A big "thank you" from another newbie to Violet.
Changsong

I don't know how she does it...so knowledgeable about all these vegetables...she is always so helpful.

I've got to give it to Violet. It's amazing how much she knows about Asian vegetables. Just recently, she ID two Asian vegetables for me that were pretty obscure!

Marcelo

I always think Violet can write a darn good oriental veggies book!!!

You're all very kind  thank you. Welcome to all the newbies... I hope you continue to frequent the forum and please share with us any insight to any of the threads here. (Any lurkers out there?)

There are plenty of regulars who are more knowledgeable than me. We can all learn from eachother. I'd be interested to know how you all cook these Asian vegetables we discuss....

;)

I don't have a choice but to agree with you all!! Violet_Z6 has tons of knowledge about the asian veggies and she is willing to share it with us all. Thank You, Violet.

Another thank you from a newbie! I'd be happy to share any recipes, although I mostly stir-fry things...

thanks from yet another newbie!
as for recipes, an easy and pretty one is a very thinly sliced frozen bitter melons (white), arranged in a circle... being frozen takes away some of the bitterness, good when it's really hot, and looks great next to all the other dishes!

Add my 120% hearty thank you to violet who is most generous and resourceful and kind.
I received some rare finds from her and am reaping its fruit this year soon. Violet. Please accept a big bear hug from a tiny girl!
Happy holiday!

Thanks Violet! So, when is the book out? :)

Gary/Garfish

lol... thanks all, just happy that others find the info useful.

;)

Reading this post has made me hungry. Anyone ever thought of expanding the forum to Asian cooking? Not another separate forum  but a forum to go along with this one  like the trading page.

baci,

If you have recipes to share, robably best to keep things simple and post/discuss them in the thread containing the (veggie) ingredient. Or you could use this thread... what are you hungry for?

;)

Hi Violet. From time to time I visit the Vegetarian recipe exchange, but the activity is limited there. It seems sad that with the wide diversity of veggies in Asian & the cuisine of other cultures there is not a structured area on cooking tips. I will post on an unusual one today (not Asian) in another post.

2 years passed and the cuttings (Gou Qi Cai) that Violet gave me have turned into big plants. I can't thank you more Violet! Changsong

Changsong,

That is good to hear! Have you pruned it at all?

Violet:
I haven't done anything to them and just let them grow. I think I should have pruned them a little to get a more compact shape. Last year I had spent very little time in the garden.
The plants have sent out a lot of shoots to the ground and they actally root nicely by themselves. I think we can take some tender shoots for a small nice soup sometime this year:)
The plants set dark purple fruits before winter, but then we forgot about them and don't know what happened to them. They are all gone now.
Best regards,
Changsong

Changsong,

Do you have it in full sun or part shade by the house? What type of soil is it in?

Now is a good time to prune. With the main plant, cut the branches so they are two feet from the ground. With the newly rooted volunteers, cut to a foot or so from the ground.

Take the stems you cut, cut into 8 inch lengths, and insert into a pot of soil, keep the soil watered in full shade. You will have starter plants which you can trade at the plant exchange forum as a rare edible.

You can harvest leaves for soup anytime at all. More will grow back and you rarely use enough leaves to even notice a difference in the plant. Use the leaves like watercress.

The berries are incredibly nutritious: "hey have tremendous antioxidant properties and contain 500 times more vitamin C by weight than oranges. They also contain vitamins B1, B2, B6 and vitamin E. Inside you�ll find 18 different amino acids including all 8 essential amino acids (including tryptophan). Goji berries are nature's densest source of carotenoids including beta-carotene."
http://store.yahoo.com/basementshaman/orgobe.html

Harvest the berries, and allow them to dry in full shade. They are used in soup and are very similar to raisins. You can purchase them at your local Asian grocery.

{{gwi:385359}}

Oh... and how many berries do you think you had?

Violet: Thank you very much. You always have this wonderful information. I'll definitely prune them this weekend.
The plants are planted in a small bed covered by a peach tree. In the summer here it is very hot and dry and we watered the bed whenever we thought about it last year. Our soil is slightly toward the acid side, and very rich in organic matters. We never used chemical fertilizers in our beds.
I don't remember how many berries we had last year. This year I'll write them down. Do you know normally how much will a mature plant produce in a year?

Don't recall if you have five or fifty? I do not know, I think it's dependent on environmental factors...

Well, I had to come to this thread and add my piece, but I'm also amazed to find that there are people here growing Gou Qi!

Anyway, Violet, thanks to your lead into SFGing last time I've got a lot of the garden planned out and beautified! It's still a real big mess now so I'll post photos later. ;)

I do want to ask about starting the Gou Qi plant though. My parents will be thrilled if I somehow did that! We've got plenty of the dried stuff lying around. Is it possible for me to just plop some in the ground and see if it'll grow?

Thanks in advance!

Thank you from me too for answering all my questions! :)

I can't believe it has been 10 years. I got my first goji plant from Violet long time ago, and lost it when we moved. This year I started to grow it again from a cutting on ebay. Then I did a search for growing tips and directed back to this thread.
The suggestion and ideas are still so valid and useful. My plants (I rooted a few cuttings and even gave away some to friends) are doing great. And I want to say thanks to Violet again, if she ever sees this!
Happy gardening!
Changsong