Hello! The weather – no comment! Suffice it tot say, I’m a firm believer in global warming, or at least in the North Country – humid, hot, and hazy warming! Even the mosquitoes are developing webbed feet, and they are starting to quack before they bite you!

Our poor gardens! What a way to go! What a challenge it has been so far this growing season! And we still have so very far to go! Now regardless of how far along our garden is (or isn’t!), today let’s take a look at all those veggie seeds and transplants that are already in, or will still get in hopefully soon as soon as the soil has a chance to dry out.

Let’s assess our gardens; let’s just see how much healthy stuff is there.

For instance, it is now the first of July. Last month was June – just yesterday, as a matter of fact. Well, June is dairy month, and dairy month means “drink more milk” month. And when we think of drink of milk, we think of calcium - calcium for good strong bones - calcium for maintaining a good blood pH balance.

So let’s drink a big tall glass of milk and eat some cheese as we look at our garden right now. Because for even more calcium in our lives, let’s eat parsley, broccoli, spinach, loose-leaf lettuce, celery, green beans, and cauliflower. You’ve got all of these planted in your garden, right? If not, there is still time to plant some of those other good-calcium veggies.

Iron is another important nutrient that our bodies need. Iron carries oxygen to all of our body cells. Well, our healthy gardens will give us a good supply of this iron with spinach, parsley, butter head lettuce, green peas, broccoli, green beans, and tomatoes.

Vitamin C – a great anti-oxidant that helps protect us from cancer, and from cardio-vascular diseases. Vitamin C also strengthens our immune systems to enable us to better fight off infections and viruses. It also improves the absorption of iron. Well, will you look at all that vitamin C out there in our gardens? Where? There are red sweet peppers, green pepper, parsley, zucchini, tomatoes, summer squash, romaine lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, beans, asparagus, onions, potatoes, and eggplant.

Vitamin E is another important anti-oxidant necessary for healthy bodies. Well, legumes, some leafy greens (like collards, kale, mustard, turnip and beet greens), and spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers asparagus, carrots, and parsnips in our gardens supply healthy amounts of this healthy vitamin E. Why, even young, tender dandelion greens can help supply this vitamin E!

Vitamin A is still another anti-oxidant that strengthens our immune systems, keeps skin and bones healthy, and is important for good eyesight, especially night vision. And so that is why we plant carrots, spinach, red and green sweet peppers, winter squash, romaine lettuce, parsley, loose-leaf lettuce, Swiss chard, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, winter squash, and everyone’s favorite – zucchini!

Potassium maintains fluids and mineral balance in our cells and within our bodies, aids in the transmission of nerve impulses, helps muscles contract, helps maintain normal blood pressure, and is important for your kidneys. When you think of potassium, you immediately think of bananas. But you can get your daily potassium requirements from your own garden. So when you think potassium – think spinach, celery, romaine, parsley, zucchini, radish, loose-leaf lettuce, cauliflower, summer and winter squash, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, sweet pepper, carrots, and broccoli. Eat 2 medium sized tomatoes and get more potassium than in 1 banana!

And that’s not all, folks! All of the various vegetables that are usually grown in our food gardens provide us with:

• Manganese

• Magnesium

• Copper

• Selenium

• Vitamin B6

• Vitamin K

• Biotin

• Folic acid

• Zinc

• Fiber

And, keep in mind, our food gardens do not have any cholesterol, fat, trans fats, or sodium to worry about!

Wow! Our gardens, our strong, healthy, growing gardens are helping us grow healthy and strong! Holy mackinoly! We’re growing our own vitamins and minerals! What a way to go! What a way to grow! So maybe when we end this spot today by saying Eat Smart New York!, we should also say Grow Smart New York!

Remember – Eat Smart New York!

And – Bye – Talk to you soon!
D