Re: USDA Leafy Greens Proposal

**J* B* <j*@usol.com>**

Miranda obviously is an expert on growing greens for home  
consumption.  In the early 80's I was into figuring out how many row  
feet of each vegetable a family of four might need.  Now I look back  
at all the work and realize it was probably a waste of time for  
today's times.  Maybe we'll figure out a way to stop the down turn,  
but vegetable gardening has been shrinking for a decade.  To further  
my curmudgeon-like tone, I understand that fewer Americans eat greens  
now than they did five years ago.  I don't think of lettuce being a  
"green" in terms of food value.  For me, "greens" are spinach, swiss  
chard, kale, collards, and mustard (of course their are more, but  
that is what I've grown over the years).  Those crops were a routine  
part of my Mom's menu.  Her greens were boiled of course.  When I  
grew up to my own kitchen, I shifted to steaming and sauteeing in  
olive oil.  My point here is that I suspect very few American  
families serve spinach or Swiss Chard steamed.  If it is not in the  
salad, it does not get included in the menu.  Which gets us back to  
the insanity of the USDA proposal.  Farmers markets are probably the  
only place where people who truly eat greens can get what they want.   
We are told that we should eat more fruits and vegetables, and the  
Feds are prepared to reduce the availability of greens, one of the  
most nutritious vegetables on the market.
Insanity!.

Jeff Ball
jeffball@usol.com
810-724-8581
Check out my daily blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com
Check out my extensive web site at www.yardener.com

On Dec 4, 2007, at 6:45 AM, Hamptongar@aol.com wrote:

I agree that as garden writers we need to do more to get our readers  
to  grow
their own greens.  Towards that end...does anyone on the list have any
statistics or thoughts on how much space it would take for a family  
of four to
grow their own greens?  I think we need to tell the readers how much  
space  it
takes, how many months of production to expect and how to rotate  
varieties to
accomodate the seasons.  Who are the best and most reliable seed   
vendors?
What can you grow under cover in the winter?

Andrew

Andrew Messinger
The Hampton Gardener is a registered  trade mark and is published every
Thursday in The Southampton Press, The Press  and the Easthampton Press

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