Category Archives: vegetables

Garden to Table – Kale

Uncategorized, vegetables

Kale is a cool weather crop. We planted our kale plants behind the snow peas in the northwest corner of one of our two 4’x4′ raised beds. By the time the snow peas faded from the summer heat, the tomatoes (on the southeast side of the snowpeas) were tall enough to offer the Kale the same protection from the intense afternoon sun. The Kale receives dappled morning sun, a brief hit of noon sun, is then in light shade because of the neighbor’s tree and finally in full shade from our fence on the west side of the Lot. We are up to our ears in kale right now. Next year we will be planting two kale plants instead of four.

Like romaine lettuce, kale can be harvested througout the season without removing the whole plant from the garden. Simply remove the outer leaves as they develop, taking care not to disturb the budding center/top of the plant. Leave at least 4 to 6 leaves so the plant can nourish itself as it continues to grow. Larger leaves are great in soups, while the smaller (younger) leaves can be used in salads. I read that kale tastes even better after the first frost because it has a sweeter, more intense flavor.

Anyway, I consulted all-recipes.com to find dishes with kale in the ingredients list. Tonight we tried one of the two recipes I found, using kale, peppers and thai basil from our garden. We tweaked the recipe a bit. The original recipe can be found here. This is the way we prepared the dish.

Sweet Pepper Pasta Toss with Kale

Ingredients:

  • 1 (8 ounce) package orzo
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 cups roughly chopped kale
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh thai basil
  • 1 pinch crushed red pepper
  • salt to taste
  • 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
  2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in red pepper, yellow pepper, and garlic. Cook 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Add kale and basil. Cook until kale is wilted.
  4. Season with crushed red pepper and salt.
  5. In a large bowl, toss cooked pasta with skillet mixture and feta cheese to serve.

Veggies Version 1.0

planting, spring, vegetables

We’ve done it! My Better Half and I planted our first round of vegetables in the new, raised beds we built last fall. Putting our trust in Weather.com, we made sure to head outside first thing in the morning to plant. That afternoon, our area was to receive some spring rainshowers.

After reading about a few different backyard, veggie gardening techniques, we settled on a mix of Lasagna Gardening and Square Foot Gardening. Lasagna Gardening allows us to build up beds and control the contents of our soil without having to drastically amend it. We utilized Square Foot Gardening for planning and planting the two 4’x4′ beds.

Here is what we planted, direct sowing the seed into the beds:

  • Teton Hybrid Spinach
  • Red Cored Chantenay Carrots
  • French Breakfast Radish
  • Green Onions
  • Detroit Dark Red Beets
  • Hybrid Granex Yellow PRR Onions
  • Melting Sugar Snow Peas

When planning/planting, we tried to take into consideration which spaces in the garden can be reused within one growing season. For example, if all goes well, the radishes will be ready to harvest in 24 days. This space will then be free to plant warmer weather crops.

Also, some veggies like the radish, spinach and snow peas prefer the cooler weather. It is recommended these vegetables be planted in early spring and then again in late summer.

Finally, when planning the positions of the plants, we tried to take into consideration how sunlight would change over the growing season. Some plants are taller or grow upward as vines, possibly throwing shadows on the bed. There is also a large tree in our neighbor’s yard that is currently without leaves, but in a month will be blocking some late afternoon sun for at least one of the beds.

We’ve tried to prepare for our adventure into vegetable gardening, but I’m sure we’ll still learn a lot. I’m wondering what the skunk will think when she visits our backyard for the first time since her winter nap.

“What’s this? A salad bar just for me?! You shouldn’t have.”