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Last update on August 18 , 2023

One of the easiest way to ware nutrient , time , and energy in the garden is by not taking full advantage of your plants potential ! For model , why glean an entire head of clams , bok choy , or kale at once , when instead you could keep the plant around to eat you for several more weeks – or perchance even months to come ? sure as shooting , there are certainly clock time when remove an intact industrial plant is appropriate , which we ’ll discuss more to watch . However , we choose to harvest our greens a slight differently , using the “ foreshorten and Come Again ” method !

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Let me show you how we harvest our leafy greens using the cutting and descend again method . This method of unceasing harvest promotes new maturation , and vastly pass the time the plant get to live in our garden – and feed us ! I will also provide some peak on how to keep up your leafy green time of year and slow up down run off , and share our favorite salmagundi of greens to grow ! A video manifestation of the cut and come again harvest time method acting is included too .

Leafy greens are hand - down our favorite thing to grow . Kale , swiss chard , Indian mustard greens , bok choy , lettuce , arugula , and more!As plants , they ’re very modest - maintenance and easy to originate compared to many others . As nutrient , they are SO damn good for you , overflowing with nutrient and antioxidants . One of the best part is that there are seemingly eternal options of different types and varieties of William Green to try on – which is not only sport , but also makes it easy to find single that shape well in your clime . I trust you ’ll sense as stoked about maturate greens as I am by the time you finish this article !

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The Benefits of Cut and Come Again Harvesting

So , why should I harvest my leafy special K this way , you ask ?

The expert interrogation is : Why not?There are very few scenario where harvesting an entire principal of lettuce , bok choy , or other leafy green is preferable to practicing cutting - and - amount - again , in my humble persuasion at least . A James Leonard Farmer may need to cut away the intact plant life to sell them at market . possibly a particular miscellany of green is n’t desirable for cut - and - come - again , such as tighter head of bread . Or , perhaps it is the end of the growing season , the plants are starting to look ragged and about to bolt , or you need to crystalize the blank . trusted , then harvest the entire thing!Otherwise …

How to Harvest Greens with Cut and Come Again

To glean using the cut and come again method , it is really just as easy as cutting , and coming again later!Well , possibly not quite that simple , but dang close .

What Types of Greens Can I “Cut and Come Again” Harvest?

you’re able to apply this harvesting technique to more than you belike ever conceive of ! As you ’ve probably already glean , the cut and arrive again method can be ( and should be ! ) used for Hellenic leafy honey oil like kale . We continually glean this way from ourswiss chard , mustard Green , bok choy , collard greens , lettuce , arugula , and the many types of Asian greenswe lovemaking to develop as well .

to boot , trend and make out again can be used for less traditional “ leafy greens ” – such asbeet super acid , white turnip jet , daikon radish greens , and even cauliflower and broccoli leaves!Yes , those are ALL edible . There are many types of vegetables that are n’t primarily acquire for their greens , but that does n’t intend their greens are n’t a suitable crop too ! Beet greens are especially delicious . To harvest them , adopt the precise same instructions as above . Cut away just a few leaves at a meter from where they meet the soil or the common beet itself , and always leave more than half behind ! The greens will regenerate , and the beet will proceed to happily grow .

What variety?

The one caveat here is thatcertain varietiesof the park cite above will be more or less suitable for cut - and - come again . Bok choy is the perfect deterrent example . Baby bok choy forms small , wet heads , mean to be harvested early and young . It would be fairly unmanageable to pull off the outmost leave to harvest , and not very worthwhile . On the other helping hand , other type of bok choy grow large thick still hunt and leaves in a much looser , open headway – prime for the picking ! Our pet bok choy is Joi Choi , for that very rationality . In general , we always give preference to motley of greens that respond well to cut - and - come again .

Our Favorite Leafy Green Varieties

Every year , we love to experiment and uprise new types of leafy greenness in the garden . Hello , my name is Deanna , and I am a seed - shopping freak . Yet there are those few tried - and - true , never - let - ya - down , stellar kind that we grow yr after yr .

For us , the ones that make that list include : Nipponese Giant Red Mustards , Lacinato Kale(regular unripened or“Dazzling Blue”),Joi Choibok choy , Peppermint Swiss Chard , andYukina Savoy .

If you ask some ideas ofwhere to beginning seminal fluid , check off out this article:“12 Places to bribe Organic , Heirloom , & Non - GMO Garden Seeds ” .

A man standing in the corner of a backyard patio that is lined with wooden raised garden beds. He is wearing blue denim shorts and a button up t shirt, he has holding a kale tree that is over 9 feet tall as a wizard would a staff. He is looking up at the top of the tree which still has numerous kale leaves still attached to it, but the majority of the kale stem is bare with notches where possibly hundreds of leaves have been harvested using cut and come again. There is an vine covered arch to the left of the image and there are chickens assembled below the arch on the outside of the patio, they are being kept out by a above waist high gate that is under the arch as well.

How to Extend the Life of Leafy Greens & Slow Bolting

ceaseless harvest with the cut and come again method acting sounds smashing in possibility , but will only forge if your leafy Green really dumbfound around to be harvested from ! Greens can be a bit finicky if they ’re unhappy . If their rise condition are n’t to their liking , they may seek to bolt on you .

When a plant“bolts ” , it means it is starting to go to heyday , and then form its seed . Their final hoo - rah . At that prison term , the plant is on its elbow room out – and the park can become more tough and bitter . We do sometimes preserve to reap off of bolt industrial plant . Also , we like to leave some to bloom for the bee to enjoy !

So , here are a few tips to extend your leafy greens time of year :

A two way image collage, the first iage shows a u shaped garden bed that butts up against the side of a house. The garden beds are overflowing with various greens such as kale, bok choy, mustard greens and kohlrabi. In the background behind the garden beds there are chickens picking in the grass and various trees and shrubs lining the fence line. There is a tall cactus protruding out from behind one of the beds. The second image shows the same garden bed but there are different plants planted in the beds, they are more sparse with taller kale trees closest to the house with smaller squash and calendula plants in front of them. The nearest section of bed has the greens from carrots showing from the bottom of the image,

1) Grow in the Right Season

Some leafy greens may be capable to endure warmer weather condition , but in general , most leafy greens prefer a ice chest growing season!For many of you , this means growing leafy cat valium in the spring or fall . If you ’re lucky enough to live in a mood that does n’t have crazy hot summer or freeze winters , you should be able to acquire some Green all year long – like we do ! Yet even if you do have extreme temperature , there are ways to keep on develop through it . go forward reading below to see how .

If you are n’t certain when to start up or grow leafy greens , refer to your handy Homestead and Chill garden planning toolkit . It hasplanting calendarsfor every produce zona !   ( It is sent via email . Gmail substance abuser , see your “ promotions ” inbox ! )

2) Choose Hardy Varieties

For you gardeners growing leafy greens in the outpouring month , depend forheat - patient of and slow - bolting varieties . This is in particular true if your atmospheric condition speedily hot up up from spring to summer . This will assist your cat valium last as long as possible ! Some works description will explicitly state this . Others we have learn through metre , trial , and wrongdoing . We ’ve found many lettuces and Asiatic greens to be only gently bolt - tolerant , collard greens to be the most heating plant - tolerant of them all , and wampum and swiss chard somewhere in between .

On the other hand , if you are institute a fall / winter session of leafy greens , and survive in an area prone to insensate snaps , choosecold - hardy varietiesthat can handle some frost . For example , Lacinato , Red Russian , and White Russian kale types can all withstand frost and even some snow . Did you know kale really gets sweeter after a frost ?

We rise most of our greens in the nearly frost - free winter months here . They ’re planted out as seedlings in late September , and if we ’re favourable , some will grow flat through until the following give into summertime ! Overall , our climate is pretty moderate , but we do get occasional leftover heat spike over 80 degrees in the winter ! Thus , we seek out slow - bolters that can hopefully handle that .

An image taken at the soil level of a garden bed, the view shows the understory of a plot of joi Choi bok choy. The sun is shining above the plants illuminating the top leafy greens which stand out in contrast to their shaded white stalks.

3) Provide Protection

If you experience in a place where it rapidly shift from a nice mild spring to a blaze spicy summertime , consider found your leafy greens in a location that getspartial shade . Protection from the hottest late afternoon Sunday is peculiarly helpful to slow bolt . I do n’t suggest planting them in complete spectre however ! Greens , like most garden vegetables , are go to be most happy if they receive at least 6 hour of sunlight per twenty-four hours . The keystone is to get it juuuuust right . Get goldilocks aster with it .

Do n’t have a shady spot in your garden ? Another elbow room to offer shade is usingshade clothand quarrel covers . While you do take to pick up a few extra cloth to do this , the use of shade textile may be preferred in any case – because you’re able to control the shade ! Meaning , you may drape the greens on special blistering days ( or weeks ) , but allow them to be free to overcharge up the sun at other time . Shade cloth can be support over plants withhoopsor other structures . It can also be laid directly on top of plants , as long as it does n’t crush them .

Hoops or course masking can also be used with material that is design to protect industrial plant from hoarfrost ( like this frost cover ) , to help you extend the time of year into the winter clip . Additionally , look intocold framesas a means to garden in the winter !

A four way image collage of various greens that can be harvested with the cut and come again method. The first image show two Dazzling Blue kale plants in a raised garden bed patio setting. There is a small, sunflower plant directly behind the kale and a large mass of vineing green behind that. The second image was taken over the top and downwards over a garden bed of giant red Asian mustard greens. They range in color from dark green to dark purple. The third image shows a hand holding six bok choy leaves with two baskets of harvested bok choy and green mustards below it. The fourth image shows two raised garden beds in an evening sunset. The beds are filled with dark leafy tatsoi greens and a lighter green Savoy type in the foreground. The back bed displays plants in rows from bok choy to red mustards and various other leafy greens. The backdrop is a hedge of perennial salvia that are basking in the evening sun.

4) Use Good Irrigation Practices

Heat is n’t the only thing that leads to bolting or distressed leafy greens . Keep your greens well- irrigate to reduce stress . That does n’t signify drown them though ! The finish is to render even , consistent , cryptical water on a mundane basis . Allow the soil to dry out out ever - so - slightly between watering so the roots get a chance to emit .

Other elbow room to reduce tension and increase drouth tolerance is to routinely water flora withcompost teaandaloe vera solutions ! We do both about once every month or two .   If you need more tips about garden irrigation , you may enjoy this article : “ Garden Irrigation Solutions : DIY , Efficient , & Toxin - Free Watering Options ”

5) Get Insurance

Time to call Geico ! Just pull the leg of . We get it on our AAA . But that is not the kind of insurance I am talking about . What I mean is : plant extra!If you have the blank for it , engraft many of each character of leafy green you ’re skip to have a tenacious , perpetual harvesting from . Why ? Well , it will that give you more park to reap . moreover , it increase your odds of getting some really long - lasting plant life ! For example , we ’ve had some kale plant in a plot decide to bolt on us within a few months . Meanwhile , othersof the same miscellany in that same plotdecided to merrily uprise without bolting for nearly a twelvemonth !

So … We ’ve sing about how to reach out your Green growing time of year , and how to harvest them . What aboutafterharvest ?

Storing Greens After Harvest

You may not know it , and I hate to say it … but the best way to keep leafy greens unused and nippy in the icebox is store in asealed plastic old bag with a little splash of water at heart . Or , perchance another sealed non - porous container like a giant tupperware .

We ’ve seek to utilize recyclable web produce bag to store super C , and it did n’t work nearly as well . If I keep the mesh bags and William Green damp , the greens remain fairly crisp for a day or two . They rapidly die wilted thereafter . If you glean and use little snatch at a time , that could act upon okay for you ! On the other manus , a plastered moldable bag will keep them whole agile and crispy for over a week . I realize this is n’t idealistic ! But we do reuse the same plastic green goods bag or ziplock over and over and over . If you have other suggestions that are just as effectual , please do share !

The key is toharvest your leafy greens when they ’re firmin the garden . substance , harvest them in the break of day , or perhaps in the evening . For the best storage , avoid harvesting green in the middle of the hot good afternoon when they ’re already wilted ! I amass harvest park in a hoop , and try out to keep them in the shade while doing so . Then I get them deep down and into the electric refrigerator as quick as possible thereafter . When using a standard produce bag , I stuff them full , mizzle in a picayune water , and then lop them exclude with clothes bowling pin .

The image shows a peppermint swiss chard plant that has grown to close to 3 feet tall, the stalks are red but transition to white as it gets closer to the leafy green. The plant has many leaves shooting off of it and they get smaller the further up the plant they grow because it is going to flower, and missing leaves from the lower portion that were previously harvested with the cut and come again method. There are a few plants in the immediate vicinity from collard greens to calendula and zinnia. The background contains many perennials from lavendar to verbena, ranging from light greens to dark, purple to an occasional yello the sun is setting behind the chard plant and its Ray’s are just peaking through a section of the plant, illuminating some of the leaves to a transparent green.

Using leafy greens

We mostly harvest what we can consume fresh in a week , adding greens to sautéed veggie , soups , lentils , quinoa , frittata , or salads for every lunch and dinner . If we have more than we can employ fresh , one of our pet way topreserve greensis to make afermented sauerkrautwith them ! Bok choy and mustard are specially tasty as kraut . Alternately , we also love to make big batches of garden veggie soup to freeze down for calendar month to come ! you could also use ourbesto pesto recipeto freeze , and supersede the basil with kale and/or arugula . green are also excellent in smoothies or juiced , and can be used fresh or frosty there .

And that is how you prolong your leafy green season!

What do you opine ? Did you watch something young ? If you use some of these Spanish pointer in your own garden , you ’ll be munching on nutritious leafy William Green for many months to fare ! It may take you a distich of seasons to figure out the good types , timing , and trick apply to your garden , but you ’ll get there ! In the meantime,#eatyourgreens , and spread out the beloved by portion out this post !

An image of a planting calendar for Zone 10 growing region. It is a chart that shows what months different vegetables should be either started from seed, transplanted into the garden and the first and last frost dates.

An image of the corner of a fenced in property. There are two wooden raised garden beds with various greens planted in rows in them. They range from bok choy, to tatsoi, to mustard greens and kale - all perfect for cut and come again harvests. Another smaller bed to the left shows only a few green garlic sprouts starting to protrude from the soil. Behind that there is a cactus in ceramic pot, a wooden sitting bench, salvia and sage flowing over a wooden terrace as well as a stone terrace in the left corner that has three tiers. Each tier containing a small fruit tree and smaller perennials. The fence has horizontal slotted fence boards and the sun is shing in from that side, casting slotted light throughout the corner terrace.

An image of a man reaching into a raised garden bed of greens to harvest on of the leaves. He is wearing denim jeans and a red and black checkered flannel. There is a garden bed in the foreground that has young red cabbage growing, their leaves reaching outwards like solar panels. There is a small shrub growing out of a half wine barrel next to him. There is a Magnolia tree directly behind him and an avocado tree beyond that and to the right of the image. There are various perennials also in the background and the base of the avocado tree has many small green seedlings shooting up around it for a cover crop.

An image showing a wicker basket that is overflowing from a harvest of greens. Red mustards, bok choy, kale, chard, arugula, and tatsoi make up the bulk of the cut and come again harvest. Colors range from light green to dark, dark purple to magenta, and even purple blue. The photographers feet are showing standing next to the basket as the image was taken from overhead.

DeannaCat’s signature, Keep on Growing