A couple of days ago, I went to a gardenhop to buy four different kinds of seedlings: lettuce, broccolini, syungiku, and green onion. Most people outside of Japan probably don't know what syungiku is, so let me explain. Shungiku, also known as garland chrysanthemum or chrysanthemum greens, is a leafy green vegetable commonly used in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean cuisine. It has a slightly bitter taste and a distinctive, refreshing aroma. In Japan, shungiku is a popular ingredient in nabe (hot pot) dishes such as sukiyaki and shabu-shabu. The leaves are usually added at the end of cooking to preserve their unique fragrance and tender texture.Besides being flavorful, shungiku is rich in vitamins A and C, calcium, and dietary fiber, making it both healthy and delicious.

I'd planted tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and eggplants in this summer as well, but unfortunately, I couldn't harvest much because of the extreme heat. It was even worse than last year.

The picture below shows shungiku (春菊), which is called kikuna (菊菜) in the Kansai region.

Lettuce

Broccolini

Green onion

I hope grasshoppers won't eat the plants, and they'll grow well. I'm truly looking forward to harvesting them!

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