Farmer wonders, is this the new kiwifruit? Bin Hu and h er husband, Lawrence Lee, are now growing some of Calmei’s first commercial plantings of yangmei on their farm inVacaville. The couple came from the high-tech industry, she an engineer and he on the business side. Hu said she initially viewed the farm more as a hobby than a business venture, as growing yangmei serves to satisfy a nostalgic longing for the fruit that’s abundant in the mountains of her native hometown in Zhejiang province. She recounted childhood memories of feasting from wild yangmei trees all day long, so much that her mouth got sore. “But it was so good. You just can’t stop,” she said. It had been more than 25 years since she’d had any yangmei when she sawChen successfully grew the trees in his backyard, Hu noted. “I’m like, ‘Wow, let’s talk. We have a farm and we’re trying to figure out what to dowith the farm,’” she said. Hu acknowledged the risk of trying to growyangmei in California, where the dry, hot summers are unlike the warm, humid climate of Zhejiang province where yangmei thrives. Some ofHu and Lee’s initial plantings did not survive, but Hu said her deep-rooted feelings about the fruit andher belief in itsmarket potential have kept her planting more yangmei—and experimenting with how best to grow it in the Golden State. With its “excellent flavor,” yangmei would appeal not only toChinese fans of the fruit but more generally, she said, noting the “overwhelming” response from
Chen, with business partner Charlie Lucero, below, is working to commercialize yangmei production in the U.S. At right, Chen shows his grafting technique.
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July/August 2020
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