Back to farm profile
Farm Happenings at Mhonpaj's Garden
Farm Happenings for July 27, 2022
Our garlic crop is picked, tied and hung to cure for the next 2-4 weeks. If you love cooking with garlic like Mhonpaj does, it will be available soon. I love growing garlic for it ease of growing, lack of maintenance and it's health qualities. But the damage it does to one's breath is unpleasant.&n1 read more »
Farm Happenings for July 20, 2022
This time of the year is my favorite time of the season. If you are anything like me, I have had enough leafy vegetables for the next few weeks. Time to bake zucchini bread, enjoy a refreshing cucumber salad and grill up an incredible platter of tomato-onion-zucchini-mushroom-brussels sprouts kabob1 read more »
Farm Happenings for July 6, 2022
Two of the most frustrating challenges we dealt with in 2021 was water and weeds. Seems like that is every farmers issue year in and year out. We probably laid out over 10,000 linear feet of irrigation lines last year. It kicked our butts putting it in and pulling it out at the end of the year. Wit1 read more »
About the farm
Mhonpaj’s Garden is a 9-acre certified organic vegetable farm owned by May Lee and her daughter Mhonpaj. With 5 acres in Stillwater and 4 acres in Marine on St. Crox, May and her family grow a variety of vegetables, bedding plants and herbs.
In 1980, May, her husband Chue, their children and May’s mother immigrated to the United States from Loas as refugees. They found work farming conventionally, but when May’s mother was diagnosed with cancer after working with pesticides in the United States, May knew she needed to start farming organically.
May’s daughter Mhonpaj was connected with the Minnesota Food Association (MFA) and learned about their New Immigrant Agriculture Program (now called the Farmer Education Program). The Lee’s were accepted into the three-year program, which gave them access to the MFA’s 60-acre certified organic incubator farm, Big River Farm, and connected them with a Hmong-speaking coordinator who helped them find resources and answer questions about organic farming. Together they resolved issues ranging from drip irrigation setup to product liability insurance to insect control.
In 2010, the Lee’s “graduated” from the MFA program and went on to become the first Hmong-owned certified-organic farm in Minnesota. May and her family now farm leased land along the St. Croix River.
In addition to farming, May spends lots of time educating other growers about organic practices through the MFA and as a Master Gardener volunteer for Ramsey County. She and her family also share their culinary heritage through cooking demonstrations and classes.
Go to farm profile
In 1980, May, her husband Chue, their children and May’s mother immigrated to the United States from Loas as refugees. They found work farming conventionally, but when May’s mother was diagnosed with cancer after working with pesticides in the United States, May knew she needed to start farming organically.
May’s daughter Mhonpaj was connected with the Minnesota Food Association (MFA) and learned about their New Immigrant Agriculture Program (now called the Farmer Education Program). The Lee’s were accepted into the three-year program, which gave them access to the MFA’s 60-acre certified organic incubator farm, Big River Farm, and connected them with a Hmong-speaking coordinator who helped them find resources and answer questions about organic farming. Together they resolved issues ranging from drip irrigation setup to product liability insurance to insect control.
In 2010, the Lee’s “graduated” from the MFA program and went on to become the first Hmong-owned certified-organic farm in Minnesota. May and her family now farm leased land along the St. Croix River.
In addition to farming, May spends lots of time educating other growers about organic practices through the MFA and as a Master Gardener volunteer for Ramsey County. She and her family also share their culinary heritage through cooking demonstrations and classes.