Novel Corona Gardening

So, I’ve been encouraged by this “stay at home” time to try some Novel Corona Gardening!  I planted a beet that I bought in a grocery store (was a whole beet with the top), and I’ve been harvesting and cooking the leaves.  Cook them as you would any green, or add them to soup.

And recently, a friend told me about planting the bottom of a celery stalk (the whole thing, not from a rib of celery).   We’re not sure if actual celery will grow, or just leaves, and small ribs.  I’ll use a small harvest  in salad, meatloaf, stuffing, stock, etc.

From spring on, a lot of us have wild edibles to harvest.  Dandelion greens, Purslane, chickweed, Turks Cap, Jewel of Opar, lambs quarters, and soon young cactus pads.

If you’ve never tried planting seeds, now is the time.  It’s so satisfying to see the plants come up.  And you could actually get a harvest to use.  Plant in containers if you don’t have yard space.

Finally, my best indoor growing tip is grow sprouts.  Once again, this is a really satisfying endeavor.  You don’t have to have a special container, it can be a jar.  And you don’t have to have special seeds.  I typically use things I buy in the grocery store like lentils or mung beans.  I soak the beans overnight, then drain them.  After that, rinse and drain them twice a day.  Use at any stage of sprouting that you like.  Sometimes I wait for beans to form a couple small leaves.  Here’s a picture of the container I use with a piece of fine netting, or cheesecloth for the top.  I do have an official tiered sprouter, but I don’t like it as well.

I’d like to think of this time as an opportunity to teach our children some great life skills.  One important skill is learning to grow your own food.  Certainly, it’s easy to see the excitement in kids’ eyes when they see a plant come up from seed, or when something like a tomato starts to form.  Remember some of the self-pollinating (don’t need bees) vegetables/fruits include tomatoes, green beans, green peppers, and some cucumbers.