Of Mustards and Radishes / Veggies to Plant in March (in Louisiana)

I did not get the opportunity to plant as many winter veggies as I would have liked, but the Lord did allow me to get some in, and this week we were able to harvest the first.

Mustard greens are some of my dad’s favorite greens, so I always try to plant as many as I can.

I like to plant them thickly, and then when they are the perfect size for harvesting the tender baby greens, I thin them to the desired spacing.

I harvested half of this row this week, and plan to harvest the other half next week.

I was just thinking how, when you allow the greens to grow close together, they can never grow to the size and healthy vigor that they can. It is when they are thinned so they can stand alone that they grow the most to become beautiful large plants we enjoy to see and harvest.

I find it very much like our life in Christ. It is wonderful to have brothers and sisters in Christ that we can grow together with, but it is during the times when we stand alone that our largest and strongest growth in Christ occurs. I wonder why then we also tend to get so upset when these times come? Where is our faith? Our faith that is to be like the “grain of a mustard seed”?

Though I enjoy eating mustard greens, I must admit cleaning them is not a favorite chore of mine. My mom was kind enough to say that since I picked them, my sisters could clean them. But because of the recent rainfall, the greens were especially dirty. I happened to see some ½ x 1-inch wire lying next to the garden, so I rigged up a large “colander” to rinse most of the dirt off the greens before I brought them inside. It worked pretty well!

As always, it is so exciting to eat the first fruits of the garden. I harvested four large bowls of greens which wound up being about 5 quarts cooked down. A very yummy harvest!

I was also very excited to harvest two quarts of radishes. Several of us really enjoy the cool and crisp “crunch” of a good radish, and the Lord has blessed us with several so far this year.

Veggies to Plant in March in Louisiana:

I know that not everyone who reads this lives in Louisiana, but I know for me, it helps to have a list of things I can plant for the month. If I have it at the beginning of the month, it really helps me to plan and know what my goals are for the rest of the month.

(Plant after the last frost, or plant and protect in case of frost)

Cantaloupe

Collards

Corn

Cucumbrs

Cucuzzi

Eggplant*

Kohlrabi*

Lima Beans

Mirliton**

Mustard

Peppers*

Pumpkin

Radish

Snap Beans

Southern Peas

Summer Squash

Swiss Chard

Tomatoes*

Watermelons

Winter Squash

*Plant transplants

**Plant the whole fruit with the sprouted end in the dirt 3 inches deep