Gardening 101: Most Important Spring Planting Item Is…

Gardening 101: Most Important Spring Planting Item Is…

Beware of the “Whole Foods Effect” and plant your own fancy greens.

Author : Christelyn Karazin

Author's Website | Articles from

Greens, greens, and more greens.

The Hubster and I did out yearly soil enhancement and planting ritual. As usual, I used my favorite organic compost and fertilizers by E.B. Stone. Everything is looking a bit anemic so I piled on the food to the orange trees, grape vine, black berry bush, lime and kumquat trees. All other available space has gone toward growing salad greens. Why? Mainly because white people think it’s trendy. Anytime white folks think some food is the new “it” thing, the prices get jacked up. I call it the “Whole Foods Effect.” Go to any restaurant and the salad menu will no doubt consist of something this:

Micro greens salad

A bag of organic microgreens in CALIFORNIA! land of the micro greens, is on average $3.99 a bag and sometimes more. Gilt was trying to sell six weeks worth of greens delivered to your door for $100 for just six weeks. I am struck completely dumb by this. Ain’t no way that anyone with even a snatch of a yard should be paying this kind of money for some healthy weeds.

 

My first little crop of greens, surrounded by a fortress of chicken wire to keep the bunnies out.

One biggie I don’t want to neglect mentioning is that any, I mean ANY leaves you consume should be organic. I maintain complete control over my plantings, using organic soil conditioners, fertilizers and seeds. All the pest control is also done with organic farming in mind. My biggest issue is the snails…my battle with those things is Moby Dick-esque.

Organic strawberries are also a MUST. Too many pesticides otherwise; they soak up that nasty stuff like a sponge.

 

The turnaround is quick on this stuff, too. It’s about 30-60 days from seed to harvest. Buy some seedlings or small plants to speed up the process and keep the flow going while you literally wait for the grass to grow.

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Maxine 1005 pts

I just went on a nursery shopping spree a few days ago.  Got a couple of window boxes of herbs and some arugula.  I'm going back for mixed salad greens.  I live in an apartment but my patio is huge, so I'm looking for dwarf fruit trees.  I love the idea of getting my dinner for free right outside my door. 

Browncow 1441 pts

My family had a garden almost every year and our herb garden was so well established we didn't have to do anything but go outside and pick what we needed for our dinner. I'm really turned onto this gardening style called Back to Eden gardening. They even have a film and everything! It just seems so easy and I'm all about easy so after DH and I buy our house, we're going to make a very large garden and put everything we can think of in it. I love the idea of saving money through gardening. I also like Growing Your Greens on Youtube. This guy does this show and just puts the information on youtube for free. He's great.

 

www.backtoedenfilm.com

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/growingyourgreens?ob=5&feature=results_main

 

I highly recommend watching the movie. I absolutely loved it and just a word of warning for the atheists of the group, the guy on the film is very religious and has a verse for pretty much everything so please don't come back all offended by the God talk. The information is very valuable and I totally am going to garden this way.

sparel 903 pts

 Browncow I love this guy I'm always watching his videos...Hey he actually makes me want to go to California to do some fruit shopping. 

oekmama 1047 pts

 Browncow Thanks for the link.

Browncow 1441 pts

 oekmama You're welcome! I'm so totally into  John (or is it Jon?) from Growing your Greens. A wonderful guy with lots of great information and he's single ladies! I love useful and industrious men. He's also a businessman as well so he's totally smart too. Just saying....

Karla 18246 pts

 Browncow I loved the edible landscaping.  I'd like to do that with my yard, eventually.

Brenda55 19725 pts moderator

 Browncow Check out this woman site. 

http://www.gardengirltv.com/

 

Girlfriend is no joke.

JazzFest 94 pts

 Brenda55 

Ooh! Ooh! For those who want to make some green while growing it:

http://www.spinfarming.com/

 

Karla 18246 pts

Just took a class on square foot gardening.  We have our boxes and are ready to go.  I also have herb seedlings making their appearance.  I am not a gardener by any means but I'm learning.  My mom is an awesome gardener.  I did herbs very successfully last year so I'm going to try some bigger things.  We'll see how they turn out...

Brenda55 19725 pts moderator

Karla

Start a little at a time.  All those fresh herbs will be useful in your soap making.

 

On another matter.  Hubby and I are in the process of   buying a smoker of our own so we may be out in the dead of winter smoking ribs like your man. 

 

Karla 18246 pts

 Brenda55 Since our winter was mild, he did a lot more smoking than normal.  I corn my own beef brisket from time to time (much better than those already corned for you); we found out that pastrami is smoked corned beef.  Last weekend, my two top-cut briskets finished their corning process and we smoked one of them.  I gotta tell ya, homemade pastrami is the best, particularly since mine is lean.  For Easter, my husband was given a tenderloin of venison.  We're going to delicately smoke that over applewood.  I'm not a venison woman but hub's friend is a consummate field dresser so his stuff is never gamy and, as we know, there's very little that tastes bad smoked.  I don't care for lamb but a boneless butterflied leg of it smoked?  Delicious!

Browncow 1441 pts

 Karla  Brenda55 I don't eat beef, but I can admire your self sufficiency! That's so awesome that you corn your own beef. When I was a vegetarian I met a lady who had her own farm with her husband and they did everything from scratch. They even slaughtered their own animals and took the fat to make soap and had angora rabbits that they would shear to make yarn for knitting. They didn't waste anything. I told her that I really admired and appreciated what she did. There were no illusions and they were all so healthy. My mother and father would get together with Nigerian friends when we lived in Texas to slaughter goats, chickens, and ducks. They would tan the hides and divide up the meat to put in our deep freezer. I still remember all the amazing meals we got from that. Oh yum! My mother knew how to make Jamaican style curried goat. If any of our Jamaican ladies are here, you know the one where you have to marinate it for a couple of days before you cook it? Oh dang! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Karla 18246 pts

 Browncow  Brenda55 Yum, yum!  I can almost smell how good that must have been! 

Brenda55 19725 pts moderator

 Browncow  Karla I have had the pleasure of eating curried goat. It is wonderful.

dasdbobb 1383 pts

@Karla @Brenda55 Here is the pastrami recipt I use. I've made this twice since I found it, nd it IS the best. Karla, Pastrami made out of corned beef is called faux pastrami. The differance is in the cure, and Pastrami is smoked and THEN slow cooked or steamed, not boiled to 180 deg and the meat is fork tender. Although it tastes good, oure pastrami like this recipe will "make you curl your toes" pardon the play on words. Try this, you won't be disappointed.! http://alpoethemad.com/2012/02/how-to-make-homemade-pastrami/

Karla 18246 pts

 dasdbobb  Brenda55   Thanks!  You know I'm always up for authenticity.  It's in my recipe book!

SirLoinDeBeef 2528 pts

For critters that also like to dine on greens, put down a 6" strip of blood meal around the perimeter - your plants will love it, but the critters might thing that something has just died there, that might be considered 'yummy critter.'

Christelyn 8896 pts moderator

 SirLoinDeBeef Ah...so THAT's what the stuff is for...

SirLoinDeBeef 2528 pts

For arid climates, drip irrigation is indicated - ditto for folks that don't wanna stand there and water.

Christelyn 8896 pts moderator

 SirLoinDeBeef We use drip and watering when we have seedlings. Wish it would rain more so I could just stick stuff in the ground and forget about it till it's time to eat. Like blackwomendeserver 's neck of the woods...hahaha

B.F.A.A.D. BlackFemaleAllianceAgainstDefamation 189 pts

Loved this post!:) Im excited because our cucumbers, tomatoes, & bell peppers just sprouted. You can grow almost anything in Vegas! I'm personally done with giving whole foods 100bucks and getting 2 bags-half-filled with food, such a rip off..lol

Brenda55 19725 pts moderator

I will have to check.  I think you can get rid of snails the same way you kill slugs.  A shallow pan of beer.  They get drunk and drown. 

Christelyn 8896 pts moderator

 Brenda55 Sounds like a lovely way to die...

Law Wanxi 5812 pts

 Christelyn   Brenda55 

Wow, this reminds me of another form of Nature's bounty often underutilised in the USA.  Birds, because of the booze drowning.

 

No, not big quacky poopy beasts like ducks or clucky noisy chickens, both of which require space and feeding.  I'm talking about little songbirds that often are seen flying about your house.

 

The French in France used to capture them in snares and nets, at least until the tiresome PC brigade started nattering on about some enviro thing, in French, of course.  They made the Ortolan illegal to sell in restaurants.  They used to drown them in brandy before they prepped them and served them.  You hold the tiny little beak in your fingers [or chopsticks] and eat the rest in a bite or two.  

 

Pedia of Wiki:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ortolan_Bunting

SirLoinDeBeef 2528 pts

 Law Wanxi I know one thing that CANNOT be eaten with chopsticks!

Law Wanxi 5812 pts

 SirLoinDeBeef 

Besides clear broth, what would that be?

SirLoinDeBeef 2528 pts

 Law Wanxi The item in question may be found 'downtown,' when dining 'at the Y' ... and taking chopsticks there might be considered a bit of an intrusion.

Jamila 7311 pts moderator

 SirLoinDeBeef  Law Wanxi lmao

Karla 18246 pts

 SirLoinDeBeef Looking around frantically for my smelling salts...

sparel 903 pts

 SirLoinDeBeef I don't get it...

Christelyn 8896 pts moderator

 sparel  SirLoinDeBeef AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Law Wanxi 5812 pts

 sparel  SirLoinDeBeef 

There are some things you're better off not getting.

Law Wanxi 5812 pts

 SirLoinDeBeef 

 

Well, given the various languages I speak, you'd think I be a cunning little linguist.

 

You'd be wrong.

 

There's this http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/early/2011/10/03/JCO.2011.36.4596.abstract and this:  http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1081213-overview

 

The trouble with going to med school is that you learn all sorts of doctor stuff.  

 

Besides, Jack Van Impe says it's wrong and Rexella agrees.  OK, there's a few things I'd like to try out on Rexella, but I'd probably have to fist fight Chuck Ohman.  It's the way she says "Ooooo, Chuck" that has me suspicious.....

SirLoinDeBeef 2528 pts

 Law Wanxi I spend about 7 years in a couple of medical schools (as a Ph.D.-type research person, working in implanted and stand-alone medical devices) -15 peer-reviewed articles -  I, too, learned a lot of 'doctor stuff' - being around surgeons and their respective residents, on a professional and social basis, was often a hoot.

Despite it all being obsolete (myself included), I still perk up a bit when I come across various little problems that might be solved with a device - there was this pesky problem in phlebotomy (it's a art, not a technique) coupled with a micro-distance ultrasound probe used in modern dentistry ...

Or, any current interest in tDCS? - 9v battery, switch, 4.7k resistor, a switch & two electrodes in saline soaked gauzeis minimal - better to have an LM317 current regulator ... 

oekmama 1047 pts

 SirLoinDeBeef I'd think it's all a matter of technique... *smirk*

SirLoinDeBeef 2528 pts

 Law Wanxi My continued research indicates that the LM317 is not correct for tDCS current regulation, as the minimum activating current for this unit is 10 mA - whereas current control at the 1-2 mA level is needed.

So, what do you think is a good very-small current regulator for tDCS, to insure no more than 2 mA flows at 9v DC?

I am so obsolete and out of the loop on these matters ...

oekmama 1047 pts

 Christelyn That's how I kill our slugs here. It really works. if you have plastic cups or joghurt cups, just fill em with cheapo beer and bury them at strategic points in the garden. It seems they love beer even more than those greens.

BlackWomenDeserveBetter 1852 pts

 Brenda55 I'm trying my hand at indoor gardening this year....Hawaii's got too many persistent bugs and other creatures to get a handle on!

My latest conversation: SELECTIVE DIVISIVENESS/OUTRAGE

Brenda55 19725 pts moderator

Last frost date here in Pa. is 4/29. I was also out also this afternoon filling my planter boxes on the porch rail with herbs.

 

I plan to harvest through out the season and then dehydrate them for over the winter.

 

Mom and I are taking a class on home canning in May and next week I will be prepping the soil in the Square Foot beds for this years crops.

 

This year's crops are

Sweet corn. collard greens, tomatoes, bell peppers, summer squash (yellow and green), beats, turnips and Swiss chard.

 

I am looking into planting salad greens but in containers. I just have to find the right spot close to the house to put them. I would like the containers close by the kitchen door for easy care and harvesting.

The Working Home Keeper 6639 pts

 Brenda55 You'll love canning Brenda!  The sound of those jars popping (sealing) is like sweet music :)

 
Christelyn 8896 pts moderator

 The Working Home Keeper  Brenda55 WHK, I would love to learn about canning and doing preserves. Interested in guest posting?

The Working Home Keeper 6639 pts

 Christelyn   Brenda55 Sure, I'd love too! 

 
Christelyn 8896 pts moderator

 The Working Home Keeper  Brenda55 GREAT! ...how soon can you send it?

The Working Home Keeper 6639 pts

 Christelyn   Brenda55 What about by next Monday?

 
Christelyn 8896 pts moderator

 The Working Home Keeper  Brenda55 perfecto

JazzFest 94 pts

 Christelyn  The Working Home Keeper  Sweet!

Jamila 7311 pts moderator

 The Working Home Keeper  Brenda55 I've thought about trying some canning before but it scares me. I took a microbiology class and the textbook had a picture of a huge family where all of them had died--there was a group funeral--because of botulism due to improper canning. 

The Working Home Keeper 6639 pts

 Jamila  Brenda55 It was a bit scary to me too before I tried it the first time.  Water bath canning is really simple.  And if you follow the recipe from a trusted source (like the Ball books on canning), and following the procedures for prepping your jars, you shouldn't have anything to worry to about.   

 

As an alternative to water bath canning, you could try making freezer jams. 

 
Brenda55 19725 pts moderator

 Jamila  The Working Home Keeper Oh now stop trying to blow my bliss girl.

 

That is why we are taking the refresher course.

 

 Further there are more than one way to can.  We will be using the water bath method which is one of the safest and Mom has been doing it for years.  Grew up doing this. 

 

I can back up what  TWHK said. Use the Ball canning book the recipes  are tried and true.