Category Archives: superfoods

“Garlic is as good as ten mothers”

Posted on 22 July 2015 by Debra

I harvested my garlic crop yesterday. Lots of beautiful heads now cure in my kitchen. I harvest the garlic when 4-5 of the leaves have browned but the paper that surrounds the head of cloves is still fully intact. This means … Continue reading →

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How much water?

Posted on 20 May 2015 by Debra

Since I hail originally from Los Angeles and grew up there during another drought not quite so severe, I was intrigued to read about how much water it takes to grow the common foods we eat. Vegetables and fruits, not … Continue reading →

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Spinach: Popeye and the prince

Posted on 19 May 2015 by Debra

Beautiful, fresh spinach is ready for harvesting now in your kitchen gardens on Chicago’s South Side. Spinach picked and eaten — raw or cooked — has a delicacy unfound in store-bought varieties. Now is the time to pinch off the first broad, … Continue reading →

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Microgreens with mega impact

Posted on 14 May 2015 by Debra

Microgreens are ready for harvesting. These are the young seedlings of vegetables and herbs that are powerfully nutritious. When harvested while petite, right after germination, they have a tremendous concentration of phytochemicals, nutrients we need in a healthy diet. In fact, … Continue reading →

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Potatoes

Posted on 12 July 2012 by Debra

Seems a very good year for potatoes but only harvest will confirm. The plants are especially large and hardy, suggesting a good crop beneath. Now the flowers are done and the plants are beginning to die back, you might dig … Continue reading →

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What to grow to fill your plate

Posted on 22 March 2012 by Debra

I spoke on What to Grow to Fill Your Plate at the Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice program this past January at KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation’s Soil to Plate weekend of speakers and symposia. There were many impressive speakers and … Continue reading →

Posted in backyard microclimate, creating & caring for a garden, design & layout, ecosystem, fertilizing, harvesting, healthy soil, location, seeds and plants, sunlight, superfoods, watering | Leave a comment

Fall’s rainbow chard

Posted on 29 November 2011 by Debra

The swiss chard still flourishes along with the kale, the cabbages, the arugula. The nights are cold but no killing frost yet. The cold nights only enrich the flavors. And swiss chard — as I’ve written before — is another … Continue reading →

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Winter squash and pumpkin

Posted on 27 November 2011 by Debra

Winter squash are versatile fruit vegetables that keep for months after harvest. Native Americans have grown and cooked these gourds, of which pumpkin is only one variety, for eating for many thousands of years. Winter squash prove to be superfoods … Continue reading →

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Fall kale

Posted on 17 October 2011 by Debra

Kale only becomes sweeter and sweeter in cool, fall weather. It’s sheer chemistry converting and concentrating the kale’s sugars. And, even after the first snow, it still will be thriving in the garden. As I’ve mentioned before, kale is a … Continue reading →

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Early harvest: tomatoes and basil

Posted on 15 September 2011 by Debra

When the average temperature in Chicago this date is 74 degrees, we know it’s an early fall today. Last night dipped into the 40s and today the high will be in the low 50s, warming up to high 50s and … Continue reading →

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