What to Plant in a Delta Kitchen Garden
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Chinese Produce Found in a Delta Kitchen Garden
fuzzy melon
bitter melon
winter melon
Chinese long beans
Chinese eggplant
Chinese okra
Chinese cress
joujou
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As a child living in the Sacramento River Delta, I proudly kept a tiny kitchen garden where I grew tomatoes and corn. Now, as a struggling gardener living in the Sacramento suburbs, I finally realized that I would never have that magical Delta gardening experience again.
After moving to the suburbs, I fought many wars with the hard adobe soil and lost. So many times, I would watch suburbanites at the local home improvement stores and nurseries load up on bags of filler and nutrients for the poor soil, and I was one of them. I did miss the soil I grew up with. No matter where I lived in Northern California, the soil which came with the house was not cooperating with my gardening wishes. Homeowners trucked ideal topsoil onto their lots, made special efforts to put bags and bags of nutrients into the soil or gave up and did without gardening.
Living in the Delta was like living on soil directly on a fertile riverbank, and you would be a fool not to have a garden. By growing your own vegetables near the kitchen, you had automatic access to your food. It only made sense. All a gardener needed to do was walk out the back door, and the produce would be there. By growing your own food, this would save you on time, a trip to the store, and whatever gas you had in your tank.
Without even thinking about it back then, gardening was a smart and frugal move.
But it wasn’t the frugal end of gardening that I miss. At the beginning of the season, I liked getting my gardening tools out to dig and turn the soil. As I plant my seeds and starts, it is the feel of the rich Delta soil slipping through my hands and how it ended up under my fingernails. Most days, I enjoyed the feel of the sun on my head. There was a certain peace to being outside and playing in this soil.
The Delta kitchen gardens found along the Sacramento River are hidden away on private property and tucked into the ruins of a farm camp or at the edge of an orchard or levee. These gardens are usually tended by farm laborers and their families. If you visit a Delta town, look for a kitchen garden occupying an empty lot. It is usually located in the backyard of a house and close to the back door.
Nothing that grows in the soil is wasted. Usually, the plants are from seeds which were carefully saved from last year’s crops and stored in envelopes. The trees, shrubs, and flowers were most likely given to the gardener, swapped or acquired free from landscaping projects. Citrus trees like lemons, grapefruit, and oranges do well in the Delta, and could have been planted by former residents years ago. Other trees, including pears and peaches, reflect what is available in California orchards.
A charming, rustic look comes with these gardens and this is what makes them so unique. Not only are they surrounded by old, worn housing, the gardens themselves are put together with scrap wood and found materials for fences, walkways, and trellises. Ladders are nearby and poised for the next chore. Notice how they casually lean against a fence or a building. In the suburbs, there's always the fear of ladders being forgotten and left outside. There's always the fear of having them stolen or used as a way to get into your home.
What you plant in a Delta kitchen garden would be no different from a suburban Sacramento County garden found miles away, but you have to admit that the gardeners here are a little more creative. The true Delta kitchen garden reflects the Chinese immigrants who settled and contributed to California since its Gold Rush. The Chinese mined the gold fields and helped build the Transcontinental Railroad. In the Sacramento River Delta, they helped construct the intricate levee system and provide farm labor.
Although Chinese produce can be found in Asian specialty stores and have found their way to supermarkets, the kitchen gardens in the Delta have grown Chinese produce since the early 1900s. These same vegetables can be found in Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Filipino dishes.
You might say a Delta kitchen garden has always served the Sacramento River Delta’s Asian population, but continues to keep the unique look connected to its past. Its selection of Chinese produce and the sight of charming weathered clapboard houses is what makes it different from your average suburban garden located some 30 miles away.
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Deborah, thank you! I am encouraged to give gardening another shot. I've been looking at all those weeds in the backyard and can actually picture a garden growing there this coming spring. It will take plenty of work, but at least the soil has been fallow for a year so we can start all over with the compost and other nutrients. Yes, you mentioning rich black and earthworms sounds very good to me. And so does going through seed catalogs and walking through the nurseries! Would love some heirloom tomatoes. My backyard needs to be terraced, but we can grow a garden there. We've done it several times before. Our first year, I had 72 tomato plants which I started from seed. My husband thought I had lost my mind, but I did not have the heart to thin my "babies," so I kept all of them. I must say I had a wonderful time canning my own tomato sauce! We were also featured in the local newspaper, Sacramento Bee, for our efforts.
I, too, love gardening even when my efforts are not terribly successful. This weekend I harvested one medium sized sweet potato and about 5 tiny ones and was more excited than you can imagine! Good luck!
HaHa! I'm the same way about thinning the seedlings. Who am I to play God and decide which live and which die? So I always end up with more plants than I need and have to beg my friends and neighbors to take them. On the plus side, it gives them a chance to stick a few tomato plants in the ground or in a pot, too. And, yeah, 72 plants is a lot. I think the most I've had is 12, which kept us in plenty of tomato sauce all winter long. You sound like a person who needs to give gardening another try. Good luck! : )
What great pictures and information. This looks easy enough but I tend to have the black thumb syndrome. You always find a way to make me chuckle through your articles, I think you will be a garden diva with this one!!
Yes, Esme, I've had some exciting potato moments, too! I threw some pieces of red potato in my compost heap, and the following year, I had a network of tiny red potatoes. They were large enough to eat, so there was my gardening bonus without the fuss. It had to be the most painless crop I had ever harvested. So many potatoes to choose from. Would love to try several. Can never have enough potatoes.
Deborah, at least you are willing to share your seedlings. I couldn't even do that. But then again, the gardeners in my life have all the plants they need. They are either planting seeds or checking out the nurseries in town for healthy plants. The non-gardeners won't even try to at least plant patio tomatoes in the big clay pots. They would much rather concentrate on their lawns. Sacramento gets so hot in the summer. If you plant in pots, you have to water each day to prevent your crop from "cooking" away. That's a bummer. Other than patio or cherry tomatoes, I'll put everything else in the ground.
jenubouka, do you grow herbs for your culinary delights? Any type of basil is a favorite for me. I love going out and clipping basil whenever I'm cooking. Can't beat it. I'll even share it. In fact, when it comes to basil, I'm spoiled and won't use the dried stuff. I also love tarragon and rosemary. I could do myself a favor and expand my herb garden. I do admire those old herb gardens circled in brick. Too classy!
Oh absolutely Arlene, I think fresh herbs are vital for a garden's over all health for some ward off pests that harms your garden and also attract honey bees for great cross pollination. Basil is my absolute favorite as well so much I wanted to name my son Basil but his dad wouldn't go for it. Rosemary can actually be grouped and grown into shrubbery which is awesome. Different types of mints are just too cool, there is a chocolate mint that is like a ground cover and you can even use the stems. I try to get the unique variations of an herb like opal basil or lemon thyme in the seed form and start in the early spring indoors, you can use the sprouts for a killer salad mix or seasoning rub for the sprouts have a big punch of oils.
Ho hum winter hasn't even arrived and I am missing spring.
Maybe I can grow rosemary and design them to look like shrubs in "The Shining" with Jack Nicholson. Or was that just in the book? Wouldn't that be awesome and scary? I can go out in my yard and scream. If I mess up with my designs, the shrubs can always grow back. And you say you have a BLACK THUMB? Naw. Somewhere in my life is a large packet of seeds I didn't have a chance to plant. You have plenty of great gardening ideas, here. I am seriously thinking about starting my garden early--starting with herbs and sprouts. I tried chocolate mint last year, and it died on me. Maybe I'll try again in the spring with seeds instead of the tiny starts. Nice change to watch the seeds take off.
You are too funny. I think it was only in the book at any rate that movie scared the crap out of me.
I love to watch things grow from seeds, I usually try to harvest the seeds myself. I started an avocado plant this way, it took almost 4 months for the fricken thing to sprout, but it did and I am eye hawking the thing daily. The mint family can be picky with the earth their are grown in, when it doubt double the dose of miracle grow.
I have never had the patience for gardening; but, I love fresh tomatoes. (Fresh anything is better,) The ones in the grocery store are just too watery. Harvested way too early as far as I can tell.
I am thinking I might be able to handle a small container garden. I have tried "plowing" up a patch in the back yard; and, peppers seem to do well.
jenubouka: You have plenty of patience. I used to try to root avocado pits, but never got them large enough to put in the dirt. Not that they would survive the frost. I used to start potatoes in mayonaise and Mason jars when I was a kid. But that was for school projects. Didn't think about planting them. Tomatoes were always tops with me.
leroy, tomatoes are bulletproof, and you can always grow the patio and cherry tomatoes in pots. You can even give them a shot of Miracle Gro made for tomatoes if you want to. That oughta do it. A friend of mine gave me a bag of those tiny grape-sized tomatoes one summer, and they made the best roasted tomatoes. I stored them in a jar of olive oil. Although you keep them in the refrigerator, I can guarantee you that they will not last very long. Tomatoes in the store look sickly, don't they? Been in storage too long. In Hawaii, people complain that tomatoes are always pink. I vowed a long time ago not to live in a place where I can't grow tomatoes. Green ones don't count. I don't care to ripen tomatoes in a paper sack or on the windowsill. Sunshine's the word.
I always like the idea of being able to slip into the backyard for a bunch of cilantro or some lemon grass to season the soup. The delta farmers have that luxury and you were fortunate to experience some of that. The pictures gave us an idea of rustic gardening. Is that your garden? Thanks for sharing and I enjoyed your hub very much.
Hi, angin. I would be so lucky to have gardens like that. My 1/4 acre in the suburbs is nothing but weeds right now and has been for months. I haven't been to the Delta for years. I grew up there and moved away when I was 12. Too bad I couldn't take the soil with me. As you can see by the photographs, those people are probably able to garden all year. They are also very organized. Maybe I can learn from them. I did find it hard to walk away from their gardens. If I could pocket the whole scene and take it home with me, I would. I do wish those gardens were mine, but I'm stuck in suburbia with hard pan. Yeccccch. Misery loves company, so I'm not alone.
Some of the fruits and vegetables you've listed I've not heard of: Bitter Melon, winter melon, and Chinese Cross. Whether I've seen them without knowing their names I'm not sure. The pictures are wonderful.
Thank you! Flora, you've probably seen the Chinese vegetables listed. More and more, these Chinese vegetables are showing up in stores and restaurants. Cooking shows and cook books will suggest that you can find these in Asian specialty stores or the Asian section of supermarkets. Our farmers markets have them since many farmers are Asian. My aunt used to truck her vegetables from the San Joaquin Valley to San Francisco once a week for their farmer's market until she received too much competition.
Your garden is beautiful! Where can I find Chinese winter melon seedlings in the
Sacramento area? Thanks!
Thank you, Tammy. I can't take credit for those gardens in Walnut Grove and Locke. I grew up around there and visit when I can. You can purchase seeds through the Internet websites, but I don't know who would sell seedlings. My family and friends used to purchase the vegetables, save the seeds, and then plant for years. Maybe you can hook up with someone who sells Asian produce at the Farmer's Market and ask if they could sell some seedlings to you?
DeborahNeyens Level 7 Commenter 6 months ago
Great pictures, Arlene! I really love the look of a rustic kitchen garden. Don't give up on your garden, though. Our soil is hard clay but we use raised beds and add compost every spring. The garden is now full of lovely black soil and earthworms.