Goodbye Ynyslas Gardens

We handed in our notice to Lynne & Peter on October 1st and will be finished at the gardens by the end of the year.
We will be focusing our growing efforts on the new Borth Community Gardens which will begin early next year.

It's been great being here and it was a difficult decision to stop working here. We found growing for the market took too much time and became monotonous, taking away from our enjoyment of growing our own food for our own consumption. Having said that, growing for the local shops and restaurants was enjoyable in many ways, especially knowing that friends, neighboors and holiday-makers are enjoying good, local, fresh produce.

Fresh 'n' local vegetables grown for you!

We are Junka & Chris and we have recently begun growing at Ynyslas Gardens on the edge of the Dyvi Estuary. We grow using mostly organic seeds and compost, use no naughty chemicals to nurture our plants and do our best to make our produce of the best quality available.

Junka has experience of growing in her native Japan and has travelled extensively to many different projects and communities finding out about different methods of preparing, propagating, planting and nurturing crops.

Chris has been growing things for years and recently spent a year living and working on a Biodynamic farm in Costa Rica growing Pineapples, Bananas, Star fruit and many other fruits, vegetables and salads as well as keeping goats and sheep.

Junka & Chris enjoy the process of supplying fresh and local food to their adopted community and hope that their venture continues to grow and be mutually supportive with others in the surrounding area.

Recipes

Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. pervidis or var. komatsuna, コマツナ（小松菜、冬菜、鶯菜) is a type of leaf vegetable. It is a variant of the same species as the common turnip. It is grown in Japan, Taiwan and Korea. It is also known as Japanese Mustard Spinach and can be stir-fried, pickled, boiled and added to soups or used fresh in salads. It is an excellent source of calcium. It is also used for fodder in some Asian countries. The leaves of komatsuna can be eaten at any stage of growth. In a mature plant they are are dark green with slender light green stalks, around 30 cm long and 18 cm wide. It is most often grown in the spring and autumn, as it cannot endure extreme heat or cold for more than a short time.

Komatsuna with Sesame dressing

INGREDIENTS:

• 450g komatsuna or spinach

• 2 tbsps white sesame

• 1 tbsp sugar (or honey)

• 1 tsp soy sauce

Boil komatsuna. (Japanese vegetables are much softer so please do not boil for more than 2 minutes). Drain the water very well. Cut leaves into 5cm lengths. Roast the sesame seeds and grind them. Add sugar, soy sauce, (and sake or mirin if possible) and mix well. Add leaves and stir well.

Serve immediately.

Komatsuna with ginger-leek dressing

INGREDIENTS:

• 450g komatsuna or spinach

• 3 tbsp finely chopped leek

• 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger

• 1tsp sesame oil

Boil the komatsuna for no more than two minutes and drain well. Cut leaves into 5cm lengths. Chop leek and ginger finely. Add sesame oil and mix well. Add leaves and stir well.

Add soy sauce to taste when eating.

Komatsuna Stir-fry

INGREDIENTS:

• 450g of komatsuna or mizuna

• 1 clove garlic

• 2tsp sesame oil

• pinch of salt

• chill or hot pepper

A few minutes of stir-frying komatsuna produces extremely tasty results. You can still preserve most of its nutrients by keeping cooking time short.

Heat the sesame oil in a pan or wok and stir-fry the chopped garlic. Add cut komatsuna, a pinch of salt (and chilli if you like it spicy).

Miso-soup with tofu and komatsuna

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 leaves of komatsuna

• 1/4 of packet of tofu

• 20-30g (2tbsp) miso paste

• 8-10g bonito flakes or dashi stock

• 360ml water

Boil the water in a saucepan. Add bonito flakes and then remove them after 5 minutes. You can use dashi stock if bonito flakes are not available. Cut the tofu into small cubes and the komatsuna into strips. Add the tofu and komatsuna to the soup. Dissolve miso paste by adding it little by little, stirring well. Don’t boil the soup too long or miso will lose its flavour.

Shungiku, kabu, mizuna can be used instead of komatsuna. Leek or spinach can also be used. Matching colour, texture, and aroma are the criteria for deciding what to put in.