Here’s an album of my own pictures from our visit to Tokyo’s underground Udo forcing holes…
More about Udo (Aralia cordata) on my web site www.edimentals.com
Thanks again to Ken Minatoya-Yasuda for liaising with the agriculture industry Tourism Division in Tachikawa city!! We were the first Europeans to ask for this particular tour!! Thanks also to Tei Kobayashi for acting as interpreter and great to meet local gardening blogger Joan Lambert Bailey and friends on the day!! We all had a great day I think!!
Please help translating the text on some of the pictures!
http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=7499 (My “The Many Uses of Udo” Permaculture Magazine article and pictures taken by Naturplanteskolen who joined me on the trip!
To see an underground Udo (Aralia cordata) farm has long been a dream. My dream was finally fulfilled this spring and below you can see a short video I took in the Udo cavern! I’ve also added 3 videos above the ground where you can see piles of spent Udo roots…the roots themselves have been used medicinally, but at the moment are going to waste :(
Below the videos is a gallery of photos taken by my friend Tei Kobayashi who acted as interpreter!
More pictures from the visit can be seen here: http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=7499
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The last 3 days, I’ve been harvesting as quickly as I can as it’s very cold for the time of year (max. about -6C today) and the earth is now frozen to 5-6 cm deep….at this rate it won’t be possible to break up the surface layer with hand tools…but a few things like leeks will have to wait until the weekend….hoping I can get them up…
This is my largest Nero di Toscana (Laciniato) cross with Daubenton (from Chris Homanics’ OP perennial grex selection in 2013) at the end of year two. I’ve taken cuttings and will overwinter this and a couple of other plants in the cellar as I don’t want to lose it!
Portuguese Couve Galega (thanks Maria Silva), not perennial but I love the leaves and it would be interesting to cross it with one of the perennial kales…overwintering it inside hoping it will flower…
Couve Galega
I harvested parnips, carrots, turnips and chicory root for forcing (Witloof types) and a variety for eating the root
Experimenting with burying the roots of perennial kales deep down outside, hoping this might help overwintering. This is inspired by long cuttings I took a couple of years ago in October. I buried them at a similar depth (20-30 cm) and the amazingly made it through the winter!
The edibles cellar store rooms are now completely full and I can hardly move down there now :) Perennial kales at the front in buckets
The traditional veg store with swiss chard planted in boxes in earth…root vegetables are stored in damp leaves
