ORGANIC GARDEN PATCH

That was one spicy “hot-a” spell. Good thing we hesitated to plant before it occurred. Most things would have been fried. My tomatoes suffered, my peppers suffered and my wallet suffered from the water bill.

Hopefully, the extreme heat spells are over. Just to be safe we are going to start the fall/winter garden with the hardiest: chard, collards and kale. These three represent the healthiest of the healthiest we can grow and can take a little heat if it does happen again.

Collards: the song of the South. The Celtics brought back this whole family of plants to Europe in 600 BC. Non-heading members of the cabbage family, they can have a very mild, almost smoky flavor.

This is where growing your own garden is prime. The longer you store collards (kale and chard also), the more bitter their flavor becomes. You can also pick the small tender leaves to cut up fresh for salads. You should pick your greens (never more than 25 percent of any plant) the day you are going to eat or prepare them; there is no other way to achieve that kind of freshness.

Planting these varieties can be from seed or purchased plants. There are varieties of all of these greens and each will do better or worse, depending on where you live. All will do relatively well in this area. Try a couple varieties of each and see which you like best. They do require water this time of the year but are hardy. This planting should yield all winter.

Plant like we do any plant, but if your soil is not in top notch shape yet, place a little soil-enhancing organic fertilizer in the bottom of the planting hole and around it. This will give it a good start in life. Also, mulch, mulch, mulch! I can never say that enough.

Much the same in growing habits as collards, kale has a slightly stronger flavor but a ton of culinary uses. Harvest both small and large leaves of kale, depending on your use. Large is great in soups, stews and stir-fries.

Chard has similar growing conditions, but we handle it a bit differently. Larger leaves can replace spinach, smaller leaves for salads. Wrap medium-size chard in place of grape leaves for baked stuff chard leaves.

You need a couple of extra plants because of the harvesting technique. Cut the plant all the way back to the ground when it is over two feet tall. It will re-grow young tender leaves all the time. Time is a factor for flavor in this one also; use immediately.

The health benefits of these plants demand our getting to know and use them more frequently. Rutgers University and many others have verified that the phytochemicals and antioxidants will not only clean up free radicals but destroy cancer-causing elements in the body.

The calcium and vitamins A, K and C in these plants make them a must for menopausal women. Collards win the vitamin health contest among vegetables.

Collards, kale and chard can be substituted for spinach, used in lasagna, added to sweet potatoes for a cold potato salad, incorporated into soups with winter squash, stir-fried in a wok or added chopped to pastas, potatoes and more.

Truly, these plants should be eaten three times a week. It is now a proven fact that the proper diet can and will prevent (and even help cure) many types of cancers. That’s wonderful news in this world full of unknowns.