Update
The Swiss chard lasagna was delicious. It takes a lot of chard. The chard row will be longer next year. The first sugar peas were picked on Saturday (5/16). They have to be picked everyday or the pods fill out. They are really hard to find. It is like an Easter egg hunt. The last spinach has bolted and was pulled off Saturday as well. Egg plants and herb plants from the green house and from direct seeding are too slow for me. I broke down and bought some plants.
The squash is growing well. Cucumbers had to be replanted as the row just did not fill out. The watermelon is growing too fast. It was planted between the onions that are being allowed to go to seed and the sugar peas. I may have to pull off a few of the pea vines around the watermelon plants. The 1st crop of figs is not ripe. The second crop is coming out. The paw paws are growing nicely. I planted a short row of okra just because I had the space.
The eager eater bugs are coming out now. For mosquitoes I spray myself instead of the yard. I am making a spray of habanero peppers and garlic. I will let you know if it works. I have been procrastinating on doing it because we have had a prediction of rain everyday and rain will wash it off.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
Showing posts with label swiss chard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swiss chard. Show all posts
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Mystery Greens
Mystery Greens
In one little corner of my garden I had a very successful planting. I just did not know what it was. It looked like spinach but bigger and lighter in color. It tasted like lettuce with a slight bitter aftertaste. I thought I had planted Swiss chard in that spot; but Swiss chard is supposed to have red stems. I brought a few leaves to the office and looked up Swiss chard on the internet. Not all Swiss chard has red stems. That is what I had.
It is good that I looked it up. There are so many great recipes for Swiss Chard. The simplest is just to sauté it with a little garlic and olive oil. http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000965swiss_chard.php There were other recipes for lasagna and Swiss chard pie. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/recipes_for_health/chard/index.html I even found a recipe for Swiss chard Tzajiki. I can’t find it again to give the link; but it is made the same as regular Tzajiki, substituting chard for cucumbers.
One of the keys mentioned in almost every article was freshness. Swiss chard is compared to sweet corn in that the sooner after picking it is used, the better it taste. That is probably why chard from the grocery store is not very good. It turned out to be really easy to grow. I will report on the flavor. Hopefully we will try it soon.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
In one little corner of my garden I had a very successful planting. I just did not know what it was. It looked like spinach but bigger and lighter in color. It tasted like lettuce with a slight bitter aftertaste. I thought I had planted Swiss chard in that spot; but Swiss chard is supposed to have red stems. I brought a few leaves to the office and looked up Swiss chard on the internet. Not all Swiss chard has red stems. That is what I had.
It is good that I looked it up. There are so many great recipes for Swiss Chard. The simplest is just to sauté it with a little garlic and olive oil. http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000965swiss_chard.php There were other recipes for lasagna and Swiss chard pie. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/recipes_for_health/chard/index.html I even found a recipe for Swiss chard Tzajiki. I can’t find it again to give the link; but it is made the same as regular Tzajiki, substituting chard for cucumbers.
One of the keys mentioned in almost every article was freshness. Swiss chard is compared to sweet corn in that the sooner after picking it is used, the better it taste. That is probably why chard from the grocery store is not very good. It turned out to be really easy to grow. I will report on the flavor. Hopefully we will try it soon.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Swiss Chard
Swiss Chard
My friend, Ray Moore, talked about Swiss Chard all summer. I had not grown any for years; but we really liked it. I picked enough to make a mess when mixed with mustard, turnip greens, and the few surviving kale leaves. It was delicious. It tastes like a very mild version of spinach.
The figs are ripening fast; and they are extremely sweet. If you want to look back and see how much I chopped them back last year, you will be amazed at how the trees have grown. I will publish pictures before I cut them this year. They are huge.
Fall is fun. I am dismantling all the weird structures that were built in the spring and planning to learn from my mistakes. The watermelon fence was a great success. It needs a finer mesh wire to keep the watermelons from hanging through. I am satisfied with the tomato fence; but I am not satisfied with the tomatoes. This was the worst year we have had. The fence will be constructed going North South next year as opposed to East West. The Porterhouse Beefsteak from Burpee will be eliminated. It makes a big early tomato. The tomato just doesn’t have much flavor. Next year will be Marglobe, Better Boy, and an unidentified variety that volunteered in my garden and produced a wonderful tomato.
The cucumber fence needs more supports, as does the cage for kole crops and eggplants and bell peppers. They were built with plastic fencing and it sags too much on 8’ centers. Next year they will be on 4’ centers.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
My friend, Ray Moore, talked about Swiss Chard all summer. I had not grown any for years; but we really liked it. I picked enough to make a mess when mixed with mustard, turnip greens, and the few surviving kale leaves. It was delicious. It tastes like a very mild version of spinach.
The figs are ripening fast; and they are extremely sweet. If you want to look back and see how much I chopped them back last year, you will be amazed at how the trees have grown. I will publish pictures before I cut them this year. They are huge.
Fall is fun. I am dismantling all the weird structures that were built in the spring and planning to learn from my mistakes. The watermelon fence was a great success. It needs a finer mesh wire to keep the watermelons from hanging through. I am satisfied with the tomato fence; but I am not satisfied with the tomatoes. This was the worst year we have had. The fence will be constructed going North South next year as opposed to East West. The Porterhouse Beefsteak from Burpee will be eliminated. It makes a big early tomato. The tomato just doesn’t have much flavor. Next year will be Marglobe, Better Boy, and an unidentified variety that volunteered in my garden and produced a wonderful tomato.
The cucumber fence needs more supports, as does the cage for kole crops and eggplants and bell peppers. They were built with plastic fencing and it sags too much on 8’ centers. Next year they will be on 4’ centers.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
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