Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Ugly Veggies -How to appreciate your knobbly produce


Despite all our skill, best intentions and hard work we always get a few chuckles each year when we're pulling root crops. We've had the usual carrots shaped like people, parts of the male anatomy, even a perfect pacman potato, but these oddities are still nutritious and delicious veggies that deserve a place of honour in the kitchen. Some are very tricky to wash and peel for regular use so the soup pot is a great destination. For the slightly imperfect fruits and vegetables that are now available at many grocery stores. For the most part these are a very cost effective way to get more veggies in your diet and once peeled and chopped you can't really tell the difference between them and more high quality veggies. But if it's nutritional density you're looking for, try growing veggies in your own garden. Even a small raised bed that's 4'x8' can grow a lot of veggies if you use methods such as square foot gardening, vertical gardening or planting fast growing crops such as lettuce, radishes, turnips and beans. Asian greens are also fast and easy to grow, often taking only 30-45 days from the time you plant them until they are ready to harvest and eat. And they're perfect for kids or beginners. If you really want a treat them get some grow bags or large pots and grow your own tomatoes and herbs too.  You can pick the fruits and veggies at their peak ripeness and eat them right away. Yum! So what are your plans for this year? Are you growing anything interesting? 

No comments:

Post a Comment