2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Tennessee has a growing number of International citizens from various countries from around the world, now residing in the Nashville and surrounding counties. They desire their traditional vegetables which are not grown in Tennessee. Nashville has several International grocery stores, these stores ship in produce from out of the county, therefore many of these vegetables are past their recommended shelf life. The local groceries and farmers markets do not carry these desired fruits and vegetables, therefore creating a market for these vegetables. In the Tennessee region, there are many small and limited resource producers who are struggling to remain viable these producers need to create and identify new markets to increasing their incomes. At Tennessee State University, we have been working with small and limited producers statewide and are researching growing and marketing International and Alternative vegetables. We are presently are producing twelve (12) different varieties of peppers, Bottle Gourd, Bitter Melon, White Eggplant, Tinda, Chinese Okra and Tomatillos as alternative vegetables for the local residents and new International residents now living in Tennessee. For the past four years we have grown twelve varieties of peppers, herbs and tomatillos for the Italian and Hispanic markets and the past three years Bottle Gourd, Bitter Melon, Chinese Okra, White Eggplant and two years for Tinda. We evaluated the feasibility of growing these vegetables in the Tennessee region and marketing strategies. Bitter Melon and Bottle Gourd have been identified to contain medicinal properties for assisting with reducing inflammation, reduction of blood pressure, provide anti-anxiety effects and diabetes prevention in some individuals who consumer these vegetables. These vegetables are also highly nutritional, tasty and low in calories, which could assist in fighting obesity in Tennessee which ranks number 45 on overall rank on health (which includes obesity). We have assisted with production training and educating small producers with alternative marketing strategies (direct sales with hotels, restaurants, individuals and farmers markets). Goals and objectives of the research: 1) Evaluating International Vegetables for successful growth and production in Tennessee; 2) Developing and Exploring Alternative Crops for Small Producers in Tennessee; and 3) Evaluation of Bottle Gourd, Bitter Melon, and Tinda for medicinal and for obesity prevention.