to spring and summer. From under the straw of my "plant lasagna", tiny seedlings of winter greens are slowly sprouting. Here’s winter purslane making its way out.
And here is one of my favorites: red mustard, which has a slightly spicy and seaweed-like flavor.
This year, I was hoping to protect the plants on the balcony from cold winter wind and rains with some fleece. However, it was not easy to find non-plastic options from online stores that ship to Germany. I almost gave up, thinking I’d have to let the plants endure the wind and rain as usual. But then, I came across a natural fleece at a local garden center and immediately bought it. With colder weather forecasted for later next week, I hope it will protect the plants.
Along with winter greens, I’m growing some regrown vegetables on the balcony. The most plentiful are green onions. I cut off a few centimeters from the roots of store-bought ones, soak them in water for half a day, and then plant them. This method rarely fails. Now, I no longer have to worry about forgetting to buy green onions for my miso soup. Good for a Japanese 😊 Besides green onions, I’m also regrowing radishes and radicchio.
After hosting a microgreens workshop last weekend, I’ve also been motivated to focus more on indoor gardening. My favorite is pea shoots. The locally produced dried peas which is for cooking have an excellent germination rate, and I love using them as seeds as well. The best thing about pea shoots is that they can be harvested multiple times, and they taste delicious both raw and cooked.
When I added pea shoots to a soup recently, I cooked half of them in the soup and used the tender tops as a garnish.
...I could go on forever about pea shoots, so I’ll save that for another post 😉
Lastly, I’d like to introduce two gardening books that I’ve recently bought and really enjoyed reading. The first one is Compost by Charles Dowding, who is famous for no-dig gardening and use of compost, and the second is a children’s book by Alys Fowler titled Meine kleine Pflanzenwerkstatt (originally written in English as KEW: Grow, Forage and Make).
I’ve been especially interested in composting over the past few years, as I want to garden in a more self-sufficient way, making the most of nature’s power. This book answers many of the questions I’ve had while experimenting with composting and provides a detailed understanding of the biology behind it. It’s such a great book, especially for only 15 euros. Some of the scientific terminology can be a bit challenging for me, but I’m slowly making progress, reading a little every day.
Meine kleine Pflanzenwerkstatt was originally a gift for my daughter for Germany’s World Children’s Day last month, but I’ve found myself enjoying it just as much! It introduces many fun plant-related projects, like regrowing veggies and growing microgreens, which are enjoyable for both kids and adults. The friendly illustrations and writing make it a pleasure to read.
Autumn is a great time for reading, and I’m eager to soak up more gardening knowledge and put it into practice next year.
With indoor gardening included, I’ve been more active with gardening this autumn than usual. I wonder if my garden journal will continue without a break through winter? I’ll do my best to keep it up!
Wishing everyone a lovely autumn Sunday!
10月のはじめにもう秋は終わったかなと思ったのですが、ドイツではびっくりするほど暖かい日が続いています。昨日なんてもう最高気温20度の快晴という天気に大喜びして子供とアイスを食べに行ってしまいました。
バルコニーではいちごがなっていて、さらに花まで咲いていて、この暖かさだともうこれが最後なのかどうなのか😅でもおいしくいただきました。きちんといちごの味がして、10月も終わりのいちごは不思議なおいしさでした。
暖かいとはいえ、日差しは弱く、短くなっているので、植物が育つのは春夏と比べてスローペースです。ラザニアのわらの下からはぴよぴよと冬の葉物の小さな芽が出てきて、ゆっくりゆっくり育っています。こちらは冬のスベリヒユ。
そしてこちらは私が大好きなちょっと海苔の味がしつつピリッと辛味の聞いた赤リアス芥子菜です。
今年は冬の冷たい雨風から葉物を守ったら育ちがよいかなとフリースを探していました。ただ、なかなかドイツに届けてくれるオンラインショップではプラスチック素材ではないものが見つからず、例年通り雨ざらしで育てるしかないかなと諦めていました。そうしたら、たまたまのぞいたホームセンターに自然素材のものがあり、迷わず購入しました。来週後半から気温が下がるので、活躍してくれるといいな。
バルコニーでは、冬の葉物と共に、再生野菜たちが育っています。一番たくさん植っているのはネギで、根っこがついているものを買って、根っこから数センチを切り取って半日ほど吸水させて、植え付けています。ほぼ失敗なし。ネギを買い忘れて、納豆やお味噌汁を食べるときに悲しい思いをすることもありません。ネギの他には、大根やラディッチョも再生栽培しています。
そのほか、マイクログリーンのワークショップを開催したこともあって、室内栽培にも気合が入っています。中でも一押しなのが豆苗です。地元産の乾燥えんどう豆の発芽率がよくて種としても愛用しています。豆苗のいいところは、一度植えると何度か収穫できるところと、生でも火を通してもおいしいところです。
豆苗をスープに使ったときは半分は一緒に似て、上の柔らかいところはトッピングに使いました。
・・・・・・・豆苗について語り始めると止まらなくなってしまうので、また別途一つの投稿に書こうと思います😉
最後に最近買って気に入って読んでいるガーデニング関連の本を二冊紹介させてください。一冊目が不耕起栽培で有名なCharls Dodwingさんのコンポストについての本『Compost』で、もう一冊は、Alys Fowler著『Meine kleine Pflanzenwerkstatt』という児童書（原著は英語で『KEW: Grow, Forage and Make』）です。
なるべく自然の力を活かして、自己完結する形でガーデニングしていきたくて、この数年特にコンポストに興味を持っています。コンポストを作って使って試行錯誤する中で出てきた疑問に答えてくれる本で、生物学的な部分についても詳しく学べる良書で、こんなにいい本が15ユーロだなんて。生物学の用語は少し難しくもありますが、日々少しずつ読み進めています。
『Meine kleine Pflanzenwerkstatt』は、先月のドイツのWeltkindertag（世界こどもの日）に子供へのプレゼントとして買ったのですが、むしろ私が気に入って読んでいます。上に書いた再生栽培やマイクログリーンの栽培など、子供はもちろん大人が挑戦しても楽しい植物に関するプロジェクトがたくさんフレンドリーなイラストと文章で紹介されています。
読書の秋ですね。ガーデニングについても本を読んで、来年実践するための知識を蓄えたいです。
そんなこんなで、今年はインドア栽培も入れると、例年と比べて秋でも結構アクティブにガーデニングをしています。ガーデンジャーナルも冬のお休みなしで続くかな？できるところまでがんばってみようと思います。
それではみなさん、よい秋の日曜日を！
There is absolutely nothing like having a personal garden. These days, I prefer my growing my own food.
The best way to have a healthy living
Gardening has many benefits. One of them is definitely it contributes to our healthy life :) I'm happy that my grand parents and my mother taught me the joy.
Your life is so peaceful and you grow your food <3 That's one of the best feelings in this world! When will you be back to Japan? I heard Japanese people are into healthy lifestyles. ❤️
You are right, it's really peaceful when I sit in the balcony. I like the silence and to see plants are living their own life 😉
I don't have plant currently but I can imagine it is the best season to visit Japan now in autumn. Not too hot and full of tasty autumn harvests. Talking about lifestyle, I think it depends on the person and also depends on the region. I enjoyed the bad (but nice for people in their 20s) Tokyo lifestyle 😁
We have a warm sunny day here: I'm tackling the fallen leaves!
The latest organic gardening catalogue arrived in the post. I love choosing seeds 😂
Wow, unlike England ;) Same here too. October in Germany is like golden autumn but it's too golden ... I couldn't open my eyes on Friday with strong Sunshine ...
I envy you have your catalogue already. Seed companies I use provide mostly online ones. It is such a nice feeling to read through the catalogue on a cold winter day with a cup of tea. And having big list in the end 😁
😁 I am so inspired with your balcony. At the moment I have chili that are almost ready for harvest and spring onion. It seems like my balcony is of similar size like yours. I haven't bought more seeds but I kinda want to grow some more microgreens and you remind me to get one of those hanging pots!
Nice to know you have a micro balcony too 😊 Do you overwinter the chili plant? I try to overwinter some rare ones this year. I read I can grow them like trees.
Good to try microgreens. I try to master growing them in this winter while I don't have much to do outdoor.
Hello! I also enjoy the autumn season, it's like watching the sunset every evening. Congratulations on your balcony garden, it's very beautiful and it's clear that you've put a lot of love and work into it. Best regards.
!BBH
@akipponn! @bulkathos likes your content! so I just sent 1 BBH to your account on behalf of @bulkathos. (16/50)
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