By Denise Seghesio Levine, U. C. Master Gardener of Napa County
Something has changed. When I was growing up and for many years afterward, a plate of greens was always, well, green.
But now, peruse your favorite seed catalogs, take a stroll through local nurseries, spend a morning at a local farmers market or wander down the produce aisle of your favorite grocery store and you'll see “greens” in a veritable rainbow of colors. Greens don't have to be green anymore.
Consider all the new varieties of Swiss chard. Our family garden always included chard. We harvested outer leaves all through the winter for steamed greens or ravioli filling. Fordhook Giant chard, introduced in 1934 by Burpee, dependably supplied us with nutritious greens from autumn through winter. We grew and another variety, Lucullus, which was introduced in a 1912 seed catalog, for its thick white stems and stalks to use in gratins and other sauced or cheesy dishes. Rhubarb Red chard evidenced its relation to the beet family with deep red stalks and veining and deep reddish-green leaves. Alas, the vibrant color diminishes with cooking.
And now we have Rainbow chard. Seed Savers Exchange offers an Australian heirloom mixture of technicolor leaves and stalks of red, purple, yellow, orange and white. Red-stalked chard has deep maroon leaves with crimson stalks. Yellow-gold chard has eye-popping yellow leaves tinged with chartreuse and golden stalks. The colors are gorgeous, crisp, bold.
Another colorful favorite in our garden is Flamingo chard, available from Renee's Garden Seeds. Flamingo boasts bright green leaves with flamingo-pink stalks.
These beautiful vegetables are a wonderful addition to the fall and winter garden not only for the nutritious harvest they provide but also for the spots of color they add to winter beds that can otherwise be a bit dreary. What's more, these colorful varieties retain their vivid hues even after cooking. Their jewel-colored stalks spark up a plate of greens.
Kale is another fall and winter favorite that can bring color and interest to garden beds and kitchen recipes. Russian Red Kale is misnamed in my opinion given its blue-green leaves and lavender-violet stalks. Blue Curled Scotch kale is more accurately named. If you are growing Lacinato kale, also called dinosaur kale, or have purchased it, you know that, compared to a green vegetable, it looks really blue. Lacinato kale is easy to grow and is prized in many traditional Italian recipes. Occasional aphid infestations can be washed off with a blast from the hose, If you want to explore cooking with kale or expand your kale repertoire, take a look at this bread salad recipe, courtesy of Napa's Foodshed restaurant and Rancho Gordo (https://www.ranchogordo.com/blogs/recipes/white-bean-and-kale-panzanella).
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds has one whole page dedicated to “other greens.” Red orach is a pictured star with deep purple-violet leaves, and it is just gorgeous. Related to lambsquarters, a green that gardeners either love or hate, this beautiful 4- to 10-inch small-leaved plant can be used in salads or cooked as a vegetable.
Kale and Swiss chard can be grown as individual plants or in beds. A chard plant can grow over a foot tall, while Lacinato and Red Russian kales can reach three feet or more in height. A single plant may be enough for a small household, although if you cook a lot and want to supply neighbors and friends, a dedicated bed might be in order.
These are hardworking plants, so prepare your garden bed by adding compost, worm castings or alfalfa pellets. Chard can be planted on eight-inch centers while kale needs fifteen inches between plants. If you monitor it and water as needed until the rains start, you will usually have something to harvest within 45 days. Cut or break off the outside leaves and the plants will continue to grow and supply you with greens. And blues and purples and yellows and pinks. Eating greens has never looked so good.
Workshop: UC Master Gardeners of Napa County will hold a workshop on “Bulbs, Rhizomes, Corms and all the Rest” on Saturday, September 22, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at a location to be determined. Bulbs are among the easiest plants to grow, and they deliver welcome color and scent when the winter is dreary. In this workshop, Master Gardeners will showcase a variety of bulbs, rhizomes, corms, tubers and stolons. Learn how to plant several kinds for successive bloom; how to care for, store or divide ones that will bloom again; and even how to force them for a date-specific bloom. Online registration (credit card only); Mail-in/Walk-in registration (check only or drop off cash payment).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
When the Napa County Master Gardeners decided to field-test kale last year, I decided it was finally time try some. Kale comes in many shapes, sizes, colors and textures, and catalogs offer a huge selection of seed.
When you growing plants from seed, you have a wider selection than what the nurseries or “big-box” stores typically carry. What's more, some of the vegetable varieties that the nursery trade grows are chosen for their ability to withstand handling, transport and display, not necessarily for their taste.
Kale is a fast-growing source of greens during our cool season. Most kales are extremely winter hardy and become sweeter with frost. Harvest can continue through winter in Napa County. Kale can be eaten raw in salads or cooked for a side dish, pasta or soup. Many of the colored varieties, including some that we grew in our trial, make attractive ornamental plants.
Harvest leaves from the outside so that the plant can continue to push new leaves from the center. As the plants mature and you remove more outside leaves, the plants can start to look like miniature trees with foliage on top of a long stem.
The field-test committee grew three varieties of kale last fall, all strikingly different.We evaluated each type for productivity, vigor and health, and for flavor and texture, both cooked and uncooked. All three types had high germination rates, ranging from 87 percent to 91 percent.
One variety we grew was 'Nero di Toscana,' a popular type often seen in grocery stores. This Italian heirloom has strap-like leaves about 3 inches and 10 to 18 inches long. It is familiarly known as dinosaur kale because of its crinkly texture.
We also tested 'Red Ursa' kale, a Russian variety. It grows into a gorgeous plant with a fountain of big frilly leaves with purple veins and stems. 'Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch' was our third selection. It is a low-growing, spreading, early kale with tightly curled, blue-green leaves, beautiful enough to be grown solely as an ornamental. The other two varieties rated higher in most categories, but no single variety was the unanimous favorite.
Some field testers found 'Blue Curled Scotch' harder to clean because of its curly leaves, and chewier and stronger in flavor. Others thought 'Red Ursa' was the prettiest and easy to use in cooking and salads. 'Nero di Toscana' generated the most enthusiastic comments and was voted most likely to be planted again. Master Gardeners liked its flavor and found it more tender and productive than the others, although it suffered more damage from cabbage larvae. Row covers helped keep bird damage to a minimum. Other pests that can damage kale include slugs and snails, cutworms, flea beetles, cabbage-root maggots and aphids.
A majority of testers said that they would grow kale again. There was a lot of enthusiasm and recipe-swapping at our meetings, with kale featured in everything from soup to chips to smoothies. Many especially enjoyed kale raw in salads. Testers appreciated that the plants produced for a long time if they harvested only outside leaves.
You can plant kale seed directly in the ground from the third week of July until mid-August. Protect young seedlings from insect damage by using row cover. You can also start kale indoors and set out transplants from the third week of August through mid-September.
Kale likes full sun but can benefit from light shade during hot weather. It prefers consistent moisture but can tolerate drought, although the flavor will suffer. Cool weather slows the damage from pests, making kale easier to grow. To minimize disease, avoid planting kale or other cabbage-family crops in the same location more than once every three to four years. Seed remains viable for up to four years.
Garden Tour: The Master Gardeners of Napa County invite you to attend their sixth garden tour, “Down the Garden Path,” on Sunday, September 13. On this self-guided educational tour, you will see seven gardens owned by Master Gardeners in and around the City of Napa. These gardens illustrate how Napa County Master Gardeners use University of California research-based horticultural information to develop and maintain their own gardens. Tickets: $30 advance / $35 day of event. Purchase tickets here - http://bit.ly/1fqLJZe. Or you can purchase tickets at the Master Gardener office (address below). For more information, call 707-253-4143.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will hold a workshop on “Home Vineyard: Part 2” on Saturday, August 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (with a 30-minute lunch break. Learn what to do and what to look for and how to plan for harvest and crush in the vineyard, testing the must, managing the vines after crush, and preparing for winter and the next growing season. Master Gardeners with home vineyards will present this workshop, and answer your questions. Please bring a sack lunch, comfortable clothes and shoes for walking through the experimental vineyard. Location is the University of California Oakville Experimental Station, 1380 Oakville Grade Road, Napa. Online registration (credit card only)Mail-in registration (cash or check only)
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Raw kale salads with lemon and olive oil or with peanut and ginger dressing are making appearances on restaurant menus. Baked kale chips are a hit with kids. And more cooks than ever before are looking to kale for their winter vitamins.
Kale is a member of the large Brassica oleracea species. Cousins include collards, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. All are commonly referred to as cole crops, from the Latin word caulis, meaning stem or stalk.
Now is a great time to shop for kale seedlings at your local nursery or garden center. More varieties are being offered than ever before as interest and appreciation for this versatile vegetable grows.
Choices include Tuscan kale (also called lacinato, dinosaur kale or black palm) with its bumpy, black-green leaves; ‘Redbor,’ with its frilly purple-red leaves; and Siberian kale, with bright green, smooth leaves. All kales are rich sources of calcium, potassium and Vitamin C. History tells us that kales and wild cabbages have been foraged, cultivated and eaten throughout Europe for more than 3,000 years.
Tuscan kale adds a dramatic component to edible landscapes and is the preferred type for Italian cooking. Its leaves are up to ten inches long and two to three inches wide. As you harvest the leaves from the bottom, the plant gets taller and taller.
‘Redbor’ kale’s gorgeous magenta leaves make a stunning backdrop to orange winter calendulas. Try growing beautiful deep-pink flowering kales in front of a trellis of ‘Old Spice’ sweet peas.
If you prefer your vegetables to be green, consider Siberian kales, which are a little more like collards. ‘Winterbor’ is a deep frilled green and is both beautiful and useful in the kitchen.
Most kales are extremely winter hardy. While kales produce year round in our climate, the first light frost will bring out their sweetness as the leaf cells develop carbohydrates to buffer the plants from the cold. Harvest outer leaves from the bottom up; avoid picking the inner leaves which protect the growing point. Territorial Seed Company recommends washing and then cooling your kale harvest quickly. Keep refrigerated in a plastic bag to maintain freshness.
Kale thrives in well-dug, humus-rich soil with neutral to slightly acidic pH. Cold weather does slow the action of soil microbes, so you might need to add a complete organic fertilizer and some bone meal to your beds when you plant winter crops, just to give the microbes a boost. Always read fertilizer labels and apply as directed.
Vegetables in this family are occasionally subject to aphids. Immediately after planting, cover your crops or seed bed with Reemay or other row cover cloth to keep aphids from getting a hold. If you do discover aphids, you can usually control them with a hard spray of water. Winter crops are not typically as prone to aphid infestations as spring and summer crops are.
If you see little moths fluttering above your kale or other cole crops, look closely for cabbage looper, the larva stage of these moths. Loopers and other worms can eat your crops from the bottom up. Call the Master Gardener Help Desk (see below) for help in identifying and solving the problem.
Baby kale leaves can be harvested as soon as 25 days after planting, although cold temperatures can slow germination. Toss the baby leaves into fresh salads. Larger leaves can be steamed, braised, grilled, used as wrappers, stuffed, roasted and added to soups and stews. Harvested young, tender kale leaves can add color, texture and extra nutrients to winter meals. Seed can be sown successively throughout most of our mild winter.
My daughters taught me their favorite summer camp salad: Wash and dry the kale leaves. Remove the large central rib, then tear the leaves into bite-size pieces or shred. Squeeze fresh lemon juice onto the leaves, and rub the juice into the leaves with your hands until the leaves are wilted and soft. Finish with a drizzle of good olive oil and salt to taste. For other ideas for preparing kale, check www.epicurious.com. The site has 176 recipes for kale.
Open garden: Napa County Master Gardeners welcome the public to visit their demonstration garden at Connolly Ranch on Thursday mornings, from 10:30 a.m. until noon, except the last Thursday of the month. Connolly Ranch is at 3141 Browns Valley Road at Thompson Avenue in Napa. Enter on Thompson Avenue.
Workshop: Join Napa County Master Gardeners for a workshop on “Indoor Gardening” on Saturday, November 9, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Transform a room into a vibrant living space with houseplants. Learn how to use color, texture and pattern for design and how to care for houseplants. The workshop will be held at the Senior Multi-Use Center, 2185 Elliott Drive, American Canyon. Online registration (credit card only) Mail in registration (cash or check).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Cabbage, collards and kale are grown for their leaves, and broccoli and cauliflower for their immature flower heads, but kohlrabi is grown for its stem. It forms a round, crisp globe just above ground, with leaves growing above that. Although the plant is a bit odd-looking, the stem is delicious and can be eaten raw or cooked. In flavor, it is like a mild, sweet broccoli stem or turnip.
Last summer, several Napa County Master Gardeners tried growing kohlrabi in our gardens. Most of us had never grown it before. We chose three varieties: the purple ‘Azure Star’ and two green varieties,‘Superschmelz’ and ‘Kossak F1’.
Harvest typically begins when the stems have reached a diameter of two to four inches. The ‘Superschmelz’ was advertised as being tender up to eight inches in diameter.
Like its better-known siblings, kohlrabi is a cool-season plant. We grew it as a fall crop, starting seed in late summer so the crop would mature in late fall.
Kohlrabi can be seeded directly in the ground or started indoors for transplanting later. Planting seeds directly in the garden in midsummer presents some challenges. It’s hard to keep the soil evenly moist, a must for good germination. Also, insect pests seem to be at their highest numbers in warm weather, and little seedlings are vulnerable. Most of the gardeners decided to start their seeds indoors in containers.
One dilemma for plants started indoors is getting enough sunlight. A sunny window is often not enough. As soon as my seeds sprouted, which took less than a week, I moved the containers outside to a sunny deck with a high patio umbrella. I monitored them daily for moisture and put them in shade on hot afternoons. This strategy turned out to be successful for me, although another Master Gardener lost all the plants on his deck to a critter. We suspect the culprit was a raccoon.
Commercially grown plants are sold at about six weeks old. I started my seedlings in recycled six-packs and transplanted them at four weeks, as they were getting too big. I amended the garden soil with compost and organic fertilizer and made sure the irrigation line was working. Kohlrabi needs a minimum spacing of 12 inches.
I planted 12 of each variety. Since they had been living outside on my deck, the seedlings did not need hardening off. If they had been started in a greenhouse like commercial plants, I would have kept them outside for a week before planting. As you do with tomato plants, you can bury the seedling’s stem deeply to encourage rooting.
As soon as plants are in the ground, pests become an issue. Small plants in my garden are magnets for birds such as towhees and quail, so I used bird netting over the bed.
Kohlrabi attracts the same insect pests that afflict cabbage and broccoli, including several kinds of caterpillars. A floating row cover of lightweight spun fabric allows light and rain to reach plants but excludes insects. Check the underside of leaves for egg cases, and inspect stems for caterpillars. Remove by hand. With attentive monitoring and the help of natural predators, you can keep damage to a minimum.
Aphids can also plague kohlrabi, but a row cover will help. Monitoring for aphids and washing them off the plant with a spray of water keeps the population under control. Since aphids attack the soft parts of the plant, primarily the leaves, you can still get a nice crop in spite of them.
I felt fortunate in my results, eventually harvesting 31 of the original 36 transplants. My first kohlrabi was harvested in October, 74 days after planting the seeds and 54 days after transplanting. These results were consistent with seed-packet information.
The ‘Azure Star’ variety produced kohlrabi two to three inches in diameter, while both green varieties got larger the longer they were in the ground. I noticed no difference in flavor among varieties. I harvested one or two kohlrabi a week through the winter. The last one, large but still tender, was harvested in March.
I found amazing salad and side-dish recipes online, and because the harvest was so well paced, I never got tired of it. Kohlrabi is definitely going to be in my cool-season garden this year.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will host a workshop on “Cool Season Veggies” on Sunday, August 18, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. Grow your own vegetables even when days are short and nights are cold. The key is starting while weather and soil are still warm. Learn which vegetables will thrive in cooler temperatures, how to protect them from heat when they are getting started, and how to time plantings for months of harvest. Register through Town of Yountville, Parks and Recreation: Mail in or Walk in registration (cash or check only).
Garden Tour: Napa County Master Gardeners will host a self-guided garden tour, “Down the Garden Path,” on Sunday, September 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit seven unique gardens in and around downtown Napa, all maintained by Master Gardeners. Tickets: $25 advance/$30 day of event. Purchase tickets online at http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa. For more information about the tour and tickets, visit our web site (address below) or call 707-253-4147. Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions?
