Peppers growing in sidewalk crack, this is a green thumb!
Posted on: October 20, 2016 | Written By: Doug Oster |
These peppers are growing out of a crack between some pavement and a concrete wall behind Osaka Sushi & Chinese Restaraunt in Greentree. Photo by Doug Oster Tribune-Review
T.J. Giles can’t wait to show me something behind Osaka Sushi & Chinese Restaurant in Greentree. He’s the assistant manager here and is leading me out the back door of the lobby. “The chef loves to garden,” he says with a smile.
Growing in a crack between the pavement and a concrete wall are a slew of pepper plants filled with dark green fruit. “He uses them for the staff,” Giles adds. Chef Chao Fong learned to garden from his father in Taiwan and has continued the tradition in the states. To grow these plants he just threw down seeds and they thrived in the toughest conditions. It’s a fantastic sight, just astonishing that these peppers could be so happy in such a inhospitable location. The heat of the pavement and concrete can’t hurt, but it must be dry.
The peppers themselves have a little kick, but nothing outrageous, probably a two or three out of 10 on the heat level. The peppers themselves have a little kick, but nothing outrageous, probably a two or three out of 10 on the heat level.
His wife May loves the produce he grows at home in their garden too. Some the garden is filled with traditional Taiwanese vegetables, but other things too. “It’s good, it’s fresh, she says, he grows okra too, she adds.
I stop by the restaurant before I appear on KDKA radio with Shelley Duffy and Mangino. Since I’m on at 4 p.m. I need to work around the rush hour traffic and enjoy a late sushi lunch at Osaka. Over the last several months we’ve all got to know each other and Giles put two and two together. That’s why he was so thrilled to show me the garden. “I felt it was a unique and cool situation that you don’t see every day, he said, still beaming. I think it’s really amazing.”
Chef Chao Fong has a great garden at home too. He’s got a green thumb and grew the peppers behind his restaurant too.