Durban - Perhaps it is universal – but the vast majority of children we’ve encountered love getting down and dirty in the garden.
Sand, snails and a spade can keep them engrossed for hours, so why not make the most of it by giving them a lifelong gift – a love for gardening.
You’ll find all the help you need in author Samantha van Riet’s book Roots, Shoots & Muddy Boots.
With photos by Allen Goosen and Annelize Blom and published by Tafelberg, this delightful book about food gardening for young children is divided into two parts.
The first part teaches you how to prepare the soil, sow the seeds and care for your plants. It also covers recycling, the seasons, insects and birds in the garden.
The second portion of the book is all about harvesting and eating your own fresh vegetables.
Each vegetable is pictured on a double page spread, combining information with beautiful photographs, fun illustrations and recipes.
Asparagus
Asparagus are very strange plants. Green asparagus shoots grow out of the ground like spears. They are one of the first signs of spring.
Sowing and planting: You can plant asparagus seeds as well as asparagus crowns. They look a bit like tiny spiders.
Harvesting: It’s important not to harvest anything from your plants for the first year or two. The crown needs time to grow firmly in the ground. Once the plant is strong, you can harvest from it for many years.
From the third year, you can harvest for about eight weeks per season. Let the asparagus grow until it is about 15cm to 20cm high. Then cut the asparagus off at ground level. After harvesting, leave the stems to grow. They will make long, fern-like stems and leaves. In autumn, the stems turn yellow. Cut them off at the ground.
The crown stays underground in winter. When spring arrives, green shoots will come up again.
You will then get another tasty harvest.
Steam or lightly cook your asparagus. It is delicious with butter.
Cabbage
Cabbage grows best in the cooler seasons, but you can grow cabbage for most of the year. We get cabbage with blue-green leaves, green leaves or red leaves. Some plants make round cabbage heads. Others make pointy heads.
Sowing and planting: Sow the seeds in trays. When the seedlings are big enough, plant them in the beds. Give the plant enough water while the heads are growing. When the heads are grown, do not water from above. Rather water the plant on the ground next to the heads.
Pests: Butterflies like to lay their eggs on the underside of cabbage leaves. If you find small worms spray them off with a jet of water. If you find bigger worms, pick them off by hand (if you’re not too squeamish).
Coleslaw
1 cup carrots, grated
4 cups cabbage, finely chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup pumpkin seeds
Salt and pepper
1tbs olive oil
Combine the carrots and cabbage. Use green and purple cabbage for a colourful salad. Add the lemon juice to the mayonnaise and stir this dressing into the salad. Fry the pumpkin seeds lightly, and add the seeds along with the oil from the pan to the salad. Season with salt and pepper.
Spinach
You can grow spinach all year round. There are two kinds of spinach: real spinach and swiss chard. Swiss chard can withstand heat better than real spinach. Real spinach has a subtle taste and smaller leaves.
Sowing and planting: Sow spinach from early spring to midsummer. You can sow spinach in late summer and harvest it all through winter. Spinach seedlings in seed trays can also be planted in your garden. The most difficult time to grow spinach is the hottest part of summer. If the plant gets very hot it will make seeds.
Give spinach plants enough water. Cover the soil around the plants with mulch. If the plants don’t grow well, feed them with nitrogen.
Harvesting: Start harvesting after 6-10 weeks. Cut off the outer leaves when you need them. You can also cut all leaves down to 2.5cm above the ground. New leaves will grow out and you will have a brand new harvest.
Pick the small leaves for salads. Pick the bigger leaves for cooking.
Pests: Watch out for worms and snails on your spinach plants.
Friends and foes: Spinach grows well with radishes, strawberries, eggplant, cabbage and onions. Spinach grows well in beds where beans grew before.
Creamed Spinach
Pick a large bunch of spinach leaves. It may look like too much, but remember that it shrinks a lot during the cooking process.
Cut the stalks out and chop roughly.
Wash the leaves, but do not dry them.
Transfer the leaves to a saucepan/pot on the stove, but do not add any water.
Cook the spinach until wilted. This does not take long so keep an eye on the pot.
Drain in a colander to get rid of excess water.
Put cooked spinach back into the saucepan and add one container of cream.
Cook over low heat until the cream thickens slightly.
Add a few drops of lemon juice before serving.
It helps to know when to plant your own vegetables, so here is a calendar for sowing and planting:
January: Beans, carrots, spinach, lettuce and beetroot.
February: Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, onions and peas.
March: Carrots, broad beans and beetroot. Peas, spinach and lettuce.
April: Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, peas, carrots and beetroot.
May: Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.
June: Traditional summer vegetables may be planted in winter in subtropical climates.
July: Lettuce, spinach, cabbage, leeks, broccoli and peas.
August: Broccoli, asparagus, peas and strawberries.
September: Beans, carrots, tomatoes, pumpkin, cucumber and potatoes.
October: Sweet pepper, eggplant, pumpkin and cucumber.
November: Potatoes, beans, carrots, beetroot, sweetcorn, tomatoes, sweet pepper and eggplant.
December: Tomatoes, beans, cucumber, potatoes, carrots, beetroot, sweetcorn and pumpkin. - The Mercury