Leafing Home: The Potential of Homegrown Greens

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'Walking Stick' kale (Brassica oleracea longata) is one of many options for growing healthy homegrown greens.
'Walking Stick' kale (Brassica oleracea longata) is one of many options for growing healthy homegrown greens.
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Winter peas and barley are delicious examples of edible leaf cover crops.
Winter peas and barley are delicious examples of edible leaf cover crops.
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This innovative guide shows how familiar garden plants such as sweet potato, okra, beans peas and pumpkins can be grown to provide both nourishing leaves and other calorie- and protein-rich foods.
This innovative guide shows how familiar garden plants such as sweet potato, okra, beans peas and pumpkins can be grown to provide both nourishing leaves and other calorie- and protein-rich foods.

With more nutrients per calorie and square foot of growing space than any other food, leaf crops can be an invaluable addition to every yard or garden. As hardy as they are versatile, these beautiful, tasty vegetables range from the familiar to the exotic. Some part of this largely untapped food resource can thrive in almost any situation. Eat Your Greens by David Kennedy (New Society Publishers, 2014), provides complete instructions for incorporating these nutritional powerhouses into any kitchen garden.

You can purchase this book from the MOTHER EARTH NEWS store:Eat Your Greens: The Surprising Power of Home Grown Leaf Crops

Leaf vegetables are plant leaves (sometimes including the stems and shoots) that are eaten as food. They are also called greens, potherbs, leafy greens, or salad greens. A leafy vegetable patch growing in a backyard garden may strike you as an unlikely place to begin rebuilding a food system. In fact, the green leaf crop is a humble hero patiently waiting for its potential to be unleashed. It is an elemental and underutilized agricultural tool that adapts well to a vast range of circumstance, starting with the home garden.

Why Eat Leafy Vegetables?

Leafy vegetables are good for your health. They are low in calories and full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The extreme diversity of leafy vegetables presents an interesting variety of flavors, colors, and textures on the plate. Simply put, leafy vegetables are the antidote to corn syrup in our food system.

  • Published on Jun 29, 2015
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