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Fall GreensFall Planting • Nutrition • Spinach • Turnips • Collards • Kale • Mustards • Beets • Swiss Chard • Southern Greens When you think of truly southern foods, greens are usually in the top ten. From a staple southern food, to a hard hitter in the nutritional world, greens have gained in popularity nationwide. The term "greens" isn't just turnip and collard greens. It also includes spinach, beets, kale and Swiss chard. When you group the greens collectively, they all are basically cool season plants. They can be planted as an early spring crop, or as a fall crop. When planted as a fall crop, the latest they can be planted varies by where you are in the state. In north Arkansas, they need to be in the ground no later than early September, which was difficult to do with the August we just had. In central Arkansas you have until late September, and in south Arkansas you can even plant in early October. How long they last into the winter months is largely determined by what type of winter we have. While many may burn back during heavy frosts, most won't be outright killed unless the temperatures stay in the low teens or single digits. While they all prefer full sun, greens will tolerate some shade. If you are growing them in the fall, and you have deciduous trees, they will also get more light when the leaves are off the trees during the winter and early spring months. Fall planting has both benefits and drawbacks. Warm soil temperatures often give you faster germination and growth, than the cooler soil temperatures in early spring. However, late hot temperatures such as we experienced this year can cause poor germination rates, and seedling diseases such as damping off can be higher in high soil temperatures. Harvesting in cool weather though, often produces better flavor in the greens. Nutritionally, you can't beat greens. They are high in Vitamin A, Vitamin K, folic acid, dietary fiber, antioxidants, carotenoid, riboflavin and iron. They are a great way of making sure you get your five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. While many of us aren't Popeye wannabe's, popping open a can of spinach and downing it whole, spinach has made a comeback and is used frequently in everything from dips and quiches, to pasta dishes and even bread. Raw spinach salads are popular, and it is now touted as a lettuce replacement on sandwiches and hamburgers. Spinach may not be the easiest of the greens to grow, but, it can be done in both spring and fall. It needs a more alkaline soil, with a minimum pH of 6, but will tolerate it higher. It needs plenty of moisture, but won't tolerate wet feet. It also needs adequate fertility. Use a complete fertilizer at planting, and then side dress with a high nitrogen fertilizer a month after planting. Then, depending on how well it is growing, apply a second side dressing two weeks later. With fall planting, you can begin harvesting within 45 days. There are two general types of spinach -- flat leaf type and curly leaf or savoy. The flat leaf types grow faster than the crinkled types but both types will grow well -- so it is more of a personal preference. When seeding spinach, your seeds should be an inch a part. If you seed too heavily, you need to thin out the seedlings for best production. Turnips have been grown for nearly 4,000 years, and have spread all over the world from their original home in Europe. While commercial growers grow different varieties if they are growing for the root or the greens, home gardeners often want turnips for both purposes. Many of the commercial varieties which are grown for greens, may not produce much in the way of roots. The greens are harvested quickly, which can also reduce the size of the root. Home gardeners will thin out the plants as they are growing -- eating the greens that they thin, and leaving behind others to form roots. In the southern parts of the state, you could still seed turnips through October if you are growing them for roots. Generally speaking a lighter soil is better for turnips -- especially if you are growing the roots. Turnips are a shallow rooted cool season crop, and it does need ample water for germination and vigorous growth. Speed of growth determines the quality of the roots; they tend to be more fibrous on slower growing plants. If you are interested in roots, back off on the nitrogen fertilizer a bit, so that you don't have as many tops. Turnips make a nice winter cover crop for the garden. They may freeze back a bit, but the turnip roots and greens can be harvested all winter. Collards are one of the oldest members of the cabbage group. These leafy, non-heading cabbages, originated in the eastern Mediterranean or Asia Minor and are the wild forms of cabbage first used in prehistoric times. Home gardeners often plant transplants for collards versus seeds. When planting from seed there is a 60 days minimum before harvesting. If you plant transplants, you can begin harvesting in 30 days. The average home gardener picks individual leaves and can harvest from one individual plant many times. Commercial growers mow the whole plant at once. Harvest season for collards can be all winter long. They will tolerate more cold weather than almost any other vegetable we grow. If you can find transplants, you can still plant them statewide, even seeds can be planted in mid to southern Arkansas for all winter harvest. Collards are slower growing than other greens, but they will tolerate a wider range of soils. You need to avoid soils that hold water in the winter, or your plants will rot. If your soil stays wet in the winter, consider using raised beds. Fertilization should be done at planting and then side dress two to three more times throughout the season, depending on the weather, and how they are growing. With fall planting be on the lookout for pests, there is a whole host of caterpillars that feast on collards, especially early in the fall. BT (Dipel or Thuricide) is very effective on controlling the caterpillars safely. Kale cultural needs are very similar to collards. You can pick individual leaves for eating or garnishing. They are also quite cold tolerant. While the curled foliage is quite attractive on all varieties, there are some that are marketed for their showy foliage. These ornamental kale will need more attention to fertility since we are growing them for their showy foliage, not for harvesting, so they should be in the ground longer. These ornamentals are usually grown from transplants. Mustards culturally would be very similar to turnips. Mustard has a pungent foliage. If you are growing them both and need to tell which seedling you are growing, take a bite of the seedling. The turnip seedling has little taste, and the mustard will burn your tongue. A little fresh mustard thrown in with a mix of salad greens gives you a nice spicy flavor. While not marketed as an ornamental, there are some truly outstanding colorful plants -- 'Osake Purple' and 'Giant Red' -- both producing an abundance of dark purplish red leave -- a nice touch for edible landscaping. Beets grow a little too slowly in the fall to grow for a root crop, but they do nicely for greens. Beet are typically not thought of as a green, but as a root crop, but their taste is fairly similar to spinach. It could actually be used as a spinach substitute -- albeit a different color, and it can be easier to grow than spinach. It needs many of the same growing conditions as spinach -- higher soil pH, adequate moisture and fertility. For those of us who balk at pickled beets, adding some leaves in with a salad mix can give us or beets without even knowing it. While many think the beet foliage is always attractive with its red veins, there are some very showy beet varieties that can be used for ornamental purposes- 'Bulls Blood' has a nice dark reddish purple leaf. Swiss chard is similar in culture to beets and spinach -- higher pH, plenty of moisture and moderate fertility. Swiss chard is not a commonly grown vegetable in Arkansas, but it may be one you want to try. While it is quite cold hardy, it will actually tolerate more heat than spinach -- so it makes a good spring crop as well. A hard freeze will burn it back -- but it takes mid to low teens to kill it outright. Swiss chard has more variability of leaf colors than other greens. There are numerous varieties with outstanding color. The stalks, or petioles, is where the main coloring is, but there will also be some coloration in the veins of the leaves. Many of the standard chards have a nice cream or white petiole which complements the green leaves. 'Rhubarb chard' has an outstanding red stalk. Chard has been getting a lot of press lately as a fall ornamental. The most common one is 'Bright Lights' -- with a mixture of orange, yellow, reds, white and pink. While 'Bright Lights' is the main choice now, there are new ones on the horizon with bright gold stalks and a magenta stalked one. Southern greens are a versatile group of vegetables. They can be planted both spring and fall. With the benefit of two harvesting seasons, the harvest period is quite long. To mix in with these traditional southern greens, there are a wide variety of leaf lettuces that can add color as well as flavor variety to your mix of leafy plantings. If you haven't given greens a try lately, you may want to reconsider. |
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