I thought I’d give a small tour of some of my garden.
Blueberry bushes
I’ve been growing blueberry bushes for years now, and I have yet to see “the Great Harvest” a friend of mine who has blueberry bushes keeps boasting about. The first year was maybe four blueberries, then the bush was neglected for a week while I was away in the summer, and it died. Cue a new bush, more disappointment and now, this year, finally we have what might possibly be the beginnings of glory. I have no idea, but as I adore blueberries, I’m never going to give up trying to grow my own. Japan charges you about 600 yen for a little pack of blueberries, and I just can’t bring myself to pay that much.
A tea tree
This is my first year trying my hand at growing a tea tree. Apparently green tea leaves and my beloved oolong tea all come from these leaves, and I thought it’d be fun to try growing my own. Apparently you need to leave it alone for two years, pruning it back in the winter and getting new growth (the new growth is what you harvest for tea). I’m patient; I can wait.
Cantaloupe vines
Cantaloupe is another fruit that costs a fortune to buy here. You can pay as much as 4,000 yen (about 40USD) for a particularly nice one. Tiny cantaloupe, however, go for about 500 yen. Thus, I have resorted to growing my own. I tried last year, too, but I started too late in the season and watched my vines thrive, then die as the air got too cold. Now I’m starting at what I hope is the right time, but this time I put too many seeds in the same pot. I’m going to wait for them to grow a bit more before thinning them out a lot. I think if I can get even two cantaloupe out of this adventure, it’ll have been worth it.