Training Day 281 | The Story of Honeyberry 'Spring' Told by the Number of Flowers
Irankarapte! (That means 'Hello!' in the Ainu language.)
When it comes to scones, I love them with clotted cream and haskap jam. My wife made the cream from scratch, so I, trainee Hata, enjoyed them with plenty of it.
Thank you as always for reading.
The spring sunshine has begun to gently envelop the fields.
During my morning rounds, I find myself naturally stopping to look at the honeyberry (haskap) flowers as they begin to open little by little. This season has arrived once again. However, when I compare them to photos from the same time last year, the growth pace is clearly lagging.
How things looked last year. The branches are growing.
This year, the branches haven't grown yet. It seems the cold spring weather is having an impact.
It is said that crop growth across the country is about three weeks behind this spring. That impact is clearly visible in our fields as well. In Atsuma, Hokkaido, the spring chill still lingers, and the soil temperature is struggling to rise.
Even so, the small haskap flowers blooming little by little teach us so much.
The number of honeyberry flowers predicts the future
On a honeyberry plant, two flowers bloom from a single flower bud, and there are two such buds. In other words, four flowers bloom per tier.
It is said that if there are two tiers, it will be a poor harvest; three tiers is an average year; and four to five tiers means a bountiful year. Looking closely at this year's trees, the second tier of flower buds has just barely appeared above the first. The days of watching over them with anticipation, wondering how many tiers will bloom, have begun.
Because it is farming that faces nature
At this time of year, the state of the plants changes drastically depending on the daily temperature, wind, and whether or not it rains. Farming, which deals with nature, is truly a 'reading game.' It never goes exactly as we wish, but that uncertainty is also the depth of this work.
I am currently in training as a honeyberry farmer. Every year feels like a series of firsts. However, I hope to accumulate each realization and eventually gain the ability to handle any kind of year.
Days living with honeyberries
Honeyberry flowers are shaped like pale yellow-green bells. Every year, I am captivated by their appearance as they sway gently in the spring light, like fairy lanterns.
Eventually, when these flowers bear fruit and turn into purple berries, our farm will become lively. Encouraged by the voices of customers looking forward to the harvest experience, we take things one step at a time—that is our work during this season.
Oh, by the way, we renewed our farm's website in March.
It's called 'Squirrels, Stoves, and Honeyberries.' It's a site for both the farm and the cafe.
Also, we have created an official LINE account.
Please come over from our profile.
If you register for our official LINE, we plan to offer a special discount coupon 😀
↓↓↓↓ Click here to register ↓↓↓↓
Thank you once again for reading until the end.
Sui Unukara an ro! (Ainu for 'Let's meet again!')
End
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☆ I'm on Instagram!
○ Click here for the official farm Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/hatashima_haskap_farm/
○ Trainee Hata's training diary, etc.
https://www.instagram.com/eeyoredog/
○ Baking, etc.
https://www.instagram.com/spatula_of_squirrel/
○ About Oto, the signboard Shiba Inu
https://www.instagram.com/otogram1120/