The Wellness Program

Along with the early days of spring, comes the first produce of Blackberry's spring gardens. Everyone who gardens looks forward to the first salad from his or her garden. Nothing tastes quite as fresh and delicious as lettuce, radishes, spring green onions, small carrots, and other greens.

As wonderful as all of these ingredients are in a salad, nothing beats the taste sensations of sampling a fresh radish or carrot that had been freshly pulled from the ground. There is no need to wash them, simply brush the soil off, then bite into a taste sensation that makes you realize that you have just experienced what a real carrot and radish straight from the ground tastes like.

Enjoy the moment. You have just arrived in our garden╒s ╥taste heaven.╙ Among the benefit of eating produce fresh from your garden, are the health factors, which come from gardens to table produce. Nothing is host in terms of nutrients and flavor, which is rarely the case with much of our produce that is shipped across the country.

With spring rapidly approaching, consider planting your own salad garden. If you are lacking garden space, container gardening may well be the answer. Lettuce, radishes, kale, Swiss chard, and green onions all do well when grown in containers. The rewards will be well worth your efforts, and any of the spring crops can also be grown in the fall with excellent results.

John Coykendall, Master Gardener