Vegetable gardeners who enjoy experimenting with new foods and flavors will have fun with the selection of Asian vegetables and herbs featured in Wendy Kiang-Spray’s plan. Wendy introduces us to time-honored Chinese gardening techniques and design ideas that she learned from her father, who still tends a large garden.
Wendy has modeled the design of her garden after her father’s current plot, which measures approximately 19 by 35 feet, though the plan can easily be sized down to fit a range of sites. Chinese gardeners typically grow their crops intensively in raised beds that are laid out in long geometrical rows. “This system allows the area to be plowed or tilled, created and dismantled, season by season or year by year if desired,” she explains. Because rural Chinese gardeners relied on rainwater to irrigate their gardens, the planting mounds for rambling crops like squash and pumpkins are large, above grade, and have a raised lip around the perimeter to help hold in as much water as possible.
Versatile vertical support. In her plan, Wendy has included both permanent and temporary structures for vining crops. The temporary trellises work well for supporting Malabar spinach vines as well as providing support for eggplants. The permanent arbor is both larger and sturdier than the trellises to support the heavier luffa gourds and bitter melons, also the tall yard-long beans. “The temporary structures are often made of bamboo — a cheap renewable resource that is strong, can be split, and comes in different widths and lengths,” she says. Historically, scrubby trees such as mulberry were used to secure plants to their structures. The branches were cut and stripped of their bark, leaving behind a super-strong, thin material that could be used as a lashing.
To boost yield, Wendy suggests planting early, quick-growing vegetables like salad greens under the permanent arbor in spring. “However, keep in mind that Chinese summer vines like gourds, bitter melon, long bean, and luffa are all large and prolific and will quickly shade out any vegetables grown underneath,” she cautions. Also, one needs to stand beneath the framework and reach up to harvest the vining crops, so if planting underneath, stick with fast-maturing crops that will be finished by the time harvesting begins.
Hilling up. Wendy shares some strategies Chinese gardeners use to encourage a delicious crop: To tenderize the stalks of the leeks, the plants are grown in a ditch and the soil is hilled up around the stems as they grow. Garlic (Chinese) chives are sometimes grown under pottery or a dark cloth to deprive them of light and create the coveted “yellow leeks,” a more tender version of garlic chives. “Chinese chives are not used as an herb, but as a veggie, so having tender chives is desired,” Wendy explains. Sweet potatoes, another favorite crop, are grown in raised hills rather than garden beds to improve drainage and keep the soil fluffy.
Cooking with other edible parts. Many of the vegetables in Wendy’s plan will be familiar to North American gardeners, but she explains that Chinese gardeners often use different edible parts of these common crops. For example, sweet potatoes, beloved for their tasty tubers, are grown by Chinese gardeners for their edible greens. “Snow peas are grown as much for their delicate shoots as their edible pods,” notes Wendy. The unopened buds of daylilies are tossed in stir-fries and soups to add a delicious, sweet flavor. Her garden plan also includes luffa and bottle gourds, which yield bath sponges and dried bottles, respectively, but when harvested immature are superb for eating. “The dried mature bottle gourds can last through generations,” she says, noting that they are used for many types of containers, including ladles, cups, and bottles.
Chinese gardeners grow popular plants for edible parts that are not customarily eaten — like the greens of sweet potatoes.
Grow garlic chives under pottery to yield tender “yellow leeks.”
Tasty Asian greens. Leafy greens are essential in Chinese cooking, and Wendy has included a range of popular greens. In summer, she concentrates on heat-tolerant vegetable amaranth, sweet potato leaves, Malabar spinach, garland chrysanthemum leaves, and mizuna. “Most leafy greens are best in the spring and fall,” she says. “In the spring, gardeners find bolting and pests a problem, which is why I like to plant cool-weather greens in the fall.” She also recommends tatsoi, pak choi, mustards, gai lan (her personal favorite), and napa-type Chinese cabbages.
There are many species and varieties of Asian vegetables. Wendy has chosen the vegetables that she finds reliable, as well as ones that are easily sourced from seed companies or Asian or international supermarkets (see Resources here for seed company suggestions).
1. Luffa gourds. Wendy notes that luffa gourds should be harvested when they are about 4 to 6 inches long. “At this stage, they are young, mild, and tender,” she adds. “The fruits grow rapidly and can reach 2 feet in length, but they are generally too tough and bitter to eat at that point.”
2. Bitter melon. Truly bitter in flavor, it’s a squash everyone should try once!
3. Bottle gourds. The immature fruits are picked for stir-fries and other dishes. ‘Long Opo’ bears tender gourds that grow up to 15 inches long.
4. Kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin). Vigorous vines will produce 4- to 8-pound dark green, slightly flattened pumpkins with a dry texture that is ideal in any recipe that calls for pumpkin or winter squash.
5. Winter melon (wax gourd). The heavy and extremely large fruits become covered with a waxy coating upon maturity. They are mild with a very high water content and are almost always cooked in soup.
6. Sweet potatoes. Wendy grows a white-fleshed variety whose tubers she describes as “not fabulous,” but whose greens are great. ‘Nancy Hall’ is a heritage variety with outstanding flavor.
7. Malabar spinach. This is an easy-to-grow, trouble-free vining vegetable with a flavor like spinach and a mucilaginous texture that makes it a great addition to soups or stir-fries.
8. Tatsoi. Also known as rosette pak choi or flat cabbage, this Chinese green grows nearly flat on the ground in a perfect rosette and is delicious when frost-sweetened in late fall.
9. Vegetable amaranth. This mild-tasting, quick-cooking leafy green is related to the ornamental amaranth ‘Love Lies Bleeding’. There are many varieties of vegetable amaranth, and many are streaked with red.
10. Chinese mustards. There are leafy types and heading types of Chinese mustard, and both are coveted for their slightly spicy bite.
11. Garland chrysanthemum tong ho in Chinese, shungiku (in Japanese). The leaves of the garland chrysanthemum have a lovely aromatic flavor that is similar to the fragrance of ornamental chrysanthemum.
12. Pak choi. A type of Chinese cabbage with prominent, thick stems that are paler than the dark leaves.
13. Mizuna. A mild and tender leafy mustard, mizuna is excellent in spring and autumn salad mixes. Try purple mizuna to add color to salads.
14. Yard-long beans. Its pods are not quite a yard long, but this green bean is easy to grow. It’s sturdier than most beans, making it ideal for cutting into workable lengths for a stir-fry.
15. Leeks. Wendy likes ‘King Richard’.
16. Bunching onions. Try ‘Tokyo Long White’.
17. Garlic chives (6 plants). Four of the plants are placed under pottery to blanch for tender yellow grassy leaves. In late summer, as the plants begin to send up flower stalks, these stalks are harvested before the buds open.
18. Shallots.
19. Daikon radishes. This enormous white elongated radish is extremely versatile in the kitchen.
20. Assorted herbs. Lemongrass, Thai basil, and cilantro are essential for flavoring Asian dishes.
21. Soybeans. Try ‘Butterbeans’, ‘Tankuro’, or ‘Envy’.
22. Gai lan (Chinese broccoli). Looks similar to broccoli raab and is eaten stem, leaves, flowers, and all.
23. Daylilies. Blooms are edible; pick buds before they open for use in soups or stir-fries.
24. Japanese eggplants. Japanese varieties have a similar flavor to traditional eggplants but a slender elongated shape and a thinner skin. Try ‘Choryoku’, ‘Black Shine’, or ‘Millionaire’.
25. Thai eggplants. Thai varieties produce beautiful, green-and-white-streaked eggplants the size of a golf ball. Try ‘Thai Round Green’ or ‘Thai Round Purple’.
26. Napa-type Chinese cabbage. This upright Chinese cabbage forms thick, dense heads. Try ‘Blues’ or ‘Green Rocket’.
27. Hot peppers. Try ‘Thai Bird’ or ‘Thai Dragon’.
28. Snow peas. If a fence isn’t available, provide support for the tall vines. Try ‘Dwarf Grey Sugar’, ‘Mammoth Melting Sugar’ or ‘Oregon Giant’.