and Luscious Lettuce
“iVocado” is named after the English pronunciation of Avocado. “iVocado Sustainable Farm” is located on approximately 2,000 square-meter large greenhouse in Linnei Wutu Village, Yunlin…
Introduction
“iVocado” is named after the English pronunciation of Avocado. “iVocado Sustainable Farm” is located on approximately 2,000 square-meter large greenhouse in Linnei Wutu Village, Yunlin. It has an inconspicuous appearance, and the entrance is simple and quaint. “Baiyang Madikraan”, the boss of iVocado, possesses the enthusiasm of the Bunun tribe. “I want to grow the most natural and fresh vegetables”. Like the name of the store, he wants to give his family the healthiest of food, as “iVocado focus on health, so the family is blissful”. He enlists the help of an army of earthworms, and embarks on a path of symbiosis between worm and vegetable.
Baiyang took over the farm from his father. At first he used grass to cultivate the fruits and vegetables, then he built a greenhouse and used stilted beds to grow lettuce, herbs, strawberries, etc. He spent two years formulating his own farming methodology, with harvesting only done at 5.00am, then sent into storage at 4 °C to lock in all moisture, so that every stalk the customer receives feel as if it is still alive in their hands.
“Earthworms know best if the plant is healthy or not!” Bai Yang says that in the early stage he once lost all his crops due to the earthworms ‘dismantling their homes’. But after gradually improving soil quality to make sure the lettuce come from the most nutritious soil, then grinded into a ‘green latte’ of plant juice that feels cool and refreshing in the mouth, with no raw taste. Even his wife who despises the smell of veggies can drink a few cups in one go.
Features of Agricultural Tourism
Vegetables
The lettuce and the earthworms tilling behind the scenes are the protagonists of this agricultural tour. Tourists get to mix soil and plant seedlings with their own hands, sift the vermicompost and collect the lettuce, experiencing hands-on farming and even paint their own potted plants, and taste the ‘green latte’ (honey vegetable/fruit juice). Lettuce that you can see, taste, and touch, are enough to satisfy the body and soul.
One can not only try their hand at some farming, but actually taste the natural lettuce dishes! In addition to the signature dish of green latte, there are also hotpots and fruit salad, all the freshness presented in the simplest of cuisines. “There are no picky eaters at iVocado”, Lettuce buns and vermicompost can be bought as souvenirs. Lettuce such as red flame, green flame, red skirt, red antler, red oak, radish vine and green elves, are planted in rotation and available all year round.
