Who could expect this heat wave in the first week of May?

I transplanted our first batch of lettuce for salad mix last week, after hardening off outside with reduced water for one week.  These young lettuce plants are now being hit by heat wave with strong wind.  Lettuce does not particularly do well in hot weather. Hopefully, they survive and we can start our salad mix season soon.

Last week I also transplanted zucchini to our newly expanded small garden as well as a few spots in our main garden. 

Instead of tilling in compost before transplanting, in order to retain moisture in the soil, I planted zucchini seedlings immediately after clearing weeds from the bed, and mulched with one-inch-thick compost. I also added straw mulch on top of compost on some spots. Next week I am planning to add even more layer with browned weed. Even during this heat wave, underneath the seemingly dry soil surface, you will find plenty of moisture at just about half an inch deep. I believe it is very important to make use of whatever moisture we have, as we are on the island where water is really precious resource!

I watched a Netflix show called “The Gardening Show”.  The 2^nd episode was about growing tomatoes. The featured farmer said tomato seedlings need to be watered from the bottom!!  Some of you may have known it, but not I…  No wonder I have struggled to grow tomato seedlings fast.  So, right away I changed my watering method for our seedlings.  I hope they will become bigger and healthier soon.

Yoko planted various herbs last season. One of them, rosemary, flowered and it is bee’s paradise together with our finished collard plants. Sage is also ready to flower, and we are looking forward to seeing them.

The month of May reminds us of seared bonito sashimi dish in Japan..

Bonito lives in warm and tropical water of both Pacific and Atlantic oceans.  In Japan people enjoy eating lean bonito when they travel from south to north from March to May, and more fatty flavour when they travel back from north to south in the fall.  During Edo period, people thought eating first crop or catch would lengthen their lives, and having first bonito in spring was a joyful event.  Haiku author, Mr. Sodo Yamaguchi, wrote in 17^th century, “Fresh green leaves for the eyes, / lesser cuckoos in the mountain, / and the first bonito of the season” to express the joy of spring.  Whether in Japan or Canada, we enjoy spring!

Our market schedule is as follows:

• Island Roots Farmers’ Market: Beban Park, 2300 Bowen Road, Nanaimo, 3 – 6pm on Wednesday
• AGI Market: AGI Hall, Gabriola, 10am – 1pm on Saturday

Thank you for reading our weekly newsletter. Enjoy the season!