Artisan Nevia No gives a tour of Bodhitree Farm, her 65-acre, chemical-free property in New Jersey that supplies New York City’s best chefs and greenmarkets.
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[BLANK_AUDIO] [MUSIC] When I first make a first bite on
anything, I try to have no preconceived idea or expectations.
Cuz I really don't know what they're gonna taste like.
But I bite into it, and then all of sudden,
oh my gosh, this is such a wonderful texture. I
could taste the juice in this and the crunchiness of
the texture. And the sweetness and nuttiness, then I think
about it. People make fun of me, you call everything
nutty. Because I could taste the nuttiness in everything. Lot
of the vegetables have the natural natural nuttiness. And then
they munch on them at the market. You know what
you're right. They do that the nuttiness. See I told
you. I am Nevia No. I'm the owner and the
grower of 43 farms in Pemberton Township New Jersey. [MUSIC]
First of all the Bodhi means [INAUDIBLE]. Enlightened. So it's
considered as a very spiritual tree in India. And I
named the Bodhi tree because I'm a Buddhist myself. And
anything that has the right energy can become an enlightenment.
So what people really get out of my produce, the
real essence is not just the vitamins and minerals that
they get from the vegetables, but also the spirits. And
the good feelings and the love that we try to
put into our vegetables. [MUSIC] Our vegetables have much more
flavor than other produce at the market. The reason being
is because. My plant suffers in the ground a lot,
just like us human beings. Through the hardships and sufferings,
we grow and we learn. We become the people we
are. We build characteristics and personality. Same thing with the
plant. The more sufferings and hardships they have to go
through in order to survive and become fruits or roots.
They create much stronger and concentrated flavor when everything's given
like enough water, fertilizer constantly When we give everything they
need without having them suffer through anything they just become
very bland flavor vegetables with no personality. Without suffering we
can not grow. [MUSIC] Yes I try to grow what
I want to eat first. And what I eat is
the most important thing in my life. What I put
in my body I have to satisfy my pallet and
myself first and then I'll share with the others. That's
the way I am. I feel very greedy having this
opportunity just to myself. You get lot more than what
you put into. The return is huge. [MUSIC]