Hello To all members

[Andy Hamilton]

After browsing a few other forums I noticed that many have a facility to say hello when first joining. I thought we could do with one, so here it is.

I suppose I should get things started and say hello, I'm Andy I write many of the selfsufficientish.com articles and i guess I could be called the Web master too.(although not a big fan of that term).

[FluffyMuppet]

Hello :)

My real name is Emma. I live in Oxfordshire and I'm currently trying to tame a jungle into a vegetable garden. We have built two raised beds (more are on the plan) out of concrete blocks (the type with holes in, so I can plant small things around the outside of the bed) which are now planted up with overwintering garlic and onions.

I've also grown quite a lot of things in containers. My first ever veg was leaf beet, which is still a favourite because it's so easy to grow and just keeps on coming.

[Andy Hamilton]

Hello welcome to the forum

Gonna try some leaf beet next year myself. When I first got my allotment it was like trying to tame a jungle too, grass weeds everywhere we still have a major problem with bindweed but that is almost impossible to get rid of. Apparently a root was found right at the bottom of a well over 20ft down. - Hmm sure you wanted to know that....ramble on and on......

anyway again welcome to selfsufficientish. Did you know that Dave (my brother who also runs the site) is from Oxfordshire too?

[Emma]

Helloooo fluffy muppet I love the name

What is beet leaf is that the same as beet spinach???

[Wombat]

G'Day All,

I'm Wombat AKA Nev Sweeney, here in Sydney. This is the first year for a long time that I haven't grown silver beet (which I assume is the same as your leaf beet. It does keep coming but nobody in our lot eats it so it winds up going to the chooks :o

We have a small suburban block and have been here for 25 years plus. There are four veggie patches of varying sizes, 6 chooks, fruit trees, water tanks, and we have solar 12 volt through the house for lighting and selected appliances. My interests are self sufficiency, the environment and appropriate technology.

Nice to meet you all

Nev

[FluffyMuppet]

My packet of leaf beet seeds (from Mr Fothergills, but it's a few years old now) also calls it perpetual spinach and spinach beet.

The Organic Gardening Catalog have an entire section devoted to Leef Beet, which also includes the chards.

I don't know how many other names it has, but basically it's a member of the beetroot family grown for its leaves, but the leaves themselves are much smaller than a chard would grow (or so I believe from pictures. I haven't had much luck with chard yet! ) - if you pick them nice and young then you can eat them raw but we usually stir fry them or something like that.

[Andy Hamilton]

Heres a simple recipe for beat leaves if you want to try soemthing other than a stir fry.

Chop up some onion and pan fry until it goes brown. Then chop up some beat leaves and add them with a bit of crushed garlic. cook for a few mins then add a hunk of your favortie cheese (grated). when the cheese has melted into the mixture serve inside a pancake, tortia or enchalada (however that is spelt). Delicious.

[FluffyMuppet]

Thanks Andy, I will have to give that a try in the spring. I don't have any leaf beet overwintering this year.

I do have peas growing for pea shoots though. It's by nature of an experiment since I've never had them - we might even try the first few in a stir fry this evening.