Healthy greens for the New Year

Everything is coming up greens in Audrey Howell's winter garden in southeast Columbia.

Last fall after she had harvested her summer crops, her son tilled under the plant debris and incorporated 10- 10- 10 fertilizer in the 30' x 70' plot. Then Howell transplanted seedlings of six favorite cool- season crops: green cabbage, Savoy cabbage, turnips, curly mustard greens, tendergreen, and collards. She bought the bedding plants at Ace Hardware Horse and Garden in Horrell Hill.

A well and irrigation system installed over 30 years ago keep the crops sufficiently watered. Recently, a new pump was added.

Since Howell has an abundant harvest, she eats some and shares the rest with family and friends. She was harvesting cabbage and turnips the first week of the New Year. Howell doesn't harvest collards until after a good frost or they would be too bitter to eat.

All of the vegetables in Howell's winter garden are members of the Brassica family of plants. They are easy to grow and frost- tolerant.

Brassicas are lauded by doctors and nutritionists as superfoods since they contain vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, which protect against certain cancers, vascular diseases, and age- related illnesses.

Savoys have crinkly leaves and a milder cabbage flavor. Brassicas are rich in fiber, folic acid, Vitamins A, C, and E, and the minerals calcium and potassium. Few foods give so much nutrition for less than 50 calories per serving.

When Howell was harvesting the green cabbage which weighed roughly four pounds, she said she would cut it in two making slaw with one half and cooking the other half. Doctors and dieticians recommend eating Brassicas raw or steamed to garner the most nutrients.

Tendergreen is a mustard spinach and can be used raw in salads, added to stir fries, or steamed like spinach.

The turnips provide two vegetables, one from the greens and the other a root.

It is not too late to add Brassicas to your backyard garden. Bedding plants are still available at garden centers.

In fact you might even find additional Brassicas to add to the New Year's menu for health: broccoli, kale, and Swiss chard.

Tendergreens are ready for salads and stir fries. Surprise! Turnips are ready to cook. Howell harvests the first green cabbage of the season, a firm four pound beauty. Howell compares the green cabbage (in front) to the Savoy. Collards should be harvested after heavy frosts to get the best flavor.