Evening star., 1947-03-16

100 often the nome SdIucIici
grows but one or two kinds Of
green's and plants too much of each
so that the family is soon sick and
tired OF greens and swears never to
eat them again. This unfortunate
practice should be avoided, for
green's are an important source Of
yitamins and health-protecting min
erals.
The gardener can easily avoid this
reaction against green's by planting
q variety of crops. There are 20 to
Is kinds to choose from, all OF
which produce tasty green's. BY max
ing smaller paintings he will avoid
a surplus at any one time. Many
of the green's mature over COM
paratively short time and when that
period is past they are bitter, strong
and tough. Most people enjoy only
young and tender greens. Even let
tuce, which many think may be
harvested over long period, is
much better and tenderer If har-
vested at an early age. Succession
paintings are recommended both for
the spring and for the fall crops.
Beet greens are considered a deli
cacy by many and certainly they
are much higher in health values
than the roots. BY sowing the seed
early and fairly close and harvesting
when the roots are not much larger
than hickory hut, the family is
assured an excellent crop Of greens.
The beet green's can be provided by
a succession of paintings of short
rows. Summer paintings are not of
too high quality, SO many will skip
planting in May, June and July.
There is not much choice as to vari-
eties of beets. Nearly all Of the
early maturing ones make good
green's, although there are some
strains which have smaller leaves
than others. For greens the short
leaved varieties are less desirable.
Turnip greens are enjoyed by
many, but it is not always easy
to have a good spring crop. They
need to be planted early in a rich
soil, one that is high in nitrogen.
The Shogoin or seven-top turnips
are normally grown for their green's,
but most of the other early matur-
ing varieties will produce crop
just about as quickly. Avoid those
with small leaves. Rapid growth,
however, is not the whole key to
successful production of turnip
greens. The weather Should be
fairly cool, otherwise they will be
strong Favored.
Chard Is = Popular Crop.
Chard is another popular crop
one that may be harvested all sea-
son long. The common variety,
Lucullus, is widely planted, as Is
the brightly colored rhubarb chard.
A short row, to 6 feet long, will
produce more than enough for the
average family. Discard the outer
leaves If they are old and tough.
BY pulling only the outer leaves
the plants will continue to grow
and produce throughout the sea-
son. Chard leaves, to be large
and tender, must grow rapidly. so
both nitrogen and moisture are
needed for best results.
Spinach is a common source o.
greens. It is an easy crop to grow
on good soil, but to be of the best
quality the seeding should be done
in the early spring-March and
April and again in August and Sep
tember. Late September seedlings
may be counted on for the first cut
tings in the spring in this area.
The leaves require about 40 days to
mature and the flavor is not too
good in hot weather. Some gar
deners like to plant every two weeks
in the early spring and again In
the fall. For spring sowing, Blooms
dale Long Standing and Old Do
minion are recommended for the
thinner -leaved type. For fall plant
ing Virginia Savoy is preferred.
Few American gardeners use the
thick-leaved type. Giant Nobel Is
considered the best variety OF this
class.
Summer spinach or New Zealand
spinach, as it is more commonly
called, is a hot-weather crop and
may be depended upon for greens
from June to October. For good
growth the New Zealand spinach
should be planted in rich soil and
kept we'll fertilized and watered. A
few plants, not more than s, should
be ample for the average family,
but that is assuming that they will
be well-grown. Such plants will
spread from to 6 feet in diameter.
Only the tips of the young shoots