8 Tips for Growing and Using Your Own Greens

We all know how important it is to eat our greens. It really is, you know? Well, it’s also pretty easy to grow your own, too, and you don’t even need a huge garden to do it, either.

Good for you if you have a garden bed to spare, but you can also join in if you have a few pots and a sunny porch, or even just a windowsill in your apartment.

Whether it’s huge heads of cabbage or a few microgreens, there is no excuse not to get on the green-growing bandwagon.

Check out these OGP articles that give you tips on everything from growing greens indoors to learning how to dehydrate them for future use.

1. Basics of Growing Greens

Salads used to be iceberg lettuce, but in today’s market, there are all of these different options at our disposal. There is hearty stuff like kale and chard. There are dainty leaves like arugula and spinach. We’re even coming to recognize secondary crops like the greens of beets and radishes. Everything from watercress to mustard to bok choy can be grown in the house or garden, on the patio or balcony, in hanging baskets, or scattered in pots. Some can even be grown from chopping board scraps. Read on to learn How to Grow Your Own Greens.

2. Indoor Greens

Unless you have a garden, you have probably been growing your veggies, greens, and herbs in containers on your porch or balcony all summer. That is wonderful. However, come the cold season, those pots might not do so well outside in the freezes. As the cold months draw nearer, it’s often time to put those containers and their contents to bed and say goodbye to harvesting for a good few months. Alas, if you have a little sunny spot indoors, you might not have to give your green completely. Check out these tips on How to Grow Greens Indoors All Winter Long.

3. Brassicas

In their various forms, brassicas show up on our dinner plates as intentional and delicious parts of our meals, they grow wild along roadsides and show up in force as ‘weeds’ in our gardens. Though not everyone has the space to grow rows and rows of cabbages or cauliflower, everyone, even those with just a windowsill, can carve out a little space to grow some kind of brassica. Click this link to learn how to grow some for yourself- Cabbage, Turnip, Broccoli, Radish, and More: The Easiest Brassicas to Grow at Home.

4. Kale

Not only is kale a great wintertime crop, but it is also a perfect vessel for providing a heavy dose of vitamins and minerals. Plus, fresh green vegetables are much more delicious than the typical winter options of frozen or canned. With just a little preparation and the sun’s power, kale can provide fresh greens for delicious meals over the entire season. Read on to learn How to Grow Kale for Fresh Winter Greens.

5. Microgreens

Microgreens—you might find them on a sandwich or in a mysterious pile on the side of your plate at trendy restaurants, seemingly doing nothing more than taking up space or adding a little bulk. They might seem uninspiring and certainly not filling, but there is a lot more to the mighty little veggies than meets the eye. Check out this article that gives you tips on How to Grow and Use Microgreens.

6. Wilding Your Greens

As well as the well-known varieties, there are also greens from plants that aren’t necessarily known for greens. Garlic and ramps have delicious greens, as do chives. Wild plants like lambs quarters and chickweed have delicious greens. Sweet potato greens are delicious, as are the greens of many hibiscus plants. In other words, a landscape full of edible greens can be colorful, versatile, and amazingly productive. And, we can plant this as a wild, self-sustaining landscape. Take a look at this article all about How to Wild Your Greens for Edible Landscaping.

7. Culinary Herbs

Growing food at home can save us all a lot of money whilst likely providing healthier food than we’d normally get. One of the best avenues into home gardening is the culinary herb garden, and perhaps the best way into culinary herb growing is starting with perennial plants. Unlike vegetables, many of our favorite and most common culinary herbs come from perennial plants. That means creating an herb garden can pay off for years to come. Culinary herbs, whether dried or fresh, are extremely expensive to buy, yet they are extremely easy to grow. Read on to learn about Growing Your Own Perennial Culinary Herb Garden at Home.

8. Dehydrating Greens

Luckily, preserving herbs is one of the easiest homesteading-type things to do. There are several completely safe methods for getting it done, and there is nothing quite like having an abundance of organic, homegrown flavor to put into those wintertime soups and stews. So, for those who are into growing food at home, herbs are a great addition to the garden, a very good companion plant for most vegetables, and an easy store for later. Plus, fresh herbs during the summertime are hard to beat. Take a look at our Guide to Dehydrating Your Summertime Herbs and Greens.

Related Content:

• 8 Tips on Growing Trees
• 10 Unusual Edible and Medicinal Plants to Grow at Home
• 8 Tips for Using and Growing Spices
• 8 Ideas for Growing Food in Containers
• 8 Tips for Growing Beneficial Flowers in Your Garden

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