Using Green amaranth

Hello my friends, I hope you are doing well and you are really enjoying your fresh vegetables.

Today, we are going to use green amaranth (mowa) in Shona. This vegetable naturally occurs in Zimbabwe especially in summer.

My fellow Zimbabweans, did you know that green amaranth is a substitute for spinach. Actually, it is called African spinach.

So What does that mean?

It Means you can use it the way you use spinach in your dishes.

Guys it took me decades to réalisé that green amaranth is a vegetable that I should not miss as it packed with a variety of nutrients for example, vitamins, calcium and protein only to mention a few.

Now you know you cannot afford to miss it in your dishes, the next thing is to know how to get the best out of it.

In my village, everyone knows that you need to cook it until it becomes brown and when it is well cooked, we add peanut butter.

Today I would like to introduce you guys to two recipes that might surprise you but these two works wonders in your mouth, I bet try it, I mean taste it and see what happens next, the truth is you are going to regret the number of years you have been in the village, seeing it as a carpet of weeds in your field. I know the moment that you try these two recipes, you will go out to look for more,

Ok guys let’s get started .

Method one:

Frying: yes I said frying, I know you are laughing because in your mind you are saying, you are mad, or you do not really know green amaranth.

I know it inside out, I grew up in the village, and I tell you green amaranth was weeds that gave us torrid times in summer, we would spent the whole summer without resting, weeding it after every two weeks.

Now let’s get back to our frying method.

What you need.

Green chilli or green pepper, fresh young tender amaranth leaves which are only three weeks old, garlic or garlic chives cooking oil and salt for seasoning.

Cut your amaranth into small pieces using a knife, do the same to your chillies and pepper,

put your pan on the stove top and add some cooking oil allow your oil to boil, add your chillies or peppers in the boiling oil, fry until well cooked, add your green amaranth in the pot and fry until cooked, when done you add salt to taste, I also prefer putting in garlic chives.

After this you can serve it as relish to your Sadza if you are Zimbabwean.

With this recipe, your hands will not be able to resist to dip in your pocket for more money to buy more green amaranth.

Please go and try this recipe at home. If you can’t find the amaranth leaves now, please give us a shout we will direct you to the best Green amaranth grower.

Recipe2.

Toss baby Amaranth in your salad the way you do baby spinach and experience the miracle.

Instead of using baby amaranth you can look for amaranth microgreens, these ones work wonders especially red amaranth microgreens, they give your plate a splendid presentation that consumers won’t be able to resist.

My friends, go and give yourself a weekend treat using Green amaranth.

Chao

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Growing beans vertically

Hie my friends, I hope you are doing well, and you are growing different varieties of fruit and vegetables.

Its now summer and we need to choose the right plants to grow this time around . Its now time to grow beans,

This is the right time but someone might be saying what “I do not have space”, do not worry my friends today we are introducing you to vertical beans farming. Therefore stay put and enjoy today’s lesson.

guys, first things first, the most important thing is to choose the best variety for vertical farming since you do not have space.so now I am introducing you to a wonderful variety called “the lazy house wife”, it is named so because it is very easy to grow and it does not need much attention. So it is best suited for those who are lazy.

the good thing about this variety is that you can consume its fruits in all it’s three phases.

phase one

The beans are still young and they are perfect to use as green beans, they taste sweet, my gosh, I admit ,I like the sweetness.

phase 2

The plant is a heavy bearer and it’s obvious that you are not going to be able to finish it’s fruit at the first stage, “do not worry”, you can still cook them when they are ripe,

phase 3:

The pods can dry up and have an opportunity to pick them and dry them for future use. You can boil them and serve them as desired.

if well fed, the plant can grow tall and bearing pods at every nod allowing you to enjoy a bountiful harvest.

If you were worried about space, you can even grow them in containers but please ensure that your trellising is good for the vines to climb up, as long you feed it well, it will continue to grow and bear fruits to an indeterminate time .

with this variety you will never go wrong, therefore, come on let’s go into the shop and let’s grab our packet to start our seed.

you can be a lazy parent who ensures enough food supply for the family and even you can also have extra to share with your neighbours.

but, please do not eat everything, spare some seeds for the next season and share your seeds with your friends so that we promote a sustainable food system

Growing basil organically

Are you you in herb growing? If so do not worry of how you are going to go about it. You do not need to go to school to start your herb garden.

Today we will take you through step by step to grow your own organic basil. It is the easiest to start from cuttings.

Things needed :

Fresh cuttings from a healthy plant.

Potting soil rich in organic nutrients.

Take your cuttings and remove the lower leaves and place the cutting in the soil making sure that the stem has enough soil.

Water gently. For the meantime put your pot at an area that receives partial sun for a week, when your plant has developed roots and is now growing vigorously, change the pot to a sun spot that receives full sunlight. This will enable the plant to grow quickly and vigorously. Water when necessary and do not forget to prune your plant

Basic requirements for growing microgreens

Microgreens are very easy to grow given that you have the right grow media and good microgreens growing conditions. Here are the basic requirements for the growth of microgreens.

  • Seeds. You cannot grow microgreens if you do not have enough seeds because they grow well when they are densely populated therefore you need a lot of seed. You do not need seed only but organic seed.
  • Grow media. There are a lot of media that you can choose, here are some of the medias that you can choose-soil-paper towel- coconut coir- hemp matsPine bark. NB the media that you use depends on it’s availability, cost of buying it and its effectiveness in microgreens growing. You also have to understand that different seeds require different grow medias.
  • Water. All plants need water for their growth, so it means you also need water for the growth of microgreens.
  • Oxygen. Roots develop well in the presents of oxygen therefore make sure that the grow media that you use allows oxygen to circulate well
  • Sunlight. Like all plants, microgreens will do best if they receive enough sunlight.