CHINESE CONTAINER GARDENS - Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard - page 198

cause you have the makings for an instant salad all in one place. Cilantro bolts more
quickly if transplanted, so it's best to plant seeds in the container they'll grow in.
As with all leafy crops, a nitrogen fertilizer is called for, but too much impairs flavor
and invites insects. Feed with diluted liquid fertilizer every three weeks or so, as well
as after harvesting a lot of leaves all at once.
Mitsuba, page 132
Cryptotaenia canadensis ssp. japonica
Mitsuba (Japanese parsley) is grown primarily for its foliage, which looks very much
like Italian parsley, only with a prettier leaf. It also forms a sturdier plant. It tolerates
partial shade, so it does better on a windowsill in winter than parsley. It doesn't like
a really hot, sunny spot; if you grow it on a sunny deck or patio, tuck it among taller
plants to provide a little shade.
Plant anytime indoors, in very early spring outdoors. Sow seeds ½ inch deep, keep
moist, and fertilize once a month.
Sweet Melon, page 29
Cucumis melo
Many Asian varieties of sweet melon weigh only 1 to 3 pounds and grow on shorter
stems than cantaloupes and honeydews, so they're a better choice for containers. They
are handsome growing up a rooftop or terrace wall.
Try growing them around chicken-wire cages. Start the plants inside the cage, then
train the vines to grow around the outside; otherwise, you won't be able to get at the
fruits. The vine doesn't climb by itself; you have to weave it through the cage or tie it
to the wire with soft cord. Guide the flowers to the outside so the fruits form where you
can reach them.
You can grow sweet melon indoors, if you're willing to give up a large sunny win-
dow for the 80 or 90 days they take to mature. The flavor of a freshly picked, vine-