other names are: Japanese angelica, Tomorrow-Leaf
Ashitaba - an endemic rarity from Japan!
The island off the coast of Japan is also called "Long Liverty Island", which roughly translates to "Island of the Long Lived", from which this angelica originally comes. The inhabitants of the island are older than average and have an exceptional constitution. Japanese scientists have attributed this good constitution to the consumption of this special angelica.
We have been growing Ashitaba ourselves for a few years now and she is truly fascinating! Sowing is more demanding and lengthy compared to other Angelica species.
Please be sure to follow the sowing instructions - we were only successful with them!
Once the cultivation is done, the Ashitaba proves to be surprisingly robust and strong-growing and can produce a lot of crops for you in the first year. It is used both fresh as a vegetable and dried as a tea. For this, the bizarre-looking, almost mandragora (mandrake)-looking, huge rootstocks are harvested and dried.
My first contact with the powers of Ashitaba Angelica was when I clumsily snapped off a piece of a plant in early summer. A yellowish orange plant juice immediately escaped. I tried it bravely. In addition to the suddenly occurring, astringent feeling in the mouth, a few minutes later there was a lightening effect, which I noticed both physically and mentally. Best to compare with a good green tea. This experience stayed with me the whole day in the garden and is still so present in my mind that I occasionally cut off and chew an Ashitaba leaf in passing.
Ahitaba defies the cold and wet. Only the heat and drought in summer are not their best friends. Here they thrive best under fruit trees in perennial beds. In winter, when it gets really cold, they are covered with leaves or fleece. But even if the plants above ground have died after extreme winters, they usually sprout again reliably in the spring. Plants grow best in damp spring and autumn. In autumn, the flowers usually only form on 2-year-old or older plants. If the focus is not on seed production, these should definitely be cut out, as the Ashitaba will die off after flowering.
The germination rate, tested by us, is 80 percent.
Series of pictures: from the seed to the annual plant with a beautiful rootstock
Ashitaba, Angelica keizkei koidzumi, 'Long Liverty Plant', morning leaf (seed)
- Soak the seeds overnight in cold, chlorine-free water (filtered rainwater is best).
- The next day, place the seeds in the refrigerator at 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 °F) in a moist medium. A germ roll made of clean kitchen paper or special germ paper (soaked) and rolled up in a freezer bag has proven useful here. (Sand, seed soil or similar should also work. But we haven't tried it yet.)
- The seeds must remain in the refrigerator at 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 °F) for 3 days.
The seeds should be moist, not wet! That and the temperature are crucial for germination success.
Under no circumstances should the seeds freeze in the refrigerator!
- After the pre-treatment, the still moist seeds (they must not dry out during the entire process!) come into their germination bed. We like to use seed trays. A professional, high-quality seed soil is recommended, which should be airy, not too heavily pre-fertilized and have a good water storage capacity.
- The seeds are now carefully sprinkled onto the surface of the seed compost and covered with a very fine layer of seed compost; 1 to 2 mm are sufficient here. Press lightly and you're done.
- The whole thing must now take 30 to 60 daysevenly moistmaintained at 20 to a maximum of 24 degrees Celsius (68-75.2 °F).Not wet and not dry!
Consistency is very important in the germination process.
- The fastest seedlings will germinate after about 30 days. In the literature, germination times of up to 60 days are given. Most of us are faster. But sometimes it takes 70 or 80 days.
The seedlings grow slowly for the first 2 months, they need a bright spot without too much sun.
As soon as the seedlings have passed their juvenile stage after about 60 days, they turn into true growth monsters and then like to be transplanted to their final location in nutritious, deep, loose, well-drained soil.
The location can vary from partial shade to full sun. The only important thing is that the Ashitaba get an adequate water supply.
Watering every other day is recommended during the growing season for maximum growth.
Once you've done that, you'll be rewarded with a truly unique plant!
Happy gardening!