Your Garden Could Be An Organic Food Factory / 你的花园也能成为有机食品工厂

Whilst living in London, I’ve experienced some amazing culinary delights as this city has to cater for the diverse multi-cultural society we have. This also extends to the types of fruit and vegetables available here, some of which I had never seen before previously when in China.  

身在伦敦，我品尝了许多这个城市里多元化的美食。就拿水果来说吧，有些是我在国内从未见过的。 

Our garden has 2 fruits trees which were planted there way before we first moved in. One produces figs, the other plums. Given the rare good weather we’ve enjoyed this year in London, the quality of fruit grown has been extraordinarily good.  

在我们搬来的时候，后花园就种着两棵果树: 无花果树和李子树。由于今年英国天气特别好，两棵树都果实累累，长势喜人！ 

I had never even seen a fig before coming to the UK as we only used the dried ones in China as ingredients for making soup. I was so excited upon tasting a fresh one for the first time that I must have spent at least 15 minutes on the phone with mum telling her about it that very day. Sad, but true, lol. They are usually quite expensive to buy from the supermarkets so I feel quite honored we have our own home grown ones.  

国内常见无花果干，很少见到新鲜的无花果。第一次在伦敦吃到新鲜的无花果，我激动地给我妈打电话，聊了足足15分钟！比起超市里的其他水果，无花果价格并不便宜，很幸运我们有自家产的，呵呵。 

The fig has a unique sweet taste to it, is high in nutritional value and contain important proteins and vitamins promoting healthy digestive attributes. Here they are below.

无花果尝起来味道甘甜，营养价值甚高，可促进人体对食物消化，润肺止咳等。无花果除了可以加工制干，还可以做汤，真是用处多多，益处多多。 

 

 

 

 

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Last Year, our plum tree unfortunately didn’t bear any fruit given the bad weather, but because of the perfect conditions this time round, we've had a great season so far. The plum skin has a slightly sour taste to it, but is still very juicy and sweet on the inside. Great for making a tasty pie or even marmalade! 

家里的李子树由于天气原因，去年都没有结果子，今年可谓是大丰收啊! 李子外层的皮有点儿酸，但里面肉质浓厚，清甜可口。除了生吃，也很适宜做李子酱或蛋糕。 

 

  

The freshness and health benefits gained from eating food straight from the source got me interested in starting an organic food lifestyle. Luckily, UK houses come with generous sized gardens so space is usually not an issue. Therefore, I decided early this year to start growing an assortment of vegetables as well, on the other side opposite to the trees. Make the most out of your garden! 

Check them out below: 

现在提倡健康的有机食物生活方式，让我有了自己种菜的想法。能从自己地里摘采蔬菜直接拿到厨房烹饪，那有多新鲜啊！英国房子一般都附有不同尺寸的后花园，所以种菜地方不成问题。说做就做，我开辟了花园的一个小角落，种上了6种不同的蔬菜。现在来看看，三个月前我播下的蔬菜种子，已经开始有收成了！ 

Beef Tomatos Plant (番茄）

 

Runner Beans （四季豆）

 

Cucumbers （青瓜）

 

Green Sweet Peppers （甜灯笼椒）

 

Red Chilli （红辣椒）

 

Demon Chilli (a very spicy one if you like your food hot) （青辣椒）

  

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Organic food is now all the rage and if we could have a choice or growing our own vegetables and fruit or buying them from the local supermarket, the former would be a great option. 

现在有机食物很流行，如果我可以选择自己种的蔬菜水果还是从超市里买，前者当然是更好的选择。

Maintaining the plants is quite simple. London weather helps with all the rain we get, lol. For minimal effort, you can live a maximal lifestyle, health-wise. Hope we can all start promoting healthy, fresh produce instead of chemical based, pesticide ridden ones instead.   

护理这些植物其实很简单。当然，伦敦多雨的天气也有一定帮助，哈哈。只要小小的努力，你就可以生活得更健康。希望我们大家一起来推广健康，新鲜的蔬菜水果，来取代含化学农药成分的食品。