November 13, 2016

My Parents' House/実家

These photos are for my son to view, but I thought you might find them interesting, so here they are.
次の写真は、息子に見せるためのものですが、他の人に興味があると思って、載せます。

Just some parts of my father's field:
父の畑のほんの一部:
The house on the left was for buckwheat (already harvested). The house on the right is for strawberries.
左のハウスは、蕎麦(そば、ソバ)用です(すでに刈り取った後)。右のハウスはイチゴ用です。

House for buckwheat:
蕎麦用のハウス:
 
Inside the house for strawberries:
イチゴ用のハウスの内部:
70 seedlings. My father and I completed the house only today.
苗が70もあります。ハウスは父と二人で今日、完成させました。

Chinese cabbage:
白菜:
Naganegi in the middle:
中央に長ネギ:
Konnyaku plant:
こんにゃく:
It will take at least three years to harvest the corm.
こんにゃく芋(根茎球茎)を収穫するのに最低3年はかかります。

Amanatsu (a type citrus):
甘夏(柑橘系):
Grapefruit tree:
グレープフルーツの木:
Yuzu tree:
柚子(ゆず)の木
(I may be wrong.)
(間違いかも。)

Chestnut tree:
栗の木:
Bracken fern:
蕨(わらび、ワラビ):
These bracken fern plants are not wild. My father planted the bracken fern roots purchased from a shop located in Iwate in Northern Japan. The bracken fern here in Chiba prefecture does not grow big.
このワラビは野生ではありません。父が、北日本の岩手にある店から購入したワラビの根を植えました。千葉県のワラビは大きくなりません。

Gingko tree:
銀杏(いちょう、イチョウ)の木:

Unfortunately, this and the other gingko trees do not produce gingko nuts.
残念なことに、この銀杏の木も、もう一本の銀杏の木も銀杏(ぎんなん)ができません。

Yard of my parents' house:
実家の庭:

Fig tree:
イチジクの木:
My parents keep a dog, Ace.
両親は犬を飼っています。エースです。
He's 15 years old. He doesn't want to take a walk any longer.
15歳。もう散歩したがりません。 


Lemon tree:
レモンの木:

Buckwheat:
蕎麦:
Buckwheat we harvested only today.
今日、採ったばかりの蕎麦:
Stems still attached.
まだ茎が付いたままです。

Grapefruit trellis:
ぶどう棚(だな):
Bonsai:
盆栽:

11 comments:

okasan said...

Thanks for sharing pictures of your father's property. Is your father's land a hobby farm or he grows commercially? Looks like he has quite a collection, lucky for you that reap the benefits. How do you use bracken fern in cooking? I love yuzu, sure wish I can buy them here.
I am curious how it compares to sudachi and kabosu and how to use them.

ぶどう棚はgrapes trellis だと思いますか?

okasan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hiroyuki said...

okasan: You got me. Maybe "overhead trellis" should be the right word. Such trellises are quite common in the parts of Japan where snow seldom falls.

Farming is one of his hobbies! I hope he considers growing commercially.

My father loves bracken fern. He simply removes aku (harshness) first and then pan-fries in oil and seasons with soy sauce.

okasan said...

One of his hobbies! Your father is a busy man, this alone is a full time job. It is good to keep busy and do what you love.

I saw a lot of wisteria trellis that looks similar to your overhead trellis while visiting Japanese garden on this recent trip.

Bracken fern is commonly used in Korean cooking as well, it is sold here in dried form.

diu said...

Whenever I go to freedom, it's a Japanese neighborhood, here in São Paulo, I see fern shoots, I'm in doubt if I buy, I do not know how to do it. You've worked hard enough. I'm always attentive to your blog. Their food religion culture.

Hiroyuki said...

diu: My father likes bracken fern shoots and dislikes fiddleheads (ostrich fern fronds), and I am the opposite. I hope you try some wild edible plants (called sansai in Japanese). I'm sure you will like some varieties.

9895039531 seeandoh said...

Great photos of the Japanese countryside farming. I green houses are simple and the structure firm though. I am planning to erect one green house on my terrace. Your father is having a good time with all those fruits and vegetables around.

Hiroyuki said...

seeandoh: Green house on your terrace? Wow, that sounds interesting!

9895039531 seeandoh said...

A lot of people in our state are already into it. Ours is a small state but thickly populated. People have less land and no other option but to cultivate vegetables on the terrace. We have people growing Mango, Coconut, Banana, and other large trees on the Terrace.

Fräulein Trude said...

Never seen buckwheat growing in a green house. In my area - in former times - farmers were growing buckwheat in fields as in this picture http://www.fotocommunity.de/photo/bluehendes-buchweizenfeld-peter-smiarowski/22419365
Why in a green house I wonder, it is so easy to grow?

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: To protect the buckwheat from birds! In the other field of his, my father uses nets for protection.