New Year's Day good luck and prosperity meal

Black eyed peas and collard greens

Sunday, December 28, 2025

It is a Southern tradition to have black-eyed peas and collard greens to usher in the New Year. My grandmother was originally from the hills of Tennessee and moved to southeast Missouri as a young girl.  Everyone I know that grew up in southeast Missouri has 'em on New Year's Day.  

History of black-eyed peas and collards

Black-eyed peas were first domesticated in West Africa and widely grown in Asia.  The "good luck" traditions of eating black-eyed peas for the New Year go as far back as Babylonian times (2500 years ago).  The tradition then was to have bottle gourd, leeks, black-eyed peas, beets, spinach, and dates as they were all symbols of good luck. 

This Jewish tradition was brought to the southern US in the 1700’s.  Today, the good luck Southern meal includes peas for prosperity (coins), mustard greens for money (green backs), and pork for moving forward.  Cornbread is also part of the meal and represents gold.

George Washington Carver encouraged the planting of black-eyed peas because they fertilized the soil, are nutritious and very affordable.  Black-eyes peas are chock full of nutrition.  They contain protein, calcium, vitamin A, folate, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, manganese, and lots of fiber. 

Recipe for your good luck peas

To cook black-eyed peas, I add some ham and diced onion and simmer in chicken broth.  I simmer until tender.  You can add vinegar or some hot peppers for a different taste.  If using your own homegrown beans, here are tips for using dried beans Use dry beans instead of canned

Growing your own "peas"

Black-eyed peas are a subspecies of the cowpea and is also known by the name of goat pea.  They are not actually a pea at all, but a bean.  Black-eyed peas are a warm season crop that is not susceptible to pests or disease.  Beans should be planted after all danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm.  They are very drought tolerant so little watering is needed.  I start my beans indoors in April and set out around Memorial Day.  They are easily grown directly in the garden.  Just plant seeds after the soil is warm.  Growing beans

If using just for fertilizing the garden soil, legumes (peas and beans) should be cut before they start producing pods as the production of the seed pods use up a lot of the nitrogen fixed in the roots.  Even if growing to eat, leave the roots when removing the vines at the end of the season.  Those nodules you see on the roots are stored nitrogen.  To increase the nitrogen in the roots, an inoculant of rhizobial bacteria should be coated on the seed at planting.  You can mix a little syrup (1-10) with water to dampen the seed before dusting with the inoculant.  This will greatly increase your harvest.

A side benefit of growing black-eyed peas is that the flowers produce copious amounts of nectar for pollinators, like bees.  Be sure to not use any pesticides on your black-eyed peas as they will kill the bees, too.  Natural, organic pest strategies and how to make your own bug sprays

For fresh peas, you harvest the beans when the peas have just begun to swell in the pod and are 2-3" long.  After harvesting, simply shell the peas into a freezer bag (don’t forget to label with type and date).  By harvesting the fresh peas, it will encourage more pods to be formed, giving you a larger harvest.

For dried beans, wait until the pods have dried completely on the plant.  Pick the pods and shell.  I use a quart jar to store my dried beans until needed.  When ready to use, rinse the beans then boil on low until tender with 4 cups of water to 1 cup of beans.  The time needed will depend on the age of the dried bean.  The older the bean, typically the longer it takes.  You can also soak over night to reduce cooking time.

Growing your own collards 

Collards are a southern favorite and also chock full of nutrients.  They come from the same family as kale and were likely cultivated 2000 years ago by the Greeks.

Greens like lots of nitrogen so they are great to interplant with your summer black eyed peas.  They are best planted in spring and fall as they prefer cooler temperatures.  Spring planted collards will produce all summer.  Fall planted collards will continue to produce into winter and will survive down to 0 F.  Collards will grow all through the winter in my Zone 7 garden.  

Plant in rich soil 1/4" deep, 18-24" apart and keep moist until sprouted.  Use collards how you would kale, from adding to salads to steaming and sautéing.  

For more on growing beans, Legumes-peas for spring, beans for summer.  For more on growing collards, Grow a southern favorite-collards.  For preserving, Freezing the extras for winter

Try some good luck food for your New Year's!

What's happening in the late December edible garden

Foggy December day

Saturday, December 27, 2025

There is little that is still green in the late December garden.  Winter is hard on almost all living green things, but some can out weather even the harshest winter temperatures, especially if given a helping hand.  We had frigid weather for about a month.  Now the temperatures are in the 60's and 70's.  Next week should be back around the normal highs in the 40's.  The warm weather has been nice.

So, what is still surviving in late December in our Zone 7 garden?  Many perennial herbs and a few cold loving vegetables are still green in the garden.  Oregano, creeping thyme, sage, lavender, marjoram, carrots, celery, kale, cabbage, sorrel, winter cress, cultivated dandelions, sprouting broccoli, sweet mustard, wild and domestic garlic and onions are still green without any cover.

The winter edible garden

Extend the season with protection for plants

Using pop-up greenhouses to garden year round

Cold season crops for your edible garden

Want a vegetable and fruit garden that you only have to plant once? Try perennials!

Sweet William, fall sprouted hollyhocks and lenten rose plants are still green.  Artichokes got bit pretty bad with the temperatures down in the single digits.  The tricolor sage is brown.  Will have to see if the roots survived.  The regular sage plants are all still green.  The lemon balm, chives and mint got killed to the ground but they will come back in the spring.  The strawberry vines are still bright green; blackberry and raspberry vines are a purplish green.  The smaller blackberry vines we transplanted last month look like they are doing fine; the larger transplants look a little worse for the frigid snap we had.

Edible December garden bed

Rosemary

Egyptian walking onions

Kale

Under cover, lettuce, sprouting broccoli, celery, parsley, blood veined sorrel, chard, and kale are still green and happy. 

Greens inside portable greenhouse

Portable greenhouse over potted greens

Use the fresh greens in salads and herbs in salads, soups or cooked dishes.  It is cold outside, but the garden keeps giving. 

Use fresh from the garden in your Christmas meal

Garden herbs

Saturday, December 20, 2025

Add a fresh edge to your Christmas dinner by using herbs straight from your own garden.  Herbs can be harvested all the way through the entire winter in most years.  If you are growing vegetables in a greenhouse or are having a mild winter, you can also be harvesting cold hardy greens for salads or cooking. 

Herbs that are still green in my garden even after single digit cold are thyme, sage, oregano, mint, lemon balm, rosemary, garlic chives, common chives, lemon balm and lavender.  Herbs are easy and care free to grow and almost all of them are perennials.  That means you plant them one time and they come back year after year.  And herbs thrive on neglect!  For more details on growing your own herbs, see my blog here  Start a kitchen herb garden!

Herbs growing under cover of my portable greenhouse cover are celery and parsley.  Indoors I have basil growing in a pot.  Basil is one herb that grows as an annual because it is very sensitive to the cold.  Luckily, it is easy to grow indoors. 

Jazzing up the flavor for the main dish

You can easily make seasoning for poultry or red meat from herbs in your own garden.  Poultry seasoning adds great flavor to, of course, chicken or turkey, but also veggies, fish, casseroles, pasta.

The first commercial poultry seasoning was invented by William G. Bell, a Boston cook, in 1867.  His included sage, marjoram, rosemary, oregano, pepper and ginger.

I like to make my poultry seasoning with dried sage, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram.  Some add nutmeg, pepper, ginger , onion powder and/or cloves.

Here is my poultry seasoning recipe:

3 Tbl sage

1 Tbl parsley

1 Tbl thyme

1 Tbl marjoram or oregano

1 Tbl rosemary

  

For lamb, rosemary is a favorite herb pairing.  For all other red meats, I use a combination of whatever I grew in the garden this past summer.  I cut and dry at the end of the season, then mix in a paper bag and store in airtight containers.

“Herbes de Provence” contains herbs that are typical of the Provence region of southern France and are grown in French potagers (kitchen gardens).  I also include sage in my herbal seasoning mix.  These are herbs that were typically used in cooking by the French in this region:

*Thyme

*Marjoram/oregano

*Rosemary

*Savory

*Basil

*Tarragon

Insure all spices are crumbled into tiny pieces so they will disperse evenly in your favorite prepared dish.  You can transfer the amount needed to a kitchen spice jar.  Keep the rest in a cool, dark location.For any spices, you want to keep them as fresh as possible.  They lose their flavor over time and quicker if exposed to heat/light.

Potager gravy

To make 2 cups of gravy, cook in a sauce pan, 1/2 cup of fresh chopped carrots, 1/2 cup of fresh chopped celery, 1 cup of chopped onions, 3 cloves of peeled and mashed garlic until browned.  Add 1 bay leaf, 3 cups of chicken or beef stock.  Simmer on low uncovered for an hour or so until reduced in about half.  Strain out all solids and combine 1 cup of stock with 1/4 cup of cream and 1/4 cup of flour, whisk until smooth.  Bring remaining stock to boil, add cream mixture, defatted meat pan drippings if desired, simmer until thickened.

Herbed mashed potato options

There are a few options for snazzing up your mashed potatoes.  For 5 pounds of potatoes, you can add 5 cloves of roasted garlic, 1 cup of sour cream, 8 ounces of cream cheese and enough buttermilk for consistency you prefer.  

Or how about 5 pounds of small potatoes that are cooked until tender, then tossed with 1 cup of butter, 3/4 cup freshly, finely chopped parsley, marjoram, chives and/or thyme.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Garlic and herb roasted vegetables

This recipe works with any really firm vegetables you like.  Here is one variation.  Cut 4 sweet potatoes, 3 medium turnips into 1.5 inch cubes, and 2 large onions into 1.5 inch wedges.  In a gallon plastic bag, place 12 cloves crushed, peeled garlic, 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, 2 tablespoons fresh oregano or marjoram, 2 teaspoons salt, 6 tablespoons olive oil.  Mix thoroughly.  Add your cut veggies and squish them around until they are coated on all sides with the herb mixture.  Place on a cookie sheet in a single layer.  Roast in a 450F, preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until soft.

Potatoes, turnips and onions are all veggies that can be stored over winter if kept in the proper conditions.  Be sure to keep potatoes covered or in a dark place as when they turn green, they are toxic.  Sweet potatoes will keep for a month if kept in cool dry conditions and bagged with an apple to keep from sprouting.

Herbal salad dressing

You can keep it simple and flavor a good white wine vinegar with your favorite herb like tarragon for the salad.  Use a mild olive oil so the flavor of the herb shines through.  Herbal vinegars are easy to make, but you need to make ahead.  Place herbs in the vinegar and leave in a cool dark place for at least a week.  You can strain out the herbs before using after infused.

Homemade version of Hidden Vally Ranch is easy to make.  Just mix equal amounts of buttermilk, mayonnaise, and sour cream (half cup each).  Then add parsley, dill, garlic, onion (half teas), salt(quarter teas) to taste.  If the mayo is too overpowering, I substitute yogurt.

This is the perfect time of year for fresh spinach salads.  Spinach and other greens are in season and living this cool weather.

Artisanal butter

If you are making an herbal butter to serve, you would want 2 tablespoons of herbs to 1/2 cup of butter.  Add the herb that complements the dish you are serving.

You can either serve in a dish, roll it into a log using plastic wrap or form into a shape.  If you use a form, simply press the butter firmly into the form, then place the form in a shallow dish of hot water.  The butter should slide out easily after a little warming.

Mint inspired beverages and desserts

Mint is still green and growing in our garden.  Mint is wonderful to add to teas, lemonades, hot chocolate or adult beverages, even to salads.  You can also incorporate into desserts.  Chop fresh mint and add to sorbet or ice cream.  You can incorporate in a food processor and refreeze until ready to serve.

Don't forget to check you freezer for possibilities.  This year, frozen tomatoes are conjuring up Grandpa's spaghetti sauce and tomato bisque soup.  Maybe eggplant parmesan, too?  Carrots and fresh herbs are amazing in beef bourguignon.  Frozen broccoli and greens would be tasty in a frittata.

I still have greens (kale, sprouting broccoli, chard, sweet mustard greens), carrots, and onions in the garden beds and lettuce under my portable greenhouse covers to use for salads.  Onions and chives can be used fresh from the garden all winter, too.  I brought sweet and hot pepper plants indoors that are still producing and greenhouse tomatoes.

There are so many possibilities for using herbs right from your garden and fruits and veggies from the freezer to add fresh taste to many dishes for the holidays!

Make your own seasoned salts and flavored sugars

 

Sunday, December 14, 2025

You can flavor sugar and salt with homegrown herbs, fruits, and flowers from the garden.  It is simple and fun.  Let your tastebuds and creativity run wild.  These are fun gifts as well.

Some ideas for flavored sugars:

Lavendar

Mint

Kumquat (the rind is sweet and citrusy)

Lemon

Lime

Rose hips or petals (gives off a beautiful fragrance in tea)

Sage

Berries

Dry your ingredients first.  For citrus peels, rose hips, or rose petals, I let dry in the pantry on a paper towel.  For berries, I would dry in a dehydrator or an oven.  Since they have such a high moisture content, they can mold before drying if just left on the counter.  Herbs I put loosely in a paper bag with the stems upright to dry.  Harvesting and drying herbs  After they are dry, you can use a coffee grinder to grind to a fine powder, crush the herbs by hand, or leave whole and mix 50/50 with organic sugar.

If you are thinking of starting a garden, herbs are the perfect start.  Most are perennials (come back every year) and they thrive on neglect.  You truly plant and forget.  A bonus is that herbs give you tons each season so are a great cost saver.  

Start a kitchen herb garden!

Quick tip 8-start an indoor herb garden

There are many flowers that are edible.  I love planting my edible garden in the flower beds.  It does double duty, provides beauty and attracts pollinators to have a more productive garden.  Here is a blog on varieties that are edible:  Flowers that are edible  It can do the same for sugar; add a pretty touch.

For ideas on growing your own fruit in small spaces, Fruit for small spaces

For salt, you use fine sea salt to use out of a shaker or coarse sea salt to use in a grinder.  Be sure if you are using a grinder to get one made for salt so it doesn't rust.  

Ideas for flavored salt:

Hot peppers

Thyme

Oregano

Mint

Sage

Rosemary

My favorite steak and grilled veggie seasoning recipe:

5/8 cup coarse sea salt

2 tablespoons small hot peppers

2 tablespoons juniper berries

4 bay leaves

1 tablespoon rosemary

2 sticks of cinnamon or turmeric

1 1/2 tablespoons sage

This is great on anything you grill!

You can easily make pretty gifts for others using herbs and flowers from the garden in pretty containers.

What's happening in the mid December garden

Sunrise in the December edible garden

Saturday, December 12, 2025

Most think that nothing is alive to eat in a mid December garden.  Winter is hard on almost all living green things, but some can out weather even the harshest winter temperatures, especially if given a helping hand.

So, what is still surviving in December in our Zone 7 garden?  Perennial herbs and vegetables are still green in the garden along with cole crops.  Oregano, creeping thyme, mint, parsley, rosemary, horseradish, artichoke plants, carrots, celery, kale, sorrel, chives, winter's cress, cultivated dandelions, chard, sprouting broccoli, and onions are all still green without any cover.  If you had broad beans, Brussels sprouts, cabbage or cauliflower planted, they would all be doing fine.  When the temperatures get into the teens, they would appreciate a cover.

The winter edible garden

Extend the season with protection for plants

Using pop-up greenhouses to garden year round

Cold season crops for your edible garden

Want a vegetable and fruit garden that you only have to plant once? Try perennials!

Edible December garden bed

Salad burnet

Oregano

Parsley

Chard

Rosemary

Egyptian walking onions

Kale

Under cover, lettuce, sprouting broccoli, celery, parsley, sorrel, chard, and kale are still green and happy. 

Greens inside portable greenhouse

Portable greenhouse over potted greens

I have a couple of dwarf tomato plants and a few pepper plants that I moved into the house a couple of weeks ago.  There are fruits that are ready to be picked on all of them.  The winged bean plant I brought in is nice and green but no beans or flowers.  Same for my 3 year old Meyer lemon tree.  I hope it blooms and fruits this year!

Use the fresh greens and onions in salads and herbs in salads, soups or cooked dishes.  It is cold outside, but the garden keeps giving.

Another option for fresh greens is to grow sprouts indoors.  It's super easy and nutritious:

Indoor winter gardening-grow sprouts, microgreens or wheat grass! 

Indoor winter gardening-grow sprouts, microgreens or wheat grass!

Microgreens growing in reused salad container

Sunday, December 7, 2025

Winter doesn't mean you can't eat fresh, nutrition packed greens.  There are many that grow well indoors and different ways of growing them.  Sprouts are grown in trays or jars with no soil while microgreens and wheat grass are grown in a shallow layer of soil.  All can be grown indoors.

Something easy and nutritious are sprouts.  I bought a simple, inexpensive sprout grower.  You can also use a quart Mason jar.  You can get seeds on line and in many grocery stores, nurseries, and big box hardware stores for growing sprouts and microgreens.  I like buying a seed mix so I get a nice variety of taste and nutrition.

Sprouts are a powerhouse of nutrition and so easy to grow.  There are all kinds of seed sprouting kits out there.  The one I have that I really like is 3 levels so you can have one that is fully sprouted that you are using with 2 in various stages of growth so you always have a ready supply of sprouts.

With a simple sprout grower, you can have nutritious sprouts of many different veggies, beans, and/or grasses in 3-5 days.  All you do is put a teaspoon of seeds in the grower and water it twice daily.

Top 10 Nutrient Dense Veggies & Fruits

If you want to try with a Mason jar, there is more work involved.  You'll need to punch holes in the lid.  Place seeds in jar, fill with water and leave overnight.  In the morning, drain the water.  You will need to rinse and drain 2-3 times a day until most of the seeds are sprouted.  Their tails will be about an inch long.  Move sprout jars to a place where they will get sunlight.  After the sprouts turn green, they are ready to eat.  Place jars in the refrigerator to keep fresh.  Use sprouts on eggs, salads, and any other dish you want to spruce up with fresh sprouts!

Microgreens are also very easy to grow indoors.  You can get variety seed packets of microgreens anywhere they sell seeds or on line.  You can reuse a plastic salad container or seed flat to use as a pot.  Just add potting soil, sprinkle the seeds down as instructed on the seed packet, tamp down gently, water, place in a sunny window and you will have microgreens in 10-21 days, depending on the variety.  To speed up sprouting, you can use a warming mat to boost the soil temperature.  Once sprouted, just cut with scissors and use or place in a glass jar in the refrigerator for keeping.

If there are still seeds visible after your initial harvest, you can wait and see if they will sprout or go ahead and start your next batch of microgreens.  I would compost the used soil and start with fresh to keep the chance for any soil diseases to develop low.  Be sure to sanitize your growing container before adding new soil and seeds.

Wheat grass is another great edible.  I put it on salads.  You can also juice it.  Wheat grass is a great alkalizer.  Today’s diet is so acidic.  Basically anything we eat besides leafy greens and some other vegetables are acidic.  Your body’s blood pH must stay between 7.35-7.45; anything above 7.0 is alkaline.  Wheat grass helps balance your pH.  Wheat grass is also a purifier of the blood.  There are wheat grass growing kits too.  Or you can use an old salad tub that you fill with potting soil and grow them right in the salad tub or seedling flat like microgreens.

Sprouts and microgreens mirror the taste of their grown counterparts.  Here are some reco's based on taste:

Spicy-mustards, arugula, radishes, sorrel, cress, basil, oregano

Mild-amaranth, chard, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, beets, kale

You wouldn't want to grow as sprouts varieties that produce a really thick stem like squash or melons.  These will just be chewy.

If you like to add color (which also adds different nutrients), be sure to include varieties like purple amaranth, neon chard, red kale, red varieties of mustard (Ruby Streaks, Giant Red), red-veined sorrel, red beets, purple basil, or many more.
The Power of Purple

So, if you are wanting some fresh, nutritious, home grown food, it is super easy to grow any of these indoors year round!

Make your own flavored olive oil

 

Saturday, December 6, 2025

You see these beautiful bottles of flavored oils in stores.  You can make these at home!  This a great way to use the extra herbs and peppers you dried from the summer and fall garden.  You simply infuse the oil with your favorite herb or pepper.

I use a wide mouth canning jar for the infusing.  For herbs, I fill the jar with stems of cut, dried herbs, cover completely with organic cold pressed extra virgin olive oil and let sit for 2-4 weeks.  For hot peppers, I do the same thing, straining out the peppers after 4 weeks.  At this time, you can pour the oil into a beautiful container.  It is safe to put a sprig or two of completely dried herb or pepper into the container.

If you want instant gratification, put the herbs and oil into a sauce pan and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.  After cooling, the oil is ready to be strained into the serving bottle.

I use only dried herbs.  If you use fresh, you will need to keep refrigerated and use within a week or two.

Herbs are the easiest edible to grow and most are perennials which means you plant them one time and they come back every year.  I think they are the most cost saving crops you can grow as spices are very expensive.  For growing your own herbs: Culinary kitchen herb garden

What to start in the December garden

Newly sprouted greens inside portable greenhouse

Sunday, November 29, 2025 

You can still plant outdoors for the edible garden in December.  What you are planting in December may not germinate quickly.  Growth will restart in mid January when daylight hours get back to 10 hours.  Keep your edibles under cover to encourage germination and growth and to extend the harvest all the way through to spring.  

What is a four season garden?
You can garden year round in small space
Planning for a four season garden

This month you can sow more greens, carrots, and herbs in the greenhouse.  You can also transplant trees and shrubs and even spring bulbs as long as the soil is workable.   Midwest Perennial Vegetable Garden

Here are the crops you can start outdoors and indoors in the December Midwest edible garden:

December seeds outdoors

Austrian winter peas-will sprout in early spring

Broad beans-will sprout when conditions are right

Spinach seeds-will sprout in late winter/early spring

Snow peas-will sprout in early spring

December seeds under cover

Will sprout under cover:

Arugula

Sprouting Broccoli

Carrots

Celery
Corn salad

Endive
Escarole

Frisee

Lettuce, Winter Hardy types

Mustard and Mustard Greens

Parsley and Parsley Root

Pak choi

Austrian and Snow Peas

Radicchio

Scallions

Sorrel
Spinach

Swiss Chard

December transplants

Trees and bushes until ground freezes

Transplants for winter and overwintering

December seeds indoors

All kinds of microgreens

Onion seeds-end of month

Flowers-Dephinium, Dianthus, Viola end of month

Stratify native flowers in refrigerator or outdoors

Look for cold hardy varieties when planting for winter growing and harvests.  You will be surprised to harvest all through the winter months things like greens, onions, Austrian peas, carrots, and cabbage when you get them started in the fall.  You can also extend the harvest by looking for the same crop with different days to harvest timing so that they mature at different times.  For those you are seeding now, they will provide your late winter and early spring harvests.  

 Winter planted crops take longer to sprout and grow than they do in the spring.  It's because the days are getting shorter rather than longer and the temperatures are falling.  Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year on December 21, so daylight hours are still getting shorter until then.  Just be patient, the seeds will sprout when conditions are right.  Growth is very slow now as the daylight hours are less than 10 and temperatures are cold.  In my area, we will get back to 10 hours of daylight on January 19.  Growth will pick up in late January.  

To keep plants producing, keep them covered.  The biggest risk with covers is the plants overheating.  Full sun can raise the temperatures by 50 degrees.  Keep this in mind and give ventilation when the temperatures are getting up into the 50's with nice sunshine.

Window open on portable greenhouse

If you are using a row cover, they should be in place now.  I put mine in place when the temperatures are getting into the low 20's at night.  Your plants are safe from overheating as long as the temperatures don't get into the upper 50's with the full sun.  When temperatures are that warm, just open the ends of the row cover and close back up when the temperatures are forecasted back into the 20's or colder.

The same goes for greenhouses. I have my edible greens covered by my portable greenhouse with the "windows" open to vent when it gets into the 50's.  You can use cover to extend the harvest all the way to next spring.  Extend the season with protection for plants  Homegrown, organic salads in a Midwest winter