Naomi Upland

Hello to all my fellow Japanofiles

I just found this thread and I'm excited to see where it goes. So far I have cultivated butterbur (Fuki) Solomon’s seal and dayflower (tsuyukusa) successfully and I forage in my woods for ostrich ferns and ramps, which are plentiful.  I am also cultivating shitake and mukitaki mushrooms in logs. I'll be traveling to Japan this summer (Hokkaido) and can't wait to go foraging! Do you have any recommendations as to what to look out for in my Japan July foraging?

Also, I'd be interested in plant swapping for Aralia Cortada or Prunus mume (ume plum) in any form; seeds, cuttings or young plants. I've already had an awesome experience exchanging via Permies and much prefer the vibe of this platform/community to others.

Cheers!

Naomi

So true! I have definitely been bitten by the garden bug.
It  IS  magic.

Jen, those look very healthy to me! May they live long and prosper!

I recently got TONS of comfrey root cuttings in a trade with Trace, and was able to plant nice circles around a bunch of our fruit trees. Thanks Trace
There is a spot in my garden where I had planted my first comfrey a couple of years ago and then pulled it out to move to the orchard. Well that spot continues to put out comfrey shoots as if there's some inexhaustible source in the soil itself This is in keeping with all that I've heard about the plant and is really a nice feeling to have something in the garden that doesn't fail me. I've had so many stupid, beginner "fails" in my garden. I'm going to check if there's a thread here on the topic where people can just purge/confess their failures... I have lots to contribute! Especially in the department of planting things in terrible spots and pulling out stuff that i planted thinking it was weeds ...

Cheers!

Naomi

Thanks Jen and Trace for your replies!

Yes indeed I should consider seeds too.
I am concerned about invasiveness and was planning to stick to Bocking 14 only, but there are areas in the orchard that can use one invasive to fight another, ha ha!
Yes please Trace! let's trade when the ground thaws! In my zone 5, that should be sometime in late March!

Best to all,

Naomi

Dear Peeps on the Comfrey Matter,

I hope that anyone having a slow start with comfrey will soon catch up. It's worth the wait. Some of my root cuttings never sprouted either, however the ones that did are nature's gift to gardeners and I just can't seem to get enough of them! Our baby orchard (3rd year) is a mess of weeds and we are on a mission to provide our trees with some helpful companions.

If anyone has extra root cuttings, crowns ( darn, I'll take pieces of stems with leaves! Sometimes you can propagate those too, I hear) I would love to trade! I have lots of wonderful stuff coming up this spring, including ramps, ginseng, alpine strawberries and thimbleberry to name just a few... Just tell me what you need:)

Best,

Naomi