My grandparents had farms in the once Chaldean village of Telkaif in the northern part of Iraq. In the winter, they planted wheat and barley. In the summer, they planted cantaloupes and cucumber. This supplied the daily needs of their households and the crops was sold for income as well. Anything they needed could be picked up and eaten, with no chemicals involved.

A lot of Iraqi Americans today, including myself and my cousins, have created beautiful kitchen gardens where they grow vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, cucumber, pepper, garlic, peppermint leaves, grapes, and many other fruits and vegetables.