A must-see for Japanese sweets lovers: growing azuki beans!
Misha: This time we’ll try growing azuki beans.
Hachibee: Looking forward to it, looking forward to it!
Misha: You’re so excited.
Hachibee: When you think of azuki beans, you think of red bean paste, and when you think of red bean paste, you think of oshiruko, and daifuku and ohagi… It’d be like a dream to be able to eat Japanese sweets every day!
Misha: Hachibee has a sweet tooth. I hope we can grow lots, so let’s get started!
Azuki bean “almost weekly” cultivation report
8/4 Planting
Hachibee: Are you just going to scatter the familiar azuki beans?
Misha: Don’t eat it, Hachibee.
8/11 Germination
Hachibee: Oh! They’ve already sprouted! Azuki beans really are full of power.
Misha: That’s amazing.
8/18 The leaves grow and the stems begin to grow.
Hachibee: What an incredible growth rate!
8/25 The stem branches and bears leaves
Hachibee: It’s only been two weeks, and the leaves are already starting to grow. How fast they’re growing!
Misha: The stems have gotten so thick in no time.
9/1 The branches become thicker
Hachibee: This is amazing! The branches are now as thick as the trunk, in fact, they’re almost thicker than the trunk!
Misha: You have a strong personality.
9/8 Flowering and pod formation
Hachibee: What! The flowers have already bloomed?! That’s so fast!
Misha: And pods have already formed from the flowers and are starting to grow bigger and bigger. They are growing so fast that a weekly feeding would be too much for them to keep up with. It’s amazing how fast azuki beans grow.
9/15 Pods grow
Hachibee: It’s amazing how quickly the pods grow. You can already see the azuki beans starting to form inside those little pods.
9/22 The pods start to get bigger and longer.
Hachibee: It looks like it’s drooping.
9/29 The number of pods also increases
Hachibee: Flowers are starting to bloom one after another.
Misha: I noticed that the number of pods has increased a lot.
10/6 The pod grows
Hachibee: The density of the pods has increased! There are so many pods hanging down…it’s quite a strange sight.
10/13 Pod thickness increased
Hachibee: It feels like we’ve stored up all the energy from the sun over the summer. This is truly a fruitful autumn.
10/20 The volume of the pods has increased
Hachibee: Oh! It’s about to burst!
10/27 The pods start to turn brown
Hachibee: It’s a mature sepia color.
Misha: It’s gotten much cooler, the leaves are starting to wither, and the harvest is almost here.
11/3 The leaves fall and begin to wither
Hachibee: The leaves are gone in an instant!
Misha: Azuki beans not only grow quickly, but they’re also sensitive to the seasons.
11/10 The pods turn brown and wither, then ripen.
Hachibee: All that’s left now is the stem and the pod. It looks like a flag. It’s a strange sight!
11/17 harvest
Hachibee: I picked some, I picked some! I picked a lot!
Misha: From a single bean, so many pods have grown, and a palm-full of beans have ripened. I feel relieved and energized by the speed at which azuki beans grow from germination, and their powerful growth power.
~A word! Tips for growing azuki beans~
Difficulty of cultivation：★★☆☆☆
Germination ability and growth speed
Strong enough to withstand the scorching heat of summer
Dark green leaves
Lush pods
Enjoy the vigorous vitality of azuki beans
Water them frequently
Just like watering a strong marathon runner…
