How Hard Is It to Grow Organic Lychee? An Old Farmer from Xinyi Takes On the Challenge with Joy

"Lychee is really hard to grow organically... this is something farmers, experts and scholars all agree on! It will be very hard work!" Fruit farmer Huang Xinyi, who has grown organic citrus, dragon fruit, longan and white pomelo, thought it over again and again, and still decided to cast his vote for lychee as "the hardest to grow organically."

Originally, all the farming on the family's orchard of more than one jia was managed by his wife using conventional farming methods. It was only after Huang Xinyi retired that he began farming, and out of concern for his health, he gradually converted the family orchard's crops to organic farming.

Because he took up farming with "good health" as his starting point, Huang Xinyi not only grows organic fruit, but also devoted himself to studying the medicinal properties of Chinese medicine and passed the Chinese medicine certification exam. He knows well that "herbs are meant to save people." So in his fruit orchard he planted organic Chinese medicinal herbs such as honeysuckle, Rhinacanthus nasutus, Houttuynia cordata and mugwort, and brews them according to the characteristics of different seasons into cooling and warming herbal teas for sale. This not only increases his farming income - "I sell less in winter and better in summer" - but most importantly, he hopes to take care of his health.

"In the past I started farming because my family had land, and if I did nothing I would be laughed at by the neighbors. Farming was doing what I ought to do; but going organic changed it from doing what I 'ought' to do into doing what I 'like and what is meaningful,' which counts as a good deed." Huang Xinyi sums up his farming story with one phrase: "Do it gladly, accept it willingly."

Uncle Xinyi Shares Tips for Storing Lychee:

If you buy lychee and don't finish it all, remember to keep it refrigerated and maintain a certain level of humidity, because after lychee is harvested the skin begins to lose water. At first the fruit color darkens, then the flesh becomes soft when pressed, and afterward the skin browns and dries out. Although the lychee can still be eaten, both flavor and texture are lost.

Here is how to keep lychee fresh: first dip the fresh lychee in water to moisten it, wrap it in newspaper (but not too wet), then put it in a plastic bag and refrigerate. This will keep it for 1-2 weeks. However, the fresher the fruit, the higher its nutritional value and the best its flavor and texture, so it is still best to eat it as soon as possible!