Growing Asian vegetables

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Now that we’ve gone crazy for cooking Asian in our household, I thought I’d like to grow some Asian herbs and vegetables. I used to order from Kitazawa Seed Co. in Oakland when I lived in the Bay Area. The company started out in 1917 selling seeds to just-arrived Japanese immigrants. Now, 91 years later, their catalog (available by mail or online) encompasses some 300 varieties of Asian vegetables for Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and other Asian cuisines.

Impressed by their selection of heirloom vegetables from Japan’s Kansai region, I ended up buying much, much more than Chinese chives and Japanese scallions. After scouring their catalog, I decided on three of their seed collections — Asian Herb Garden, Thai Garden and Japanese Heirloom Garden (seven seed packets each). I completed my order with two kinds of yardlong beans, Lunar white carrots, Chinese celery, Japanese bunching onions, two kinds of Thai basil, and more. It’s easy to order online from their informative site, which lists eight — count ‘em — types of Thai basil.

From the library, I had checked out Joy Larkcom’s classic gardening book “Oriental Vegetables” (see photo after the jump), decided I liked it and was looking for a used copy online when I discovered the British organic gardening expert had just published a revised version. I immediately ordered it: Now I have someone to hold my hand while I try growing all this exotic stuff. Wish me luck.

Kitazawa Seed Co. (510) 595-1188; fax (510) 595-1860. Seed packets, $3.35 each; seed collections, $21 each.

‘Oriental Vegetables’ by Joy Larkcom, Kodansha International (2008), 232 pages, paperback, $19.95.

— S. Irene Virbila

Photos by S. Irene Virbila