Harvest of the Month: Super Greens

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 Resources: 

• • Watch the video here / Mira el video aquí
  • Get the recipe for Spinach and Quinoa Pilaf
  • Consigue la receta para el Pilaf de Espinaca y quinoa
  • Spinach poster / Poster de espinacas
  • Kale poster / Poster de kale
  • To read this blog in Spanish click here

Welcome to Harvest of the Month - the first episode in our Fall video series!  In this episode, Project GROWS has collaborated with Second Mountain Farm, a certified organic farm in Rawley Springs, Virginia, to help you learn all about super greens! Krista and Tim Showalter Ehst believe in growing the most nutrient dense and colorful veggies on their half-acre farm. Patricia-Marie Harley, our Farm to School Intern is going to explain all there is to know about these delicious, leafy greens! What will I learn in this episode?

• • Compare and contrast the color, texture, and shape of two leafy greens
  • Learn how kale and spinach are grown and harvested on a farm
  • Learn how spinach can be prepared in a simple recipe
  • Hear from a farmer what these leafy greens taste like
  • Identify several parts of a plant

VA SOLs

• Virginia Science Foundation Block 3: Matter/Physical Properties.
• Virginia Science Foundation Block 5: Life Processes
• Life Processes 1.4 b, 2.4 b, 4.4a & d
• Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change 3.4c

In the Harvest of the Month series, we’ve learned a lot about the different types of plants growing at Project GROWS and in the Shenandoah Valley, as well as a few delicious recipes featuring some of our favorite vegetables. Now it’s time to learn about what delicious fresh veggies are available to us in the fall season! There are many types of greens growing at Second Mountain Farm. Let's begin with kale! Plants have many parts, such as roots, stems, leaves, buds, and flowers. For this vegetable the leaves are the part that we eat.  To harvest kale, you can snap off the greens in bunches or cut the leafy greens one stem at a time. Kale is easy to grow and only takes 30 - 40 days to mature. It can be sown in the fall for the winter or the spring for the summer. Another leafy green that is full of nutrients is spinach. Spinach also comes in several varieties with different flavors and textures. It grows best in the winter and becomes sweet! To harvest spinach, the outer leaves can be cut. Spinach is very resilient. The seeds are sown 5 weeks before the last frost and is ready to harvest between 40 - 52 days. Keep an eye out for our Farm to Student blog series to learn how local farms are providing Harvest of the Month vegetables to both Staunton City Schools and Waynesboro Public Schools this fall!

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