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Growing Greens
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It's hard to beat greens for fast-growing, tasty, easy-care crops. Here are
some tips for growing your own spinach, collards, Chinese cabbage, and
mesclun.
Spinach
Preparing a spot for spinach in the garden is best done in the fall so
that, come spring, you can sow the seeds outdoors as soon as the ground
thaws. Or, if you live where winters are mild, you can prepare soil and
plant in fall. Choose a site in sun or partial shade with well-worked loamy
soil that has a pH of 6.4 to 6.8. Additions of composted manure are
beneficial.
Spinach grows quickly, increasing in yield right up to the full heat of
summer. When daily temperatures go above 70 degrees F, spinach
goes to seed in a hurry. For a continuous supply, plant weekly from
April 15 until a few weeks before the ground freezes. In hot regions,
stick to spring and fall sowings.
Once the seedlings appear, thin plants to four to six inches apart and
provide plenty of water to produce succulent leaves and slow down
bolting. Mulching around the rows will help keep the soil cool and
prevent rain splatter.
Collards
Collards, with their mild cabbage-like flavor, are a traditional Southern
crop. Unlike most greens, they'll survive not only the cool spring and
fall weather, but also the intense heat of summer.
Some gardeners in the South plant a spring crop, harvesting the lower
leaves as they need them early in the season. Then they simply keep
the plants growing through the hottest months, and begin harvesting
again in the fall. It's much more common, though, to plant collards twice,
in early spring and again in late summer.
Start collards indoors six to eight weeks before setting them out in the
garden, which you can do as early as four weeks before the first
frost-free date if plants are properly hardened off. If you plant collards
in wide rows, thin them so that the plants will be eight to 10 inches apart.
Collards can also be direct seeded three to four weeks before the last
frost-free date in spring. Fall plantings should go in 10-13 weeks before
the first fall frost date. Cool fall nights and light freezes will put zing
and succulence into the leaves.
Like other greens, you can start harvesting collards as soon as some
of the leaves make enough for a meal. If you harvest only the bottom
leaves of the plant, the center bud (where the action is) will keep putting
out branches.
Chinese Cabbage
The fast-growing greens of the Chinese cabbage family are nearly ideal
garden vegetables for spring, summer, and fall. Versatile enough to be
enjoyed boiled, sauteed, and stir-fried as well as fresh, they lend a
sprightly, nutty, or sharp flavor and succulent texture wherever they appear.
A key feature of these plants is their capacity to germinate and grow
rapidly in warm weather, yet they tolerate cold too. Although direct-sowing
is simple and works well, it's best to start these crops in flats or in
plastic trays with individual cells. This allows more control over water,
nutrients, and light levels. In mild weather, germination takes three to
five days. Harvest the first thinnings as soon as four weeks later. You can
also grow any of them as a cut-and-come-again crop, scattering seed
about an inch apart in wide bands. Clip the young plants to within an inch
or two of the soil as needed, allow them to regrow, then clip again.
Because all these vegetables grow so quickly, they do best when given
very fertile soil and a steady supply of water. Work 1 to 2 inches of compost
(or 1/2 inch of composted manure) into the ground at planting time. In dry
weather, water twice a week, or use drip irrigation.
If you want to extend the harvest well into fall, protect Chinese cabbage
with row covers or cold frames. Light frosts don't harm them, but night
temperatures in the 25-28 degree F range will reduce quality and slow
growth, even when plants aren't damaged. You'll get several weeks more
production if you cover the beds with polyethylene tunnels.
Mesclun
Mesclun mixes are a combination of greens -- some sweet, some tangy --
that are snipped when young and tender for salads. They are easy to grow
under the same conditions as spinach. Sow seeds every 2 weeks for a
continuous supply of young greens.
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