Vietnamese father makes a mobile vegetable garden with all kinds of dishes to celebrate Tet in the UK

The garden of more than 100 kinds of Vietnamese vegetables in the West

Every morning before going to work, Mr. Le Vinh (53 years old, from Hai Phong) who lives in Gloucester city (Gloucestershire county, England) usually spends regarding 2 hours visiting the garden and taking care of the trees.

After dinner, he continued to work as a “home farmer” for another 2 hours.

Vinh’s garden is regarding 200m2 wide, not including garage, brick yard, warehouse. Wherever there is excess space and light, he uses it to plant different pots of vegetables. At its peak, the garden was flooded with 500 large and small pots and boxes.

Vinh harvests celery from his garden of more than a hundred Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in the middle of the West.

Share with PV PeopleMr. Vinh said he started growing vegetables when he settled in the UK 26 years ago. At that time, living in the West, he found very few Vietnamese supermarkets and might only buy some Asian vegetables at a few Chinese and Thai stores at high prices.

So, he came up with the idea of ​​​​growing a garden with all kinds of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits, enjoying the taste of home every day without spending money or moving far.

Currently, Mr. Vinh owns a garden of more than 100 kinds of Vietnamese vegetables, tubers and fruits, including all the varieties of the North, Central and South regions.

The garden corner of Vinh’s family seen from above.

At the peak, Mr. Vinh planted up to 500 boxes, large and small pots of vegetables.

He mainly grows seasonal crops, from leafy vegetables, spices to tubers, fruits, climbing plants, etc. such as perilla, marjoram, dill, laksa leaves, longan, coriander, Chinese smell, basil, stinging nettle, apricot leaves, more than a dozen varieties of mustard, sour star fruit, peach heart pomelo, etc. Even the father of two successfully planted peach and apricot flowers to play during Tet.

Mr. Vinh uses all non-perforated crates and pots so that he can easily move in bad weather.

The man from Hai Phong admitted that the weather in the UK is cold, with only 3 months of warm and sunny summer a year, which is not favorable for growing tropical vegetables. But he is still determined to build a garden to both have clean food for daily use and recall the taste of his hometown.

To overcome the disadvantages of the weather, Mr. Vinh tried to monitor the temperature. In a warm month, he grows sun-tolerant vegetables. When it snowed, he switched to growing cold-loving cultivars.

However, due to the island’s topography and surrounded by the sea, the weather in England is different from European countries, can experience all 4 seasons, with cold wind, rain, and snow in just one day.

Therefore, Mr. Vinh chooses to grow vegetables in non-perforated containers and pots to facilitate moving when the weather changes and without needing to water the plants repeatedly in hot weather, while keeping the nutrients intact for the plants. He also often changes the position of pots and boxes, making it difficult for worms and slugs to access or cause harm.

Regarding the land for planting, he reused the previous year’s land, dried and mixed with more manure. Fertilizer is also composted by him from kitchen waste and collected rainwater from the roof.

Every corner of the garden, the space around the house is used by the owner to grow vegetables and flowers.

He asked for old things from people or asked for pots and foam boxes from fruit and vegetable shops, fish shops… and took advantage of the old soil to dry, and compost himself from kitchen waste to fertilize the plants.

With experience, Mr. Vinh finds gardening more convenient, only when it rains heavily, he has to work hard to move the pot to a sheltered place to avoid causing waterlogging. In winter, he uses extra heaters, creating a warm environment for seedlings to survive and grow.

The father of two also uses weather forecasting technology to grasp the situation a few weeks in advance, promptly preparing treatment plans for the garden when the weather is unfavorable.

Vinh also successfully planted many kinds of fruit in his garden such as grapes, yellow lemons, passion fruit, …

Whenever he has free time, Vinh also enthusiastically shares his mobile gardening experience with Vietnamese people in five continents, instructing them on how to effectively nurse and grow Vietnamese vegetables when the weather is minus 7, minus 8 degrees Celsius. .

He hopes to spread the traditional culture and cuisine of his homeland to Vietnamese people around the world, so that the next generation will always remember their roots.

Cultivate to remember the roots

At first, Mr. Vinh grew vegetables just to serve the family’s daily meals. Over time, he planted a lot and found it interesting, seeing this as a way to recall the origin and taste of the cuisine of his homeland.

For Mr. Vinh, the garden with a lot of enthusiasm has also become his pride, affirming himself as a Vietnamese.

In the summer, Vinh’s garden has more than 100 kinds of Vietnamese vegetables. Homeowners can comfortably prepare dishes from the three regions without having to go to the market to buy vegetables.

“No matter where I live, no matter what life is like, I still preserve the traditions, culture and cuisine of my hometown and inspire the younger generations to always remember my roots. That’s why even though I was born and grew up, Growing up abroad, but my children and grandchildren still know and enjoy Vietnamese vegetables and fruits, even eating shrimp paste thanks to the garden that I spend a lot of effort taking care of,” he said.

In particular, in the 2 years affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, the garden has become more and more cherished as a “spiritual medicine”, helping Vinh and his family relieve stress as well as ensure a source of clean vegetables for use. use every day.

In the early years, Mr. Vinh faced many difficulties when growing apricot trees, peaches, kumquats, etc. in a cold country. Over time, he learned by himself, successfully planted and forced these plants to flower on the occasion of Tet.

This year’s Lunar New Year, like many other Tet holidays, Vinh and his family are busy arranging flowers and preparing traditional Vietnamese dishes to welcome the new year such as banh chung, spring rolls, frozen meat, pickled onions. salt,…

“Tet in the West is different from Vietnam, so I and many other Vietnamese people just take advantage of the day off to celebrate Tet together, not play Tet like our hometown tradition. We also take this opportunity to gather and share for the next generation. children born abroad regarding Tet culture”, he expressed.

In addition to wrapping banh chung and making trays, the father of two also tries to keep the traditions and beauty of the traditional Tet holiday in the family. He fully performed the worshiping procedures on important Vietnamese days such as Mr. Cong Ong Tao, New Year’s Eve, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.

Vinh’s Tet tray in the middle of the Western sky has all the traditional Vietnamese delicacies such as banh chung, spring rolls, salted onions, …

Although he has been away from his hometown for many years, thanks to the garden and the maintenance of traditional customs of the Vietnamese people, Vinh always sees his homeland as existing around him, feeling the atmosphere of Tet to spring coming, full of excitement. all the way.