![]() ![]() ![]() The final must-grow leafy green is turnip greens, which are simply the leafy tops of turnip roots. There might be a few leaves to pick before winter, but if not, they’ll sit tight – while I sit patiently – til spring. To plant, I’ll simply set plants about 12-18in (30-45cm) apart within the rows, setting the next row a further 18in (45cm distant). I’ll be planting mine to follow on from an earlier crop of peas, but first I’ll amend the soil with a top-up of well-rotted compost. You’ll often find ready-to-plant spring cabbages for sale in garden centers – great if you’re after just a few plants to perk up springtime suppers. Plant collards and spring greens now for plentiful leafy greens in spring They’ll then grow on and off throughout the winter, before forging ahead in spring to give a harvest of tasty greens from the second half of spring. Late summer’s a good time to sow them, ready for planting out a month later. Just like kale they’re loaded with nutrition.Ĭollards and spring greens love a moist, fertile soil that’s well-drained. Collards and Spring GreensĬollards, spring greens or indeed any looser-leafed variety of cabbage is a quicker-growing, easier alternative to heading types of cabbage. I love the ‘Cavolo Nero’ or ‘Black Tuscan’ style of kale, but there are plenty of other frilled or wavy-leafed kales to try, so don’t be shy to pick and mix. Pick the leaves individually as soon as plants have reached a reasonable size – say a foot or two (30-60cm) tall. It has to be said: there’s no more handsome leafy green than kale, and its good looks are more than matched by taste! I love it lightly fried off with a pinch of salt, or even dehydrated to make kale crisps. Kale can be dehydrated to make nutrient-packed kale crisps To help them along, top up the soil with a thin layer of compost and cover them with insect mesh until cabbage white butterflies clear off later in autumn. Kale’s an ideal crop to plant after earlier crops have been lifted. Plant them about a foot and a half (45cm) apart both ways. KaleĪll hail the kale! This nutrient-dense leafy green is the real hero of the winter months, offering its crinkled leaves throughout, pausing only for the very coldest months. ![]() Pick individual leaves regularly to delay bolting and keep plants cropping for longer. Protect spinach from the coldest winter weather or, if winters are severe in your neck of the woods, sow into plug trays indoors in late summer before planting out once it’s warmed up a bit in spring. Spinach grows well from a late summer sowing Or start seeds somewhere cool and shady before planting out into their final positions. Help this cool-season crop germinate in warm weather by watering into the seed drill before sowing to ensure a cool, damp environment around the seeds. Sow seeds direct in rows about 8in (20cm) apart, thinning in stages to leave plants a similar distance apart. Late summer is the perfect time to make sowings that will give a few leaves to pick come autumn, then more leaves the moment things warm up again next spring. Spinach really is a super leafy green: quick-growing, versatile, and surprisingly hardy. Fry them, steam them, or whizz them up in a smoothie loaded with other greens. They taste just like spinach and are chock-full of goodness – they even contain a compound shown to boost the production of serotonin, the body’s natural mood lifter. ![]() Raise seedlings so you have them ready to replace earlier generations of chardīeets are very closely related to chard, which means their leaves make good eating too. These should put on plenty of growth, sit out the winter, then continue growing next spring. It’s worth having seedlings at the ready to transplant into a new patch of ground elsewhere. If they do bolt, cut back the flower stalks and harvest what you can. For this reason, plant chard after your last frost, keep plants well-watered in hot weather, and set up some shade in extreme heat. While bolting won’t make the leaves inedible, it does mean there’s less to pick. Plants do tend to bolt (run to seed) in hot weather, and as a delayed reaction to a cold snap soon after planting. First up is my personal favorite: Swiss chard! It’s a really hard-working vegetable, giving up repeated cuts of leaves throughout the growing season. ![]()
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