I’ve had kale, radishes, red mustard, chard arugula, and buttercrunch, oak leaf and romaine lettuce, and mizuna since March. I planted starts in early March in my raised cedar box, which has a “lights,” or a pair of lids with clear plastic panels that allow light to pass through while keeping the starts frost-free and warm. When they needed rain, I removed the lights, replacing them in the late afternoon.
By eating our salads and harvesting kale for soups from my box, I’ve saved a lot of money. No more throwing out partially-used boxes of lettuce; it’s fresh and nutritious.
Have you ever wondered how nutritious your vegetables are? Most vegetables are refrigerated during the shipping process before they reach store shelves. Then, they go to your refrigerator while they wait to be used. The Science Daily (www.sciencedaily.com) points out that vegetables such as spinach can lose 40 percent or more of its nutritional value from eight days of refrigerated storage. Most home refrigerators are set to about 40 degrees; this cooler setting buys you an extra day. Most shipping trucks are refrigerated at warmer temperatures, in the effort to save fuel and costs. Those warmer temps of 60 or even 58 degrees cause nutrient values to be lost twice as fast. By the time that spinach reaches your table it may not have any nutrient value left. Cutting it from your garden is hands-down not only more nutritious but flavorful and better for your health and your children’s.
Even if you start your plants from seeds now you will lose growing time. Instead, go today for organic vegetable starts from a local source, like Root Connection on Redmond-Woodinville Road. Organic starts can also still be found at some grocery stores, such as Whole Foods, Top and Safeway. Call before you go to save time.
Choose vegetables that bear a lot in a short amount of time, such as radishes, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes such as Marzano or a cherry tomato such as Sweet Millions or Sweet Hundreds. Slicing tomatoes mature in over 100 days and our growing season is not that long unless you provide shelter. Hot peppers such as jalapenos have a better chance surviving curious deer if you plant them in your landscape. Ask questions and try something new.
And, finally, herbs can be planted in pots or sprinkled in the landscape as border plants at the front of the bed. Have you ever tried pesto made with fresh cilantro, Italian parsley, almonds, garlic, Parmigiano Reggiano, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice? Add a stream of olive oil until you have an emulsion. You simply won’t believe the flavor.
Get going or you will miss the abundance of summer. Happy gardening!
Nancy Tom is an environmental horticulturist trained at Merritt College in Oakland, Calif. and LWTC in Kirkland. She has been in business since 2000 with Down-to-Earth Gardens, Inc. Her projects can be seen at downtoearthgardens.com and she can be reached at 425-736-0420.
