My colleague, food writer Julie Robinson, will be mad at me for this column. It is a topic that she could use for a food story, and when you're in the business of writing about the same subject week after week, we tend to fight over the good ones that fit in both "food" and in "gardening." Sorry Julie!
I've been searching for unusual greens to grow, and because our spring season went by with the blink of an eye, I've refined my search to greens that can tolerate a bit of heat. Typically, the leafy plants are cold-weather lovers.
Here are a few that I've discovered that I'm trying in my garden now:
Upland cress (Barbarea verna): This is biennial in Zones 5 to 9 and is slow to bolt. The plants produce rosettes of dark green, smooth, rounded leaves that have a peppery flavor similar to nasturtium leaves. Upland cress tolerates extremes in temperature far better than traditional garden cress. The more you harvest, the faster new, tender leaves grow back, according to the National Home Gardening Club magazine.
Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris ssp. cicla): Chard will grow through the spring, summer and fall until frost. Use only the small (less than 6 inches) inner leaves raw for salads.
Here's one I'll plant this fall when the temperatures drop a bit:
Arugula (Eruca vesicaria ssp. sativa): This is a member of the mustard family, and requires cool temperatures -- the quality drops as the heat rises. It's hardy enough to tolerate a light frost, and the late crops are quite flavorful.
On a serious note, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is studying standards for marketing leafy greens with regard to quality and safety standards. The information from the USDA discusses including "handlers, farmers, importers, retailers, food service representatives and the public" on a board to oversee the National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement.
Reading this news release and listening to the podcast from the USDA made me more determined to cut out the middlemen (note the plural!) and just plant my own leafy greens.
Reach Sara Busse at sara.bu...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1249.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The past few weeks have been ablaze with beautiful irises -- even with the hail and heavy rains there are wonderful patches of them all around town.
Jody Hill, on Charleston's West Side, has a big area of her yard filled with deep-purple, large-blossomed irises she started 12 years ago.
"I started with three -- I just keep dividing them and dividing them," Jody told me. "I'm gonna fill up the whole front yard with them."
I chuckled along with Jody when she told me how strong this particular cultivar seems to be.
"I tried to plant the yellow ones in there but the purple ones said, 'No, that's not gonna happen!' I think they just sucked them right down into the ground!"
She would love to add other colors to the mix, and she told me she gets her green thumb from her mother, Rutha Chestnut, who grows beautiful orchids.
"My mama will be proud!"
Heat-tolerant greens
Standard lettuce and spinach leaves are getting boring. But buying the "fancy" stuff at the store is pricy, and it never seems to last more than a day.
My colleague, food writer Julie Robinson, will be mad at me for this column. It is a topic that she could use for a food story, and when you're in the business of writing about the same subject week after week, we tend to fight over the good ones that fit in both "food" and in "gardening." Sorry Julie!
I've been searching for unusual greens to grow, and because our spring season went by with the blink of an eye, I've refined my search to greens that can tolerate a bit of heat. Typically, the leafy plants are cold-weather lovers.
Here are a few that I've discovered that I'm trying in my garden now:
Upland cress (Barbarea verna): This is biennial in Zones 5 to 9 and is slow to bolt. The plants produce rosettes of dark green, smooth, rounded leaves that have a peppery flavor similar to nasturtium leaves. Upland cress tolerates extremes in temperature far better than traditional garden cress. The more you harvest, the faster new, tender leaves grow back, according to the National Home Gardening Club magazine.Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris ssp. cicla): Chard will grow through the spring, summer and fall until frost. Use only the small (less than 6 inches) inner leaves raw for salads.Here's one I'll plant this fall when the temperatures drop a bit:
Arugula (Eruca vesicaria ssp. sativa): This is a member of the mustard family, and requires cool temperatures -- the quality drops as the heat rises. It's hardy enough to tolerate a light frost, and the late crops are quite flavorful.On a serious note, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is studying standards for marketing leafy greens with regard to quality and safety standards. The information from the USDA discusses including "handlers, farmers, importers, retailers, food service representatives and the public" on a board to oversee the National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement.
Reading this news release and listening to the podcast from the USDA made me more determined to cut out the middlemen (note the plural!) and just plant my own leafy greens.
Reach Sara Busse at sara.bu...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1249.
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