Japaneeeeze strawberries

[matsuki]

Up until last year, no matter what the claims were or the variety, the local strawberries were mostly overpriced and disappointing. Then I was gifted some Amaou berries and dayam...what a difference. Still a bit more than I want to pay for strawberries but this was the first Japanese strawberry I had tasted that was actually better than the more reasonably priced ones back home in the land of sunshine. (and for some reason, the terrible, large, dark, and seedy ones seem to be what's popular in the US...they're huge/cheap but too tart and just not that good)

Next was "light pink strawberries." I had recently read some reviews about white ones here (not pineberries, those are amazing) being terribly expensive and disappointing but it didn't have enough detail about what they were. I took a chance on some labelled "pink hime" and they were quite amazing. I had low expectations but apparently there were unfounded. Gimmick aside, would totally wolf down those any day if it weren't for the premium price. (but now it has me wondering what the terrible white ones were?)

Then along comes this shit:

DSC_0535.JPG

A....Skyberry? Latest trend? Local grocer had some so I thought I'd give em a try. Fucking massive, juicy, and like biting into a piece of heaven from Aloha's Snackbar. I want to save 10~20 seeds from my last one and see if I can't grow some on my own. (indoors, every strawberry plant I've tried to grow outdoors in Tokyo ends up covered with some form powdermold)

They actually have ichigogari for these?

[wagyl]

Just ask your friendly neighbourhood Mexican't: strawberries are not a February crop in the northern hemisphere.

[Mike Oxlong]

Could've been here, but I read recently that the strawberry harvest in Japan was made to start in December to cater to the xmas cake demand.

[Yokohammer]

Strawberries are a major industry where I'm at. All year round.


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[Taro Toporific]

... local strawberries were mostly overpriced and disappointing...

YOW! For once I am the SUPREME expert on Japanese strawberries here on the FG, neener, neener.

On my rice ranch in Ehime Shikoku, we grow strawberries in "vinyl houses" (actually PVC corrugated plastic). Strawberries are my family's off-season/winter crop. AMA.

Simple answer to "overpriced" Japanese strawberries:
More than 70% of the strawberries we grow go into the compost (and my experiental-but-not-yet-successful strawberry jam business). I could sell a 3-kg flat pack of wonderful but not "perfect" strawberries for 500yen. But the ass-fuckers in the JA only accepts "perfect" sized strawberries, grr. I have to compost all my delicious strawberries that are the size of plums.

[Russell]

... local strawberries were mostly overpriced and disappointing...

YOW! For once I am the SUPREME expert on Japanese strawberries here on the FG, neener, neener.

On my rice ranch in Ehime Shikoku, we grow strawberries in "vinyl houses" (actually PVC corrugated plastic). Strawberries are my family's off-season/winter crop. AMA.

Simple answer to "overpriced" Japanese strawberries:
More than 70% of the strawberries we grow go into the compost (and my experiental-but-not-yet-successful strawberry jam business). I could sell a 3-kg flat pack of wonderful but not "perfect" strawberries for 500yen. But the ass-fuckers in the JA only accepts "perfect" sized strawberries, grr. I have to compost all my delicious strawberries that are the size of plums.

So Taro, is it correct to assume that you grow those strawberries inside a greenhouse?

What is the temperature inside? Do you heat it?

In what months do you harvest? Is it difficult to grow strawberries in the summer?

Questions, questions...

[matsuki]

Just ask your friendly neighbourhood Mexican't: strawberries are not a February crop in the northern hemisphere.

There are no seasons for them anymore....according to master google.
http://blog.japantimes.co.jp/yen-for-li ... s-forever/

Taro - At least with the Amaou and Skyberry variety, the sizes varied pretty considerably. Could improve your sellable fruit yield but is it even possible to license the cultivars from Tochigi like they do in the states? (or are they even legit "original" varieties? ,,,gugutting seems to indicate the Japanese popular varietes are totally ignored by most of the rest of the world??)

[Taro Toporific]

Questions, questions...

Ok, ok, here's the rest of the story.
As you know I'm handicapped and walk on crutches, which makes mucking around in the rice fields nearly impossible. In addition my father and mother in-laws (both died 2-3 years ago) found it increasingly difficult to slog-&-muck around in the rice fields too. Therefore we focused more and more of our operations to growing flowers for the florist market, mostly Calla lilies, in the summertime, and strawberries growing in plastic greenhouses on waist-high, hydroponic beds. If need be, I could do the December early January strawberry harvest from a wheelchair because hydroponic beds are just at the right height that doesn't require me to stoop or bend over.

The Calla lilies are huge money maker but they require growing them out in the rice patties---in the muck---which means they're inaccessible to me on crutches, even though each armful that we can gather sells wholesale for ¥500. During the Summer growing season, the field that I look out over while I'm typing at the computer always has 100,000 yen worth of lilies crying out to be harvested (so it's really hard to quit the business even though mucking around in the swampy Tambo/field it is horrifically difficult for me---so I end up forcing my poor wife and brother-in-law to do all the swampy fieldwork).

So Taro, is it correct to assume that you grow those strawberries inside a greenhouse?

Yep, we sweat every typhoon season since our aluminum-ribbed, half-circle tube shaped, greenhouses have a tendency to take off and fly to the next prefecture in high winds.

What is the temperature inside? Do you heat it?

In the 50m X 4m greenhouse, we only use use one kerosene heater to keep the temperature above 10°C at night. More importantly the greenhouse itself is made of "Corriboard" aka corrugated PVC plastic (R-4 insulation factor which is the hell of a lot better than my fuckqued concrete "mansion" in Tokyo)--the hydroponic beds act as a heatsink and retain the heat from the daytime sunlight well.

[Taro Toporific]

Could improve your sellable fruit yield but is it even possible to license the cultivars from Tochigi like they do in the states? (or are they even legit "original" varieties? ,,,gugutting seems to indicate the Japanese popular varietes are totally ignored by most of the rest of the world??)

Yep.
If I was day-to-day managing the farm operation I will probably illegally import better cultivars. I only spent two months of the year on the farm in Shikoku---basically the height of the strawberry season and the height of the Cayila Lily season.

Calla-lily-field.jpg

Right now I've had three failures in a row trying to smuggle in blue and varied colored potatoes. I can make a fortune in my upper, non-irrigated fields growing exotic multicolored potatoes.

(PS: I'm not a total idiot about all this---one of my university degrees is in agricultural science so I have taken all the basic agrimony and plant science classes even though my degree specializes in avian science.)

[matsuki]

When you say failure, you mean customs stopped them or they just weren't viable after importation?

[Taro Toporific]

When you say failure, you mean customs stopped them or they just weren't viable after importation?

My multi-colored Inca seed potatoes weren't viable after importation.

J-Customs never catches my personal imports, neener, neener.

[wagyl]

even though my degree specializes in avian science.

Huh? That's for the birds!

[wagyl]

Is it difficult to grow strawberries in the summer?

Questions, questions...

Strawberries grow naturally, out in the open, in the summer, which was the thrust of my original post. And I know from experience that they come up just fine next year even after being under 1.7 metres of snow. You would be looking at a May-June harvest in your garden there, with better flavour for not having been forced.

[matsuki]

When you say failure, you mean customs stopped them or they just weren't viable after importation?

My multi-colored Inca seed potatoes weren't viable after importation.

J-Customs never catches my personal imports, neener, neener.

Wow....

Yeah, "for my own personal use" is the magic phrase. Never been taxed on anything I brought in personally through customs.

[Taro Toporific]

Yeah, "for my own personal use" is the magic phrase. Never been taxed on anything I brought in personally through customs.

Dem' multi-colored Inca potatoes sell like gold on the Japanese market.
I can get 500yen for a 500gm basket of them (I've sold a few baskets of my over-sized Inca seed potatoes to great sucess).

The deal is, truly usual vegetables get outrageously premium prices on the market in Japan. Since I have a large amount of non-irrigated and forest land on the higher elevations of my property, growing imo, Inca potatoes, and drough-resistant zucchini, is the best thing I can do on my substantial mountain properties (more than 1km).

[matsuki]

Nice, I need to dig up a portion of my mountain and remove the rocks before I could grow anything like that. I still remember the first time I tried to drive a tent stake into the ground there....ouch

[Taro Toporific]

Nice, I need to dig up a portion of my mountain and remove the rocks before I could grow anything like that...

Greenhouses can be heated by pelletized sawdust, which is basically free in areas were sawmills are common. I am considering going into the business of making the pellets for my own use and for sale to my neighbors.

[matsuki]

Hahaha, what is the bonding agent? I got/make plenty of sawdust!

[Coligny]

Pressure i think. Seen big handle devices at Kahma for this with oldd newspapers..
Never seen version working for reddit threads though...

[BigInJapan]

Nice, I need to dig up a portion of my mountain and remove the rocks before I could grow anything like that...

Greenhouses can be heated by pelletized sawdust, which is basically free in areas were sawmills are common. I am considering going into the business of making the pellets for my own use and for sale to my neighbors.

I know of a local NPO that makes pellets from sawdust that they sell throughout Japan. Don't know how profitable it is (they are an NPO after all, with intellectually disabled* folks doing the work), as you need a special pellet compatible stove, they will not work in an existing wood burning stove. They are really efficient though, and can burn all day.
*Had to look up the current PC terminology, apparently this is the term to use (for now).

I happen to live in Amaou central, Fukuoka, and they are indeed harvested year-round here in the vinyl greenhouses (I saw the obaa-chans picking them a week or two ago in passing).
A Japanese friend runs a local strawberry farm, and as Taro mentioned, they have to dispose of the runts and unshapely berries, so yours truly gets to go free ichigo picking (we give away and/or eat half, and makejam with the rest).
TIL - Amaou stands for A from Akai (red), the first two letters MA from Marui (circle), the first letter O from Ookii (big) and the first letter U from Umai (tasty)

[matsuki]

TIL - Amaou stands for A from Akai (red), the first two letters MA from Marui (circle), the first letter O from Ookii (big) and the first letter U from Umai (tasty)

Akai
Marui
Amai
Ookii
Umai

[wagyl]

Marui
Amai
Round
Kawaii
Excellent
Tremendous
Incredible
Nice
Great

Big
Umai
Luscious
Lovely
Scrumptious
Heavenly
Indulgent
Tabeyasui

[Mike Oxlong]

"People want to be told what to do so badly they'll listen to anyone." ~Don Draper

[Russell]

[matsuki]

Marketing Bullshit

Yes...but they are actually the best strawberry I've ever had.

[Taro Toporific]

... the best strawberry I've ever had.

strawberries.jpg

Miss MITAKE

[Coligny]

Dad !?

Mom told you you wuz killed when they burned Joan of Ark !!??

[matsuki]

Haven't yet tasted but definitely needs some cream....

[Taro Toporific]

... the best strawberry I've ever had.

strawberries.jpg

Miss MITAKE

Toshimitsu Machida, running for office in Tochigi, the strawberry prefecture.

vote-strawberry.jpg