Here are some unusual crops that grow well in Kunming.
YACON - Great for after dinner snack as it is great for digestion. Tastes sweet and no cooking required
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yac%C3%B3n
JICAMA - First tasted this when I went to Cambodia - awesome! No cooking required.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachyrhizus_erosus
KONJAC - I tried this when I lived in Japan. Takes time to learn how to prepare
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konjac
The good thing is that you can grow this in plain sight and other people will not steal it like common fruits and veggies. I have to keep an eye on my tomatoes and sunflowers because people here have no respect for others labor.
I have a nice collection of Maize seed which I have picked up on my travels. I have corn seed from Camboadia, Laos, and Vietnam. This is all non GMO seeds I pick up in small villages. I have a bottle of seed from all 16 prefectures of Yunnan - all Non-GMO.
We just picked up some unusal seeds at the market in Ma Jie.
La Mu Zi - 辣木籽 - Moringa Oleifera Seeds - baike.baidu.com/[...]
Tastes a little bitter at first but then the taste turns sweet in your mouth - Very nice but a bit expensive - 160 Yuan/Kg
Nice interest. I would be interested in planting some stuff down in Chengjiang on my roof if you want to give me some seeds to germinate.
lets get a non gmo seed trade group going. if people are interested i can start a wechat group.
@HFCAMPO
That's what those Tibetan monster dogs are for...keep the riffraff away...or at least bite off their hands...arms...legs...
Tibetan fruit wine just got profiled in an academic journal - en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-NJKJ201501048.htm - should be possible to grow here at lower altitudes.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaeagnus_umbellata - I will look into this fruit and see where I can get a plant.
I had my first harvest of YACON in December before the snow. The fruit was not too large (5 kilos from 4 plants) as I did not use any fertilizer. However, I did get a lot of bulbs and I replanted 5 times (20 plants) as much as last year. With the lessons learned from last year I should have a great harvest this coming December.
In the past (5 years ago) I used to get horse manuere very easily but now horses are no longer allowed in the city and the few remaining have been pushed out as more and more villages are being destroyed.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yac%C3%B3n
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glebionis_coronaria - Crown Daisy - also goes by several other names.
My home is right on the foot of Mian Shan Forest Park. Many of the Old Folk in my residential quarter have garden plots all over the mountain. An old woman recently shared some seeds with me and I just discovered that it is Crown Daisy; an edible plant. Learning a lot from the locals about not-so-common edible plants.
www.gokunming.com/en/forums/thread/12212/old_house_vs_new_house
We have eaten a lot of the daisy leaves. They are very edible indeed.
Some of our neighbours are growing oranges and other citrus fruits. They survived the recent hard frosts, and they also look splendid; even when the plants are small.
I think I will try to grow some lemons for G&Ts.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daikon - Watermelon Radish - Daikon - Xin Li Mei -
I tasted the Watermelon Radish for the first time when I was travelling in Gansu so I purchased some seeds from TaoBao and I have planted some in my garden.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetroot - The Beet is a veggie I have NEVER seen in China (only in Hong Kong). I ordered some seeds from TaoBao and I have planted them this week. I have 3 varieties; Red, Yellow and stripped.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chard - My Swiss Chard is growing like weeds. The more direct sunlight it receives the faster it grows. I can get 2 full bags each week so I give one bag to my neighbor as 1 bag is enough for my wife and I.
I was growing everything from seeds but there are so many seedlings to choose from at the Ma Jie Market on Sunday that I already purchase and planted seedlings for lettuce, Swiss Chard, tomatoes, red/green peppers, and eggplant from the market - this has saved me a lot of time.
My Basil, Parsley, Green Onion, Celery, Crown Daisy, Radishes and Kale are still from seed - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kale
