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Post by lilolpeapicker on Aug 13, 2016 4:44:27 GMT -5
I loved having a mixture of greens this year and blending them gave interesting flavors to the salad. Here I grew the black seeded simpson, red sails and butter crunch lettuces, arugula as well as kale, spinach and swiss chard.
One of the greens that stands out for me was Oriental Greens Japanese Giant Red Mustard, seeds from Baker Creek. I had tried other mustard greens before but I must say, this was outstanding. The family commented on the flavorful rush that these gave.
I would like to try other greens as well.
What do you use in your salads?
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 13, 2016 8:01:44 GMT -5
Mizuna is one of my greens that I use in salads. I put some of the others in salads, but use them more in stir fries and soups, stews, and the like - bok choy, tatsoi,komatsuna, senposai. These, and chard and the various lettuces make up my greens rows in spring and fall.
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Post by brownrexx on Aug 13, 2016 8:27:56 GMT -5
We like raw spinach in salads.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Aug 13, 2016 8:48:32 GMT -5
I have been trying swiss chard along with spinach this year but the decision on it is still out. I am leaning toward spinach of these 2. Mizuna is one of my greens that I use in salads. As I was reading about Mizuna it stated it has a peppery flavor, and I thought of you. So that's rather fitting and not a surprise. Is that how you would describe it? I was thinking of trying it next year.
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Post by jobet on Aug 13, 2016 9:02:54 GMT -5
I love so many greens, and I eat a lot of them raw daily and some cooked. I hope to grow a lot of them in the weeks and months ahead. My faves are lettuces of all kinds except for iceberg, spinach, kale (haven't had one I didn't like), tatsoi, bok choy, turnip greens, mustard greens, swiss chard, radish and beet tops, and I plan to try carrot tops as soon as I can grow carrots.
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Post by reuben on Aug 13, 2016 9:21:01 GMT -5
You already hit most of our favs - Black Seeded Simpson, Red Sails, arugula. We also toss in some spinach, and I've got a little bit of sorrel I planted this year for the first time. Haven't tried the sorrel, but it's supposed to be good (whatever that means), and it overwinters, spreading underground. I didn't start many seedlings because I didn't want it to get out of hand. Now I don't have enough. Uh. That's the way it goes.
I also like romaine, and this is the first year I got anything worth eating, and it's been very good. Sparx and Thurinus from Johnny's Seeds.
I tried to grow ramps last year but nothing came up. They're supposed to be great (whatever that means).
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Aug 13, 2016 9:40:32 GMT -5
I too like romaine and plan on that for next year. Would be interested in your take on the sorrel...read that it tastes something like spinach or swiss chard but to me there is a difference between the two. Have yet to try beet tops but these and the swiss chard kept having trouble with the leaves. Growing beets were new to me this year also.
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Post by desertwoman on Aug 13, 2016 10:13:47 GMT -5
I grow red sails and black seeded simpson lettuces, swiss chard (rainbow and ruby red) and kale- red russian, dino and a curly green. They all go into salads (picking the kale and chard young for salads). These are my favorites and tried and true for my gardens.
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Post by gianna on Aug 13, 2016 10:51:09 GMT -5
My favorite lettuces are the Batavians. They have a firmer leaf (think 'crunch')and can take the heat a bit better. Sierra is a common one. There is a dark red variety called Cherokee, which is drop-dead gorgeous, plus tasty. And once you have the seed, you can save it since lettuce only rarely out-crosses.
A new spinach I grew this year was Red Kitten. It's flat-leafed and has red veins. Very pretty. Johnny's seeds. I grew it on a salad table so I don't know how it would do in the ground.
I also like Mizuna and Tat soi. These are fast and easy to grow and give the salad different leaf shapes, pulse a wee bit of extra crucifer taste. I also like baby curly kales, if you can find an inexpensive seed source.
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Post by davidjp on Aug 13, 2016 10:54:44 GMT -5
Usually as a base mix I have a misticanza which is basically an Italian salad mix that contains lettuces, chicories mostly. On top of that I usually have short rows of arugula, Mizuna that I add to the mix. I also grow about six varieties of lettuces that range from little gems, joker, salad bowl in red and green, merlot. Other interesting things I mix with that are chervil, and also upland cress which gives a nice watercress like taste.
I think the more variety the better really but I like some bitterness in the mix probably more than most people would
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Post by reuben on Aug 13, 2016 11:10:52 GMT -5
gianna, can your provide more info or links about the Batavians? Regarding spinach, my wife likes little baby spinach (she's small and delicate, and likes her food the same way), so I tried some Corvair spinach this year but the yield was low and it didn't do well, so I've gone back to the old standby, Bloomsdale, which she says is OK.
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Post by gianna on Aug 13, 2016 11:28:49 GMT -5
can your provide more info or links about the Batavians?
Here is a link to Johnny's seeds list of Batavians, also called 'summer crisps'
www.johnnyseeds.com
(Sorry, the search link is broken... and I can't fix it... But go to Johnny's seeds and look under lettuce, then on the left, click on summer crisp-Batavian) There are several 'out there' that seem quite close to my favorite, Sierra. They (Johnny's) appear to call their incarnation 'magenta'. Nevada is another they carry, but here that variety does not produce a robust plant. And their Cherokee is divine.
There are others elsewhere. From memory, another good one is Rouge de Grenoble, here (the US) sometimes called, or close to, Santa Fe. This one is somewhere between red and green with larger, more textured leaves.
Johnny's carries Concept, which also did not do great here, leaves on the tougher side.
There are also Italian and French varieties, with some over-lap in names.
If you pick just one, pick a Sierra type. If two, Sierra (magenta) and Cherokee for a range of color.
These are slow to bolt, but the best part is their crispy, crunchy texture.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Aug 13, 2016 12:42:25 GMT -5
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Post by wheelgarden1 on Aug 13, 2016 13:45:34 GMT -5
Lettuce (Bloomsdale and buttercrunch types), arugula, and kale (Red Russian and Scotch Curled) are our mainstay greens. I grew Redbor kale last year, got to do it again. Big, deep purple, really good flavor. Spinach is actually the consensus favorite green here, but thanks to my spinach curse in the garden, we don't enjoy fresh spinach often. Grr.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 13, 2016 14:46:37 GMT -5
I know how you feel, wheelgarden1. Spinach is one of those things I simply can not grow - it bolts before I get any usable harvest, no matter what variety. Much like cilantro. lilolpeapicker I don't think that the mizuna is particularly peppery, but it does have a delicious flavor, and I even grow it indoors, in the off-season.
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