Posted by Janet Harriett on Mar.01, 2010

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Leafy greens are a nutritional powerhouse, and an essential element of green smoothies and blended salads. Leafy greens are also a rising source of foodborne illness, particularly since they are often consumed raw. To get the most nutrition with the least worry, consider planting some of these easy leafy greens in your garden. Some are even pretty enough for a spot in the front yard. Most greens are cold tolerant, so you can plant the seeds directly in the ground as soon as you can work the soil in spring.

Leafy greens tolerate more shade than many garden vegetables, though they still need at least 4-6 hours of good direct sunlight a day for optimal growth. Though the plants are grown for their leaves, they will produce flowers and seeds, in an effort to propagate the species. Once a plant sends up a flower stalk, a process called bolting and easily recognizable by a rounder stem growing from the middle of the plant, the leaves become bitter and aren’t much use as a table vegetable anymore. Because leafy greens bolt but are more cold-tolerant than other vegetables like squash and tomatoes, they are usually grown as both spring and fall crops, with one planting as soon as the soil thaws in early spring and another in mid to late summer for a fall harvest as the days cool again. Here are six healthy, pretty and easy-to-grow greens to grow in your home garden or tuck in the flower beds to fill out the spring foliage.

Looseleaf Lettuce

Looseleaf lettuce is one of the easiest greens to grow, and goes from seed to table in as little as six weeks. As a cut-and-come-again crop, a single row of looseleaf lettuce can give nightly salads for a family until summer heat kicks in. To keep the lettuce producing, harvest the outer leaves, leaving the inner rosettes. Plant a blend of seeds for red, green, oakleaf and curly varieties to mix up the color and texture of salads and provide a longer harvest. Even if you don’t have garden space, looseleaf lettuce grows well in a window box or container garden.

Spinach

Spinach is a versatile green for cooked and raw dishes. Smooth-leaf or baby spinach varieties are great in salads and are tender enough to blend in green smoothies even if you don’t have a powerful blender. Crinkle-leaf varieties make for hearty cooked dishes like healthy creamed spinach. While some varieties are more bolt-tolerant than others, spinach doesn’t usually make it through the heat of summer, so plan on spring and fall plantings.

Beet Greens

These greens might not be green at all, with many varieties of beets sporting deep red leaves or red-veined green leaves. Most gardeners grow beets for the roots, which are themselves full of antioxidants and vitamins, but the leaves are just as tasty and healthy. Enjoy beet greens steamed or raw in salads. The baby leaves from early crop thinning perk up microgreen salads. Look for dual-purpose cultivars if you want plants bred for both roots and quality greens.

Swiss Chard

Swiss chard is one of the few greens that can grow through the heat of summer without bolting (sending up flower stalks). Chard makes a great substitute for spinach in both cooked and raw dishes through the summer, between the spring and fall spinach plantings. On top of tasty greens, swiss chard has colorful midribs that can be steamed and served like asparagus. Varieties are bred with white, red, yellow, pink and orange midribs.

Collards

Collards require a longer growing season than other greens. Unlike most greens, which can be planted from seed directly in the garden, collards are usually started indoors to get a head start while the weather is still too cold and wet for gardening. Collard transplants are usually set out in the garden 4-6 weeks after sprouting, and require another 60 days or so to reach mature eating stage. Still, the calcium and fiber in collards make up for the extra work involved in growing them.

Kale

In addition to being a nutritional powerhouse, kale is ornamental, with blue, purple and green varieties with curly or flatter leaves. You can plant kale as a spring or fall crop. Since frost improves the flavor of kale somewhat, midsummer plantings for a fall harvest tend to be tastier.

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Posted under Home Environment, Organic Garden.