When he was a boy growing up in rural Hunan, Li Hongwen was not allowed to work in the fields. Instead, he was told to focus on his studies -- generally the only way rural children can change their destiny and avoid becoming farmers.

Decades later, Li's efforts have paid off and he is an information technology manager in Beijing. But ironically, he now finds himself working hard to become an amateur urban farmer, in the small realm of his apartment balcony.

"Ensuring food safety is one of the main reasons to grow these vegetables," said Li, 31, gesturing to his garden with pumpkins hanging from an overhead trellis and several calabash "bottle" gourds swinging in the morning breeze.

"My son is five months old and ready to start on solid foods," he explained. "The vegetables for him must be safe."

Their sixth-floor home is at the top of their building in Shunyi District, and most of Li's neighbors have enclosed their balconies in glass, turning them into sunbathing rooms. But Li kept his 40-square-meter balcony open to create the garden, featuring about 30 different types of plants.

The balcony garden is a prime example of how many Chinese -- frustrated by numerous food scandals that have plagued even staple elements of Chinese dinner tables, such as steamed buns and cabbage -- are taking matters into their own hands to keep their diets safe.

Web sites dedicated to urban farming have begun springing up, offering a glimpse of how the trend is rapidly catching on. One of the largest such sites, Taohua001.com, boasts 60,000 registered members and more than 1.38 million page views from people who have dropped by to peruse tips and read about others' experiences, according to the site's founder, Jiang Yonghua, a 35-year-old marketing executive in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, who is known online as Maogu.

Maogu also sells seeds on Taobao.com and has made about 200 million sales in three years. He said the first customers, back in 2009, were mostly young mothers who wanted to grow vegetables for their children. But business boomed last year after frequent media reports about domestic food scandals.

Based on a survey he posted, more than half of his buyers are mothers or housewives between 28 and 35 years old. He, too, has planted some produce on his 5-square-meter balcony, when his daughter was 6 months old.

For urban farmers, the expression "fruits of labor" takes on a very literal meaning, and it makes the effort that much more rewarding when it bears fruit.

"Strawberries taste sweeter than those bought in stores," Maogu said. "The cucumbers grow and mature naturally, and taste just like the cucumbers from when I was little."

(SD-Agencies)