Rhubarb Gardening AcreSeason

English | 日本語  Good morning, everyone. It’s 6:00 a.m.—how are you feeling this morning? Are you still asleep? This year, I conducted my first patrol of the home vegetable garden. “Patrol” simply means checking the condition of the garden. However, this time I added the following inspection items in addition to the usual checks: Animal feces and urine Household mixed waste Rubber waste Metal scrap Glass and ceramic debris These are related to illegal dumping and waste disposal issues. In this patrol, no such human-caused illegal dumping items listed above were found. Overall condition of Kitamura home vegetable garden in winter, February Reiwa 8 However, signs of wild animals continue to appear without end, and they are still being observed. The tracks belong to deer. Blueberry condition in Kitamura home vegetable garden in winter, February Reiwa 8 Single blueberry condition in Kitamura home vegetable garden in winter, February Reiwa 8

English | 日本語 Hello everyone. How are you doing in this heat? Summer vacation, something to look forward to, is just around the corner. In this busy period leading up to that, the contractors took time out of their schedule to carry out the stump removal work. I’m truly grateful. Condition after stump removal work by the contractor (right side view) Because heavy machinery would enter the garden, I stayed at home for safety reasons, but I can imagine how tough the work must have been in the extreme heat. They used an excavator to remove the stumps and hauled them out by truck. Condition after stump removal work by the contractor (front view) They left everything neatly cleaned up. It was one of those moments where I felt glad I had requested the work. Condition after stump removal work by the contractor (left side view) They have neatly removed everything. With this, the major work is complete. I’m grateful to everyone at the contractor company. Thank you very much.

English | 日本語 Hello everyone. How are you doing in this heat? I’m out mowing the grass. Soon, the contractor we hired for stump removal will be visiting, so I’m doing this work as preparation as well. Wow, it’s hot though. Kind of fun, actually. Let’s get started. Condition before mowing work The mower uses a nylon cutter blade. The cut grass is left on site to dry out and become dead grass. It makes good compost. At this time of year, mowing work requires special caution. That is because of snakes and bees. Indeed, during the previous site inspection, a large hornet appeared in front of me and repeatedly flew back toward the deeper forest. I thought it was scouting. I put a hornet repellent spray in my pocket so I can use it at any time. And on the day itself, sure enough, the hornet showed up again. It came much closer than during the previous inspection. It was charging toward my eyes. I had covered my entire face and neck with a towel under my hat, leaving only my eyes e...

English | 日本語   The second round of stump and root removal work Hello everyone. Today was the second round of stump and root removal work. Continuing from last time, we had a little rain in the meantime, so I was worried that water might have pooled beneath the trunk, but thankfully everything looked fine. Now, it was time to continue the work. Last time, I mentioned that the roots were gripping rocks underground, and I managed to capture a good photo of it below. This one was still one of the smaller rocks. Roots gripping a rock underground After finally removing that section, I continued working on the other roots. The same type of digging and cutting work went on for quite a while. Removing medium and small-sized roots It was an extremely large-scale project, but it turned out to be a very valuable experience. I really came to appreciate the greatness and strength of trees. Honestly, it left a powerful impression on me. The remaining work after this will be handled by profes...

English | 日本語   The start of the stump and root removal work Hello everyone. Starting today, I began the stump and root removal work. The project will take place over two days, covering everything from large roots to smaller ones. People say that tree roots spread underground just as far as the branches extend above the ground, and they were much thicker and longer than I had imagined. No matter how much I dug, there seemed to be no end in sight. I will keep working patiently. The process of digging up the long roots As you can see in the photo above, the roots stretched horizontally across the garden, and that was exactly the case. It almost felt as though the roots were “shaking hands” with other roots underground, resisting my efforts to dig them out. These were roots spreading horizontally near the surface, both large and small, but just like the branches above ground, there were also roots extending diagonally downward and straight down into the earth. First, I focused on ...

English | 日本語   The completed side view of the compost shed Hello everyone. Today, I built a compost shed, even though woodworking is probably the thing I am worst at. Honestly, this may be the most pathetic project I have ever completed. You might not want to zoom in too closely. I went to a nearby home improvement store and bought lumber, nails, and other supplies, but right away I realized the nails were too long and did not match the wood at all. On top of that, I bought a full box of 100 nails. The motivation was there, but clearly the planning was not. The completed front view of the compost shed Also, why is the bottom part left open? In my mind, it was supposed to be for ventilation, but according to a friend of mine, it looks more like “a public restroom for deer.” Hmm… now that he mentions it, it really does seem like the perfect setup for deer to stop by and do their business. I truly have no talent for DIY projects. The nail-hammering process All I can do is laugh a...

English | 日本語   Two trees beyond the ability of an amateur to handle (center section) Hello everyone. The hot weather continues, but how have you all been doing? Little by little, work here is moving forward as well. Today is the day when professional tree cutters are taking care of the felling of trees that are beyond my ability to handle on my own. The reason these trees are beyond my ability to handle is, as mentioned in the title, that depending on the direction in which the trees fall after being cut from the base, there is a risk of damaging power lines, electric fencing, or public roads and causing serious damage. This had been the task I feared the most throughout all of the work so far, so I decided without hesitation to ask professionals for help. Despite their busy schedule, they finally managed to make time for us. The situation during the professional tree-felling work The professionals spent quite a bit of time carefully observing the branches of the trees. Rather...

English | 日本語   Scene of branch cutting work (center area of the property) Today, we spent about one week cutting branches in preparation for professional tree removal work. In the central area of the property that will become a home garden, there were many small and medium-sized trees such as katsura trees. As we gradually cut them down from the top, we discovered that the roots had spread widely underground. Considerable soil erosion was observed. Scene of measuring tree circumference (tree measurement work) Although tree cutting may sound simple, it is one of those tasks that can easily lead to serious accidents. After learning information related to cutting down each tree, we prepared the necessary tools and equipment. To avoid delaying the garden opening due to unexpected injuries during the tree removal work, we are carefully working together with professionals while imagining how the trees will fall and investigating the cutting points with extreme caution. The largest m...

English | 日本語   Condition of cutting down a medium-sized walnut tree Hello everyone. In the warm and pleasant spring weather, we began the tree-cutting work with the goal of finishing within one month. Instead of using a chainsaw, we are using a handsaw. Even so, a trunk diameter of about 30～40㎝ is still quite something. Muscle soreness is definitely unavoidable. Cutting down trees that had grown in the same place for such a long time made me feel a little sad. However, thinking that they will be cut into smaller pieces, used as fuel material, and eventually returned to the soil, my feelings of gratitude are even stronger. I believe there will be moments later on that remind us nothing goes to waste. We continue the work. Condition of trees being cut into smaller pieces As for the larger trunk sections, the work mainly tests the physical strength needed to carry them. However, when it comes to the smaller branches, endurance is also required. Since this area will eventually bec...

English | 日本語 On March 1, 2025, I started Kitamura Home Garden, and I would like to introduce myself to everyone. Hello everyone, my name is Neko Kitamura from Kitamura Home Garden 🐱. Thank you very much for your support. However, I felt that if I simply grew vegetables quickly and easily (well, farming is never really that easy...), without understanding the hardships experienced by veteran farmers, I would end up selling vegetables without any real attachment or love for them. I thought that would be very disrespectful to both experienced farmers and the customers who come to visit. We must not forget what is truly important. That is why I deliberately searched for farmland once cultivated by experienced farmers, but which has now become abandoned farmland, and decided to start completely from scratch. I wanted to experience the hardships of farming myself before opening a farm stand. I believe that doing things this way helps create a deeper connection to both the garden and t...