Cool Season Crops & Recipes
A few tips for cool season crops:
- Plant carrots and radishes on top of one another. The radishes will grow first and open the soil, so that when you pull the radish it leaves an open space for the carrot to grow.
- Don’t let your radishes and beets get too large. Pick them when they are big enough to eat.
- Make sure that you cover your broccoli and cauliflower plants in their early stages because they are more vulnerable to bugs at these stages.
- For greens of any kind, harvest the outside leaves first. This way you don’t have to wait to harvest the whole head and you can harvest more. Also, break off the leaves as close to the ground as possible.
- When planting turnips make sure that you know which one you are planing, whether it is the root or the green.
- You can leave large veggie roots, like carrots and turnips, in the ground for a long time. So, you don’t have to harvest until you are ready to eat them.
- Cauliflower and turnip greens tend to taste best after the first frost. ( Lower temperatures bring out the sugars, which give them a better taste .)
- If you are experiencing pest problems, such as rabbits in your garden, human hair is said to deter the animals from the beds. Just spread the hair all around the bed. Another option is building a chicken wire fence.
- Create a cloche, a row cover, in order to extend your growing season. You can do this by putting a hoop house over the veggies or by building a cold frame box. Check below for links on how to make your own.
More Information on Cold Frame Boxes
Recipe of the Week:
Last night I tried out a Broccoli and Cheese Soup recipe. I flubbed because I didn’t realize I’d need a food processor until I’d already started making my soup. But, it turns out that I enjoyed the consistency without pureeing it. Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try out for yourself.
Broccoli & Cheese Soup
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 2 medium potatoes
- 2 medium onion
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1lb broccoli
- 1.5 pints of vegetable stock
- 4 oz of cheddar cheese
- 5 fl. oz of milk
- salt and pepper
Instructions:
Wash and chop the potatoes. Chop the onions and saute with the potatoes in hot oil for 10 minutes.Cut the broccoli into chunks (including stalks) and add to the pan with the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.Transfer to a liquidizer and blend until smooth. Add the grated cheese, salt and pepper and the milk. Reheat gently before serving.
“We learn from our gardens to deal with the most urgent question of the time: How much is enough?”
- Wendell Berry
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That sounds very satisfying!
Ashley :) » October 30, 2009 at 5:59 pm