Fruits of their labor: Meet the Hmong growers cultivating life, land, community and culture in Tulsa
On a Saturday morning, local farmers unload juicy tomatoes, plump cucumbers and fragrant bundles of herbs from their cars just as the sun begins to greet the world. It’s 5:30 Many of the Tulsa Farmers’ Market vendors are Hmong, and these Hmong farmers are known as Oklahmong. Sandy Siers, daughter of Bao Yang, previously sold produce at the farmers’ market with her mother Bao about 10 years ago. They reunited last year as growers at the market. The Yangs, who started farming in 2005, moved to Oklahoma in 2006 for a warmer climate and larger land property. They now operate on 10 acres of land. Tria Yang Farm sells produce from squash, zucchini and Asian cantaloupe, often used in Hmong cooking. The farm is located in Viditaitaita and operates on open gardens.
Publié : il y a 4 semaines par Julianne Tran dans Lifestyle
On a Saturday morning, local farmers unload juicy tomatoes, plump cucumbers and fragrant bundles of herbs from their cars just as the sun begins to greet the world. It’s 5:30 in the morning in the Kendall Whittier neighborhood. As heavy baskets of potatoes pass between worn hands, a quiet murmur spreads along Admiral Boulevard. Listen closely,
That’s because many of the Tulsa Farmers’ Market vendors are Hmong.
“Our Hmong growers are truly the backbone of market farming in Green
Country,” says Kristin Hutto, TFM’s executive director. And the fruits of their
For the growers at Oklahmong, their farming efforts are centered on family.
“It’s an experience that me, my mom, and my sister could do together that involved the kids and grandkids,” says Sandy Siers, daughter of Bao Yang who is at the heart of Oklahmong.
Siers previously sold produce at the farmers’ market with her mother Bao about 10 years ago. Last year, they rejoined as growers at the market.
“My mom, she was saying, ‘I miss gardening and I miss doing it with you all,’” Siers recounts. “Every Friday, we used to harvest and wash produce and then go to the market together on Saturdays. Now that we’re older, my mom was missing that.”
Yang grew up in Thailand and immigrated to the United States in the mid-’80s. “My parents ended up in Minneapolis from Thailand, but they missed farming,” Siers says. “My mom has exceptional gardening skills. She’s been gardening since she was 10 years old in Thailand.”
In 2005, the family moved to Oklahoma. “There was more land here and they started with 2 acres. My mom wanted (to start gardening again), even if it was just a little plot in the backyard.”
Siers grew up eating her mom’s homegrown herbs every day and remembers all the time she spent in the garden. Now, her mother loves sharing that garden with her family.
“She enjoys doing it now with the grandkids. She gets to be out in the garden with them and teaches them,” Siers says.
The family cultivates the land together on Yang’s property in Jay. Oklahmong sells produce ranging from squash, zucchini and Asian cantaloupe to herbs often used in Hmong cooking like lemongrass.
“We’re learning every day,” Siers says. “It’s been a great experience. It’s definitely fun and thrilling (to farm together).”
Tria Yang Farm’s booth is hard to miss with its plentiful spread of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, Thai chiles, green onions and buckets of colorful dahlias.
“Our booth is probably the biggest at the market, but it’s just me, my mom, my dad and younger sister who are working the farm,” says Pakou Yang, daughter of Tria Yang and Dai Lor.
“My parents were born in Laos and because of the war going on at that time, they made their way over to America,” Yang says.
The Yangs first lived in Minnesota after moving to the United States. They relocated to Oklahoma in 2006 for a warmer climate and larger land property. After being laid off from their factory jobs, they turned to their work history for a new opportunity.
“My parents had experience farming (in Laos) and wanted to take it on as a new venture,” Yang says. “They started farming again because that’s something they knew they were good at doing. They did it out of necessity and, eventually, it became their career.”
Tria Yang Farm first joined Tulsa Farmers’ Market in 2008, the same year when Yang’s younger sister Lailai was born. Now, 16 years later, Lailai packs vegetables into their car every Saturday morning and cuts flowers alongside her mother at the market.
The Tria Yang Farm is located in Vinita on 10 acres of land. The family cultivates produce in open gardens and greenhouses. Recently, they rotated a new lot for gardening.
Because the Yang family has had years of experience at the farmers’ market, many Hmong growers rely on their insights.
“The other Hmong farmers are around the same English-speaking level as my parents. They come and chat with my parents and they exchange advice,” Yang says. “Because many of the newer vendors have just moved from out of the state, they’re not used to growing in Oklahoma weather. So, they’ll ask for advice and my parents will give them their knowledge.”
Sho Vue and wife, Xai Lee, who grew up farming, started cultivating their farm because they were nearing retirement.
Like many Hmong people from Laos, Vue fled to the United States during the Vietnam War and civil war in Laos. Once settled, Vue lived in Syracuse, New York, for 20 years with his wife, who he met in a refugee camp when they both immigrated.
After decades bearing the cold winters of upstate New York, the couple wanted to live somewhere with warmer weather. So, in 2005, they moved to Oklahoma. They opened a tailoring business, Mee’s Tailor Shop, 6524 E. 91st St., which they still operate while farming in Sperry.
“We’ve been (in Oklahoma) for 18 years, but we didn’t start farming until two years ago,” Vue says. “My wife’s family used to do the farm (in Laos) and my wife was really good at it.
“We’re closer to retirement time and we wanted to create something that we could spend every day doing.”
The couple alternates work at Green Farm and the tailoring shop. By Friday evening, it’s time to prepare for the market. Vue and Lee often work until midnight on Fridays washing and packing produce. Then, on Saturdays, they drive into Tulsa to work side-by-side at the farmers’ market.
Green Farm is located on 15 acres of land. Vue and Lee cultivate onions, potatoes, tomatoes, radishes, zucchini and more.
“We started from scratch, so we are making great progress,” Vue says. “The people (at the market) are very friendly.”
Vue is especially proud to be part of the Hmong community in Tulsa. “We are Hmong. We are here,” Vue says. He’s an advocate for the Hmong community and in May, he juggles harvest season at Green Farm while making preparations for Hmong Day in Oklahoma.
In peak growing season, Lenny Xiong and wife, Song, produce an abundance of fresh vegetables on their 7 acres of land in Vinita. Rows and rows of vibrant green lettuce heads and root vegetable tops surround Lenny’s Farm.
And come Saturday morning, all that produce spreads across their booth’s table at the farmers’ market.
Xiong’s growing success comes from his experiences farming in Laos as a child and later in Minnesota. Xiong immigrated to the United States in 1980 when he was 13 years old. He then lived in Minnesota for more than 20 years.
“I was living in Minnesota, but you know the weather over there is too cold, so I decided to move to Oklahoma,” Xiong says. Once in state, Xiong had to adjust to hot Oklahoma summers.
“The water is so hot and the weather is really hot for the vegetables,” Xiong says. After some time, he learned how to better work with the land.
Xiong heard about the farmers’ market from his Hmong neighbors and farming friends. In 2022, Xiong applied and began selling at Tulsa’s market.
Xiong and his wife spend late winter and early spring cultivating vegetables and preparing for their busiest season at the market. Come May, Lenny’s Farm is in full swing at the farmers’ market until they prepare for the next season at the end of November.
Lenny’s Farm produces potatoes, rainbow carrots, cherry tomatoes and much more.
Whether you’re looking for fresh cut flowers, sun-ripened tomatoes or an Asian herb to finish your dish, the growers at Tulsa Farmers’ Market have what you need. Each vegetable carries with it the love and labor of a farmer who has nurtured their garden for months and who has traveled far to build a life from the seeds they have planted.
You can meet these farmers and enjoy the fruits of their labor at Tulsa Farmers’ Market at Admiral and Lewis on the first Saturday of April, when the main season begins.