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Leafy greens

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Leafy Greens
It was not that many years ago that when we made up a salad, you could guarantee that it would be made using lettuce leaves of one of the hearting varieties available. Times have changed.

 


Leafy greens like lettuce, arugula, and field greens are great choices for vegetable gardening with kids for a number of reasons.

Leafy greens grow best in loose soil with good nutrient levels and even watering. Lettuces are shallow-rooted plants. Irregular watering, especially during hot weather, results in toughness and bitterness. Wind stress also makes greens tough.

Leafy greens such as spinach, kale, and chard--along with lettuces, cabbages, broccoli, and root vegetables like carrots, beets and turnips--are cool-season veggies.

Leafy greens prefer cool weather and shadier spots. Plants will bolt in hot weather which means that they quickly go to seed and become bitter. How much sun is too much depends on your conditions and the time of year.

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They're packed with flavor, familiarity and, of course, all the wonderful nutrition leafy greens are known for!
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If your idea of leafy greens is iceberg lettuce, containers probably aren't such a good idea. But like cut and come again lettuces, baby spinach can give you a decent yield in a small space.

Between April and May, leaf miners lay eggs on the underside of leafy greens such as Swiss chard, leaving blotchy brown trails in the foliage. Prevent these hungry critters from depositing their eggs by covering your chard with a floating row cover.

Growing a successful crop of leafy greens in your garden will give you weeks of harvest.
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Although not as fashionable as kale, collards, as well as other leafy greens make an outstanding supplement for the home backyard garden. Serves as mulch, protecting the garden soil to reduce the development of weed growth within it.

tricolor, the so-called edible or vegetable amaranths, have been used for their leafy greens in Asia for centuries.

Fall is a great time to plant vegetables and take advantage of milder temperatures. Dark leafy greens like kale, spinach and chard are especially hardy this time of year, and thrive in the cooler conditions.

Steamed, braised, stir-fried or added to soups, dark leafy greens are mainstays of Asian cooking. Almost all are members of the cabbage family, a group that includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, rapini, radish and turnip.

Kale and other leafy greens can actually stay in the garden all winter, depending on our season. Harvest as needed. Even in a cold spell, they may die back, but usually rebound with warmer weather and actually start growing again.

Vitamin E: sunflower seeds and broccoli Vitamin A: (beta carotene): carrots, potoatoes, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables such as cantaloupe, squashs; broccoli; sweet potatoes; and leafy greens. Selenium: onions and garlic.

See also: Greens, Vegetable, Grow, Water, Plant