Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
What a great spring it's been for my little garden. In the past month I've gradually dug out another couple of rows so that I can keep on plantin'! It's been pretty easy to increase the space, shovelful by shovelful as needed rather than implement some grand scheme all at once. I find myself in a “pace yourself” phase of my life. So, I enjoy about 15 to 30 minutes in the garden most days at first light between breakfast and heading to the office, and then stop to tend things for another short spell after the dog walk each evening. If there's a longer task to tackle, I save it for the weekend, when I can stop periodically and put my feet up for awhile.
What We're Eatin' in May: We're harvesting the last of the “dragon” kale and snow peas but anticipate still having plenty of lettuce, collards and green onions for a time yet. I've had to patrol often for caterpillars, who are also enjoying the kale and collards! The experiment with Swiss chard has been, I have to admit, a disappointment. Surrounded by thriving patches of other crops, it has been at a standstill, darn it. As an aside on the wild side, I've been finding tasty and tender smilax tips to add to the stir-fry pan, grape leaves for dolmas, Florida violet leaves for the salad bowl, pine needles and evening primrose for the tea pot plus betony and other wild mints for herbal touches.
What's Coming Along: Oh, the tomato plants have large green fruit! I planted plum tomatoes and can't wait to to see the first blush of pink followed soon after with picking and eating. Zucchini plants are quickly filling their allotted space, showing off beautiful golden blooms and swelling with fruit at the blossom bases. These will be eating size before I know it! The tiny white stars of banana pepper blooms are giving way to pale green peppers, many of which are about two inches long at this point. I love that these can be eaten green, yellow, orange or red, and I look forward to the rainbow of tasty, sweet crunchiness to come. Last weekend, I put in a couple of eggplant seedlings, and they are looking happy so far. Potato tops have emerged in their giant containers – one for golden potatoes and two for sweet potatoes. On the flower front, the first zinnias are blooming, while sunflowers are on their way up and nasturtiums are starting to sprawl.
What to Plant This Month: May in North Florida is still planting time for many species. According to the handy UF/IFAS Chart available at gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu and other sources, consider putting in transplants of ginger, roselle, tropical “spinaches,” boniato, calabaza, sweet potatoes, luffa, papaya, passionfruit, pigeon peas and pumpkins. You also can plant seeds for chayote, okra, peanuts and southern peas. There are lots of interesting choices there! I'm also regularly “planting” kitchen scraps in the garden using the trench composting method I described in last month's column. I have to say I'm super happy with how this is working out! I have not had to add any fertilizer at all and, except for that chard, the plants are lush and robust.
What's Tempting Me: I'm planning to take a closer look at trying one of the tropical “spinach” varieties. My sister-in-law has had success a little further south, and I'm intrigued to experiment with greens that promise to endure the summer heat. Here's what I've found out so far. Malabar spinach hails from India and grows on a pretty vine, with dark green, heart-shaped leaves you can harvest all summer. Okinawa spinach is native to Japan and grows like a ground cover. Its tasty leaves can be used raw, steamed, juiced, stir-fried, blended into smoothies and folded into quiches. Next month, I'll let you know if I found some and how they're doing. In the meantime, I hope your garden – big or small, new or well established – brings you many moments of joy and satisfaction.
Laura's Mixed Greens
A Favorite Side for Fish-n-Grits or Mac-n-Cheese
Ingredients:
* Washed chopped greens from the garden (or freezer or market), such as kale, collards, mustard greens and/or turnip greens
* 1 jar medium-heat salsa
* Vinegar to taste
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Chopped green onion for garnish
Procedure:
1. Fill a stock pot with the washed (still-wet), chopped greens. About six cups will cook down to feed two people, so multiply for the number you plan to serve.
2. Stir the greens over medium heat, adding small amounts of water as needed to prevent browning, until the greens begin to wilt and shrink in the pot.
3. Cover and cook over low heat until tender, adding small amounts of water as needed to prevent browning.
4. When the greens are tender, stir in enough of the salsa to coat the greens.
5. Add a splash of vinegar, taste, and add more as desired.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve with chopped green onion on top.
Yum!
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