ST. LOUIS • Carrots, lettuce, peas and potatoes. They are all familiar vegetables to Ranga Ghimirey, a Bhutanese who has lived in the United States for about two years.

But asparagus? That's one he has no idea about. So he's eager to see it eventually sprout from a new community farm tended by refugees.

This plot of land in Botanical Heights, once 10 city lots, is now an outdoor classroom. A place where Ghimirey and other refugees are working together to learn about organic food production and, ideally, cultivate a career in farming.

The urban agriculture program, run by the International Institute of St. Louis, is one of 19 across the country that have been funded by grants from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. The grants this year total $1 million nationwide, with typical local awards of about $75,000.

"There has really been a wellspring of interest in this around the country," said Larry Laverentz, who manages the office's Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program, based in Washington. "Organizations are recognizing that refugees' being able to farm has real value. It's proven that it's good for them in terms of supplemental income and helps integrate them into the community. Many of the refugees were farmers in their countries of origin. They can grow familiar foods, and it provides better nutrition."

The program has won accolades from First Lady Michelle Obama, who called it "a model for the nation, for the world" when visiting a community farm in San Diego last year.

In St. Louis, 11 refugees from five countries are going through the three-year program, which starts with English language classes specific to farming terms.

"We will plant the seeds deep," said teacher Joss Lake in a classroom earlier this month. "We will plant the seeds close together. Then it will rain, and the ground will be wet."

The students repeated the sentences again and again until Lake was confident they understood their meaning. They also went through a list of vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and okra.

The students also take finance classes, learning basics such as making change. The skill will come in handy when the new American farmers begin selling their crops at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market next month.

In the second year, the institute will work to find apprenticeships for those in the program. By year three, the refugees will be able to apply for a loan through the agency to lease or buy small plots of land — typically in urban areas — to begin farming.

It's an important part of the program because most refugees lack credit history to apply for a traditional bank loan.

Language skills and farming experience vary widely among the refugees. Among the four Bhutanese in the program, Ghimirey's English is the strongest. So are his opinions at the farm.

"These are too hot. Give more water," he says, as he looks at several flats of seedlings in a small greenhouse on the farm, in the 4000 block of Folsom Avenue.

At the farm, Ghimirey, 56, and the other Bhutanese plant lettuce in one of the 20 long berms, which measure 50 feet each. With help from farm coordinator Whitney Sewell, the students use their fingers to dig rows of holes, drop in seedlings and then water each one with a spray bottle.

The most advanced student is Mehret Sintayehu Zegeye. Before fleeing to Kenya about nine years ago from Ethiopia, he worked for the ministry of agriculture in his home country. He worked with farmers on how to get a larger crop yield by planting in rows instead of scattering the seeds, and to keep the area free of weeds. He is now using his expertise to help others in the new urban farming program here.

"Many refugees come here and just get lost," said Zegeye, 34, who has been in the U.S. for about five months and works at a 7-Eleven store. With an urban farm, "We have a common interest. We can help one another. I give them a word of advice, and that is, 'Stick with it.' The reality is that America is a land of opportunity and you can do what you want to do. If it's agriculture, I want to help boost them up."

The urban farm sits just a few lots away from the Botanical Heights Community Garden, which became the city's first community orchard when the neighborhood residents planted 30 fruit trees last fall. Both the community garden and urban farm are on land owned by the Garden District Commission, a nonprofit organization formed 13 years ago to revitalize the Botanical Heights, Shaw, Tiffany and Southwest Garden neighborhoods.

The burgeoning urban farm is a welcome addition to the neighborhood, said Barbara Snell, leader of the three-year-old community garden.

"The (farm) property has been vacant for a long time," said Snell of the large number of lots left abandoned when the old McRee Town was demolished for a newly named Botanical Heights neighborhood. "What a great thing for the houses that back up to it — a little urban farm. It creates the best of both worlds. You're in the city but have a great view of green and things growing."

Mohamed Hassen's home backs up to the urban farm. He is glad to see an additional opportunity for refugees in the city. Twenty years ago, he was resettled in the U.S. by the International Institute. Today, in his late 40s, he is a pharmacist, married and has two children.

"It's a good idea, but farming is really difficult," said Hassen, who grew up as a poor goat farmer in Ethiopia. If the economy were stronger, he would caution against the career choice. But with so few jobs available, farming is an opportunity worth pursuing, Hassen said.

Laverentz, with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, said farming was complex, especially when adding in language and cultural barriers. But for many refugees, farming provides fresh vegetables their families could not afford or have easy access to otherwise. Many refugees live in poor parts of town where healthy food options are limited, he said.

"They live in what is often referred to as food deserts," Laverentz said. "We're trying to get them to eat familiar foods that they can grow instead of going to fast food places. The hope is that it has a spread effect in the community, not with just refugees but others as well."