Rabbits eat beans, raccoons eat tomatoes, and squash borers eat squash plants. What’s a backyard gardener to do?
This one planted a mess of greens last week, three messes, actually – collards, turnip greens and spinach. Funny, but my critters don’t seem to eat greens. But I sure do. In fact, I just came back from North Carolina with three packs of Hobe’s Country Ham Skins, a perfect seasoning for any type of greens.
My friend and fellow gardener, Bill Hitt, says I should be cooking a mess by Thanksgiving.
Bill and his wife Linda, in Carrsbrook, grow the most beautiful greens I’ve seen. When it comes to kale, turnips, collards, Swiss Chard and the like, the Hitt’s truly have “green thumbs”. Bill says the secret is to plant around the middle of August and add 5-10-10 fertilizer, which the tender green plants relish. Bill likes to scatter his seeds while Linda prefers the easier-to-harvest rows. I went with Bill’s approach and sent seeds in every direction followed by some light hoeing.
Boy, we need some rain, badly, and as soon as it does, I’m hoping to see lots of green in my little garden.