Wild vegetables planted in a 100,000-sq-m greenhouse: a post-80s vegetable farmer forges a new path

In Guojia Village, Langao Town, Longkou City, a post-80s vegetable farmer named Zhang Xiaojie has put up greenhouses over roughly 100,000 sq m of land to specifically grow wild vegetables, opening up a new way to make money.

Zhang Xiaojie is 34 this year. Inspired by pick-your-own farm tours, she contracted land beside Wangwu Reservoir, built greenhouses, and began growing shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) and mountain lettuce (Ixeris denticulata). Zhang Xiaojie believes that nearby farmers mostly grow common vegetables, but the returns are not high, while wild vegetables are much sought after because of their low yields.

Now, the shepherd's purse in the first greenhouse has already been harvested, and the mountain lettuce in the other greenhouses is growing well and can be picked in another month. The greenhouse-grown shepherd's purse has won the favor of hot pot restaurants and fruit-and-vegetable supermarkets, and many residents even drive over specially to pick it themselves. The good returns from the wild-vegetable greenhouses have shown Zhang Xiaojie promising "money prospects." She plans to continue expanding the planting area and to add fruits such as watermelon and strawberry, so that visitors who come to pick can enjoy themselves to the fullest and she can also bring in more income for her family.