Granny's Garden School - About Us
 
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Programs

School Garden Program
Family Garden Project
Garden Starter Kit
Annuual Flowers
Perennial Flowers
Herbs
Vegetables
Glossery of Terms
Schoolyard Nature Network
Vegetable Planting Guide
Where to put the Garden
Planting a Home Garden
Planting & Harvest Times
Harvesting & Storing
If you really want to sit down and read for a while, you will certainly learn something from this 48 page report from the University of Kentucky
 
Family Garden Project  - The Gardens
Preparation & Care Vegetables Herbs Flowers Bushes & Trees

Growing
Plant:  4/1-9/1
Depth: 1/2"
Width: 3-4"
Germinate: 3-14 days
Mature: 60 days
Aphids  photo   Facts
Leafminers
Fleabeetle
Beet webworms
Beets are fairly frost hardy and can be planted in the gardens in mid March in our area.  Plant seeds about 1/2 inch deep and one inch apart. Allow 8" between rows.  If thinning is delayed until the plants are 3 inches tall, the tops can be cooked. They are similar to spinach. Some cooks leave the small root (usually about the size of a marble) attached to the greens.
Nutrition Facts 
(1 cup cooked, sliced)

  Calories 31
  Protein 1.5 grams
  Carbohydrate 8.5 grams
  Dietary Fiber 1.5 grams
  Potassium 259 mg
  Phosphorus 32 mg
  Folate 53.2 mcg
  Vitamin A 58.5 IU

Preparing Beets 
from the Class Garden

Once harvested, wash the beets and cut off the tops (The tops of young plants can be cooked or served fresh as greens).  Place the beets in a saucepan and cover with water.  Cook on medium heat until they are just fork tender.  Allow to cool until they can be handled.  Cut off the top and root tips and the skins will slide right off.  This should be done while the beets are still warm. 

If you plan to do this with your class, consider doing it outside and make sure everyone is adequately covered.  Working with beets is like working with red dye. 

 

Beet Pickles

 Wonderful served with green beans, potatoes & cornbread!

This is my mother's recipe.  Mom's beet pickles were a regular part of our family and company dinners.  I remember one year when my sister, Linda's, new boyfriend joined my family for Christmas dinner.  Mom proudly passed him the dish of beets.  He served himself then tried to pierce one with his fork.  The round little beet slid off of his plate and down the center of the dining room table, leaving a pink trail of beet juice on the white table cloth. 
Yield: four 1/2 pint jars 
 1 cup  vinegar 
½ cup water 
½ cup sugar 
½ teaspoon ground   cloves 
¾ teaspoon cinnamon 
2 cans of beets or 4 cups of fresh cooked beets, drained
  • Combine all ingredients, except beets,  in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Add beets.  Cover and simmer 5 minutes. 
  • Turn off the heat and let stand until cool enough to refrigerate.  Prepare at least two hours before serving - two or three days is even better. Will keep for weeks in the refrigerator.

 

 

 
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."  Robert Louis Stevenson
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