An urban veggie-grower from China

Growing up in China in the 1980s, I did not have too positive an opinion of co-op, since it was closely associated with the Great Leap and the Cultural Revolution, both having caused havoc in the Middle Kingdom.

Oddly, I started to hear about co-op when I came to the United States, and the word began to have a new meaning to me. Yeah, it is a very idealistic grassroots effort.

Then came my homeownership. Mark and I bought a house in the Phelps Grove neighborhood. When I told my dad in China that the lot is about 0.16 acres, he thought a while and then said: "You have enough land to feed a family."

Well, we are not full-time farmers, and we can't grow everything we need, but Mark and I did want to plant the vegetables and herbs that you don't usually get in a local supermarket: such as Asian eggplants and Thai basil.

Gardening is not easy, but neither is it as hard as I had expected. In our first year, we had a bumper crop of jalapeño, snow peas, and tomatoes. We only had two plants of Asian eggplants, but both did well despite the hot summer in 2006.

This year, we added another small raised bed, and here's the list of stuff we are trying to grow this year: artichoke, leek, tomatoes, three kinds of peppers, strawberries, raspberries, kale, bok choy, Asian eggplants, soy beans, snow peas, sponge gourd, cilantro, parsley, sweet basil and Thai basil.

Kale is doing great, but bok choy was a total loss. Cilantro was thriving but we forgot to snip the blooms in time. Snow peas were growing crazy, but they are done for the year. The artichoke plant has grown at least seven feet tall with no signs of flowers. But soybeans are doing great, and the sponge gourd seems to be thriving.

Speaking of sponge gourd, it is one of my favorite summer veggies. My parents used to cook them in a light broth with salted bamboo shoots. It was simply delicious. I don't think I have had sponge gourd since 1998, so I'm really looking forward to the harvest.

Oh, well. I have strayed away from the co-op I mentioned at the beginning. Back to the co-op, I just think it will be a good idea for us to share what we have in our yard or kitchen. Fresh produce, home-made dishes, sense of comradeship, and better, healthier food on the dining table, why not?