Spring brings forward new crops

MINI FARM

Spring is upon us, which means the produce planted in the fall are almost ready to be picked from the ground and enjoyed at the family table.

Anna Derby of Mutual 5 finds the most enjoyment working in the Mini Farm. She says that putting time into her Mini Farm plot helps her to forget about the anxiety and uncertainty that surrounds the pandemic.

She was granted a half-plot Mini Farm in fall 2016 after waiting over five years, she had no experience gardening or growing her own food but over the years has learned a lot about farming. She says that there’s nothing like eating something you yourself have grown out of the farm you’ve tended to for weeks or months. Over the last few years, Derby has grown lettuce, zucchini, red pepper, cucumber, kale, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, Korean YulMu, radish, spinach and more.

Derby planted YulMu, a popular Korean vegetable, in the late fall of last year, thinking it would be ready to harvest in March. The vegetable grows nicely, even in the colder winter months. This year, Derby’s YulMu grew quickly. It was time for it to be pulled before it grew too big for her plot.

The YulMu she harvested were too too big to make ChongGak Kimchi, also known as “bachelor Kimchi,” so she used it to make ChongGak Kimchi with steamed rice.

While harvesting YulMu, Derby decided to clean up her plot and pour some additional fertilizer to help the rest of the spring and summer vegetables grow. She’s hoping that the seeds she’s planted in preparation for the summer, which includes green onions, radishes, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers and corn, will grow abundantly so she and her family can continue to enjoy fresh produce from the Mini Farm.