Well, hopefully your fall vegetable garden is well underway, and you even have some greens to harvest and prepare. Keep an eye on those Cabbage Loopers! The little guys feed on the underside of the leaves of cabbage, broccoli, collards, brussels sprouts and other Cole crops at a time in the fall when the plants really need those leaves to produce carbohydrates for root and leaf growth. Continue using Bt or Spinosad weekly to control those little buggers!
Swiss chard is not only a pretty plant that can be used in the vegetable garden (as well as incorporating into color bowl plantings), it is a tasty and nutritious leafy green. A relative of spinach and beets, it is loaded with vitamins A, C and K, as well as magnesium, potassium and iron. Since it is quite prolific, it is nice to have a few different ways to prepare it. It makes a tasty side dish, or as an addition to pasta, soup or quiche dishes. I even use it in place of lettuce on a sandwich. Here are a couple of easy recipes to get you started: