Your Summer Greens

[digitS']

Green Light — Off We Go!

First of all, are you someone who likes greens?

Spring greens! But, then dry, hot Summer and many plants respond by bolting to seed. Their life cycle is completed; to sow seeds during these months is often a futile experience. I have tried with only moderate success to expand our choices from a Springtime abundance to, what may feel like, a Summer meager assortment. What are your choices?

Steve

 

[Alasgun]

We eat a lot of “greens” but only set out to grow Northern Lights Swiss Chard and Kale (darkibor). We also eat the Beet greens both scalping a few as they grow and when the final harvest happens.

None of these bolt, unlike Spinach and others.

 

[Dahlia]

Green Light — Off We Go!

First of all, are you someone who likes greens?

Spring greens! But, then dry, hot Summer and many plants respond by bolting to seed. Their life cycle is completed; to sow seeds during these months is often a futile experience. I have tried with only moderate success to expand our choices from a Springtime abundance to, what may feel like, a Summer meager assortment. What are your choices?

Steve

I love greens! I especially love finding them in the wild. This week I have foraged some dandelion greens, Siberian miners lettuce, and some nettle for tea.

 

[digitS']

We have amaranth, with more on the way. With some tolerance for them flowering and self-seeding, they provide volunteers during a following year. Appreciated (altho the term "greens" may not apply since they are so purply red ).

Broccoli must fit the definition. This is the first year in many with no broccoli plants. It has always had heat stress problems but I don't remember a time that we didn't have okay production. This year, Gai Lan has replaced it. That's a bit of a risk because this larger gai lan is still new-to-us.

Chard was not new-to-me because Mom thought we should have it. It took years for me to be willing to try it again, @Alasgun . Went for Perpetual Spinach first and, for some reason, wasn't impressed. Tried Verde da Taglio and realized that chard was good. It was the heavy stems that I didn't like. My problem with Verde da Taglio is that seed availability is limited.

I see that we still have a Italian dandelion making a 2024 appearance, @Dahlia . Needs a change in cooking water to take out some of the bitterness just like its wild cousin, IMHO. Escarole is a good domestic choice but doesn't really make it far into Summer.

 

[Dahlia]

We have amaranth, with more on the way. With some tolerance for them flowering and self-seeding, they provide volunteers during a following year. Appreciated (altho the term "greens" may not apply since they are so purply red ).

Broccoli must fit the definition. This is the first year in many with no broccoli plants. It has always had heat stress problems but I don't remember a time that we didn't have okay production. This year, Gai Lan has replaced it. That's a bit of a risk because this larger gai lan is still new-to-us.

Chard was not new-to-me because Mom thought we should have it. It took years for me to be willing to try it again, @Alasgun . Went for Perpetual Spinach first and, for some reason, wasn't impressed. Tried Verde da Taglio and realized that chard was good. It was the heavy stems that I didn't like. My problem with Verde da Taglio is that seed availability is limited.

I see that we still have a Italian dandelion making a 2024 appearance, @Dahlia . Needs a change in cooking water to take out some of the bitterness just like its wild cousin, IMHO. Escarole is a good domestic choice but doesn't really make it far into Summer.

I think the bitterness in dandelion greens is the part that is good for you. Dandelion greens fight cancer for one thing.

I love to eat chard in a sausage lemon lasagna recipe that I got out of a Martha Stewart magazine!

 

[SPedigrees]

Love dandelion greens. I don't mind the bitter taste, although others have told me that boiling a bit of bacon with them will mitigate the bitterness. Two things I never see mentioned here are fiddlehead ferns and young (wild) milkweed stalks. Not sure if I've ever eaten the former, but the latter tastes like asparagus.

 

[digitS']

chard in a sausage lemon lasagna recipe

I think that I have found it:

Swiss Chard & Italian Sausage Lasagna Recipe - Food.com

I'm always looking for different lasagnas...a break from the red sauce ones. This is from October 2008 Martha Stewart mag and it is really, really de

www.food.com

 

[Dahlia]

I think that I have found it:

Swiss Chard & Italian Sausage Lasagna Recipe - Food.com

I'm always looking for different lasagnas...a break from the red sauce ones. This is from October 2008 Martha Stewart mag and it is really, really de

www.food.com

That one looks very similar, but it's not the one I have. Mine has super thin lemon slices on the top and a few other changes...

 

[Dahlia]

Love dandelion greens. I don't mind the bitter taste, although others have told me that boiling a bit of bacon with them will mitigate the bitterness. Two things I never see mentioned here are fiddlehead ferns and young (wild) milkweed stalks. Not sure if I've ever eaten the former, but the latter tastes like asparagus.

I've eaten fiddlehead ferns, but never milkweed stalks. I'll have to look that one up! Thank you for mentioning. I am always striving to build my wild edible plant knowledge!

 

[digitS']

The flowering tops are from the last of the bok choy, not really a Summer green – they will be back in the Fall from new plants. Clockwise, amaranth, nice and young and tender, from direct sowing and volunteers . Top are kale leaves "nice and young and tender," from new starts in 2024.

Greens!