Buying Seeds at an Asian Grocery Store to Increase the Genetic Diversity in your Garden

[tamtbell]

Love this! This year hubby and I are trying new and unusual things that we've never planted before. Eggplants from Brazil, Winter squash from Italy, Red Russian Kale. So much fun!

[SimplyNaturalHomestd]

Thank you!

[SimplyNaturalHomestd]

John- Thank you for responding. So does that mean that the older brown or white ones are usually not dipped in chemicals or sprayed? I did find a store here that had coconuts completely out of the husk, like the brown ones, but it was white. Haven't had the guts to eat it yet. ;-) But I didn't detect any chemical smells from it...although I can't say that I ever have detected chemical smells from any coconut before, so I guess that's not exactly conclusive proof that it's chemical free. :-)

[growingyourgreens]

based on my research. the mature brown and white ones are not dipped or sprayed.

[DarkTheShinyUmbreon]

@growingyourgreens You should have bought those Perilla great with meat but you could say it has a little herby taste.

[jccole90802]

I bought some seeds at a small Asian market in Salem Oregon. Not a single one germinated. So I think it was that they were just way too old, no date on the package so I took a risk. I bet in Portland I would have better luck.

[SimplyNaturalHomestd]

That is such a neat idea. I'm going to check out the local market. I have a question for you, John: where can I order coconuts for a reasonable price that haven't been dipped in formaldehyde, sprayed with pesticides, etc.? I found a couple of places online, but they were outrageously priced. Thanks!

[growingyourgreens]

The young coconuts (from thailand) that are not dipped and "organic" cost ALOT of money, and in my opinion, (I ordered them once), are NOT worth the price. I reccomend finding a local source of (older, mature) brown or white coconuts, which I have been enjoying more lately. Or I just travel to Florida and harvest my own. You might try florida-coconuts. c o m I did visit their farm, they are not that bad for FRESH picked coconuts (if they have them)

[OS253]

Very nice. I love shopping at Asian stores. They have great Asian groceries.

[rskurow]

Thanks John, I will be down there next week and check it out.

[mysciencenow]

wow we dont have any store that large here for even america food

[crosspecans]

good idea. humm im gonna check out other mkts too.  thanks. waves~~~

[VivianRinSC]

You may really like that leaf lettuce called Cheong Chi Ma. Often it's used to roll rice and condiments in taco style. Very firm leaf texture.

[VivianRinSC]

Great find. The markets here are much smaller but next time I'm in Atlanta, I'll make sure to look for seeds. I just went to the website on your seed packets, then copied to Google language for a translation. For all my life, most of the Korean foods I've eaten didn't have English names. Now I can identify some of them this way. Thanks!

[GardenCalifornia]

Hmmm, I'm gona have to look again at our local Asian market, maybe they have good seeds too.