GREENS THAT ARE MUSTARDS
(Music: MEAN MR. MUSTARD, Lennon-McCartney) (info./disclaimers) (glossary) (index) (gardening guide)
Pack quite a punch
Have them for lunch
Breakfast or dinner
Why is that so? you may ask
It's to shed saltspray, and make
freshwater last
They're descended from sea cabbage
Sea cabbage
Kale, cress, bok choy
Arugula -- greens
Just don't get better
Limestone seacliffs once were their
home
They're full of minerals, not
calcium alone
And rich in vitamins
Vitamins
Comments:
The names "mustards," "brassicas," "crucifers,"
and "cole crops" are used interchangeably for members of the cabbage
family, Brassicaceae. Lime is commonly used to reduce soil acidity (raise pH)
-- something also accomplished by the addition of wood ash and/or compost.
Despite their tannic acid content, oak leaves contain a significant amount of
calcium (as do lime, egg shells, and bones), which mustards appreciate. Like
three-year-olds, the Beetless are forever asking not only "What?,"
but "Why?," a trait that often comes in handy to a gardener when
considering the needs of various vegetable crops.
Excerpted from The Beetless' Gardening Book: An Organic Gardening Songbook/Guidebook, copyright 1997 by Chris Roth (info./disclaimers) (glossary) (index) (gardening guide)