Cuba, November 2009. The 44th Street and Fifth Avenue Organoponico in Havana was founded in 1992, at the beginning of the “Special Period”. The members of the cooperative make a production plan and planting schedule each November. They always grow lettuce, both acelga espanol and acelga bok choy, spinach, radishes, green onions, garlic chives (which they call ajo montana), arugula, chicory, green beans, carrots, watercress, apio [celery], and parsley. They grow smaller quantities of broccoli and have established a bed of an Argentine green bean that looks like a snap pea on steroids (we have a photo).

They also raise medicinals – aloe vera, manzanilla (camomile), tilo, mejorana, cana mexicana, yerba Buena, and another kind of mint. The chicory is considered a medicinal but they grow a substantial amount of it. there is signage with information from the Punto Macrobiotico of the Finlay Institute explaining the health benefits of chicory.