Add some leafy greens to your garden this spring

Add some leafy greens to your garden this spring

Growing up, my mom always told me to eat my greens because they were good for me. She actually said that about a lot of vegetables if she saw them just sitting on my plate.

An avid gardener, mom always had various leaf lettuces, spinach and Swiss chard in her garden. When I started my gardening endeavors, I followed suit but began to expand my leafy green experience to include kale, mustard greens and collards.

Leafy greens are very easy to grow and perfect to plant in the cool months of spring. You can seed them directly in the garden as soon as the soil can be worked.

If you are cramped for garden space, greens also grow well in containers. Remember to choose a container large enough to accommodate the mature sized plant of the crop you are growing.

Check the seed packet for planting instructions and remember to thin your seedlings. You can harvest greens as soon as the leaves reach a usable size.

Contact horticulture educator, Margaret Murphy, at 715-382-3253 or at margaret.murphy@wisc.edu with your gardening questions.