Leafy Vegetables Introduction  Salad vegetables are usually consumed raw (uncooked) and ______________with minimal preparation  Lettuce  Examples of other salad vegetables  Arugula  Endive  ______________

Leafy Vegetables Greens are consumed cooked Spinach _________________ Kale and Collards General characteristics of leafy vegetables Biennials – live for two years _________________ season Shallow-rooted Respond to nitrogen fertilizer

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) Background Native to Europe and Asia First used for edible oil in its seed ________________ species are very bitter – needed to select for less bitter forms Bitterness is associated with milky latex that occurs when ________________ bolts What is bolting?

Lettuce Bibb or butterhead ___________ heads Inner leaves are cream or yellow and ___________ Delicate sweet flavor

Lettuce Iceberg or __________________ Most common type of lettuce in salad bars and fast food Extremely sensitive to heat Leaves are thin and crisps

Lettuce ________ or Romaine Upright head up to 10 inches tall Forms an elongated ___________ Leaves are crisper than other heading types Used in Cesar and Cos salads

Lettuce Leaf lettuce Does not form a _______ Widely adapted Types can vary in leaf ______________, shape, and color Can be harvested very young Major component of mixed green salads

Lettuce: Culture Temperature Extremely sensitive to ___________ temperatures High temperatures cause: Seedstalk to form Internal tip _______________ of crisphead types Stunted growth ____________ leaves Moisture Have a _________________ root system

Lettuce: Harvesting Leaf lettuce May be harvested when leaves are large enough to use Butterhead and Cos types Ready to harvest in ______ to ______ days _____________________ types Harvest when heads are firm and full

Other Salad Vegetables Bitterness or _____________________ can be a problem Ways to avoid: Blanching Using less pungent ____________________ Harvest when temperatures are cool (i.e. fall)

Arugula or Roquette (Eruca vesicaria var. Sativa)  Has enjoyed a surge in popularity  Used in mixed salads or as a cooked green  Characteristics  ____________ season  Closely related to ____________  Biting, pungent, spicy flavor similar to ___________________  Too strong to be eaten alone

Endive (Cichorium endivia) Background Native to eastern portion of ________ and reached Mediterranean region by time of ancient Egyptians Produce a blue flower

Endive Characteristics Endive Loose, _______________, medium green, fringed, and curly leaves Very pungent flavor ____________________ (Batavian endive) A selection of endive Broad, thick, smooth leaves with a white midrib Milder flavor than other endives Cultivation Similar to _______ with best growth at 60 to 70 F Less pungent if grown in fall Requires frequent watering

Endive _____________________ Growing a plant part in the absence of _________ Makes the plant part less bitter How is endive blanched? Gather leaves together and tie them together Inner leaves (hearts) become a __________ color Harvesting Entire ____________ cut at base when leaves are partly or wholly blanched Outer leaves are tough and bitter and are discarded

Chicory (Chicorium intybus) Introduction Closely related to ______________ Native to ____________ and western Asia Has naturalized along highways in US Has a light blue flower ________________ but grown as a long season annual

Chicory Roasted roots have been widely used as a _______________ substitute Reduces bitterness of coffee

Chicory Witloof chicory Traditionally forced indoors during winter to produce ________ ______________ are planted in moist sand or peat moss and kept in the dark Any light getting to the ______________ causes them to turn bitter

Chicory Radicchio or leaf chicory Most common are _____ or variegated, loosely wrapped, semiheading types Grown ___________ similar to lettuce ___________ used in salads or can be grilled

Greens Were commonly consumed by our ancestors Often were wild plants that emerged early in the spring Examples ______________ Dandelion greens Are generally consumed cooked

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)  Background  Native to western Asia  First cultivated by Persians  Spread to China by 7 th century  Reached Europe by 11 th century  Plant characteristics  Edible part of spinach is _____________ of leaves  ___________________ is produced in response to long days and hot temperatures

Spinach Savoy Crinkled leaf spinach Retains ___________ New Zealand Spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides) A substitute for spinach Can grow in dry weather and _______ temperatures

Chard or Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris Cicla group)  Background  Type of beet that was developed for its large, crisp leaves  Wild beet a common seaside plant in ___________, North Africa, and Asia  Leaves first first part of beets consumed

Chard  Why grow chard?  Does not form a seedstalk in ___________ weather (unlike spinach)  Can use both leaf blades and leafstalks (petioles)  Colorful ____________ ranging from white to yellow or red  Good flavor  Seed from early spring to midsummer Harvesting Harvest leaves when they are small

Collard and Kale (Brassica oleracea Acephala group) Background  Originated in Western Europe Characteristics Kale refers to a curly leaf form of ______________ Collards are a nonheading form of cabbage Forms a large _________ of blue-green leaves Hardy _________ season vegetable

Collard and Kale Cultivation  Planting  May be ___________ or  transplanted  Tolerate summer heat  Seed in midsummer for fall harvest  Usually gives best results  Light ____________ improves mild-cabbage like flavor

Collard and Kale Harvest  Can be harvested by two methods:  Entire young plant can be cut off at the _________ and used  Individual ________ can be harvested throughout the season