Sweet Honey Mustard Kale Chips!

Hey Everyone!

Simply Delightful!

I hope that many have had a chance to enjoy the post on kale and are considering growing or enjoying this delightful and healthy green!  It was so exciting to check Bed 29 yesterday and stumble upon the pleasant surprise of some dino kale being ready to harvest.  Although a small bunch, as the plants are just starting to produce, it is the perfect amount for a tasty batch of kale chips.

It is often easy to find a wealth of recipes for the chips that have the traditional salty flair, but the need for something on the sweeter side of things was more to the craving at hand.  This is a wonderful recipe and lends itself well to either dino kale or one of the curly green varieties.

Tuscan or Dino Kale massaged with
 honey & extra-light olive oil

Sweet Honey Mustard Kale Chips

One large bunch fresh harvested kale

1 1/2 tablespoons of your favorite honey

1 tbsp. Bertolli Extra Light Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. ground dry mustard

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Fresh ground sea salt to taste

To prepare kale for chips, wash under cold running water. Allow the kale to dry completely on paper towels.  This is a crucial step when preparing chips made from greens.  Kale that is not completely dry results in chips that do not bake evenly.  It can also lead to chips with a soggy texture, lacking all palatable qualities.

While the chips are drying, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Many recipes call for baking chips at 400 degrees.  I find that 325 works the best for dino kale and 325 - 350 degrees works the best for the curly green varieties, depending on the size of the torn pieces.

In a medium bowl, mix the honey and olive oil into a smooth paste-like texture.

In a small bowl, mix the ground dry mustard and garlic powder, set aside.

When the kale is completely dry, de-stem with a knife and tear into irregular pieces.  Each piece should be about one and a half inches in size.  Add the prepared kale to the honey and olive oil paste.  Massage thoroughly until all pieces are coated well; their appearance should become shiny green in color.  I wear disposable gloves for this step as it is quite sticky.

Turned and ready for an extra dash of
 dry mustard and garlic powder!

Take one-half of the mustard/garlic powder mix and sprinkle on top of the kale.  Massage again until thoroughly and evenly dispersed.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place kale chips in a single layer making sure the pieces do not touch.

Place on center rack in oven and bake 7 minutes.  Remove at the 7-minute mark and flip over all chips, again making sure the edges do not touch.

Sprinkle the remaining mustard/garlic powder mix over the warm chips.  Return to oven and bake another 5 - 7 minutes or until desired crispness.  If your pieces are larger than one and a half inches it may take additional time to become crispy in texture.  You want the chips barely beginning to brown as a general rule of thumb.

Transfer to serving dish and sea salt to taste if desired.  A little sea salt goes a long way on kale chips. One or two dashes will do an entire cookie sheet.

One large bunch usually makes two cookie sheets and most often serves four.  Store uneaten chips in an airtight container for no more than a few days.

Hope you enjoy,

Denise, Beds 25 & 29

Caption the Photo Contest!

Hey Everyone,

                                                                                                                                       Photo #1 - 

We need a caption!

It has been awhile since we have had a guessing game or contest so how about a little fun?   "Caption the Photo Contest" sounds like a plan!  Here is how it works.

Before you are three photos that were taken at Green Meadows Community Garden.  One prize will be awarded for the best caption to each of the pictures appearing in this post.  Simply write your captions, including the photo number, along with your bed number in the post a comment section below.

(i.e. Photo #1 - Is there anything on TV besides the squirrel channel?  Denise, Beds 25 & 29)

          Photo #2 -

I need a caption!

We will choose the best caption for each photo and award a prize to that person during the week of November 10th.
                                                           

Bring your sarcasm, unique wit, and/or a funny bone. Please keep in mind we do have children reading our blog, so any use of profanity is prohibited, deemed inappropriate, and will be excluded from the contest.

Have fun and be sure to enter as often as you like.  All entries must be submitted by November 9th at 5:00 p.m.  You can't win if you don't play.................

                                                                                       Photo #3 -

I need a caption!

If for any reason, you experience difficulty getting your entry on the blog, just let us know and we will be happy to assist.

The contest is open to all gardeners, Green Meadows volunteers, and their immediate family!

Enjoy the competition and as always,

Happy Gardening,

Denise, Beds 25 & 29
Vicki, Bed 41

Christmas Bell Pepper Seeds

Hey Everyone,

Dave and Diane Ochala of Bed 15 are so kind to share some of the seeds from their unique Christmas Bell Pepper plants.  They are in the shed clearly marked for you to help yourself.  If you haven't had a chance to stroll by their bed and view, the plants are putting on a spectacular show of red and green as they mature.

Saving pepper seeds:

Christmas Bell Pepper

Allow seeds to thoroughly dry on paper towels or a coffee filter for two to three weeks.  Pepper seeds do not require any special type of cleaning. Once dry, they are ready for storage.

On average, pepper seeds will store for 2 - 3 years if they are in airtight containers placed in a cool dark location.

Prior to planting, seeds should be soaked in water held at 125 degrees for about 30 minutes. This will kill any disease contained within the seed.  For experienced gardeners, you may want to replace the water with compost tea and bio-prime on a 12/12 schedule.  This will inoculate the plants with beneficial bacillus, mycorrhizae, and trichoderma fungi.  Plants should be started indoors during late winter, or 8 - 10 weeks before the last frost date.  For our area, that is most often April 15th.

Thanks a bunch for sharing Dave and Diane!

Happy Gardening,

Denise, Beds 25 & 29

Medication Disposal Day - Saturday October 26

picture from the CobbLine Newsletter

If you don't subscribe to CobbLine, the weekly eNewsletter that is sent out, you miss out on hearing about important community efforts. This weekend  on Saturday ONLY between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm they are having a Medication Disposal Day.

Everyone needs to weed out and purge medications from time to time - over the counter and prescription as well as vitamins. But how do you properly dispose of them? Tossing them in the trash is unsafe. Flushing them down the toilet is also unsafe and bad for the environment when it gets into the rivers and water table.

The best way to dispose of unwanted medications is take them to one of Cobb County's Medication Disposal Day's. You just drive up and hand it over. You don't even have to get out of the vehicle. The first time I went, I took stuff from my house, my mom's and my sister's.

If you have time this Saturday I hope you take advantage of this opportunity to purge your medicine cabinet in a safe way. 


First Freeze/Frost of the Year

Freeze Warning! Freeze Warning!

If you have baby plants, just put out tender transplants, or even not so tender plants....this post is for YOU!  Time to start checking the weather every day for low temperatures.

Be sure and water well Friday to give your plants as much help as you can before the cold weather. Actually, give them a good drink on Wednesday as well since the low is supposed to be 37 on Thursday morning. The more open and exposed a garden area is, the higher chance of frost. In fact, frost typically occurs when the temperature reaches 34 or 35 degrees at Green Meadows.

Saturday morning the low is predicted to be 29 degrees. Your peppers and tomatoes will definitely freeze to a pulp with no protection so be sure and harvest what you can even if they are green so they will ripen slowly in the house. Lettuce won't hold up well without protection. Neither will your sugar/snow peas which definitely need frost protection. You can try to cover the tomatoes/peppers but it depends on how long it is cold as to whether it will work.

If you have brand new seedlings you definitely need to cover and fix the cover so it doesn't blow off and expose the tender growth. If those tender plants are exposed they will get frost bite or even get killed.

This picture shows several different kind of frost covers that were used Fall of 2012

Below are links to several blog posts explaining how to use different methods of creating/using frost covers.

Vicki's Frost Cover Method

Denise Frost Cover Method

Simplest Type of Frost Cover 

Spotlight on a Superfood - Kale!

Hey Everyone,

Tuscan or Dino Kale grown by
Carol Hanak, Bed 22

Walking through the garden it is easy to spot different cultivars of one of the best superfoods out there, kale. Until the Middle Ages, kale was one of the most commonly grown vegetables in all of Europe with cultivation dating back over 2000 years.  The Dig for Victory campaign during the WW II era highly encouraged the growing of kale as it was easy to bring to harvest and it supplemented many of the important nutrients missing from the diets of those on rations.

Kale is closely related to collards and both are members of the cabbage family.  In fact, kale and collards are actually the primitive headless forms of cabbage.  The splendor of a kale plant is quite diverse and whether a delightful ornamental or tasty edible in the garden, the plants are able to withstand moderate freezes and can tolerate temperatures in the teens before requiring protection from the elements.  However, if hard freezes are sudden, before the plant has had time to adjust to the arrival of harsh weather, it is highly recommended to go ahead and cover.

Red Russian Kale immediately left of the scarecrow
grown by Mike & Sue Plumb, Bed 30

The most popular varieties for the home gardener are Red Russian, Curly Green, and Tuscan or Dino Kale. The Dino Kale is the sweetest and nuttiest of the bunch, with the Curly Green having a tenancy to be somewhat bitter, and the Red Russian falling somewhere in between.  By choosing the smallest leaves to avoid bitterness and allowing the plants to experience cold temperatures, including several frosts, the flavors only improve.  Harvesting after exposure to cold weather and frost ensures that some of the plants starches turn into sugars. Yummy!

For the health conscious, this delightful plant certainly packs a punch and it is easy to see why it tops the charts as one of the world's healthiest and most nutrient rich vegetables.  According to the ANDI (Aggregate Nutrient Density Index) scores, kale shares a three-way tie for being one of the healthiest greens available, outperforming spinach, which places number five on the list.  Per calorie, kale has more iron than beef, more calcium than milk, and 10 times more Vitamin C than spinach.  Heads up Popeye, Olive Oyl is throwing out your spinach and fixing you something even better.

Winterbour or Curly Green Kale
 grown by Vicki Williams in Jane Curry's Bed 2

Scientists have known for years that the high levels of antioxidants found in kale work incredibly well at disarming free radicals before they damage cell membranes and DNA.  In recent years, kale has gained a lot of attention as research now shows its phytonutrients work at a deeper level detoxifying and cleansing the body of harmful compounds.  It also has powerful effects at combating several types of cancer and providing both heart and eye health. Life Extension Magazine (known for publishing sound health information to improve and extend human life) has an excellent article by Stephen Laifer citing the powerful health benefits of kale. It is readily available on their website and is only the tip of the iceberg if you perform a "Google" search for the health benefits of kale.

In doing some research to write this post, kale has amazing value when grown as a staple crop for use in the kitchen.  It is a substitute for spinach in any recipe calling for spinach and utilizing lemon juice when cooking brings out the phytonutrients, further enhancing the health benefits.  It is actually quite versatile and the first link below shows how to tame its bitterness and use it several different ways.  Be careful though, kale chips are downright addicting trust me on this one.  Store newly harvested kale for use as you would fresh cut flowers.  Re-cut the bottom stems and place them in a cup or jar of water.  They will keep 1-2 days on the counter or up to five in the refrigerator.  Just keep in mind, the longer it is stored the more bitter it becomes.

Tuscan or Dino Kale grown by
 Denise Kovacs, Bed 29

I have placed several wonderful links below with descriptions to make navigating easy.  I hope you enjoy learning about something so healthy and easy to grow.  The fall window for direct sowing kale from seed is past; however, transplants are readily available at the local nurseries.  The Dino Kale at Pike's is beautiful and they also have some nice varieties of fresh lettuces currently available. Elrod's also has Curly Green and Dino Kale as of last week.  For those sowing in spring, see me when the time arrives as I have seed available to share.



Superfoods Video, Episode #5:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNqNg1lYsdA - link to one of the best videos on kale.  Currently a favorite on my bookmark's bar!  Shows a variety of ways to prepare, together with some wonderful recipes, including kale pesto.

General Growing Information:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/kale-an-easy-beginners-guide-to-growing.html?page=3 - link to a basic growing guide for the care and harvest of kale.

http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/kale/all-about-kale-article10234.html - link to Burpee's Kale growing guide.

Science and Health Related:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthy-eating/health-starts-here/resources-and-tools/top-ten-andi-scores - link to the ANDI scores, kudos to kale!

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/jul2008_Kale-Cancer-Protection-Healthy-Eye-Heart-Benefits_01.htm  - link to the Life Extension Magazine article on the powerful health benefits of kale for those who enjoy researched based data.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38 - link to the George Mateljan Foundation, which has a nice article on kale as one of the world's healthiest foods, including recipes.  The Poached Eggs over Sauteed Greens has me re-thinking breakfast!

Happy Gardening,

Denise, Beds 25&29

Last Night's Rain

Tremendous amount of rain!

Hey Everyone,

We received just under two and one half inches of rain in the gauge last night. 

The garden is extremely beautiful today and the plants all look quite happy!

Happy Gardening,

Denise, Beds 25 & 29

Oktoberfest at Green Meadows Today

Green Meadows Community Garden

 is definitely 

having an Oktoberfest today,

Sunday, October 6^th

to celebrate

Our First Annual Oktoberfest

from 4 to 6 p.m.

We’ll have brats, pretzels & pot roast,

plates, utensils and iced tea.

Bring your favorite side dish

or  dessert

and a chair to sit on.

We have door prizes!

You could win a coveted Green Meadows 

Community Garden Water Bottle.

But you have to be here to win.

Never Buy Green Onions Again!

Hey Everyone,

I was checking out some of Larry Hall's gardening videos last evening on You Tube and this is one of the best planting ideas to try.  Some of the free onion sets in the shed would work wonderfully for this application.  The smallest size would be perfect!

Has anyone done this before that he or she could post their results or share any tips?

The first link is to growing green onions repeatedly from the same sets or bunches and the second link is to a video of his progress.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8E8V7mgk4w - Link to Larry's video on growing green onions year round from a single purchase.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AokYz6MLihc - Link to a video on Larry's progress and how well it worked.

I plan to try this in bed 25 experimenting with the white, yellow, and red onion sets.  It will be interesting to see if any one variety works better over another.  I do hope you will stop by and check out the progress!

Happy Gardening,

Denise, Beds 25 & 29

Free Onion Sets!

Hey Everyone,

Fall planting season is upon us and I thought it would be nice to share some onion sets.  They are located in the shed and you are more than welcome to help yourself.

Yellow and Red Onion Sets

Here is a nice link to growing onions with planting instructions on page two.  If I can be of any help, please don't hesitate to ask.

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/onions-growing-guide - link to onion growing guide.

Happy Fall,

Denise, Beds 25 & 29

Rejuvenating The Soil For Fall - Garden Soil Rejuvenation - Option 2 of 3

Ready To Go!

Hey Everyone,

Garden Soil Rejuvenation is one of my favorite methods for restoration and maintenance of the garden, especially when disease and pests have been present.  This method is for those that want to build their soil naturally over time, starve pathogens by rotating crops within the bed, keep their gardens actively producing, and protect the integrity of the soil food web by keeping it alive and nourished.  Many gardeners believe that building good soil over time is the key to success for not only growing strong vigorous plants, but also growing vegetables with greater nutrient densities.  This requires almost a commitment of stewardship to the dirt.

Option Number Two:  GARDEN SOIL REJUVENATION

Garden Soil Rejuvenation reduces the amount of disease pathogens in the soil by using high quality organic matter, mulches, crop rotation, and simple compost teas to solve problems.   It is a form of restoration and maintenance that can be of great benefit if done properly.  The process is simple.

• Remove a small portion of soil from the bed, preferably from the diseased area.  This instantly removes a substantial portion of undesirable pathogens.  This soil may be re-used as fill dirt in non-vegetable areas. 
• Remove all plant debris and roots from the bed that can potentially harbor pathogens. Dispose of these properly and do not compost any diseased plant material.  This is also an excellent time to check your soil thoroughly for any undesirable pests and remove as needed. 
• Add a substantial influx of high quality organic matter from as many different sources as possible. Most references will recommend at least five sources for the optimum number to hit. Keep in mind that all commercial compost is the by-product of one industry or another; therefore, you need several different kinds to achieve the diversity of micro-organisms in the soil in order for the good microbes to fight off the bad.  A strong army of beneficial organisms can suppress a small army of harmful ones. Homemade compost is always the best, but in its absence, there are several excellent products out there to utilize.  If memory serves me correctly, Gardens Alive even carries one especially designed for fighting blight pathogens in the soil.
• Mulch all new plantings to provide a ground to plant barrier against disease and to provide food for all the good soil organisms you have just added.
• Rotate all new plantings to starve any remaining pathogens naturally.  Each year you are able to rotate a crop to a different place in your bed affords more protection against the same diseases returning.  As an example, Early Blight starts as a soil-borne pathogen and tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and potatoes should not be grown in the same spot next year. One year of rotation is some protection, two years more, and so forth.
• Use compost teas to inoculate the soil and plants as they contain high concentrations of beneficial microbes that will compete with pathogens for food and space.  Teas form protective barriers around the roots of plants and work incredibly well as a barrier on the leaves.  In addition, they have beneficial nutrients that go to work immediately providing food to nourish your plants at any stage of growth.
• Fertilize appropriately.  Remember that organic fertilizers with lower NPK numbers are safer for the soil food web. Avoid over fertilization as this can have an adverse effect by tying up the exact nutrients your plants need to flourish as well as cause herbicide injury.

Pros:  Encouraging soil life in addition to crop rotation is the easiest most dramatic way to improve and solve many garden problems. Enhancing the soil with an influx of organic matter will provide instant results and go a long way to building a foundation for producing healthier plants with greater nutrient densities.  Using this method over time will significantly reduce your pests and disease problems.  Much as you are able to fight off the common cold when your health is at its best, plants are better able to withstand pests and disease pressures when they are at their optimum as well.  

Cons:  The only cons to this method are the additional costs associated with purchasing organic matter.
Most bags of organic matter are priced between $5.00 and $8.00, however, by home composting, buying in bulk, utilizing free coffee grounds and leaves, etc., you are able to reduce your costs significantly.

The links below are for your convenience and contain valuable information from previous posts on prepping garden beds and making simple compost teas.  I do want to mention that the soil recipe used in the linked post is not enough organic matter for the amount of disease many experienced in their gardens.  It is more of a standard prep recipe to build the soil when no disease has been present.  For example, this fall I utilized much the same ingredients but intensified the amounts to add a greater influx of microbes to the bed. The addition of fertilizer remains the same at standard usage rates.

http://greenmeadowscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/2013/03/prepping-garden-beds-for-spring.html - link to prepping garden beds.

http://greenmeadowscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/2013/04/making-worm-tea.html - link to making simple teas.

For anyone who likes to do additional reading, Teaming with Microbes by Jeff Lowenfel & Wayne Lewis is an excellent technical reference on the soil food web and the importance it plays in your garden.

Hope this is of great help,

Denise, Beds 25 & 29