Trip on bullet trains

Yesterday I took bullet trains which was bound for Tokyo where my cousin' marriage party was held. The Japan's bullet trains are not only one of the important transportation for long distance along with airplanes but one of the Japan's greatest techniques which can be proud of to the would. The topic is not irrelevant to gardening but I would like to introduce my trip.
The service I used was the super express from Osaka to Tokyo (about 550km) which can arrive at Tokyo in 2 hours and 30 minutes at a max speed of 300kph. It costs about $150 for an adult.


This is the inside of the car. The seats are a bit larger than usual economy class of airplanes. Those seat has reclining function with arm rests.



Vending machines of juices and foods are seen in some corners in the cars. Even flushing toilets and powder rooms are available.



After the comfortable trip to Tokyo I arrived at a hotel where the wedding party were held. The Tokyo terminal is located near the hotel so that's why I took the bullet trains.



Here is the bouquet flowers the couple gave me as a present.



from iPad

Growth in snow

Inside the vinyl tunnels young sprouts of pak chois, komatunas and spinaches are growing despite sudden cold weather with heavy snow.








My onions look so healthy. Heavy snow could be a serious threat but scenery of green vegetables in brown soil covered with white snow is beautiful isn't it?



-- from iPad

Early spring has gone away again.

During the past few weeks it had been so warm that everyone would assume that spring had been coming soon. But that assumption clearly ended up with "assumption" when I saw all gardens in my neighbors were covered with heavy snow. My kids and their friends were enjoying snowball fight but I could not help worrying about what happens to my garden.


I'm very scared to see what really happens to my garden because we've faced that scale of snow coverage for the first time since opening my garden. I worried about my vinyl tunnels but they seem to bear with weight of snow barely.


Unfortunately, one of my tunnels was "flatten" by snow accumulation.



-- from iPad

Germination in early spring

I found some of my spinaches and pak-chois, which were seeded about 2 weeks ago, have germinated at last! They are so tiny that I had to get closer to the surface of planting beds to find them but it's expected more sprouts of them are going to come up out of the soil.
Young sprouts might give us hope for good harvests but especially germination in early spring can give not only excitement but uplift feeling.





-- from iPad

Deep purple

The color of the cabbage shown below is so beautiful that it reminds me of my favorite band.
I found beautiful purple cabbages in other gardner's plot and I asked him where he got the sprouts. The purple color can be generated with anthocyanin inside the leaves while I don't know the detail mechanism.
Now I'm wondering how beautiful and colorful salad will be when the cabbage is added with listening my favorite song of the band, "Smoke on the water"


-- from iPad

Hidden growth

Even in the middle of cold winter, 100 onions look so healthy judging from their brisk, sharp and greenish leaves. Dry air in the winter can vaporize water easily out of soil so I regularly water once or twice a week.


Most of onions hide in soil but even tiny part of them which can be seen on soil can let me expect prospective harvest.


-- from iPad

Waiting for warm days

It took a week since komatunas, spinaches and pak chois but no germination has not been found yet.
That could be expected due to record cold winter but I can not help feeling anxious about delayed germination.
The vinyl tunnels can keep the air inside warmer than outside and it will start to be warm at the weekend according to weather forecast. All I have to do is to wait patiently for "hopeful moment".


-- from iPad