FreshTime Garden Group

25/04/2024

27/01/2024

I know it’s a little early to start talking about weeds in our gardens, but getting a head start on controlling them is never a bad idea...and one way to do that is to eat them! This might actually increase your garden's productivity and may even be tasty. When you know how to identify “weeds” in your garden, foraging becomes easier and safer. From Wild Spinach to Purslane, there are many different “weeds” that can be harvested and enjoyed in meals or made into teas for medicinal purposes.

Before you begin foraging, here are a few do’s and don’t’s to know:
- NEVER eat anything you're unsure of. Some weeds are toxic 😖
- Don’t eat weeds that have been sprayed with pesticides 🥴
- Collect flowers and leaves where they are in abundance only 😊

Back to foraging! Wild Spinach, also known as Lamb’s Quarter, is one of the most common garden “weeds.” It has a more robust flavor than the spinach we would typically buy at the local grocery store. It's rich in a ton of vitamins and minerals and can be cooked the same way you would cook spinach.

Wild Garlic is a relative of chives and grows great here in Ohio. (Maybe a little too great, depending on who you ask.) When foraging, keep in mind that Wild Garlic resembles Lily of the Valley, which is poisonous. Rub the leaves and make sure you're getting that characteristic garlicky smell or use a plant identifying app before foraging or consuming.

If I had known how nutritious some of these edible “weeds” were, I would have added them to my diet long ago. Like Purslane, for instance--a green leaf vegetable that's eaten by many cultures the same way as spinach and lettuce, such as sautéed or in a salad or soup.

Now is the time to do a little homework and brush up on your “weeds.” As the weather gets warmer, step outside and see if you have some edible weeds in your yard. You could also take this time to learn more about what you've identified in your garden in the past. You might just find another food source!

- Kymisha, CGC Urban Agriculture Coordinator

22/12/2023

One of my favorite crops to grow during the blistering months of summer is zucchini. Not because I love to eat it, but because growing it comes with so many challenges. Trying to beat those squash vine borers before they burrow into my stems, decimating my entire plant, is exciting to me in a weird kind of way. I haven’t found a foolproof management process yet, so I just plant a seed next to my transplant and keep an eye out for the eggs under my leaves. Harvesting okra at the perfect length—before it gets too long to be edible—is another challenge I sign up for each year.

My latest obsession is creating microclimates to increase the time I have growing food. Trying to beat Mother Nature’s clock by starting earlier in the Spring and extending my season into Winter is what I call fun. Creating small pockets where the air and soil get warm faster or stay warm longer around my garden—microclimates—gives me the opportunity to do just that.

There are several ways to create a microclimate in your garden. I like to use companion planting or intercropping most because I’m trying to be more eco-friendly. With the lack of rain and the relentless heat we’ve been experiencing, it can be very beneficial to plant larger crops next to shade-loving crops. This helps retain water and keep your soil moist longer.

To start my gardening season early, I create a microclimate that allows my soil to warm faster by laying a large piece of black plastic directly over my soil. This heats the soil up a few degrees in preparation for my seedlings, which I grow indoors under lights. By early April, I’m transplanting outdoors in hopes of an early brassica harvest in May.

To stretch my season into early Winter, I use a hoop house, low tunnel or cold frame to keep my soil temperature higher inside than it is outside. Trapping the air inside helps keep the soil warmer and protects crops from wind gusts and cooler nights. By reusing materials like 3-6 mil plastic, row cover or shade cloth, and metal or PVC piping, I’m able to grow lettuce and other greens well into December.

See what method works best in your garden to keep growing!

- Kymisha Montgomery, CGC Urban Agriculture Coordinator