The Quack Shack

[Miss Lydia]

That is why i call them my feathered cats! - And for their love for cat-food, of course.

I am actually from the Cologne area, the Rhineland in Germany and i didn't know anything about greens at all before moving to the U.S.A..
Remember i lived for ten years in Houston, Texas and greens are very popular in the South as a side-dish to BBQ. As a big fan of all types of BBQ i learned about the various kinds of greens very quickly and have successfully grown Mustard- and Turnip-Greens here. Next year i want to try Collard Greens.

That is my fav green collard greens.

 

[3xhhheather]

@WannaBeHillBilly that's such a lush patch! for your greens do you just scatter the seeds and thin? or let them go wild?

 

[Summer_]

Hello!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

@WannaBeHillBilly that's such a lush patch! for your greens do you just scatter the seeds and thin? or let them go wild?

I am using the Mustard Greens as a secondary or cover crop on my potato patch. And finally in early spring it will become green fertilizer - what's left by the ducks…

After harvesting the potatoes i treated the soil with a procedure that is called "holländern" [dutching (??)] in German: The whole patch is divided into stripes, then the top-soil of the first stripe is removed and stored, the stripe is then dug up - i added wood-chips, raw compost and green grass to that layer. The top-soil from the adjacent stripe is then moved to the first stripe, rinse and repeat until you fill up the last stripe with top-soil of the first stripe. The goal is to loosen and fertilize the soil two spades deep, so that the potatoes will grow deep roots and produce. - No idea what this procedure is called in English, here is a German web-site with some drawings, maybe you can understand: https://altes-gartenwissen.de/was-ist-hollandern-1/

After i was done with that procedure - it is very labour intensive and hard if its done for the first time on former pasture, i tilled the soil and then just scattered two hands full of seeds over the patch and let everything grow wild.

Mustard seeds grow really fast and their roots stop the soil from being washed away during heavy rain, especially useful, when youyr garden is located on a hillsite, like mine.

Usually i sow Purple-Top Turnips together with the Mustard Greens, but it was to late for the turnips by the time i had the bed ready.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

That is my fav green collard greens.

From the three kinds of green i know, my preferred list is

• Mustard Greens - especially the type Mizuna - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuna, those can be used for soups and stews (just to have some green in there), omelettes (replacing the parsley) and as a side-dish like spinach
• Collard Greens - i like them most as a side-dish, replacing the pesky brocolli
• Turnip Greens - only the really young leaves, the older ones have a slightly bitter taste. And these too as a side-dish or as green into soups and stew.

The advantage of the turnip-greens is that you also get the turnips. I cook them for the ducks and i use them as replacement for potatoes in soups. The trick is to dice them, boil them shortly in salt water, let them sit for some minutes and the dispose the water. The remaining turnip dices have lost the typical turnip-taste and everybody (including my pickkky woife) has eaten them as potatoes.
Are there any other kinds of greens out there that i don't know about? (yet!)

 

[Canadian Wind]

From the three kinds of green i know, my preferred list is

• Mustard Greens - especially the type Mizuna - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuna, those can be used for soups and stews (just to have some green in there), omelettes (replacing the parsley) and as a side-dish like spinach
• Collard Greens - i like them most as a side-dish, replacing the pesky brocolli
• Turnip Greens - only the really young leaves, the older ones have a slightly bitter taste. And these too as a side-dish or as green into soups and stew.

The advantage of the turnip-greens is that you also get the turnips. I cook them for the ducks and i use them as replacement for potatoes in soups. The trick is to dice them, boil them shortly in salt water, let them sit for some minutes and the dispose the water. The remaining turnip dices have lost the typical turnip-taste and everybody (including my pickkky woife) has eaten them as potatoes.
Are there any other kinds of greens out there that i don't know about? (yet!)

Oh, that Mizuna sounds tasty! I'll have to see if I can find some seed. I also love the idea for the turnips. I do like the flavour, but sometimes it's overpowering.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

Good morning everyone! And careful browsing to those using the BYC app, my phone refused to open the app because it has a bug so I jumped on the website

 

[Miss Lydia]

Rutabaga? I love the greens of these too, and the roots can be used just like the turnip roots. My next fav is Turnips then Mustard greens.

You sure had a nice patch of greens Hillbilly. That duck fertilizer really makes a difference. My mom swore by horse manure she called it gold. lol

Good Morning and Evening Everyone.

Thanks for warning us Wunda.

 

[rjohns39]

Good morning / evening folks

I'm a fan of kale for soups and stews. Plant in the fall and harvest all winter.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Cabbage is also good in soups and stews. That time of year when soups and stews are so good too.