Re: looking forward to 2014 spring

southern gardener 2/20/2014, 2:06 am

Rose: your son should be very proud of that root system!! awesome. Don't you just love when the kids are "into" this stuff?
Kids are amazing!!

FamilyGardening 2/20/2014, 2:17 am

SG he loves gardening!!.....he even said *root system* and came running inside to show me..... I wonder how many 2nd graders would know what that even means?..... Razz

...or be excited about it?....I told him to go ahead and throw it to the dogs because they LOVE eating the old stalks of Cole crops.....he didn't want to because he wants to play with it....Ha ha ha....he is in to swords and such and the stalk of his Dino kale was pretty long and firm....so he is going to make it into something and left it on the outside table for another sunny day....... Laughing

I love him!

hugs
rose

**sanderson** 2/20/2014, 2:22 am

SG, Kudos to your son!

southern gardener 2/20/2014, 11:55 am

FamilyGardening wrote:SG he loves gardening!!.....he even said *root system* and came running inside to show me..... I wonder how many 2nd graders would know what that even means?..... ...or be excited about it?....I told him to go ahead and throw it to the dogs because they LOVE eating the old stalks of Cole crops.....he didn't want to because he wants to play with it....Ha ha ha....he is in to swords and such and the stalk of his Dino kale was pretty long and firm....so he is going to make it into something and left it on the outside table for another sunny day....... I love him!

hugs
rose

That's awesome. Something about little boys, everything is a gun or sword! I'm super proud of him Smile

FamilyGardening 2/20/2014, 2:37 pm

Thank you Sanderson and SG our boy is pretty special Very Happy

Turan keep us posted on how your asparagus does, this is our third year and so far we have only had a few very thin asparagus show up...we too are hoping to at least nibble on something this year Razz

thanks for the picture of your red spinach....weird that yours stays green....I can see a bit of red in the pic though.....its pretty tall too....is the one in your pic going to seed? or do they get that tall?

happy gardening
rose

**Turan** 2/20/2014, 3:08 pm

FamilyGardening wrote:I can see a bit of red in the pic though.....its pretty tall too....is the one in your pic going to seed? or do they get that tall?

happy gardening
rose

I planted Red Orach in1993 and that year and the next few years it was a rich dark red. Every year I made sure that any green leafed ones did not go to seed but every year there were more and more of the green and fewer of the red. Then my sister visited one summer and pulled it ALL up thinking it was a weed. Since then what comes up is all this green with sorta red stems. It starts as 2 leaves, becomes a rosette and then starts growing up. At the stage in that picture (June) it has just started to grow up and hte leaves are still pretty tender and good for anything. When in flower it will be 3' though I have had it as tall as 6' growing in the edge of the compost pile. The flowers are kind of odd and make a sort of frothy pink on top, they look related to lambs quarter.

Marc Iverson 2/20/2014, 9:24 pm

Turan ... do you know how tall lamb's quarter gets? I have a bunch planted and am curious how big it gets and how big it's best to eat it at.

**Turan** 2/20/2014, 9:50 pm

Marc Iverson wrote:Turan ... do you know how tall lamb's quarter gets? I have a bunch planted and am curious how big it gets and how big it's best to eat it at.

I have never seen it intentionally planted in a garden. Usually it is growing in non ideal situations and gets 2-3'. I have only eaten it at the young tender age less than a foot I guess, before the stem gets hard. I would suspect that you can still eat the leaves as it matures though. Lambs quarters are fairly closely related to quinoa, so if they bolt harvest the seeds to eat (after washing the saponinds off) Very Happy

Marc Iverson 2/20/2014, 10:02 pm

It's actually sold in packets here. I got mine from Botanical Interests, but have seen it advertised in a couple of other catalogues too. Sometimes as mache or corn salad. But I have a weed everywhere that looks so much like it I'm half-tempted to eat it on the off-chance it won't kill me. I've only got my inch tall seedlings for reference though.

So you've seen it up to a foot? Wow. Is there an ideal length you think it's best eaten at?

FamilyGardening 2/20/2014, 10:50 pm

Marc Iverson wrote:It's actually sold in packets here. I got mine from Botanical Interests, but have seen it advertised in a couple of other catalogues too. Sometimes as mache or corn salad. But I have a weed everywhere that looks so much like it I'm half-tempted to eat it on the off-chance it won't kill me. I've only got my inch tall seedlings for reference though.

So you've seen it up to a foot? Wow. Is there an ideal length you think it's best eaten at?

I haven't eaten any lamb quarters before, and didn't know it would go by the name mache or corn salad......which we never have eaten either.....we purchased some mache seeds to try for winter use this year....it will be fun to compare growth and how they look and taste to one another....I know Lambs quarters is thought of as a weed LOL so who knows maybe our house already has it growing someplace Very Happy

hubby and I want to get a book on what's editable growing wild here in the PNW and teach our children

hugs
rose

**Turan** 2/20/2014, 10:56 pm

Marc Iverson wrote:It's actually sold in packets here. I got mine from Botanical Interests, but have seen it advertised in a couple of other catalogues too. Sometimes as mache or corn salad. But I have a weed everywhere that looks so much like it I'm half-tempted to eat it on the off-chance it won't kill me. I've only got my inch tall seedlings for reference though.

So you've seen it up to a foot? Wow. Is there an ideal length you think it's best eaten at?

Corn Mache is a totally different plant, Valerianella locusta and is native to Europe. Lambs quarter is Chenopodium berlandieri and various closely related species and is native to the Americas.

LAMBS QUARTER GREENS Many people see Lambs Quarters as nothing more than a common weed, never realizing that a tasty and nutritious green vegetable could be enjoyed, free for the picking. Lambs quarter can frequently be found growing in vegetable gardens, on disturbed soil, and along the fringes of fields and banks. The plants can grow to about[b] four feet[/b] in height with multiple branches forming off of a main squarish looking central stem. Lambs quarter leaves often have a white, pollen-like substance coating their undersides. Cooking Delicious Lambs Quarter Greens The leaves and stems are edible and absolutely delicious, with a flavor that can be compared to spinach or chard with an earthy, mineral rich taste. It's difficult to describe, but if you enjoy leafy greens such as kale, collards, and spinach you'll love lambs quarter and enjoy the change of pace provided by its distinct flavor. When cooking lambs quarter the easiest preparation is to simply steam the leaves and stems in a small amount of water until tender. The greens will cook very quickly and turn a dark green color as they shrink down during cooking. The cooked greens are delicious just as they are with no additional seasoning or flavoring necessary. The young leaves and smaller stems can also be eaten raw in salads. Or you can experiment by substituting lambs quarter for spinach or chard in some of your favorite recipes. wrote:

http://www.localharvest.org/lambs-quarter-seeds-heirloom-C24142

Marc Iverson 2/20/2014, 11:31 pm

Ah, okay, thanks! I see it is also called "lamb's lettuce," which I guess I got confused by. That and corn salad and mache are the same plant. Apparently it's also called Rapunzel! I bought it under the name mache. Certainly the leaves look much different from lamb's quarters.

FamilyGardening 2/21/2014, 1:08 am

ah.....mache and corn salad I have seen together before.....thanks for the info Turan!

happy gardening
rose ....who is going to go looking for lambs quarters to take a taste test.....sometime this year when we go out looking for wild edibles Very Happy

**Turan** 2/21/2014, 11:37 am

I got curious about my statement that orach blooming reminds me of lambs quarter. It is related but not as closely as quinoa and lambs quarter (those cross breed). Orach is one of the Atriplex genus, sub family Chenopodioideae (goose foot in latin Laughing

) of the Amaranth family. No wonder they have similar flower structures. I wonder if I could collect the orach seeds and use them like quinoa, like one can with lambs quarter.

Interesting read on orach genus at wiki. They go into the evolution and distribution of the various species and other cool stuff. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orach

FamilyGardening 2/28/2014, 3:46 am

couldn't find an older thread to post this... so thought it would be good timing here Very Happy

a really neat way to up pot your new seedlings into larger seedling containers....

the first part is about his exhibition onions and then at the 3:30 mark he shows how he up pots them to a larger pot Very Happy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwoGULBOSwk&list=UU7LrpWo-6sSfIgLDa_Sj2ZQ

reminded me a bit like using soil blocks in a way.....

happy gardening
rose

quiltbea 2/28/2014, 11:59 am

That's a good idea, make a template from the old pot. A perfect home for the new plant when you don't have to pot it deeper. And when you do, do the same thing, but take a spoon or something and dig down a bit deeper into the template hole or maybe bend a cake frosting thingamabob so it squares the corners and you can lift out the excess soil.
Thanks. I enjoyed that.

**Kelejan** 3/1/2014, 8:45 pm

Neat idea: works with any smaller pot, square or round, into a larger pot, square or round. I think even I can remember this.

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