40 GARDEN GATE | OCTOBER 2019 | ISSUE 149
home grown
Greens
Packed with nutrients and quick to take off, greens
are easy to grow and look good, too.
I
t’s not too late to get a few greens
going for your fall garden. While
these leafy veggies are often grown
in spring, now is the perfect time to
get planting for a late-season harvest.
Warm, late-summer soil encourages
seeds to sprout quickly, but air
temperatures are starting to cool off
so young plants will have the growing
conditions they need to fl ourish. And
if you live in mild-winter areas you can
harvest greens all winter long. Grow
them in rows in the ground or add a
few to borders or containers, where
they do double duty, providing distinc-
tive texture and a tasty meal.Lettuce, spinach, mustard and kale
are classic, easy-to-fi nd greens, but you
might also like to try a few out-of-the-
ordinary ones, such as tatsoi, arugula or
mizuna. Get more information on all
of them on the following pages. Flavors
range from buttery to bitter and they’re
all high in antioxidants and vitamins.
You may even have some edible weeds
growing in your backyard. Check out
which ones you can harvest in “I can
eat that?” below.Growing tasty greens^ To be
sure there’s enough time to grow the
greens you want this fall, check “daysLooking for an organic approach to weed control? Eat them! The pesky
plants below are some of the most common you’ll find growing in your yard
and they make great additions to salads, soups and stir fries. But before you
start nibbling be sure chemicals haven’t been used on the lawn and that
you’re harvesting the right plant. If you want to be on the safe side look for
them at the farmer’s market or buy seed of cultivated forms.I can eat that?
Dandelion
Taraxacum
officinale
All parts are edible.Lamb’s quarters
Chenopodium spp.
Eat leaves and
young stems.Purslane
Portulaca
oleracea sativa
Young leaves
or stem tips
are best.Plantain
Plantago major
Young leaves
and stem tips
are best.to harvest” found on most seed packets
or in catalogs. Usually sowing seeds
four weeks before your fi rst average
frost date provides enough time to get
a crop. Most greens will take a light
frost (some even heavy ones) and can
have a better fl avor afterward.
You can direct sow seeds for greens
in the ground or start them in small
pots indoors if you’re waiting for a
summer crop to fi nish up. Plants grow
best in full sun to part shade and need
regular water so the foliage doesn’t
wilt or develop crispy edges. One of
the advantages of growing greens in
fall is that it’s less likely plants will
bolt, or send up fl ower stalks due to
heat. That signals the end for most
greens—the foliage starts to die and
the fl avor becomes bitter. There are a
few greens whose taste isn’t affected by
fl owering—I’ve made note of those in
the chart.Harvest how-to^ Harvest greens
at most any size—from the time they’re
just emerging until they’re a few inches
tall you can pluck a few to add to
salads. New growth is often the most
tender and sweet. Mature leaves tend
to have a stronger fl avor.
There are several ways to harvest
greens depending on the type and
its use. Jenny Quiner of Dogpatch
Urban Gardens in Des Moines, Iowa,
specializes in growing them so I asked
her for a few harvesting tips. See her
techniques in the photos at right. With
these basics of growing greens down,
turn the page to see which ones you’ll
want to start growing right now!GG14940_43_Greens.indd 40GG14940_43_Greens.indd 40 6/27/2019 4:03:23 PM6/27/2019 4:03:23 PM40 GARDEN GATE | OCTOBER 2019 | ISSUE 149
home grown
Greens
Packed with nutrients and quick to take off, greens
are easy to grow and look good, too.
I
t’s not too late to get a few greens
going for your fall garden. While
these leafy veggies are often grown
in spring, now is the perfect time to
get planting for a late-season harvest.
Warm, late-summer soil encourages
seeds to sprout quickly, but air
temperatures are starting to cool off
so young plants will have the growing
conditions they need to fl ourish. And
if you live in mild-winter areas you can
harvest greens all winter long. Grow
them in rows in the ground or add a
few to borders or containers, where
they do double duty, providing distinc-
tive texture and a tasty meal.Lettuce, spinach, mustard and kale
are classic, easy-to-fi nd greens, but you
might also like to try a few out-of-the-
ordinary ones, such as tatsoi, arugula or
mizuna. Get more information on all
of them on the following pages. Flavors
range from buttery to bitter and they’re
all high in antioxidants and vitamins.
You may even have some edible weeds
growing in your backyard. Check out
which ones you can harvest in “I can
eat that?” below.Growing tasty greens^ To be
sure there’s enough time to grow the
greens you want this fall, check “daysLooking for an organic approach to weed control? Eat them! The pesky
plants below are some of the most common you’ll find growing in your yard
and they make great additions to salads, soups and stir fries. But before you
start nibbling be sure chemicals haven’t been used on the lawn and that
you’re harvesting the right plant. If you want to be on the safe side look for
them at the farmer’s market or buy seed of cultivated forms.I can eat that?
Dandelion
Taraxacum
officinale
All parts are edible.Lamb’s quarters
Chenopodium spp.
Eat leaves and
young stems.Purslane
Portulaca
oleracea sativa
Young leaves
or stem tips
are best.Plantain
Plantago major
Young leaves
and stem tips
are best.to harvest” found on most seed packets
or in catalogs. Usually sowing seeds
four weeks before your fi rst average
frost date provides enough time to get
a crop. Most greens will take a light
frost (some even heavy ones) and can
have a better fl avor afterward.
You can direct sow seeds for greens
in the ground or start them in small
pots indoors if you’re waiting for a
summer crop to fi nish up. Plants grow
best in full sun to part shade and need
regular water so the foliage doesn’t
wilt or develop crispy edges. One of
the advantages of growing greens in
fall is that it’s less likely plants will
bolt, or send up fl ower stalks due to
heat. That signals the end for most
greens—the foliage starts to die and
the fl avor becomes bitter. There are a
few greens whose taste isn’t affected by
fl owering—I’ve made note of those in
the chart.Harvest how-to^ Harvest greens
at most any size—from the time they’re
just emerging until they’re a few inches
tall you can pluck a few to add to
salads. New growth is often the most
tender and sweet. Mature leaves tend
to have a stronger fl avor.
There are several ways to harvest
greens depending on the type and
its use. Jenny Quiner of Dogpatch
Urban Gardens in Des Moines, Iowa,
specializes in growing them so I asked
her for a few harvesting tips. See her
techniques in the photos at right. With
these basics of growing greens down,
turn the page to see which ones you’ll
want to start growing right now!