May 12, 2026 • 10 mins
Today we shine a light on urban permaculture gardener, writer, and content creator Connie Cao.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Annie and Smantha and welcome to stuff.
I never told you, productive I heard you.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
And for this activist around the world, we're gonna do
something kind of themed because for some reason, I well
I know, not for some reason, but for reasons, I'm
on a gardening kick. Uh huh yeah, yeah, yeah, I
feel like that's a clue. So we wanted to feature
Connie cow an urban permaculture gardener, writer, content creator and
(00:39):
so much more so. She has a lot of great
advice and know how when it comes to gardening, but
also about using a garden to feel more at home.
And I really love this and of course it is
a API Heritage History month, so we want to feature
more Asian activists and those who have influence. It's so
(01:01):
much And yeah, gardening, which I'm really excited because I
think I found a book that I'm gonna have to
pick up BT Doves, although she's located in Millbourne, but
it's okay, okay, we're gonna go into this. So just
so we are all on the same page. I wanted
to describe what a parmaculture is and this is from
a Modern Farmer dot com and apparently this was coined
(01:22):
by Bill Mullison from the Tanzania area. So I was like, okay,
it's been coined seventies. Anyway, here's the definitions I give.
It is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive
systems which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems.
(01:43):
It is the harmonious integration of the landscape with people
providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non
material needs in a sustainable way. That go on to say,
in other words, parmaculture is a holistic living in harmony
with nature worldview as well as a technical approach for
how to do so. So we love that because we
(02:04):
love sustainability, and so does she, which is why she
is all about this type of gardening. So Cal is
a resident of Melbourne, Australia. Her parents actually moved to
Australia in nineteen eighty eight from China and her love
for gardening was fostered at a very young age thanks
to her parents and a school project. So this is
(02:27):
from SBS dot com Au. They write Cal's gardening journey
began with a simple school project growing onion chives, which
we just got it. By the way, the experience, planted
a seed punintended, and she pestered her parents for a
garden until her father finally gave in when she was
a teenager. Together, they started growing Asian vegetables. So I
(02:48):
think that's amazing, because, yes, I just bought some onion,
some kind of chibes. I don't know if it's onion chibes.
I've never grown chibes. We're starting with these chibes. They
are very delicate.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Any that makes me nervous, I know, yes, I.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Know it makes me nervous too. But I checked on
them today. Actually, no, I checked on them yesterday and
they were upright and seemingly happy. Okay, look upright is
a lot now? It is anyway, right, So, her newfound
love for gardening did become a large family project and
family bonding experience. After moving into a home that had
(03:25):
previously belonged to another gardener, they began their venture together.
So apparently this home had like old fruit trees and such,
so was already prepped to do gardening, which is wonderful.
What a dream. She talked about how she would go
online to learn more about gardening and the art of
growing vegetables and flowers. Around her home and so with
her father. So her mother was able to even get
(03:46):
vegetable seas from her Shanghai social club where they had
sea swaps. So that's where her love for like Asian
and Chinese vegetables really came through. In another SBS article,
she talks about how gardening was able to help keep
her connection with her heritage. So they quote said, my
parents are Chinese immigrants, so they wanted to grow a
(04:07):
lot of things that my mom was cooking at home.
I was pretty fascinated with the fact that you could
grow Asian veggies here, simply because I was only used
to seeing a lot of people growing things like broccoli
and kale and these more common things you'd see in
the supermarket. And she continued with her own gardening doing
that type of tradition. So this is from ABC dot Net.
I believe this was from like twenty twenty two. About
(04:29):
five years ago. My now husband and I bought a
place in Melbourne's Outer East and I've been inspired by
my parents to grow Chinese vegetables here. So I love that.
I love that she was able to start something with
her family that kept her connected to her roots and
kept her family connected with her roots as well, and
able to like bring familiarity to a foreign area which
(04:51):
I guess at this point was not foreign, but still
bringing some of what they remember to where they were there.
And though she's been at the gardening game for a while,
she is quick to let people know that gardening is
something you have to work through and sometimes it takes
trial and error, and that to grow amazing vegetables and
other things doesn't take a whole garden, which by the way,
(05:12):
I now know. And she teaches others how to grow
things and even the smallest of spaces. So again the article,
the SBS article which was titled Yes you can grow
your own food too, she gives great advice on how
to just start. One piece of advice was start with pots.
She says this the best way to get started is
(05:32):
probably to start growing in pots because it's low commitment
and pots are really good because you can move them around.
So if you decide the left side is not good
on the balcony, you can try the right side to
see the sunlight is different. Little plants like herbs and
leafy greens are really easy to grow in pots. And
with that, she goes on to explain how using larger
pots help maintain them gets in space, which is what
(05:55):
I've been learning Annie since we've got giant pots for
my new tomatoes. So again in that articles, she goes
on to say to grow what you eat, So grow
what you're going to eat, not something that you would waste.
Expand and grow flowers if you can, and to start whenever.
It doesn't have to be summertime, of course. I think
also the advice would be to know what plants can
(06:17):
grow when or when to garden them, because yes, you
can do cool weather plants and they will grow and thrive,
but obviously that won't necessarily be helpful in the summertime.
So at least look that up. I'm sure she already
has advice for you on that. She also says in
that article to share so quote. It's this community activity
where I get to share my excess harvest with my neighbors.
(06:40):
It's such a nice way to get to know them.
And my neighbors are really cute. They often cook the
vegetables and give the food back to me. They're from
different cultural backgrounds, They're Indians, so it's nice to get
to know about the way they use veggies and learn
from each other, which I love sharing. And he gets
a lot when she comes around, not a lot, some
some when you can get the tomatoes, these basils, How
(07:00):
are your basils?
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Did they die? They couldn't die, but they're not flourishing.
They're surviving for sure, but you know, not beyond.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Then better than mine was because my originals are dead anyway.
Moving on and with all of this knowledge, she has
put it in her own book titled Your Asian Veggie Patch,
which she describes like this in her website. Your Asian
Veggie Patch is a comprehensive, beginner friendly guide to growing
and cooking Asian vegetables, herbs and fruits at home. Parmaculture
(07:33):
gardener Conyie Cow guide you through a curated selection of
more than forty cool season and warm season annuals and perennials,
meaning it's easy to find produce that will thrive in
your garden and climate. Then make the most of your
abundant harvest with fifty fresh home style recipes inspired by
Connie's Chinese heritage. Think at ammee and pickled mustard greens,
(07:54):
stir fried Shanghai rice cakes, porkin chive dumplings, Chinese pumpkin
cakes and a winter melandee, which all sound amazing. Yes,
I would like some, please. So her book has hit
home for many, including a lot of Asian Australian people
who love this book. So here's a review from Christine
(08:15):
Sunflower dot com. Quote. This beautifully curated book is designed
to motivate as many people as possible to embrace and
celebrate the diversity of edible plants grown and eaten across
Asian household. As Cow declares at the start of the book,
let me be your Asian best friend who can't stop raving.
Expect bountiful encouragement and enthusiastic cheering from me on the sidelines. Indeed,
(08:38):
the author's cheerful and sincere words distinguish this title from
other gardening books out here in the market, as her
writing comes straight from her heart. She writes about growing
up in an Asian immigrant family in Australia who are
thrilled to discover they can grow the taste of home
in their own backyard. I really love that.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Yeah, I really love that.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
As a as an hobbyist in this garden world, we'd
love to see representation whatever. And I'm always looking for
good advice, so yes, this book will definitely have to
come my way because I need all the advice. And
by the way, she's the cutest ever. Her pictures on
her Instagram has her and her chicken Luna. By the way,
take me a minute to figure out it was a
(09:17):
chicken because it's one of those fluffy chickens. Yeah, very
fluffy chickens. But yeah, I really am excited that I
discovered her works and I will be definitely following her
on the social media as well.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Yes, absolutely another book to add to the list. Well, listeners,
you know we always love hearing from you about your
gardening tips or what's going on with your garden. If
you would like to contact us, you can. You can
email us at Hello, at stuff I've Never Told You
dot com, give mine as on blues skuyt Momstup podcast,
or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff I Never Told You.
(09:49):
We're also on YouTube. We have some merchandise at Cotton Bureau,
and we have a book you can get wherever you
get your books. Thanks as always to our producer Casey,
our executive producer Maya, and to you listeners I Never
told you subduction ByHeart Radio. For more podcasts from My
heart Radio, you can check out the heart Radio Apple podcast,
or whef you listen to your paper shows,
Hey, this is Annie and Smantha and welcome to stuff.
I never told you, productive I heard you.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
And for this activist around the world, we're gonna do
something kind of themed because for some reason, I well
I know, not for some reason, but for reasons, I'm
on a gardening kick. Uh huh yeah, yeah, yeah, I
feel like that's a clue. So we wanted to feature
Connie cow an urban permaculture gardener, writer, content creator and
(00:39):
so much more so. She has a lot of great
advice and know how when it comes to gardening, but
also about using a garden to feel more at home.
And I really love this and of course it is
a API Heritage History month, so we want to feature
more Asian activists and those who have influence. It's so
(01:01):
much And yeah, gardening, which I'm really excited because I
think I found a book that I'm gonna have to
pick up BT Doves, although she's located in Millbourne, but
it's okay, okay, we're gonna go into this. So just
so we are all on the same page. I wanted
to describe what a parmaculture is and this is from
a Modern Farmer dot com and apparently this was coined
(01:22):
by Bill Mullison from the Tanzania area. So I was like, okay,
it's been coined seventies. Anyway, here's the definitions I give.
It is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive
systems which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems.
(01:43):
It is the harmonious integration of the landscape with people
providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non
material needs in a sustainable way. That go on to say,
in other words, parmaculture is a holistic living in harmony
with nature worldview as well as a technical approach for
how to do so. So we love that because we
(02:04):
love sustainability, and so does she, which is why she
is all about this type of gardening. So Cal is
a resident of Melbourne, Australia. Her parents actually moved to
Australia in nineteen eighty eight from China and her love
for gardening was fostered at a very young age thanks
to her parents and a school project. So this is
(02:27):
from SBS dot com Au. They write Cal's gardening journey
began with a simple school project growing onion chives, which
we just got it. By the way, the experience, planted
a seed punintended, and she pestered her parents for a
garden until her father finally gave in when she was
a teenager. Together, they started growing Asian vegetables. So I
(02:48):
think that's amazing, because, yes, I just bought some onion,
some kind of chibes. I don't know if it's onion chibes.
I've never grown chibes. We're starting with these chibes. They
are very delicate.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Any that makes me nervous, I know, yes, I.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Know it makes me nervous too. But I checked on
them today. Actually, no, I checked on them yesterday and
they were upright and seemingly happy. Okay, look upright is
a lot now? It is anyway, right, So, her newfound
love for gardening did become a large family project and
family bonding experience. After moving into a home that had
(03:25):
previously belonged to another gardener, they began their venture together.
So apparently this home had like old fruit trees and such,
so was already prepped to do gardening, which is wonderful.
What a dream. She talked about how she would go
online to learn more about gardening and the art of
growing vegetables and flowers. Around her home and so with
her father. So her mother was able to even get
(03:46):
vegetable seas from her Shanghai social club where they had
sea swaps. So that's where her love for like Asian
and Chinese vegetables really came through. In another SBS article,
she talks about how gardening was able to help keep
her connection with her heritage. So they quote said, my
parents are Chinese immigrants, so they wanted to grow a
(04:07):
lot of things that my mom was cooking at home.
I was pretty fascinated with the fact that you could
grow Asian veggies here, simply because I was only used
to seeing a lot of people growing things like broccoli
and kale and these more common things you'd see in
the supermarket. And she continued with her own gardening doing
that type of tradition. So this is from ABC dot Net.
I believe this was from like twenty twenty two. About
(04:29):
five years ago. My now husband and I bought a
place in Melbourne's Outer East and I've been inspired by
my parents to grow Chinese vegetables here. So I love that.
I love that she was able to start something with
her family that kept her connected to her roots and
kept her family connected with her roots as well, and
able to like bring familiarity to a foreign area which
(04:51):
I guess at this point was not foreign, but still
bringing some of what they remember to where they were there.
And though she's been at the gardening game for a while,
she is quick to let people know that gardening is
something you have to work through and sometimes it takes
trial and error, and that to grow amazing vegetables and
other things doesn't take a whole garden, which by the way,
(05:12):
I now know. And she teaches others how to grow
things and even the smallest of spaces. So again the article,
the SBS article which was titled Yes you can grow
your own food too, she gives great advice on how
to just start. One piece of advice was start with pots.
She says this the best way to get started is
(05:32):
probably to start growing in pots because it's low commitment
and pots are really good because you can move them around.
So if you decide the left side is not good
on the balcony, you can try the right side to
see the sunlight is different. Little plants like herbs and
leafy greens are really easy to grow in pots. And
with that, she goes on to explain how using larger
pots help maintain them gets in space, which is what
(05:55):
I've been learning Annie since we've got giant pots for
my new tomatoes. So again in that articles, she goes
on to say to grow what you eat, So grow
what you're going to eat, not something that you would waste.
Expand and grow flowers if you can, and to start whenever.
It doesn't have to be summertime, of course. I think
also the advice would be to know what plants can
(06:17):
grow when or when to garden them, because yes, you
can do cool weather plants and they will grow and thrive,
but obviously that won't necessarily be helpful in the summertime.
So at least look that up. I'm sure she already
has advice for you on that. She also says in
that article to share so quote. It's this community activity
where I get to share my excess harvest with my neighbors.
(06:40):
It's such a nice way to get to know them.
And my neighbors are really cute. They often cook the
vegetables and give the food back to me. They're from
different cultural backgrounds, They're Indians, so it's nice to get
to know about the way they use veggies and learn
from each other, which I love sharing. And he gets
a lot when she comes around, not a lot, some
some when you can get the tomatoes, these basils, How
(07:00):
are your basils?
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Did they die? They couldn't die, but they're not flourishing.
They're surviving for sure, but you know, not beyond.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Then better than mine was because my originals are dead anyway.
Moving on and with all of this knowledge, she has
put it in her own book titled Your Asian Veggie Patch,
which she describes like this in her website. Your Asian
Veggie Patch is a comprehensive, beginner friendly guide to growing
and cooking Asian vegetables, herbs and fruits at home. Parmaculture
(07:33):
gardener Conyie Cow guide you through a curated selection of
more than forty cool season and warm season annuals and perennials,
meaning it's easy to find produce that will thrive in
your garden and climate. Then make the most of your
abundant harvest with fifty fresh home style recipes inspired by
Connie's Chinese heritage. Think at ammee and pickled mustard greens,
(07:54):
stir fried Shanghai rice cakes, porkin chive dumplings, Chinese pumpkin
cakes and a winter melandee, which all sound amazing. Yes,
I would like some, please. So her book has hit
home for many, including a lot of Asian Australian people
who love this book. So here's a review from Christine
(08:15):
Sunflower dot com. Quote. This beautifully curated book is designed
to motivate as many people as possible to embrace and
celebrate the diversity of edible plants grown and eaten across
Asian household. As Cow declares at the start of the book,
let me be your Asian best friend who can't stop raving.
Expect bountiful encouragement and enthusiastic cheering from me on the sidelines. Indeed,
(08:38):
the author's cheerful and sincere words distinguish this title from
other gardening books out here in the market, as her
writing comes straight from her heart. She writes about growing
up in an Asian immigrant family in Australia who are
thrilled to discover they can grow the taste of home
in their own backyard. I really love that.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Yeah, I really love that.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
As a as an hobbyist in this garden world, we'd
love to see representation whatever. And I'm always looking for
good advice, so yes, this book will definitely have to
come my way because I need all the advice. And
by the way, she's the cutest ever. Her pictures on
her Instagram has her and her chicken Luna. By the way,
take me a minute to figure out it was a
(09:17):
chicken because it's one of those fluffy chickens. Yeah, very
fluffy chickens. But yeah, I really am excited that I
discovered her works and I will be definitely following her
on the social media as well.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Yes, absolutely another book to add to the list. Well, listeners,
you know we always love hearing from you about your
gardening tips or what's going on with your garden. If
you would like to contact us, you can. You can
email us at Hello, at stuff I've Never Told You
dot com, give mine as on blues skuyt Momstup podcast,
or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff I Never Told You.
(09:49):
We're also on YouTube. We have some merchandise at Cotton Bureau,
and we have a book you can get wherever you
get your books. Thanks as always to our producer Casey,
our executive producer Maya, and to you listeners I Never
told you subduction ByHeart Radio. For more podcasts from My
heart Radio, you can check out the heart Radio Apple podcast,
or whef you listen to your paper shows,
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