深shēn栽zāi茄qié子zi淺qiǎn栽zāi蔥cōng

What does 深栽茄子淺栽蔥 (shēn zāi qié zi qiǎn zāi cōng) mean?

深栽茄子淺栽蔥 (shēn zāi qié zi qiǎn zāi cōng) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語). Word for word it reads "Plant eggplant deep, plant scallion shallow." In use it means: Each vegetable has its own ideal planting depth. Eggplants need deep planting to develop strong root systems, while scallions thrive when planted shallowly, allowing their stalks to elongate above ground. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rabbit.

Literally: "Plant eggplant deep, plant scallion shallow."

The reading

A single garden bed holds plants with contradictory requirements, and the gardener who treats them all the same will fail at both. The eggplant's ambition is downward; it wants to anchor itself deeply before pushing upward. The scallion's purpose runs the opposite direction, needing light and air near the surface from the start. Knowing which needs depth and which needs exposure is accumulated observation passed down through kitchen gardens over centuries.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typesúyǔ 俗語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element土 Earth
• Zodiac tie兔 Year of the Rabbit

Source Kitchen-garden proverb common across Chinese farming households, practical vegetable-growing wisdom

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.