Gardener Man

“Gardening should be about love.”

Name: Man Lee

Gardening at Eastwick: 2 months

Produce Growing: Basil, Pepper, & Eggplant

Amongst Eastwick’s diverse crowd, Man Lee has a story that lies beyond his garden. Mr. Lee is new gardener, he’s been at Eastwick for 2 months. Even though he hasn’t been gardening for very long, his garden plot looks fantastic. Along with basil, peppers, and eggplant, Mr. Lee also has a small peach tree that he will use to make juice. Mr. Lee uses black plastic to slow down the weed growth in his garden. The black plastic also helps to keep water in the soil and it keeps the soil temperature warm. Mr. Lee grows more food than he can use himself, so he travels to New York City regularly to share with his family and friends there.

Unfortunately, we learned Mr. Lee had heart surgery 4 months ago. Even still he is out gardening everyday. He really loves the hard work and exercise. Right after surgery he used just a shovel to prepare the soil in his entire garden plot.  He uses gardening as heart therapy!

Mr. Lee gave us some good advice for gardening. He said to make the garden very nice, show it love, and love everything. In the words of Mr. Lee, “Gardening should be about love”.

Mr. Lee’s Lotus Root Stir Fry

The lotus plant produces a beautiful flower and the root is edible! Mr. Lee told us that lotus also helps to purify water. Here’s his recipe for lotus root stir fry.

Ingredients

Lotus Root

Soy Sauce

Sesame Oil

Pinch of Sugar

Cooked Rice

Directions:

1. Cut the lotus root into slices.

2. Put the lotus root in boiling water for 5 minutes to soften.

3. Use soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil to create a sauce for your stir fry.

4. Sautee the lotus root with the stir fry sauce for about 10 minutes until flavors combine.

5. Serve over rice.