As a garden vegetable, kale is an all around winner.  It is easy to grow, has great taste, and is an attractive plant which can add beauty to your garden.  From a nutritional standpoint, it is a super-food loaded with nutrients and compounds such as beta-carotene, vitamin A and vitamin C.  It is rich in minerals such as iron, manganese, calcium and potassium and has sulfur containing phytonutrients. 

Kale is related to collard greens and the cabbage family.  It is a cool / cold weather plant that can be seeded as soon as the soil can be worked in early spring for late spring or early summer harvest.  It can also be seeded in late summer or early fall for harvest throughout the winter.  Its taste will actually improve when it has been nipped by a frost.  However, it will turn rather bitter when temperatures heat up.

We decided to give kale a try last fall and the result was a great learning experience for us.   Over the last few years we have endeavored to extend the growing season into the late fall and early winter by using row covers and cold frames.  We planted the kale in late September with the hope of harvesting young leaves from the plants throughout the winter months.   The garden bed was under a covered hoop tunnel to protect the crop from the extreme winter temperatures that are possible here.  Then it began to snow and snow and snow! These repeated heavy snows resulted in the hoop tunnel collapsing on the garden bed.  Our kale was hopelessly buried and the row cover was now frozen to the ground.

In March of this year the snow and ice melted enough to where we were able to get the row cover off the garden bed.  The crop was matted down, but seemed to be alive.  It wasn’t long before this valiant warrior plant began springing (no pun intended) to life.  The end result was a bountiful harvest of this fresh, tasty green throughout the spring.

Kale is a versatile vegetable which adds a unique flavor to salads.  It can be added to soups and omelets; it can be braised or sautéed with onions and garlic.  Kale is also easily dried and stored, and wonderful for adding to soups, etc.   There is a great recipe for making baked kale chips which literally melt in your mouth.  Do a Google Search for kale chips and for other great recipes.

About the authors: Ken and Bernie have a love for the land and a drive to be good stewards of that which they have been entrusted.  Their garden is located on a pristine, beautiful little corner of Marilyn Farms that is buffered on all sides from any conventional type of farming or gardening.  What started out as a little tomato patch of six plants in 1991 has since evolved into a raised-bed garden of about 20 plots all worked by hand.

We had a great “Ask the Nutritionist” webinar on Saturday – thanks to all who participated!  For the next few weeks, I will use this blog as a forum to answer the questions that we were unable to answer during the 1-hour session.  Enjoy!

Q: Sometimes when I feel like I’m getting sick I exercise, and I start feeling better.  Why is that?

A: Exercise causes lymph (a mixture of immune cells and body fluids) to be circulated through your body, which causes filtration and detoxification of the lymph.  This filtration of the lymph may help your immune system to clear infections faster, and allow you to have more resistance to sickness.  One type of exercise that is especially helpful for filtering lymph is rebounding (jumping on a small trampoline).

Q: Which Marilyn Farms supplements could I take for constipation?

A: Either of our fiber products (Essential Fiber or Essential Fiber – Psyllium free) may be helpful for adding bulk.  Colon Cleanse capsules are useful for short-term relief from constipation during times such as travel or cleansing but should not be used long-term because the colon can become dependent on it as it would with any other herbal stimulant laxative.  Mag Calm is a pure magnesium supplement which can relax the colon and allow bowel movements, and any of our Vitamin C formulas (Vitamin C 1000, Fruit Chewable C, or Vitamin C Powder) can help to draw water into the colon, which will encourage a bowel movement.  For dosage info, please refer to each product’s package.

Q: What are nutritional ways to remedy dry skin in the winter?

A: One of the best ways to keep skin healthy through the winter is to eat enough healthy fats to keep skin moist.  Include plenty of healthy fat-rich foods such as fish, grass-fed meat, Ghee, organic butter, coconut, avocado, raw nuts, olives, olive oil, and cold-pressed sunflower and flaxseed oil.  In addition, coconut oil, shea butter, and jojoba oil are very helpful when applied topically to dry skin.

Q: What are the top produce items that should be purchased organically?

A: The top 5 most pesticide-laden produce items are currently Peaches, Apples, Sweet Bell Peppers, Celery, and Nectarines.  The Environmental Working Group offers an extensive list and a  convenient wallet guide at http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php.

Q: Should all meat and dairy be purchased organically?

A: It is best to purchase animal products that are raised in as clean and humane an environment as you can afford.  This is important because animals raised commercially tend to be exposed to antibiotics and hormones in their feed, which in turn ends up in their milk and meat.  The term “certified organic” does not necessarily mean that it is the best, however.  The best option would be to get to know the sources of meat and dairy available to you and opt for products from farms that raise animals on pasture and allow them plenty of room to move around.  Animal products from such farms may be labeled as “free range”, “grass fed”, or “pastured” and may not always be certified organic.