Parenting and gardening are interesting because there is no single right answer

Isn't parenting quite difficult sometimes?

Because there is no right answer, I'm feeling my way through every day.
I keep digging a hole, but
sometimes I wonder, "How long do I have to keep digging?"
But recently, while replanting blueberries in the garden,

I felt the same thing.
—

Blueberries are hard to grow in "regular soil"

I recently replanted the blueberries in my garden 🫐

Blueberries are actually a bit of a special plant,

and they don't grow very well in regular garden soil.
The reason is simple:

they are plants that love "acidic soil."

Since Japanese garden soil is often

neutral to slightly alkaline depending on the location,
preparing the soil is very important when growing blueberries.
—

The soil I used this time

I used these three things this time.

・Peat moss

・Cow manure compost
・Kanuma soil

Kanuma soil is a natural soil harvested around Kanuma City, Tochigi Prefecture, and

・It has good drainage
・It has good aeration
・It is slightly acidic

These are its characteristics.

It is a standard soil for blueberry cultivation,
and it goes very well when mixed with peat moss.

—

What I think about while working as a gardener

Working as a gardener, I often think about this.

For plants,
the "soil preparation before planting" is more important than after planting.

If you prepare good soil,
plants will grow surprisingly well.

Conversely, if the soil is bad,
no matter how much care you take, they won't grow well.

Perhaps humans are a bit similar, too.

—

This year's joy

I worked while hoping that
there would be many blueberries this summer 🫐

And another joy is

the autumn leaves.

When autumn comes, blueberry
leaves turn a brilliant red.

You can enjoy the fruit,
and you can enjoy the autumn leaves.

Fruit trees are truly interesting, aren't they?

—

And a word from my second son

While I was working,
my second son (3 years old) just got home from kindergarten.

He came out to the garden, full of curiosity,

and asked, "What are you doing?"

So I said,

"I'm planting blueberries."

And he replied...

"I won't eat them 🤪"

He answered immediately 😂

Things don't always go as planned, do they? Haha.

He says he won't eat them, but
he helped me plant them,
so I hope he will eat at least a little bit this year.

—

The joy of planting fruit trees in the garden

When you plant fruit trees in your garden,

・You can feel the changes of the seasons
・You have the joy of harvesting
・You have more conversations with your children

There are surprisingly many good things.

I'm looking forward to their growth from here on out 🌿

—

Investing and dieting are the same

I sometimes think that

investing,
dieting,
and plants

all have results you won't know until you try growing them.

The right answer is different for everyone.

Because there are many ways to do things,
you try, you fail, and you try again.

I think it's a cycle of that.

If you're going to take on a challenge,
you want to keep at it while enjoying it.