Here’s a crash course in “Suthern”.
“Bless your heart, dahlin”, “Y’all come back, heah”, “Wudden that be nise?” “Can you innerduce me to Bee-hill?” and “Please pass the Creasy Greens.”
Creasy Greens? Absolutely. It’s a Classic Suthern dish, and by gum, Nancy and I are going to plant creasy greens in our garden this spring.
For you Yankees out there who have never heard of creasy greens, they are a small leafy green, sometimes called upland cress or winter cress. They are similar to watercress in taste but do not grow in springs like watercress. They grow wild, but can be sown in gardens.
Creasy greens (Barbaraea verna) are among the earliest growing greens, sometimes peeking up through the snow. They are good either by cooking for a long period of time, like collards, and they are also good raw, in salads.
One reason we are planting these southern delicacies is because they are easy to grow and adaptable to most any type of soil. They prefer full sun but you can also grow them in light shade. You can also plant creasy greens in early summer for a fall crop. “Sow True Seed” Company is one of several sources of the seeds.
Like most greens, creasy greens germinate best in cool, damp weather. You sow them in ¼-inch of fine soil and they sprout in as few as three days under the right conditions. You can harvest them in about 45 days.
I’ll keep you posted on how our crop of creasy greens does this spring.