Orange County is renowned for its homegrown fruits and vegetables, often raised in compact garden beds tucked neatly into sunny backyards. Gardeners here are accustomed to growing lots of quality produce in small spaces.
Yet even by OC standards, Angel Lin is having a particularly good year. The novice gardener, an OCTA Transportation Analyst, took six awards at the OC Fair with her Taiwanese Opo Squash. All the squash, including the triple award winner that weighed 12 pounds and stretched 5 feet, were grown in a tiny 2-by-4 foot raised bed garden. Opo squashes are normally harvested at less than a foot in length.
As her squash grew to unusual proportions, Lin wasn’t sure what to do with them; they were too big to eat. A co-worker suggested the OC Fair contest. Lin’s first entry won first place, best in show, and the division title in the largest squash category. Buoyed by success and possessing more extra-large squash, she entered again a few weeks later and took home prizes for first and second largest squash and another first prize in most unusual looking.
Gardening for only two years, Lin cites good garden soil, water, and her dad’s secret fertilizer for her success.
