First Phase: Planting and Data Collection
When growing tadeai, we should consider the native growing conditions in Japan. Many signs of
nature are traditionally used to determine when the sowing should commence, but
basically plant outside once the danger of frost has passed. It does rain in
Japan in the spring, but the real rainy season begins with the period called
the tsuyu, normally early/mid June through July. This is followed by very hot muggy
weather until late summer/early fall, when typhoons make their appearance. If
you live in an arid climate, you may want to consider watering or misting mid
afternoons to help imitate these humid conditions.
IL: How many plants should we plan to raise for the upcoming projects? CA: The projects haven't been spelled out yet, so simply plant as many as you
can manage. If it turns out you don't have enough to do all of them simply pick
and choose the ones you think you can best handle.
Planting
Not everyone will be able to supply the same amount of or equally detailed
information. Just do the best you can with what you have. Feel free to add more
than asked for, or suggest additional data we all could be collectioning.
Charts will be compiled of the collected data once enough is gathered to have
meaning.
Seeds may be planted well ahead of time indoors, but the seedlings should not be
transferred out of doors until all danger of frost has passed. If starting the seeds indoors, the seeds may be planted in seedling trays, a few
seeds to a cell. If simply trays of potting soil are preferred, then sprinkle the seeds lightly
over the top of the soil, rough the surface gently with the palm of your hand,
and sprinkle a thin layer of potting soil over the top. If planting directly
outdoors, clear the plot of all weeds, poke a shallow depression in the soft
soil to plant the seeds roughly ¼” below the surface. Space the depressions with seeds about one to two feet apart
and protect the planted area from birds inclined to dine. The soil should be
kept moist but not soggy.
CO: Do you care about plant spacing, number per square foot, etc. Any recomendations? CA: I tend to crowd mine, planting the 3-4 seedlings clumped, and about a foot
in each direction between clumps. Two feet between each gives plenty of room to
spread - if the plants get leggy, they just fall over and the nodes on the
stems take root whenever they touch soil. It will also depend on how much
direct sunlight they receive - a very sunny spot allows for more crowded
plantings than a shady spot.
Planting data:
Are you starting your seeds in-doors and transferring to the outside after the
threat of frost has passed? Planting from seed directly to soil outside?
Planting in pots and moving outdoors once the weather allows?
Types of soil:
Are you using store-bought potting soil (Organic? Enriched?)
Are you using garden soil or soil from your compost pile? (Acid? Alkaline?
Amended, and if so, how? Are there trees and other plants growing nearby that
may affect the quality of the soil? Lots of healthy worms? Toxic dump site?
Sun exposure (this may change over the course of the season) and geography
Where is the plot located geographically? How about elevation? What kind of
sunlight does the plot receive, about how many hours per day (this is likely to
change as the plants grow due to the shifting position of the sun and the
shadows created by local objects)?Approximately how many hours of direct
sunlight per day does the growing patch receive? Mostly morning, mid-day, or
evening?
Water
Are you depending mostly on rainfall? Hand or mechanically watering? How often does it rain or do you water? Is your water well water (Potable? Hard?
Soft?) or city water (Potable? Hard? Soft?)? How often do you water? What times
of day or night?
Pests
Have you noticed any pests on your plants such as aphids or other insects? Any
nibbles by animals other than birds eating the seeds and very young sprouts?
Date seeds were planted:
Type of soil and planting conditions:
CO: How specific should we be? Temperature, relative humidity in greenhouse? pH
of soil? Watering frequency? pH of water? CA: Be as specific as you are willing to be. If you have soil pH testers
available to use, so much the better.
Date first sprouts appeared:
Description of general weather conditions.
CO: Is this the weather conditions for when the sprouts first appeared? or conditions between planting and sprouting? CA: Probably an average emperature for the period will be good enough, unless
there have been extremes that you feel affected the growing period that should
be noted.
CO: Are you looking for averages over the germination period? CA: Eventually the averages will be calculated, but for now smaller incremental
measurements will be more helpful as we track development of the leaves.
Height two weeks after first sprouts:
Description of general weather conditions.
CO: Is this the weather conditions at 2 weeks after sprouting, or over the time
since the first sprouting? CA: Unless someone is willing to take daily measurements, I think once every
couple of weeks should be sufficient. Again, the e xception would be if you had
a short bought of extreme weather, such as hail storms, or sudden drops or
spikes in the temperature. CO: Do you want greenhouse conditions? CA: Yes, the greenhouse temperature and relative humidy readings would be
helpful.
Date and height when transplanted (if applicable)
Height after four weeks:
Description of general weather conditions.
Height after six weeks:
Description of general weather conditions.
