I think your best bet might be to grow them indoors where you have total control of sunlight(growlights) water conditions and fertilzer... If you do indeed want to eat that much... hungry much? =)

I am not a big collards fan so for wraps, I like Swiss Chard. I have grown bright lights before but this year I opted for separate packs of a magenta variety and a golden variety for the pretty color combination.

Kale makes an excellent smoothie with blueberry, banana, milk and maple syrup. For the summertime I grow Red Russian because it does not mind the heat and I grow dwarf and Italian varieties during the cooler times of the year. Curly varieties make good kale chips.

New Zealand spinach is good for summer. I have not tried it in smoothies yet, but will once it starts growing.

Sorrel is a favorite of mine, it sort of tastes like lemon spinach. Great for omelettes or in pasta sauces, etc.

Last fall I planted red mustard near the front door because I did not have a plant for that spot yet. It grew well for grabbing handfuls hear and there to add to soups, beans etc. and this spring it started growing again very well.

We seem to eat more greens when I have them growing. Most of the timethey do not appear impressive in the grocery store for the price. We do much better when we can go out and pluck them ourselves. This year I will be growing salad greens on my side porch where it gets sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon, hoping that it will keep the lettuce from bolting. I am looking for a low bowl type of container for my "salad bowl." I hope to then bring at least one ceramic salad bowl inside for the winter where they can be clipped for baby greens.

Mache is a favorite of mine, but I have not had luck growing it, YET. The kids do not care for arugula so I have not bothered with it. This year I will also be trying a baby bok choi from Burpee called toi choi with a short growing time. Baby bok choy makes good salads with red peppers, peanuts, cukes and an Asian dressing.

Have you tried sprouting microgreens? They are just green sprouts, but it's something you can do indoors when it's too cold or too hot to grow many greens outdoors.

Sow mache in late September---they're a winter crop and can take a lot of cold.

Look for Erbette chard, the tenderest chard you'll ever eat.

Overwintered turnips send up seed stalks now in zone 6. Tastes exactly like broccoli raab.

Ciao all-

I'm growing green leafy veggies for the first time this year, mainly brassicas. I transplanted 2 rows of Red Russian Kale a week ago and it turned a dark burgundy AFTER it was in the ground. I transplanted another 2 rows today. I have another 6-pack of it waiting for a home, but the seedlings in the 6-pack are green still, even with hardening off. It's the darnedest thing. I thought it was the cooler temps we had last week that may have done it or maybe it's getting some kind of micronutrients from the soil that sets off those anthocyanin pigments. Whatever it is, it's beautiful once it turns red. I also have 2 rows of Dwarf Curly Blue Vates Kale transplanted and doing well. I've got about a row's worth of Lacinato Kale downstairs and still very small as well as about a row's worth of Rainbow Chard. Hardening off right now are 2 row's worth of Tatsoi, Ruby Pac Choi, and 4 row's worth of Giant Red Mustard.

I'm experimenting with store-bought greens as I've never really used them much in my own cooking. I blame Dr. Oz for my newfound interest, especially kale, which apparently is too good for you not to grow it. I made 2 dishes with beet tops and red chard this week..one, a risotto with both golden beets and their tops and a pasta with the chard, herbs, garlic, and onions from the garden, sundried cherry tomatoes from the garden, lemon juice, and parmesan. Both were outstanding.

It's worth noting that both red russian and giant red mustard are tetra-ploids. I have found this to be extremely useful for a self-sowing regime, as they will not cross with each other or any other brassicas or crucifers. I havn't had to buy seed for those two for years. The mustard especially grows as a weed, successfully competing with weeds. In one garden I had quite a population of green mustard self-sowing, then I introduced giant red and now after 3 or 4 years it has almost eliminated the green mustard which suits me as I prefer it.

Walking onion, self-sowing mustard, red russian and parsnip are pretty much the primary weed-control there and with a small amount of help are able to hold off the establishment of stubborn perennial grasses.

"Look for Erbette chard, the tenderest chard you'll ever eat."

Oh thanks for that tip! I love em young and tender! Had to pass at the grocery store - old and tough! Need to grow my own~

"It's worth noting that both red russian and giant red mustard are tetra-ploids. I have found this to be extremely useful for a self-sowing regime, as they will not cross with each other or any other brassicas or crucifers."

Could you explain how this works? As in - how do I get my red russian kale to get happy and perform such functions? I have 4 very smale rr kales that I over wintered. So they should be "ready"....what do I need do?

Well, the lovely thing about encouraging plants to self-seed is that you only need to do less, not more. Your red russian has over-wintered and so should be getting ready to bolt. Mine will be flowering within a week or two. I am not a botanist so cannot explain exactly why, but the genetic nature of a tetraploid will not allow the red russian to cross with crucifer family weeds that might be flowering in the area, or cultivated ones that might be flowering in one's garden or the neighbor's. So once you build up a sizable population of plants the self-sown seed dominates the soil of the area in question, allowing the red russian or mustard to overwhelm weeds.

Of course, they become weeds themselves in terms of attempting to sow other small-seeded vegetables especially in early to mid spring. One might sow some early lettuce, for example, before the self-sown seeds have germinated and come back a couple weeks later to find that both have germinated but about 50 times as much mustard as sprouted amongst the other sowing. Consequently I find it useful to companion these self-sown greens in an area with large-seeded crops. Potatoes are particularly well suited, as the potato sprout comes up strong and easily identifiable. When I go to hill the potatoes the unwanted mustard simply gets removed by the hoe.

Anyway regarding the mechanics of 'self-sowers'. In late summer when your second-year plant is a tall bolted stalk covered with dry seed-pods, you can help things along by pulling it out of the ground by the base and whipping the top around on the ground scattering seeds about where you want them (more or less)and simultaneously shuffling them into the ground with your feet. Some will germinate in the fall when there is enough moisture, most will wait til spring.

Greens over winter under florescent shop lights. Lettuce of course Buttercrunch and Paris Island cos Romaine so good so fresh as a cut and come again salad green. Chard I ended up with Fordhook, The bright lights would not grow very fast for me. Pock Choy the weed of the kitchen .I grew a hi-bred from Jung's called Joi Choi that stayed flat under the lights and is cut and come. Plants I started in October 09 and harvested from all winter are now transplanted to the garden and ready for leaf harvest. I love Tatsoi raw with mayo and raw tomatoes I grew the Tatsoi under lights and would harvest the whole plant. No Tomatoes though not enough light for them to fruit. Good eating I love my greens.

Curt~

pak choi under lights in the winter? Ooh - it's one of my favorites!!!