Perpetual Spinach

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Bob Bauer
December 21, 2016 (Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 1 minutes
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December 19, 2016

The plum tree that the raccoon planted in the garden grew 5' this summer. It was 10' tall so I trimmed it way back to 5' because I don't want more shade. It couldn't be in a better spot though because it's close to the eastern fence in an area of ornamental plantings. Keeping it small adds a nice purple color to that area and a small pool of shade is refreshing. All the hollyhocks seed stalks were gray and tan , swaying in the breeze and ready to spread seeds everywhere. I waited so long to remove them this year that they broke off at the ground..

I'm going to have hollyhocks everywhere again this year. Love'em though. 6' tall stalks with pink flowers blowin in the wind. Bumblebees navigating to try and get in. Hey, that rhymes..

December 20, 2016

I put spinach on the shopping list and the cook came home with a package of Perpetual Spinach. That's what the large type at the top says but the smaller print underneath it says Green Leaf Chard. I don't think she read the fine print because we have chard coming up all over the garden. I am continually cutting the seed stalks off so that it won't bolt, but like the hollyhocks, it keeps coming back..

I'm going to go ahead and plant as if it were spinach and harvest the leaves at spinach size to see if I can fool her into thinking it's spinach. The package says we will be picking it all summer instead of having it go to seed like spinach, but I already knew that..

December 21, 2016

I just read an article about a research paper that found a link between Lutein, which is a pigment found in green vegetables, and crystalized intelligence, which is the ability to use memory to solve problems. Lutein passes through the blood brain barrier and lodges in the part of the brain that enhances memory..

Sounds like another metabolic benefit from veggi consumption other than digestive health, vitamins, maintaining a healthy weight and healthy teeth..

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