I had snuck over some Korean seeds a couple of years ago. I planted some seeds last year and didn’t have much luck. But then all of a sudden, my geundae (Korean chard) just started to grow, 6 months after I had put the seeds in the ground!

I harvested the tender leaves all winter and spring and now it’s starting to send up shoots and starting to seed. I’ll save the seeds and propagate them in the autumn.

So, this spring, I decided to give these babies another chance. I had really good luck with my green and red leaf lettuce (sangchu) seeds!

They’ll be ready for ssambap soon. A meal of rice and seasonal vegetables with plenty of leafy lettuce, perilla leaves (ggaetnip) to wrap them in. Although my perilla plants got eaten by an animal, my green leaf lettuce is thriving.

My mom also gave me some Korean pumpkin (hobak) seeds. I planted 6 thinking that they wouldn’t all grow, but now I have 6 plants and will have more pumpkin than even my 15-year-old nephew can eat!

Once the leaves get large enough, I can steam them for ssambap, too. Can’t wait!