Kumquat (Kinkan) Marmalade

My Kumquats (Kinksn) fruit are rip and today I found the birds have been peeking at them so decided to harvest the rip fruit.

Though my three is only 50cm (20in) tall, I got 27 fruit that weighed a little over 500 grams (1 pound), which we used to make Marmalade. There is still about 25 fruit on the tree, which we plan to make more Marmalade once the fruit have ripened.

How to Make Kumquat Marmalade

The weight of the Kumquats is not significant, but necessary to know to measure the amount of the other ingredients. In this example I will assume the Kumquats weighed 500 grams.

What you'll need:
1. Kumquats
2. Sugar (40% the weight of the Kumquats, or 200 grams)
3. Honey (optional - 1 tablespoon)4. Water (same weight as the Kumquats, or 500 grams / ml)

How to Prepare:
1. Slice the Kumquats in half and remove seeds
2. Slice the Kumquats as thin as possible to include the peel
3. Add all ingredients into a sauce pan, cook on low heat, and stir frequently
4. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the desired thickness is reached
5. Remove and let cool. Marmalade will be thicker when cool, so do not over cook

 

Cook on low heat and stir frequently.

Store in a container in the refrigerator.

Great with homemade Yogurt or toast.

Japanese Sweet Potato (Satsumaimo) Harvesting and Curing

Though the above picture looks like one long container it is actually three separate containers. I planted these Sweet Potato (Satsumaimo) cuttings about six months and decided to harvest one container.

I was surprised to get so many Potatoes considering this all started with one cutting.

After I took this picture I found one more Potato that weighed about 150 grams, so in total I got roughly 1,600 grams (3.5 pounds) of Potatoes from this one container.

You should cure sweet potatoes or they will not have that delicious, sweet taste. Curing the potatoes allows a second skin to form over scratches and bruises that occur when digging up the potatoes. To cure, keep the roots in a warm place (about 80°F/27°C) at high humidity (about 90%) for 10 to 14 days. A table outside in a shady spot works well. For best curing, make sure that the potatoes are not touching one another.

Japanese Sweet Potato (Satsumaimo)

 

I repurposed this planter which I previously used to grow Japanese Sweet Potatoes. I sifted the soil to remove roots and later added fertilizer and some organic mulch, but must have missed some roots because Sweet Potato plants and sprouting. Wow!  

Green Lettuce

This Green Lettuce plant is bolting, so I'll let it flower and harvest the seeds.

(1 December) Started to flower.

Pineapple

If you look closely there is a Pineapple plant. Even though it is engulfed by Tomato plants it is doing just fine. Pineapple plants are robust and grow well in both direct sun light or shade.

Carambola (Star Fruit) Tree

I planted a few Star Fruit seeds a few weeks ago and surprised to see spouts so soon.

Star Fruit is an interesting fruit and the shape of the fruit when sliced enhances any fruit dish. Star fruit is crisp and tastes like a mild green apple, but not tart.

Tomato Sucker Planting

Over the past few weeks I've been removing suckers from the Tomato plants and planting them in this planter. I removed all the leaves, except for the very top leaf and planted the stem as deep as possible. They are all doing fine and starting to grow quickly.

This is a sucker I planted on 18 October and it has Tomatoes.

Green Onion (Scallion, Negi)

I planted these Green Onions (Scallion, Negi) about six months ago and later added some Blue Onions (Spring Onions), but they are out of control, so I decided to dig up some of the bulbs and transplant them to a different planter. 

This is what the planter looks like now that I removed some of the Onions.

I removed these four groups of Onions and transplanted them in this container. I cut the stems off to help promote growth, but three days later they already started to regrow.

Eggplant (Nasu)

My Eggplant (Nasu) is starting to flower again.

Red Leaf Lettuce (Sunny Lettuce)

The Red Leaf Lettuce seeds started to sprout. I will transplant these once they get a few inches taller.

Strawberry

First Strawberry from my new plant.

Bitter Melon (Goya, Nigauri)

Got two more pretty nice sized Bitter Melon (Goya, Nigauri) yesterday.

Red Cucumber (Moi)

This Red Cucumber (Moi) plant is growing wild in my backyard and I'm so surprised to see so many Cucumbers. I normally plant Red Cucumbers in February, so hope these Cucumbers develop. It would be a nice treat. 

Garlic Chives (Nira)

In this planter I had three groups of Garlic Chives (Nira). I removed one group, broke the bulbs up and transplanted them in another pot.

I transplanted these less than a week ago, but growing well. I should be able to harvest these in about 10 days.



Tomato

Looks like I'll get a ton of Tomatoes this season. These are large meaty Tomatoes, but unfortunately I do not know the verity since I used a Tomato from the refrigerator that went bad. 

Shikuwasa Tree

I planted these Shikuwasa seeds about three weeks ago and surprised to see sprouts.

Shikuwasa is about the size of a  Kumquat. In Japan, it is used like lemon, as a flavoring for grilled fish, Yakiniku, salad sashimi, as well as for making desserts  and juices.

The popularity of shikuwasa in Japan is due to its strong flavor golden  extract, like the sunlight of the southern island.

Shikuwasa contains plenty of vitamin C, an excellent antioxidant citric acid that recovers one from exhaustion. Especially the amount of nobiletin, a kind of flavonoid is far better than any other citrus.

It is said that nobiletin is effective in inhibiting carcinogenicity, preventing diabetes, restraining the cause of liver disability, controlling melanism a whitening effect of the skin.

Currently research on the possibility of fundamental treatment for Alzheimer´s disease is being conducted. Also Yanbaru, an area famous for production of shikuwasa is also known for area of longevity.

(12/28/2019) This is the Shikuwasa tree I planted from seed a little over a year ago. It has really grown and actually had a flower a few months ago. I repotted it to a larger pot to give the roots more room to grow, but do not want this tree to grow too large. I do not have land to plant it, so intend to keep it in a pot; however, even a small tree a few feet tall can produce a lot of fruit. 

Crown Daisy (Shungiku)

The Crown Daisy (Shungiku) plants are growing well. 

Swiss Chard and Red Daikon Radish

The Swiss Chard and Red Daikon Radish in my back yard are doing well. They are not growing a fast as I would like since the soil sunk quite a bit in the planter, but this will be beneficial when the plants get taller since it is so windy. I am also pleased to see no major pest problem. Raised planters are definitely the way to go.

Chili Pappers (Togarashi)

The Chili Pepper (Togarashi) plant is doing well, but there are many sprouts so will have to select one to grow to maturity. One plant will produce many Peppers and more than enough for one family.

Cilantro (Pakuchi)

Cilantro (Pakuchi) is growing fast. 

Red Daikon Radish

Red Daikon Radish growing strong.

Nasturtium Flower

Cute Nasturtium flower. Nasturtium plants are edible and have a spicy mustard flavor similar to a mild horseradish or Yellow Japanese mustard called, Karashi, The leaves can be added to a sandwich and the flowers to a salad to add a little elegance. Even the seeds are edible and sometimes referred to as the poor man's caper.  

Tomato (Broken)

I have a Tomato plant growing in a planter in my side yard. It started to flower.

A couple of days ago we had a rain storm with some strong winds and broke the top of this Tomato plant, but all is not lost.

A pretty clean break. 

I removed the broken top of this plant. Some branches have flowers.

I separated the main branch and removed most of the leaves from each branch, except for the top portion. I should have taken more pictures, because I removed the leaves on the left and right to make a long stem.

I planted each branch as deep as possible. There are tiny hairs on the branches. These hairs will become roots when exposed to soil, so the deeper it can be planted the greater the chance of success. Most people will remove the flowers, as well, to help the plant generate root growth, but I have so many plants I want to experiment with this and see how well it grows, so I left most of the flowers on. Let's see....

Cucumber

First Cucumber of the Season. 

Japanese Sweet Potatoes

I have three planters full of Japanese Sweet Potatoes. They are nearly six months old and I'm planning to harvest one of the planters soon to make room for another crop, perhaps beets.

Lantana Camara "Pink Caprice" Flower

Pink Caprice flowers are so cute and continuously bloom throughout the year. 

Red Daikon Radish, Celery

The Red Daikon Radish and Celery are growing quickly.

I separated and transplanted some of the Red Daikon Radish sprouts to a different planter because multiple seeds sprouted. They are doing fine as well.

Green Pepper (Piman)

I am still impressed with the particular plant. I planted it in March and over 8 months laters it continues to grow Green Peppers (Piman). There is new leaf growth and full of flowers with five or 6 Peppers.