If you are like me and many other people, the basic core of your meals is based on recurring themes. This is not to say that we automatically repeat similar type meals, as meal planning is based on many factors
If you are like me and many other people, the basic core of your meals is based on recurring themes. This is not to say that we automatically repeat similar type meals, as meal planning is based on many factors such as culture, diet, where you lived and mainly what you enjoy eating.
Next time you are at the grocery store or the farmers market, buy something different and learn to make a dish from it. Need more incentive to get started? How about beginning in your garden? By investing in your garden by growing something new, you are more likely to utilize the product.
Look through your seed catalogs, stop by a garden supply store, talk to friends and even check out community seed exchanges to find and select something new. It could be cassava, plantains, lemongrass or a dragon fruit.
As gardeners we should always try to grow some new crops to test our understanding of plant growth and development and for the knowledge it brings. I am learning to growing asparagus from seeds. The crop is about a year old and should be ready for limited harvest sometime this fall.
The fear of growing a new crop and failing has stopped many gardeners from even trying to grow something new. In addition, thinking what to do with the new produce can add to the basic fears of failure. Take comfort and fear not, because the present time is a great time to be gardening, as more information is at your beck and call.
The traditional Cooperative Extension Service agents are still around to provide answers to the many production issues that may arise. The Master Gardeners are a dedicated group of garden-savvy volunteers trained by Cooperative Extension Service agents and university faculty to answer many of the basic home gardener questions you may have. They are just a phone call away (981-5199).
Perhaps the greatest garden support service we have today is the World Wide Web, where information the world over is accessible to anyone with a connection to the web either by computer or hand-held devices. The down side to this source of information is the mountainous offering of possible answers. A simple search, for example, “growing asparagus” can provide you with over a million possible responses. A posting for assistance through any of the thousands of garden blogs can yield numerous answers.
So how do you choose those that can best help you?
Experience will help to weed out the bad advice and to find those that can really help. The best place to start are the site associated with Land Grant University Cooperative Extension Service, as their information is based on numerous experiments conducted by university faculty. Selecting universities with similar climate and crops will have the most pertinent information.
For those of us in Hawaii, that would be the University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. After that, the University of Florida, Texas A&M University and University of California, Davis agriculture colleges all can be very helpful due to their semi-tropical climate.
Once you have gotten the information on the crop you plan to grow, obtain planting material and start growing. Remember to pay close attention to your plants, looking for signs that they are doing well or are in trouble. Consult your references to help guide you and don’t give up. In the meantime, research great menus that use what you are growing.
One thing I learned with working with School Garden programs is that if you want to get kids to eat more vegetables or to try a new vegetables and herbs, get them to grow it. When you take ownership of the crop, you are the proud producer and it is more likely that you will be willing to try that crop. Pick a crop and grow it with your children or grandchildren and see what a difference it can make.
Carrots are wonderful, in that they can be eaten even when young. Broccoli is a good choice, as it is fairly easy to grow as we enter the fall and winter season and meal prep is easy and it is a very versatile vegetable. Freshly harvested florets gently steamed brings out a wonderful flavor that can’t be matched by frozen or store bought broccoli. The leaves can also serve as a gourmet collard greens substitute, as they are tenderer than collard leaves.
Looking for ideas on how to freshen up your daily meal selections? Look no further that the Mealani Taste of the Hawaiian Range happening this Friday, Sept. 26, at the Hilton Waikoloa Hotel. Thirty chefs will be cooking up a great selection of treats made from local beef, pork, lamb, goats and mutton, paired with some of the best produce the island has to offer. Go to http//www.tasteofthehawaiianrange.com for more information.
For more information on this and other gardening topics, please visit the CTAHR electronic publication website at http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/Site/Info.aspx or visit any of the local Cooperative Extension Service offices around the island. I can be reached at russelln@hawaii.edu.
