This was a day's full of harvested summer greens from about 2 square meters of Earth on 48 Dekay Street. All of them either grew on tall stems or on reaching vines. None of them are anything available in a grocery store.
I receive many requests for spinach, either as seedlings or as fresh greens, even in the summer. I get it. It is dark green, can be eaten cooked or raw, is high in minerals...and it is familiar. But from late spring to early fall, it is very prone to bolting (going to seed), leaf miner damage and fungal issues, which is what puts it as #2 on the 2021 Dirty Dozen list for heavy pesticide/herbicide use. It is also high in oxalates, which prevent the uptake of much of those minerals and can cause kidney stones. Spinach is part of the Amaranthaceae group, also known as the Amaranth family, which includes beets and lamb's quarters. Unlike, amaranth, it is tricky to grow in the warmer months AND it takes up A LOT of land, as it is low growing. Why not try to grow up? Grow something easier and more compact and get more out of the plot of land you grow on with sweet potato vine leaves, amaranth leaves and vining Malabar spinach leaves. Chopped fine, they can be used in place of cooked spinach in any of your favourite dishes. Or leave the growing, blanching and freezing to me and purchase it from Granskou Greens.
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