Square Foot Gardening Thread

[krcote]

My youngest boxer decided it was time to pick all of the eggplants this morning. Guess I was slacking! It was so hard to be mad when I saw how proud he was after he had flung them all over the yard

 

[Kassaundra]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a non bolting MILD tasting green? I grew spinach mustard this year and it was phenominal!!!!!! 110 degree days and not a bolt at all (actually I think it is bienial and incapable of bolting) I highly recommend it if you like a moderate taste to your greens, it was truly amazing, but it has to sharp a taste for either me or my husband.

 

[NanaKat]

Try New Zealand spinach. It is more of a vining spinaceh and has a thicker type leaf. Mild enough to eat in salads and great cooked.

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Quote:
Funny you should ask, I have a book by John Kallas PhD called Edible Wild Plants and I have been eating wild spinach out of my garden, wherever it grows. It is milder than the dark green spinach we're used to growing, less sweet. Also, we've been eating Mallow as a great, tasty green in salads and in our skillet lasagna. Both of these are actually very soothing greens, and they are weeds. Now I'm harvesting the Purslane and eating it, I'm thinking of cultivating Purslane on purpose as it's quite pretty in a mass, and it has ALL the omega 3's and EFA's we need! Free food. Manna from heaven?!

 

[Kassaundra]

6chickens in St. Charles :

Quote:
Funny you should ask, I have a book by John Kallas PhD called Edible Wild Plants and I have been eating wild spinach out of my garden, wherever it grows. It is milder than the dark green spinach we're used to growing, less sweet. Also, we've been eating Mallow as a great, tasty green in salads and in our skillet lasagna. Both of these are actually very soothing greens, and they are weeds. Now I'm harvesting the Purslane and eating it, I'm thinking of cultivating Purslane on purpose as it's quite pretty in a mass, and it has ALL the omega 3's and EFA's we need! Free food. Manna from heaven?!

Not sure about the other two (spinach and mallow) don't know what they look like, but I know I don't have purselane, I have the two imposters, spurge and the other one that looks more like purselane only not thick and succulant.​

 

[galanie]

Quote:
x2

I love the stuff. Crunchy good and still growing in this 103 degree heat. Yes, it has started trying to seed, but still has edible leaves. This is a batch I planted in March so that probably explains the seeding.

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/lambsquarter-wild-spinach-in-your-yard here's one internet reference to wild spinach. I went out in my nightgown and robe to take these pictures, LOL! Hope nobody caught me, its pretty early Saturday morning...

Here's a picture of wild spinach (aka lambsquarters) in my yard, I have been picking from these and eating since June:

Here's a picture of mallow in my yard, it is pretty and very tasty both washed for salad and cooked, it will thicken the sauce much like okra will:

Oh I see these photos are sideways. I hear the next iphone will make photos easier than this. ANYWAYS I like these greens a lot. I think they're tasty. But my favorite of all time is curly dock, it's done for the season. But in May, I thought "hey, that looks tasty" and I ate one, leading me to buy a book about edible weeds, because I realised it may not be a good idea to just eat anything that's green, I mean, arsenic is all natural, and so is hemlock, so I've thoroughly enjoyed my book. It has great photos to help me identify what's good and what's not. I also picked up field guides to poisonous plants, and field guide to medicinal plants. Just to stay safe.

 

[Kassaundra]

6chickens in St. Charles :

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/lambsquarter-wild-spinach-in-your-yard here's one internet reference to wild spinach. I went out in my nightgown and robe to take these pictures, LOL! Hope nobody caught me, its pretty early Saturday morning...

Here's a picture of wild spinach (aka lambsquarters) in my yard, I have been picking from these and eating since June:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/25976_wild_spinach.jpg

Here's a picture of mallow in my yard, it is pretty and very tasty both washed for salad and cooked, it will thicken the sauce much like okra will:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/25976_mallow.jpg

Oh I see these photos are sideways. I hear the next iphone will make photos easier than this. ANYWAYS I like these greens a lot. I think they're tasty. But my favorite of all time is curly dock, it's done for the season. But in May, I thought "hey, that looks tasty" and I ate one, leading me to buy a book about edible weeds, because I realised it may not be a good idea to just eat anything that's green, I mean, arsenic is all natural, and so is hemlock, so I've thoroughly enjoyed my book. It has great photos to help me identify what's good and what's not. I also picked up field guides to poisonous plants, and field guide to medicinal plants. Just to stay safe.

Thanks, I knew what lambs quarters was, but had never heard it called wild spinach, mallow I have never seen though, I'll keep a look out for it. That book sounds really helpful.


Sounds like you provide the neighborhood entertainment like I do

I have great neighbors, and I'm always keeping them guessing ............... what is she doing now? what is she going to do w/ THAT!? I can't believe she is ........... etc.....​

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Quote:
Thanks, I knew what lambs quarters was, but had never heard it called wild spinach, mallow I have never seen though, I'll keep a look out for it. That book sounds really helpful.


Sounds like you provide the neighborhood entertainment like I do

I have great neighbors, and I'm always keeping them guessing ............... what is she doing now? what is she going to do w/ THAT!? I can't believe she is ........... etc.....

Oh I have one great neighbor, but she is a renter and plans on leaving. The rest have always hated on me, they even spit and vandalize, I wish I were in a nice neighborhood like yours! People stop by who are nice, but they're not my neighbors, they're always making a trip cause they drove by and just want to check out my garden and laundry line and chickens. From now on, I'll ask if they could please buy one of my neighboring foreclosed houses, and be my nice neighbor! I work on my garden as often as I can. Oh wouldn't it be nice if my neighbors even mowed? Or picked up their trash? I am holding out here for the tides to turn, to goodness and civility and GARDENS with yard candy chickens.

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Ok I think I can flip a photo now, lets see how this works...

The front of this photo is the square foot garden I always used, but its just covered with straw, I never got to it this year. Behind it is my box of potatoes, with a couple poles of morning glories which also host a volunteer bean vine. My compost heap is over in the corner next to my garage. My front yard is full of great flowers, thats all I did this time around: